Free Savage Conquest by Janelle Taylor Page B

the housekeeper left to do
shopping, Amanda convinced her she simply wasn't
feeling well. She sat on the floral sofa and gazed off
into empty space.
    "Randy," she spoke faintly, "I know you're
concerned about me, but I'm not ready to discuss this
yet. I just need a little time to sort out some feelings
and make a decision." Amanda couldn't bring
herself to tell Miranda how critical their situation
was, not until she decided how to resolve it. Amanda
wasn't blind, so she was aware of Miranda's feelings
for Weber. She knew Miranda would battle an
enforced marriage to Weber as fiercely as the South
had battled the North. But would marriage to Weber
be so terrible in light of her scant options? Until she
fully comprehended this dire episode herself, she
could neither defend Weber not praise him. She berated herself for suspecting some ulterior motive in
Weber. But her dear sister had suffered enough lately,
and she couldn't add this additional burden to
Miranda's slender back. Until settled, it would be her
problem.

    "Did you and Reis quarrel?" Miranda asked
helplessly.
    To prevent any further mention of Reis, Amanda
edged into lying when she replied, "I won't be seeing
him again, Randy. He's even worse than the others;
he's tried to seduce me twice in two days. Every time
he's near me, he can't keep his hands off me. I'm not
some cheap slut to be pawed or ravished. The
accounts he was dangling before me as bait are
nothing more than troublemakers. Papa got rid of
them months ago; now Reis thinks I'm too stupid to
refuse them. He even claimed he goes along with the
deal. I don't trust him, Randy. He acts like the only
thing he wants is to get into my bloomersl He's a
smooth charmer, and I should have known better."
    Miranda gaped at her, eyes and mouth wide open
with shock. "But he seemed so nice, Mandy. I don't
understand." Had she misjudged Reis? Or was her
beloved sister fibbing to her for the first time?
Miranda knew that change was often for the better,
but Amanda was being forced to change too much
too rapidly. Miranda was alarmed by the pain in her
sister's ice-blue eyes. Perhaps the key word in
Amanda's tale was "seduce," not ravish.
    "You have a lot to learn about wily males, dear
Randy. All men are nice while they're trying to get you under the sheets with them. I've never been
fooled like this before, and it angers me. And yes, it
hurts, too. I thought Reis was so special, so different.
You asked if we quarreled. I suppose we did have a
one-sided dispute. When he kept pressing me, I
thought the best way to cool his passion was to tell
him Weber had proposed, which he has many times.
Instead of cooling his ardor, I inflamed his temper.
He was furious; can you imagine that? Then he
proceeded to prove I don't love or want to marry
Weber by assailing me with embraces and kisses! And
he excused his lewd actions by claiming that I am
besotted by him!"

    Miranda had a gut feeling that Amanda was
defensively exaggerating. Reis didn't seem like a man
who would force his attentions on a woman. Surely
Amanda hadn't tried to play coy games with the
masterful Mister Harrison. Didn't Amanda realize
that her looks and actions toward Reis were sensually
provocative? Besides, if. Reis was enchanted by
Amanda, that would explain why he was so bold and
persistent. Perhaps he was trying to prove something
to Amanda. "Is that why you ran out on him so
quickly that you forgot your purse?"
    "Please, drop it for now. I'm too upset to discuss it
further."
    "Did you tell him just that Weber had asked, or did
you also tell him you had accepted?" Miranda boldly
continued the conversation with a point which
worried her. To Miranda, it seemed the quarrel had
been over Reis's passion and jealousy-twoemotions which hinted at affection.

    "I told him the truth, that I was seriously
considering Web's proposal," Amanda announced
incredibly. Before her sister could speak, Amanda