Dazzle The Complete Unabridged Trilogy (99 page)

Her pale eyes were sharp and alert—one could almost hear
them click like a camera shutter.

Tamara steered her past the giant pool, shaped like a five-
pointed star, toward two cotton-upholstered easy chairs under
a deep blue, linen parasol. 'Wasn't that Clifford Harriman,
the banker, I saw pulling out just as I drove up?' Marilee asked
in a honeyed, innocent voice.

Damn the woman.
'Yes,' Tamara said, 'that was Mr.
Harriman you saw. He's such a nice gentleman, isn't he?
Imagine him taking the trouble to drive all the way up here
just to give me some banking advice.'

'Well, it must have been about saving,' Marilee said archly,
'since I don't think either you or Louis need any advice on
how to spend.'

The actress in Tamara knew a casual laugh was called for, and she gave it her all. 'You do get away with saying the most
outrageous things, Marilee.'

'That's because everyone is frightened of me.' Marilee took
a seat, kicked off her shoes, and dug into her handbag for a
notepad and pencil. She lifted an eyebrow archly. 'Are you
frightened of me, my dear?' she asked, holding Tamara's gaze.

'No, not frightened,' Tamara said thoughtfully. 'I respect
you.'

'They're often one and the same,' Marilee said, deftly depositing a well-planted barb. 'Now, before we begin . . . you
probably know that my radio show has caught on extremely
well?'

Tamara nodded. 'I read somewhere that even FDR has
been known to listen.'

'Oh, that rumour.' Marilee waved a deprecating hand. 'I
wouldn't go so far as to say that, but it
is
popular, and I
am
rather pleased with it. There's a kind of magic about listening
to a star that people don't get just by reading about them. Last
week I had Elsa Lanchester on, and the week before, Ruby
Keeler. She even tap-danced in front of the microphone. It
was a huge success.'

Tamara nodded. 'I listened to that one.'

'It's done live, of course, which makes logistics a little diffi
cult sometimes. Anyway'—Marilee smiled brightly—'I would
like to have you on next week, dear. What do you say to that?'

'Me?' Tamara looked astonished. 'I'd have to check with
O.T. first, of course, but if he's amenable—'

'Oh, he is. I've already asked him.'

Tamara looked at her in surprise. 'He didn't tell me.'

Marilee laughed, delighted to have scored one over
Tamara. Then she got serious. 'He agrees with me that this is
a good time for the country to hear the real you. In fact, he
was the one who called me about it.'

Tamara looked thoughtful. 'Do you know something you're
not telling me?'

'Who, me?' Marilee asked innocently, placing a hand over
her heart and trilling a laugh.

Esperanza flapped toward them and came to a stop beside
the parasol. She looked at Tamara expressionlessly.

'Would you like a drink?' Tamara asked. 'I'm having iced
tea without sugar.'

Marilee made a face. 'How can you bear to drink that? Tell
you what, I'd just loooove a mint julep. That is, if you have
the makings.'

'Of course we do. And Roberto's a whiz at bartending.'
Tamara smiled at the maid. 'Esperanza, would you be so kind
as to bring Miss Rice a mint julep? And a tall glass of iced tea
for me? Lemon on the side, as usual.'

'Si, señora.'
Esperanza nodded. 'I bring soon.
Señora!'.

'Yes, Esperanza?'

'The
señor,
he back. He ask see you.'

For an instant Tamara shut her eyes. First she'd had to face
the banker, then Marilee, and now Louis. It seemed as if the
day itself were conspiring against her. She smiled apologet
ically at Marilee. 'I'd better see what Louis wants. I really am
sorry. Could you excuse me for a minute? I won't be long.'

'Take your time,' Marilee said magnanimously. 'I'm in no
rush. I've kept the entire afternoon open for you.'

Tamara managed not to show her chagrin and hurried into
the house.

She found Louis standing in the shade in front of the
garages, his arms crossed, grinning like a Cheshire cat. A set of keys dangled from his fingers. He turned his head slowly,
and following his gaze, Tamara let out a gasp.

There was a new car in the driveway—a huge Packard con
vertible, all streamlined curves and white lacquer outside and
tawny fragrant calfskin inside—crisscrossed with a foot-wide
white satin ribbon.

'What's this?' Tamara whispered.

'Yours,' Louis said, grinning wider.

She felt a surge of elation. 'The Oscar!' she cried, jumping
up and down. 'Don't tell me!
Fire and Blood
has been nomina
ted!'

He picked her up and whirled her around in the air. 'They
say third time lucky, princess. I just found out.' He put her
down and handed her the car keys.

'Louie . . .' She pushed herself away from him and frowned
at the car.

He gave her a strange look. 'Don't tell me you don't like
the car?'

'No, no, of course I like it. It's a beauty.'

'Then what's the matter?'

She turned to him, a pleading expression on her face.
'Please, Louie, try to understand. Now's not the time for us
to buy a new car.'

'It's as good a time as any. Besides, we've made it a trad
ition. Remember, each time you're nominated for an Oscar,
you get a new convertible. And if you
win
the Oscar you get
a brand new Rolls.'

'Louie.'

Something in her voice stopped him and his grin faded.

She saw his disappointment and reached up to his neck,
consoling him with an affectionate touch. 'It's not that I don't appreciate it, Louie,' she said softly. 'It's just
...
we
have
to
cut back. I just found out that there's no other choice.'

'What did you find out?' he asked in a voice devoid of inflec
tion.

She could see that he was starting to get angry. She could always tell when he got that stony look. 'I can't talk about it
now, Marilee's interviewing me and I have to get back to her.
We'll talk later. Over dinner.'

He gestured toward the car. 'Then you're sure you don't
want it?'

She ran her fingertips lightly across the curvaceous fender. The metal felt warm from the sun. How curiously tempting a
concoction of metal could be, she was thinking. Then she
quickly snatched her hand away and thrust the keys at Louis.
She shook her head. 'We can't,' she said quietly. 'Please try
to understand.' She attempted a weak smile. 'I’ll always
remember this car, since you went to the trouble to get it. But
we can't keep it.'

He turned away and she took his arm and turned him to
face her.

'It's the thought that counts, Louie. Now please take it
back.' She rose on tiptoe and brushed a kiss against his cheek,
but his expression didn't change.

'Have it your way,' he said through tight lips, and tossed
the keys on the car seat.

Tamara took a deep breath. 'I know you're upset with me, and if the circumstances didn't warrant it, I wouldn't ask you
to do this.'

'Sure, I'll drive it back to the dealer. What the hell?' He began to tug at the wide satin ribbon. 'My wife tells me to
jump, I jump.'

She flinched and stood there wordlessly, watching, hating herself for having burst his bubble, knowing how much he
enjoyed giving her gifts. But there was no way they could
afford a new car now. Not after what Clifford Harriman had
told her. She wished there was something more she could say,
some way to penetrate Louis' quiet anger, but there wasn't
time. Tonight would come soon enough.

Sighing softly, she went back inside and got a pair of dark
glasses. She slipped them on her nose. She should have
thought of them earlier. At least she would be able to let her
guard down somewhat, since Marilee surely didn't have X-ray
vision.

As she walked back out to the terrace, Tamara could faintly
hear the slam of a car door and the screeching of tyres. The
car was going back to the dealer. For a moment she lingered
under the shady loggia, seeking strength and calm by inhaling
deeply. It was a trick Louis had taught her when she'd first
begun to act. Deep breaths. Filling the lungs completely, then
letting the air out very slowly. One . . . Two . . . Three . . .
There. She concentrated on her delicate facial muscles, relaxing them, and they seemed to change under the skin, creating
a carefree expression. For a moment, at least, the unhappiness
of the scene with Louis was shoved to the recesses of her mind. Armed with a serene expression, she could face Marilee again.

'Is everything all right on the home front?' the columnist
asked Tamara as she sat back down.

'Yes, fine.'

'Esperanza brought us the drinks. Yours is right there, beside your chair. You know, she's really quite a sweet,
uncomplicated girl once you dig under that inscrutable pass
iveness of hers. We had a nice little chat.'

Oh-oh, Tamara thought, her internal antennae going to full
alert. 'Did you learn anything interesting?'

'Actually, not as much as I would have liked.' Marilee
smiled.

Tamara reached for her glass of iced tea and took a sip. It
was too strong and extremely bitter, and she hid her grimace.
'You've been holding out on me, Marilee,' she chided almost
lazily as she put the glass down. 'Why didn't you mention my
Oscar nomination?'