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The Cat's Paw

9781465665447
213 pages
Library of Alexandria
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Overview
Miss Susan Baird let her gaze rest on her companion in speculative silence. Apparently, her last jibe had failed of its mark, judging from the man’s unchanged expression. With a vexed sigh she proceeded to pour out another cup of tea. They were an oddly matched pair. Miss Baird, still erect in spite of her seventy years, her small slight figure tucked into one corner of the carved, throne-shaped chair which was her habitual seat when in her library, appeared dwarfed in comparison with the broad-shouldered, powerfully built man who faced her across the tea table. “So you wish to marry my niece, Kitty,” she remarked. “You!” And she broke into shrill laughter. Her companion flushed hotly. Her ridicule cut deeper than had any of her previous comments. “I intend to marry her,” he answered, and the stubborn determination of his tone matched his set features. “So!” Miss Baird shrugged her thin shoulders. “You forget, my friend, that until Kitty is twenty-five years of age, I am her legal guardian, and that she is absolutely dependent upon me.” “You give her a home and let her work that she may contribute to your support,” he retorted. At his words her eyes blazed in fury and her talonlike fingers fumbled in the silver bowl for the few pieces of sugar it contained. “I am her only blood relation. It is fitting and proper that she aid me in my old age,” she exclaimed. “My poverty,” she paused, and a certain dignity crept into both voice and manner, “is my misfortune.” “And Kitty,” he began, but got no further. “We will not discuss Kitty,” she announced with finality. “Wait,” as he started to interrupt her. “Such discussion is totally unnecessary, for Kitty will never marry you.”

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