Lindsey sat up and watched Denise stroll around the room, examining everything. The woman walked over to the closet and opened the door. She pulled out a dress, the emerald one that Lindsey had worn that first night out in the garden.
“I suppose my sister bought all this for you?” Denise asked. “Either that, or selling insurance is more lucrative than I thought.”
“Camilla did buy that for me.” Lindsey crossed her arms. “So what if she did?”
“I’m not surprised. My sister always had such gaudy tastes.”
Lindsey fumed. She’d had it with this woman. “What do you want?”
Denise stuck the
dress back into the closet and shut the door. “Do you know what they used to call a woman like you? A woman who lives off the riches of a wealthy lover in exchange for providing certain other… benefits?” She returned to stand at the foot of Lindsey’s bed. “A kept woman. It’s more polite than ‘gold-digger’ I suppose. Or something even more unpleasant.”
It wasn’t hard for Lindsey to figure out what Denise meant. “I’m not after Camilla’s money.”
Denise scoffed. “Someone young and pretty like you? There’s no reason for you to be with Millie otherwise.”
“Did it ever occur to you that I like her? That I’m attracted to her? That I want to be with her?”
“Would you still want to be with her if it wasn’t for her money?”
“Yes,” Lindsey said.
“I don’t believe you.”
“It’s a good thing that your opinion doesn’t matter to me or Camilla one bit.”
Denise gave a derisive chuckle. “You’ve got more bite than I expected. Is that how you managed to fool my sister? You manipulated her into thinking you actually like her?”
“I’m not manipulating her,” Lindsey said. “Do you really think anyone could manipulate Camilla?”
“Well, you’ve obviously done something. It’s clear that she’s fallen hard for you.”
“Did you just come in here to make snide remarks about me?”
“No. I came to tell you to stop screwing around with my sister.”
Lindsey’s brows drew together. Could it be that Denise was actually worried about Camilla, and not the family money? “Look, I’m not screwing around with Camilla. I’m not after her money. Our relationship has only just started, but I’m serious about her. Really.”
“All right,” Denise said. “Let’s pretend for a minute that I believe you. You’ve known each other for a couple of months. You’ve been living together, here, for most of that time. Right now, you like her. But what’s going to happen when the shine rubs off? You know what she’s like, don’t you? Temperamental, moody, controlling? You know what living with her is like?”
“Yes, but-”
“And you know about her illness, right? About how she can barely live a normal life?”
“That’s not true. Her life is still a normal one. And it’s not a problem for me.” Sure, Camilla had had a few flare-ups in the time Lindsey had been living with her. But Camilla managed just fine.
“You say that now, but you might not feel that way in a few months’ time. She’s what, 20 years older than you?”
“I’m 23,” Lindsey said. Not that Denise cared about the details.
“You’re still so young. What’s going to happen when you decide that things are too hard? When you decide that no amount of money is worth being locked away in this manor with an emotionally stunted old woman?”
“That’s-”
“Because it will happen. And Millie will be crushed.”
“That’s not going to happen!”