Email:
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Not bad for thirty-one and three
children. But then she
should be in pretty good shape. She
had worked out for three hours a day since giving birth in
March. She didnt even have
any stretch marks. Her body seemed
as trim and fit as it had been when she was only
eighteen.
Thank goodness for John Grey and the mystical spring he had shown her in
the depths of darkest
A sound at the door broke her reverie.
Yes? she responded.
Miss Larra, said a musical voice that Larra knew
well. I have your daughter
as you requested.
Come in, Larra instructed, pulling on a silken
robe. The door opened and
Larras maidservant, Sarah entered, her
Larra bounced the child on her knee, and thought of her other children, nine
year old James, and four year old Lin
Yao. Each born of different fathers,
as little Jane was. She reflected
on the various loves of her life.
Her first love James Allenby, the white hunter, who had been killed
in Africa after fathering her oldest child; then Tabin, the Mongol warrior,
the only man she had married, and father of Lin Yao; and finally John Grey,
the mysterious apeman who had saved her life on more than one
occasion. It was Grey who had
fathered Jane, much to Larras
relief. During her last adventure,
she had been raped by the high priest of the Ullabomba and on finding
herself pregnant had waited nine suspenseful months
for her daughter to be born.
She was alone in
A few days ago, she had been summoned to
She was interrupted in her play with her daughter by a second knock at the
door. It was the downstairs
maid. Miss Larra, there
is a strange young woman downstairs.
She claims she has come to see you about a
job.
Larra frowned. She had not advertised
any job position on her staff.
Are you sure she wants to see me, and not the
butler? I did not advertise for
any personal staff.
That is what I thought maam, but she insisted that she must meet
with you.
Larra frowned and handed the baby to
Sarah. This was most
strange. Larra did not recruit
members of her staff by advertising in any
case. She had always selected
them personally. Who is
she, and what does she look like? she
inquired.
Her name is Melissa Gallant,
maam. She is quite
young. Barely eighteen I would
guess. And
very pretty.
And
tall.
Taller than you,
maam.
Larra raised her eyebrows. She
stood five-feet-ten.
Much taller than most women of her time
period. She would have
to meet this young woman. I
will dress first, Madeline, she said to the
maid. "Ask Miss Gallant to wait,
and offer her tea. I will be
down shortly.
Melissa Gallant paced nervously in the parlor of Larras palatial estate
house. She felt decidedly foolish
and impetuous. Suppose the famous
explorer and archeologist refused to see
her? What
then? She would have traveled
all the way from
You want to be what? her father had asked
incredulously.
An archeologist,
Daddy.
You must be joking. I send
you off to the best English finishing school and you come back full of outlandish
ideas of traipsing around the world with a woman whose moral standards are
dubious to say the
least.
She is also a woman of low moral standards, who has had at least three
children out of wedlock, and not all of them of her own
race. Her father suddenly
seemed to remember himself. He
flushed. In any case this
is not a subject I wish to discuss with
you. I will hear no more if
it. He turned and left
the room.
Melissa realized that she had overstepped her
mark. In her fathers mind,
young women were not supposed to discuss such things as sex or human
relations. To him,
And yet, Melissa was fascinated by Larra and her
adventures. She had read all
of Larras books, and had avidly followed accounts of her adventures
in the newspapers and magazines of the
day. It was her ambition to be
just like her, but there was no way she could make her father or
mother
understand. They had raised
her in the expectation that she would do what every young woman of her social
class did. She would get a good
but useless education; learn proper manners and morals; find a suitable marriage
partner; and marry and produce well-mannered
grandchildren. She was not expected
to her use brain or develop any of her natural
talents.
But Melissa did not fit their mold.
Where her parents were conservative and traditional, she was outgoing
and intelligent. She fought against
the constraints of the society of the
1930s. The role her parents had
chosen for her was not to her liking.
She wanted something more out of life than being some mans arm
ornament.
She had learned from the newspapers that Larra was in
Miss Gallant, is it? The voice was cultured, deeper than most
womens voices, and almost hypnotic in its
power. If Melissa had been a
man she would have found it incredibly
alluring.
Startled out of her thoughts, Melissa merely
stared. A vision stood in the
doorway of the parlor.
She appeared younger than Melissa thought she
would. There was a slight Asian
cast to her face as accented by her high
cheekbones. Melissa knew that
this was due to Larras one-quarter Japanese
heritage. Her skin appeared velvet
smooth and unblemished. She did
not appear to be wearing any makeup, and yet her facial features were
striking. Dazzling violet eyes
gazed out from under perfectly arched
eyebrows. Her nose was straight
and delicate, and her full lips, pouting and
inviting. Melissa realized that
if she had been a man she probably would have fallen in love with
Larra stepped into the room, stepping with antelope-like
grace. Before her was a young
girl simply dressed in a light blue blouse and dark
skirt. Her
shoulder length hair was a deep chestnut
brown. Larra saw that she was
very pretty. She was, as Madeline
had stated, very tall. But she
carried herself well. There was
no hint of schoolgirl awkwardness.
Her height was somewhat offset by a perfect figure highlighted by
long legs, with perfectly turned calves and full high
breasts. Deep brown eyes, now
wide with astonishment completed a picture of feminine
loveliness.
Noting her confused response, Larra at once switched to
French. Or is it Mademoiselle
Gallant, she said giving Melissas last name the French
pronunciation.
C'est Gallant, answered Melissa, using the English
form of her name, but otherwise answering in
French. It was a language she
had learned as part of her gentile education in the elite girls school
she had attended for twelve of her eighteen
years.
I am told you have come seeking
employment. But I have not advertised
for any help. What do you have
to offer that I would find attractive?
I wish to be an archeologist," gushed Melissa, like
you. I have read all your books
and have read all of the writings of the great
archeologists. Ive read
Schliemann and Carter, and Gann, and Marshall, and even
Andrews.
Andrews is a paleontologist, interrupted Larra, not an
archeologist.
Well, yes, but Im interested in that
too. Ive always thought
dinosaurs to be fascinating.
Larra smiled inwardly at the girls
eagerness. Melissa reminded her
of another young woman who had come to see her a few years ago, her friend
Katie Redell, who had turned out to be a tremendous
asset. For
her enthusiasm and courage if nothing
else.
And you parents? asked Larra.
What do they think of your chosen
career?
Well, they
I mean my father
Melissa
stammered.
They dont know you are here do
they?
No, relied
Melissa hanging her
head.
Then impulsively, she reached out and took Larras
hand. Please,
This time Larra could not help smiling
openly. She almost
laughed.
Youre laughing at me, Melissa said
accusingly.
No, said Larra.
Its just that you remind me of someone I
know.
While she had been talking with the girl, Larra had been mulling the situation
over in her mind. She could use
an assistant. All of her regular
colleagues were otherwise occupied.
Although Melissa was young, she was not much younger than several
of her companions were when they had first joined
her. She was not much younger
than Larra had been for that matter when she had embarked on her first
adventure.
Melissa held her breath. Larra
had not spoken for several seconds and was clearly thinking over what she
had said.
Alright, Larra said finally.
Ill give you a chance.
Im leaving on an important expedition in a few days and that
will give me a chance to judge your
usefulness. But you must promise
me to write a nice letter to your parents explaining what you have
done.
The name is Larra. Get
rid of the
No, Miss
I mean Larra. I
would be glad to stay here.
Ill even sleep in the attic if you dont have much
room.
I think I can squeeze you in, Larra
smiled. The house had six bedrooms,
not counting the servants quarters.
She called to the maid and asked Madeline to show Melissa to one of
the guest rooms. Do you
have any luggage?
Just this, said Melissa holding up her
handbag.
Hmmm, well have to get you some
clothes. Go with Madeline so
that you know where your room is and then report back to
me. Ill be in the morning
room. You can join me there for
breakfast. Well start working
right away.
Melissa almost skipped out of the room.
She was sure that Larra would accept
her. Shed work her head
off. As for her parents, she
was sure that they would understand.
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