Beautiful Lies Read Online Free PDF

hurry to get back to their hotel, stepped forward, slinging his bundle to the table. “We have to have this back by tomorrow morning. Early. Can you have it finished by then?”
    Tom joined him. The girl hadn’t answered. “She may not speak English,” he said softly.
    â€œI speak very good English.” The girl still didn’t look up. She had a musical voice, and although her words were accented, they were clear.
    Archer tapped his foot. “I don’t want a runaround. If you take them, they’d better be done on time.”
    Tom spoke. “Look, go back to the hotel. I’ll take care of this. Order something for both of us. I’ll join you in a few minutes.”
    â€œThere are plenty of laundries in Chinatown,” Archer warned as he headed for the door.
    Tom waited until his friend was gone before he spoke. “He’s in a hurry to eat. He doesn’t mean to be rude.”
    â€œAnd you are not in a hurry?”
    Tom was in no hurry at all. He had seen few beautiful women since arriving in Australia. He was certain there were many, but they didn’t live on the vast tracts of land that the Australians called stations, nor did they inhabit the gold fields. And Broome was heavily populated by men.
    This young woman, with her long black hair, her smooth ivory skin and feathery eyelashes, rivaled any beauty he’dever seen. Even with perspiration dotting her forehead and staining her clothes.
    Tom placed his bundle on the table beside Archer’s. “We wouldn’t ask you to have these finished so quickly, but we were just hired to work on a lugger, and we’re leaving in the morning. This is our last chance for clean clothes. Not that they’ll stay that way very long.”
    He smiled and hoped she would lift her eyes. She did, and her gaze was surprisingly candid. “I will do them tonight.”
    â€œYou’re very kind.” Despite the heat, he wanted to stay and gaze at her. He was reminded of the rare lovely Chinese women he had seen as a young boy. The merchants’ wives with their embroidered clothing and festive holiday headdresses, the servant girls in their drab tunics and trousers. This woman wore similar garb, a black cotton tunic with only a thin line of embroidery ringing the high collar. But the stark contrast to her skin and the accent of a silken braid falling over her shoulder made her even lovelier.
    She didn’t seem to be in a hurry, either. Perhaps she enjoyed the escape from the laundry tubs in the rear. “You are not from here?”
    He was pleased at the question. “No, I’m from California. And you? Have you always lived here?”
    â€œNo. I come here from China, just ten year ago.”
    â€œI miss California. Do you miss China?”
    â€œI return soon to marry a man from my village.”
    He felt an absurd stab of disappointment. “He’ll be a lucky man.” Color rose in her cheeks, and he knew he had overstepped the considerable boundaries between them. “I’m sorry.”
    â€œPerhaps that is how things are said in California.” She began to untie Archer’s bundle.
    Since Tom had already stepped into forbidden territory,he ventured a little farther. “No, in California I would say something like, are you sure you want to go all that way home to China when you could stay here and marry me?”
    The color deepened in her cheeks, but she smiled shyly. “My father does not let me talk to men. Now I understand.”
    â€œWhere is your father today?”
    â€œHe is ill and sleeping.”
    â€œI’m sorry. I hope he feels better soon.”
    She looked down at the clothes spread out in front of her now and named a price.
    â€œI’m sure that will be fine,” Tom said.
    â€œThe same for yours.”
    â€œBut you haven’t even counted mine. There might be more.”
    â€œThe same or less.”
    Clearly she didn’t want