Love at Any Cost Read Online Free PDF

her hair, Cassie pursed herlips in a parental manner. “There’s nothing wrong with being both smart and pretty, young lady, now is there?”
    â€œI guess not,” Meg said with half-giggle, half-sigh, “but let’s not hold our breath, okay?” She fingered the sheer sleeve of Cassie’s dress with a look of awe. “You’ve grown up, too, Cass—you’re a vision in that dress.” Her smile went flat. “Which proves quite neatly that Mark Chancellor is an idiot.”
    â€œThat seems to be the general consensus,” Cassie said with a crooked smile. She tucked a hand to her cousin’s waist. “Are Aunt Cait and Alli downstairs?”
    â€œThey are, and Mother’s dying to see you since you were napping when we came home, but Uncle Logan waylaid her in the foyer, so she sent me up to fetch you instead.”
    â€œWaylaid her?” Cassie grinned as the two made their way down the plush carpeted hall toward the curved staircase, arm in arm. “So Uncle Logan’s still smitten, is he?”
    Meg giggled, skittering the gleaming mahogany steps that swept down the far side of the foyer. Color-rich oil paintings graced cream satin-style papered walls, descending along with rose-carpeted steps. “More than ever, but whenever Alli or I mention Uncle Logan’s obvious affection for her, she simply says he’s her brother-in-law and friend and nothing more. Claims Daddy was the love of her life and she’s found contentment as a widow.” Meg peeked at Cassie beneath thick lashes, a glimmer of sympathy in her eyes. “But you know Uncle Logan—he never gives up. Comes for dinner once a week and Mother lets him because she thinks we need a male influence in our lives.” All but hopping from the last step, Meg whirled around with a sparkle of tease. “Although I’m not sure Mother thinks Uncle Logan is the proper influence to have.”
    Cassie chuckled. “Proper influence, no, but a doting uncle wholoves his family?” She tweaked Meg’s waist. “He’s certainly got Aunt Cait there.”
    Her smile softened when she entered the parlour, and for Cassie, it was a step back in time. A summer breeze drifted through a tall bay window, carrying a distinct whiff of eucalyptus from Aunt Cait’s garden and the crisp scent of the sea. For a brief moment, Cassie paused to savor the pungent smell of lemon oil on cherrywood furniture buffed to a gleam and the familiar fragrance of Aunt Cait’s perfume—a calming mix of lavender with a tease of spicy clove. Floor-to-ceiling sheers fluttered against windows onto Powell Street where the clang of the trolley and the whir of the cables could be heard. True to her name, the family parrot, Miss Behave, would emit the occasional squawk or insult, tutored, no doubt, by Blake or Uncle Logan. The sights, the smells, the sounds of family flooded Cassie’s senses with wonderful memories of piano sing-alongs, Uncle Logan’s candlelight ghost stories, and games of hide-and-seek in a narrow three-story mansion on Nob Hill.
    â€œCassie!” Her five-year-old cousin Maddie hopped off Uncle Logan’s lap in front of the hearth where he and Aunt Cait playfully squabbled over cribbage. “I missed you!” she said, bounding forward, auburn curls springing while her giggles sprang off satin-striped walls of champagne-colored wallpaper.
    â€œAwk, awk, Cassie’s a brat, Cassie’s a brat.” Miss B.’s greeting, tutored by Blake long ago, coaxed a grin that took her back to better times. With an unladylike grunt that belied the dignity of her dress, she hefted the little girl in her arms, and the sweet smell of talcum powder and Pear’s soap tickled her nose. “Ohhhh, I missed you, too, Madeline McClare,” she said in a gravelly voice that made her cousin giggle. “Especially games of Marco Polo at Sutro