Next Door to Romance Read Free

it perfectly clear that in her opinion they were selfish and inconsiderate to have kept me at home instead of paying for me to have some sort of training.'
    'Of all the cheek!' Tom said indignantly. 'So what did you say to that?'
    'I told her that, fortunately, we weren't all made the same way, and that I was perfectly happy working at home. And that's true, Tom. But it didn't impress her. She simply said that loyalty was a very charming characteristic, but that I mustn't take it so far that my own interests suffered. And that—' she drew a deep breath, 'was where I lost my temper!'
    'Small blame to you!' Tom declared. 'Old cat!'
    Lisa slipped her arm through his and gave it one of her impulsive hugs.
    'She is, isn't she? But all the same,
does
it do any good to tell a person just what you think of them like that?'
    'Perhaps not,' Tom admitted. 'But on the other hand, what would she have thought if you hadn't spoken your mind? That you were agreeing with her? She'd have made fine capital out of that! No, you had to do it, Lisa.'
    'I think I did,' she agreed. 'But what's worrying me is—will she say the same sort of thing to Mummy and Daddy—or to other people so that it gets round to them? It would make them so unhappy.'
    'Well—' Tom considered the matter in his usual deliberate way— 'she may talk—she's that sort. But then everybody knows she is, so precious few people take any notice of her malicious clap-trap. Least of all your people. They're much too sensible.'
    'They would be—if this was about anybody but me,' Lisa replied. 'But because it
is
me, then they could so easily begin to wonder if, perhaps, there was something in it—something to which they'd unintentionally blinded themselves—'
    'I see what you mean,' Tom acknowledged. 'Give me a moment or two to think that one out, Lisa.'
    'All right,' she agreed, and fell silent.
    They had left the buttercup field now and were skirting the edge of another where regular lines of tender green shoots were sprouting, and had almost reached the river before Tom came up with an idea.
    'How would it be if you
were
to get a job?'
    'But, Tom, I can't do that!' Lisa reminded him a little impatiently. 'I've got to be at home. You know perfectly well Chat though Mummy never makes a fuss about it, her arthritis really does make it quite impossible for her to do housework!'
    'Well, I can offer you a job which would mean that you could still be at home,' he told her.
    '
You
could, Tom?' Lisa said uncomprehendingly. 'But how?'
    Tom hesitated. He could, indeed, have offered her a job—a full-time one which would last so long as they both lived, and it was on the tip of his tongue to tell her so. But he put the temptation aside. The candid directness of Lisa's eyes convinced him that this would not be the time—if, indeed, there would ever be a time—
    'As my secretary-cum-assistant-cum-receptionist,' he explained with a crispness which entirely distracted Lisa's thoughts from the significance of that pause.
    Lisa's eyes widened in perplexity.
    'But I lend you a hand now—'
    'I know you do—and I don't know what I'd do without your help. But I need more now Teasdale's practically out of it. With the book work, for one thing—on a business footing, of course.'
    'I'm not sure I could do that,' Lisa said doubtfully. 'You know what a duffer I am over figures. Besides—'
    'Well?'
    'Well, I like helping you, Tom. So how could I possibly—'
    'Let me pay you for what you do?' Tom had no difficulty in following the way her thoughts had gone. 'Now, just you listen to me, my girl. Try to see it from my point of view. How do you think
I
feel, taking advantage of your friendship and good nature to get out of paying you a penny for all you do? And even more than that, how can I possibly ask you, very coolly, if you'd kindly do more
without
making it a business proposition? And before you answer one, get this clear. I'm not trying to make a job out of nothing just to suit you. I'd