The Lady Has a Past (Burning Cove #5) - Amanda Quick Page 0,45

come true.” Janet sighed. “But I really have to be practical. I’m going to need a financial backer. Someone like Mr. Billingsley.”

“The owner of this resort?”

“Right. He invited Madam Guppy to move her business here. Paid for everything—the new spa wing, the fancy treatment rooms, all the exercise equipment that Madam Guppy designed.”

“You should think about establishing an image, the way Madam Guppy has done. It sounds like you’ve already identified your market—socialites and women with money. Now you need to design an eye-catching logo and concoct a signature product like Violet perfume.”

Janet paused the brush in midair. “Wow. You really know a lot about business, Mrs. Cage.”

“I was raised in a business-minded family.” Lyra reminded herself that she was not there to listen to a young woman dream big dreams. Time to change the course of the conversation. “I think you will be very successful when you do go out on your own. You obviously have a talent for the skin care business. You understand the importance of hydration.”

“Proper hydration is absolutely critical.”

“My San Francisco acquaintance was not the only person who recommended you,” Lyra continued.

“Really?” Janet glowed. “A guest here at the resort, perhaps?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact. I didn’t get her name. We met in the dining room last night. I complimented her on how good her complexion looked. She said she’d had it done by you.”

“I had several clients yesterday. I wonder which one said such nice things about my services.”

“I don’t know her name, either, but she told me she had asked for you because another lady had mentioned you, a very fashionable woman who had lived in New York and was an excellent judge of quality when it came to spa services.”

“New York,” Janet said, her tone reverent. “I remember a client with a posh New York accent. She was very elegant. Tipped quite generously.”

“I wonder if she is still here at the resort.”

“Oh, no. I heard she checked out in the middle of the night.”

Lyra shivered.

“Are you cold, Mrs. Cage?” Janet said.

“I’m fine,” Lyra said quickly. “Just felt a bit of a draft, that’s all. Pity your New York client was unable to book a second facial. You missed out on another generous tip.”

“Yes.”

This time Janet’s response was crisp and final. It was clear she did not wish to continue the conversation.

“I wonder why she cut short her vacation,” Lyra mused.

“A family emergency, I believe.” Janet put the brush aside. “Now, then, we will let that set for fifteen minutes. The herbal therapy is designed to condition the skin for the next step in the facial.”

“There’s another step?”

Janet brightened again. “Oh, yes, the most important part of the procedure. You will slip on one of Madam Guppy’s specially designed face masks. It will smooth out all those little lines and wrinkles.”

Lyra felt the icy touch of spectral fingers. “What does this mask look like?”

“I have one right here.”

Janet opened a drawer and took out a violet rubber mask that had been fashioned to fit over the head and face. There were holes cut into it for the eyes, nose, and mouth. It looked like something out of a horror movie.

“I’m going to skip the mask,” Lyra said.

“There’s nothing to worry about,” Janet assured her. “It fits quite tightly and is somewhat uncomfortable, but one wears it for only thirty minutes. The results are worth it, believe me.”

“No rubber mask,” Lyra said.

The only thing she could imagine that would be worse was being locked in a coffin.

“Very well.” Janet exhaled a long sigh. “The masseuse warned me that you had strong opinions about certain procedures.”

“That would be the masseuse who tried to beat me to a pulp,” Lyra said. “What’s next on my schedule?”

Janet frowned and picked up a sheet of paper. “I see you’re booked for the Guppy Body Sculptor.”

“How does that work?”

“You will be positioned between two sets of electrically driven metal rollers that will glide up and down your body from your calves to your waist. The rollers stimulate and tone the thighs and hips.”

“It sounds like a mangle, one of those machines people use to iron sheets and tablecloths. I could get crushed between the rollers.”

Janet chuckled. “Nonsense. Madam Guppy designed the Body Sculptor to ensure that it conforms to the shape of the female body.”

“I’ll warn you right now that if I get flattened, Mr. Cage will be very annoyed.”

An hour later, feeling like a freshly ironed bedsheet, Lyra was ushered into the exercise room. Strange, fearsome machines