Page 3 of Frankly, My Dear

Georgia’s mouth dropped open in surprise, and she stopped abruptly before the porte cochere entrance of one of the narrow shotgun houses. Over her shoulder, Selene could see the inner courtyard so prevalent in the Vieux Carre, teeming with lush tropical foliage and cool fountains.

Amazed, Georgia just stared at her, at first. Then she started to laugh…and laugh…and laugh. “Oh…oh…I don’t believe it…a voodoo curse!” She laughed so hard she had to lean against a brick wall, holding her sides. “Lordy, girl, you’re gonna make me pee my pants.”

Selene ignored her agent’s ridicule and went on, “She’s carrying around a little doll that looks just like me.”

Georgia’s saucer-like eyes widened even more. “Why?”

“God knows! But one day she twisted its arm, and I swear I felt the pain myself.”

“Get real! This is the twentieth century. People don’t practice voodoo anymore. Girl, I can’t believe you let Lilith worm her way under your skin.”

“Well, you’d get the willies, too, if someone said you wouldn’t be around much longer, and then smiled in a really wicked way.”

“Selene, stop it. Right now!” Georgia admonished, shaking a long finger in her face. “It’s all in your head. Besides, Lilith is known for her wicked smile.” Georgia burst out laughing again.

“It’s not funny.”

“Yes, it is,” Georgia choked out, wiping her eyes with a tissue. “Okay, okay. Tell me all about it. I can see you’re taking this curse business seriously.”

“Well, the day after Lilith told me about her curse, someone ransacked my hotel room. Nothing was missing except my silver hairbrush.”

“The one I gave you for Christmas? The one I bought at bloody damn expensive Tiffany’s?” Georgia asked indignantly.

Selene nodded. “Then the makeup technician discovered a snake in my cosmetic case the next day.”

“A snake! Holy hell!” Georgia shivered with distaste, her face turning somber. “This is serious, Selene. I’m sorry I laughed.”

“That’s all right. I’d probably laugh, too. In fact, I did…after I screamed the whole hotel down.”

“Did you call the police?”

“No. It was nonpoisonous, and apparently snakes are common in these parts. I couldn’t bring myself to complain to the police about something as silly as a voodoo curse. But that’s not all. I found a disgusting ball of black wax on my pillow last night. The hotel maid was horrified, called it a voodoo gris-gris. And I just know that the strands of dark hair in it came from my stolen brush.”

“And you think Lilith is responsible for all this?”

“Yes. She’s been a problem for me ever since she joined the agency two years ago.”

“I thought she’d lightened up.”

Selene shook her head. “I knew she was upset after We did that cover story on me earlier this year, but her jealousy is totally out of control now. When Phillipe asked me to wear the premier gown in his collection for this shoot, she threw a tantrum like you wouldn’t believe.”

Georgia frowned, deep in thought.

“Also, someone told me that she’s seeing Devon.”

“Well, that explains it then. He’s probably feeding her jealousy.”

“Do you think he’d be so vindictive?”

Georgia shrugged. “You know how upset he was when you made him move out.”

“Well, I’ll be done here in a few days. I just needed to talk to someone…a friend. I’m sure I can handle Lilith.”

But Selene wasn’t so sure two days later when she awakened feeling exhausted and out-of-sorts. Thank goodness, today was the last day of the shoot.

An hour later, as Selene made her way down the wide staircase of the ballroom where they were shooting, she felt like a character from Gone With the Wind. She smiled inwardly at her romantic thoughts. Gee, maybe Georgia is right. I do keep thinking about that movie.

She carried her all-important makeup case, having learned long ago to go nowhere without her own cosmetics. Selene felt as utterly feminine as Scarlett as she glided toward the ballroom, wearing the showstopper—a marvelous white, off-the-shoulder gown Phillipe had designed especially for his Women of the Old South collection. Dozens of yards of silk and lace undulated on the wide skirt as she gracefully edged closer to Georgia. Even though Phillipe was showing his ballgowns with hoops, most modern women would probably wear them without.