Read Too Wild to Wed for Free Online Page B

reluctantly as it dawned on her that her friend was genuinely fascinated. In the subdued pub lighting she could see the intent interest in Molly's eyes.
    The two young women had met shortly after Letty had arrived at Tipton College. They had discovered immediately that they had a great deal in common in terms of personal temperament, intellect and interests. They even shared a few physical similarities. Both wore glasses and both were twenty-nine years old.
    Beyond those salient features, the two were quite different in appearance. Letty was a conservative dresser who favored button-down shirts with her jeans and always wore a suit and pumps to class; Molly Sweet opted for bright colors and off-the-wall styles. Tonight she had on a pair of black jeans, boots and an oversized, violently chartreuse-green knit top that glided over her slender frame all the way to her thighs. The flashy, whimsically designed earrings she wore were so long they brushed her shoulders.
    Letty's dark chestnut mane was almost always anchored neatly at the nape of her neck, but Molly's golden brown hair was cut in a short sassy style that suited her vivid blue-green eyes and delicate features.
    Although the two had a lot in common, their intellectual interests had taken them down different career paths. Letty's single-minded obsession with medieval studies had led her to specialize in research and teaching in the field of history. But Molly's eclectic interests together with a host of quirky enthusiasms had led her to choose a more generalized field. She was a reference librarian at Tipton College Library.
    Letty picked up a slice of peppered pizza. "It gives me the creeps just thinking about it."
    "What? The investigation?"
    Letty nodded, wrinkling her nose as she chewed. "The thought of somebody sneaking around behind me, following me, watching my every move, making notes. It just makes my skin crawl."
    "Actually," Molly said, looking thoughtful, "I would imagine there was very little, if any, of that sort of investigation. That's the way it was done years ago. Times have changed. Sometimes you spend so much of your life living in the medieval world, Letty, that I think you forget about the modern one. These days I'll bet investigations are done by computers."
    "Computers?"
    "Sure. The same way credit checks and reference checks are run. You can find out almost anything you want to know about someone if you know what you're doing with computers."
    Letty stared at her. "You could?"
    "I think so." Molly's brows rose. "Why are you looking at me like that? Is there an anchovy hanging out of my mouth?"
    "No, no, I was just thinking. Molly, you know a lot about computers. You search sophisticated data bases all the time when you do research for grad students and faculty."
    "Uh-huh. Academic-oriented data bases for the most part."
    "But you could get into others?"
    "Sure, although it's surprising what's available in the academic ones."
    "Would it be illegal?"
    "No. Some data bases are publicly accessible, some you pay a fee to search and, as a librarian, you'd be amazed at how many I could get into just by asking permission. What are you getting at?"
    Letty put down her unfinished slice of pizza . "Could you, hypothetically speaking, run a discreet little investigation on Xavier Augustine?"
    Molly's mouth fell open and she, too, put down her pizza. "Are you serious?"
    "Shush. Keep your voice down." Letty leaned over the table. "Is it possible?"
    Molly thought about it. "Theoretically and hypothetically speaking, yes, I imagine so. But do you think there's anything to find?"
    "Probably not." Letty sat back in disgust. "The man is so noble and so terribly conscious of doing everything in the right and proper fashion that his background is probably not much juicier than my own."
    Molly drummed her nails on the table. "I wouldn't be too sure of that. Xavier Augustine is a self-made man from all accounts. He didn't inherit money, he made it the hard way. Take it