"Then behave, Carolyn. Turn off the lure unless you really want the man you're luring."
The laugh was still in her voice when she asked, "But how can I behave myself when you've given me a love lotus, Charles?"
Farradyne's mind raced in a tight circle. He cursed his impulse to find out whether Carolyn were immune, because it had now led him into the problem of trying to square it with his role of a young and ambitious man who felt deep regard for her. He parried for time:
"Love lotus?"
"A real one."
"But you—I—you wore it all last night! It can't be."
"It is."
Farradyne felt almost certain that Carolyn did not know of Norma's visit, which had verified the hellflower's potency. "How can you tell?" he asked blankly. "You did not react, and I—"
"I'm immune," she said flatly. "Why did you give it to me, Charles?"
"I bought it for a gardenia, Carolyn. Hell, I can't tell 'em apart."