Her Counterfeit Husband (5 page)

“No.  I’m sorry that I said or did something in the past to make you think you can’t be more personable with me.”

She paused, and though she didn’t make eye contact with him, he detected the unshed tears in her eyes.

“I don’t know what kind of husband I’ve been to you, but I’d like it if we could start over.  I love your name, and I’d like to call you by it, if that’s all right?”

A tear slid down her cheek, and she quickly brushed it away.  “I can’t.  I’m sorry, but I can’t.  You must refer to m
e as ‘Your G
race’ and I must refer to you as…
as…
”

“Your G
race?” he filled in for her.

She gulped and finished applying the ointment.  Once she placed a fresh bandage over his wound, there was
a knock at the door.  “I’ll be
right back,” she whispered before she stood up and wiped her hands on the cloth.

He watched her as she left, hoping he hadn’t said anything that made
things worse
.  She made her way quietly
to the door and opened it a crack
.  He could
n’t see who was on the other side of the door
, but he saw her nod and prom
ise
the person
she’d talk to him
shortly. 
When she turned back to him, she picked up the cloth and placed it in the bowl.

“Are you leaving?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Will you be back?”

“Yes.”

“When will you be back?” he pressed.

“Soon.”

“How soon is soon?”

She groaned.  “Soon.”

After a moment, he asked, “You won’t stop coming to see me will you?”

“I come in to check on you every hour.  What makes you think
I’ll stop
?”

He shrugged.  “Because I ask too many questions?”

At that, she smiled.  “I’ll be back
before the clock chimes six
.  I promise.”

Relieved, he returned her smile, glad his angel would be back soon.

A
nna shut the door of the bedchamber and followed Appleton down the hallway and down the stairs.  She clutched the bowl and damp cloth, fighting the urge to
insist he tell her what he learned about the stranger right away.  She dreaded what he might have discovered, but she needed to know.  If the stranger already had a wife, he needed to go back to her.

When she and Appleton reached the drawing room, he shut the door and she p
laced the bowl on the desk.  Turning to him, she asked, “What is it? 
What did you learn about the stranger?”

He shrugged.  “Nothing.”

“Nothing?  But did you show the people who live around the forest my husband’s portrait?”

“I did, but no one recognized him.  It’s like he
came out of nowhere.”

“Is it poss
ible that you ran across the reprobates
who left him in the forest?”

“It’s very possible, Your G
race.” Appleton took a de
ep breath and released it.  “Since they want
him dead
, they
wouldn’t dare mention
they know him.”

“So there is no wife?”

“No.”

Relieved, she sank into a chair and relaxed.  She hadn’t been aware of how anxious she’d been for the past three days, worrying that someone was going to tell her that
she kidnapped the stranger,
that his wife and children needed him.  Now there would be no reason to send him away, and really, why would it b
e to his advantage to return if Appleton
took him back
to the forest?  He
wouldn’t know where to go, and those men who wanted him dead would most likely fi
nish the job
.

It seemed that the safest recourse they had was to keep
him here
.  He’d pretend to be her husband and protect her from Lord Mason.  She’d give him her husband’s title and name, and
protect him from
whoever wanted to kill him.  And the estate would be better off without Lord Mason running it into the ground with his notorious spending habits.
  Having him here was the best thing for everyone.

“Your G
race?” Appleton asked.

Unaware he’d asked her a question, she turned her gaze in his direction.  “I’m sorry, Appleton.  What did you want to know?”

“I wondered if we should proceed with our plan and get the gentleman upstai
rs acquainted with being a duke?
”

She nodded and stood up.  “Yes.  I see no reason to delay it.”

“Very good, Your G
race
.” He picked up the bowl.  “I’ll take care of t
his and assure the others that H
i
s G
race is on the mend.
”

Just as she was ready to thank him, the footman ope
ned the door and bowed.  “Your G
race, Lord Mason ha
s come by for a visit
.”

She cringed.
 
Of all times for him to show up! 
Knowing she couldn’t delay seeing Lord Mason without arousing his suspicions, she nodded her consent to let him into the drawing room.

Lord Mason
came in
and bowed.  She gave the obligatory curtsy but refused to make eye contact with him.

“I came to inquire after my dear brother’s health,” he said, hands clasped behi
nd his back and his eyebrows raised in interest
.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and squared her shoulders back.  If she was going to lie, she needed to make it as convincing as possible.  “Y
ou’ll be happy to know he’s
on the mend.”

A flicker of disappointment crossed his face before he smiled.  “Is he?  Then this is good news.”

“Yes.” She cleared her throat.  “Yes, it is.”
Though not for you, I suppose.

“May I see him?”

“Oh, well…” She glanced at Appleton who gave a slight nod.  “Of course,
you may, Lord Mason.  I’m sure His G
race will be delighted to see you.”
She held her hand out to Appleton.  “I’ll take the bowl upstairs and dab his forehead with some cool water.”

Lord Mason chuckled.  “Please tell me you don’t do menial tasks as the mistress of the estate.”

“I don’t consider caring for my husband a menial task,” she told Lord Mason as she retrieved the bowl and cloth.  “I enjoy it.”

He crossed his arms in amusement.  “Do you?”

Lifting her chin in the air, she replied, “When it’s a task done out of love, it gives one a sense of joy.”

“If you say so…” He chuckled again
and
motioned to the doorway.  “Ladies first.”

She forced her feet forward, acutely aware of the way his eyes scanned the length of her
body
as she passed him.  Ignoring him, she strode down the hall and up the stairs.  She’d given him way too much power in the
past
.  Well, that
wouldn’t be the case any longer
.  From no
w on, she’d never let him see any weakness in her
.  He wasn’t going to take her husband’s place.  The kind stranger was, and now that she had his protection, Lord Mason couldn’t touch her.

She reached the top of the stairs and made it to the bedchamber.  Since Lord Mason insisted on walking too close behind her, she didn’t bother to pause and check to make sure the stranger was awake before
entering the room
.

The stranger glanced
her way and smiled.  “You came sooner than I hoped.”

Lord Mason stepped by her and
strode over to his bed
.  “My dear, dear brother!  I hear you are feeling better.”

He
looked between her and Lord Mason who threw his arms wide open as if he planned to hug him then let out a sigh of happiness and dropped his arms to his side.

“To think the last time we talked, you looked as if you were ready to take that first step into eternity.  But here you are, and you’re on the mend.” Lord Mason went over to the table by the bed and lifted the candle so he could get a better look at him.  “However, the last time I saw
you
I don’t recall you being covered in bruises.  What in the world happened?”

Before he
could speak, Anna cleared her throat and took a step toward the bed.  “He fell, Lord Mason.”

Turning to her
, he asked, “Fell?”

“Yes
.  He developed a fever, and when it was at its worst,
he grew delirious.  I tried to keep him in bed, but he thought he needed to ride his
horse so he could
singlehandedly defeat
Napoleon.”

“He thought he was going to defeat Napoleon?
  All on his own?
”

“I told you the fever made him delirious.”

Lord Mason arched an eyebrow.  “That’s rather
strange.  When I talked to him
, he was
rather
lucid.”

She shrugged.  “It happened suddenly.  There was no preparing for it.”

“All right.  So he decided to be the hero and then what?”

Realizing that the stranger was watching her—and believing everything she was saying, she
took a deep breath and proceeded with her
and Appleton’s
lie.  “He left the bedcha
mber and fell down the stairs.”

“A fall down the stairs?” Lord Mason’s eyes grew wide in what she suspected was false horror. 
“Then my brother is a very fortunate
man indeed, for such a fall should have killed him.” He turned to the stranger and added, “Usually, a fall down the stairs would break one’s neck.”

“It seems like I know how to take a fall,”
he
replied.

Anna and Lord Mason turned their attention to him.  “Pardon?” Lord Mason asked him.

“It was a joke,” he
said.  “I survived the fall down the stairs because I know how to take a fall.” When neither of them laughed, he sighed.  “Appare
ntly, it wasn’t a very good one
.”

“I’ve never known you to joke,” Lord Mason replied.  With a chuckle, he added, “Now we know why.  You’re no good at it.”

Anna decided if Lord Mason was going to learn about his amnesia, she should do it before the stranger had the chance.  “
The fall did more damage than you realize.  It was because of it that he lost his memory.”

“His memory?” Lord Mason
asked, his eyes wide.

“Yes.  He doesn’t remember anything.”

Lor
d Mason leaned over him
and furrowed his eyebrows.  “This isn’t another bad joke is it?”

“I’m afraid not.  I don’t remember you.”

“Really?”

Anna set the bowl down on the table, hoping to break the tension in the room as Lord Mason tried to stare
him
down in a silent move to intimidate him.  “He not only lost his memory, but he tires easily
,” she said
. 
“Healing is hard on the body.  He has several bruises, cuts and broken ribs.  H
e needs plenty of rest.”

“I’m sure he does,” Lord Mason snickered.

She frowned. 
She realized he was skeptical over what happened, but it almost seemed like he was playing cat and mouse
with them
.

Lord Mason gave him
a good j
ab in the side, and he
winced.  “Oh, forgive me, dear brother.  I make it a habit of playfully nudging you in the side.  We’ve done it since we were children.  I’d have your wife verify this, but it’s something s
he doesn’t know about
.
  It’s a shame you don’t remember it.
”