Her Counterfeit Husband (26 page)

“Jason?” Luke asked.

Forc
ing his mind off of Mason, he
turned to the chessboard
.  “Anna explained how to play the game, but I’m afraid I don’t remember all the rules.  Will you refresh my memory?”

“Certainly.”

Jason
listened
attentively
as Luke gave him the rules. 
By the way Luke talked, Jason gathered that Luke loved this game.  He probably played it any chance he got.  But as Jason followed the instructions, he didn’t think he cared much for the game.  He understood it had to do with strategy, but for some reason, it didn’t hold his attention as well as
he
expected.

Halfway through the game, he turned his gaze to Luke who was studying the board, carefully plotting his next move.  Clearing his throat, Jason asked, “I used to enjoy this game, didn’t I?”

“Yes, but you enjoyed it much more
if you could win,” Luke replied with a mischievous grin
.  “Should I do a better job of losing?”

“No.  You should do your best.” He shifted in the chair and sighed.  “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.  I
don’t seem to like many of the things I used to.  I don’t care for horses or gambling, and now I discover I don’t care if I win or lose this game of chess.”

Luke sat back in his seat and chuckled.  “
Well, in that case, there’s no real challenge for me, is there?  You’ll lose just to end the game.”

“I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about.  Chess doesn’t interest every gentleman.”

“It seems that few things interest me.”

“What are you interested in?”

Jason clasped his hands in front of him and thought over his cousin’s question.  “I enjoyed dancing with Anna at the ball
last night
, I like listening to her play music on the piano, I have fun watching the balloon launch and walking through Hyde Park…”

“All of these are things you do with Anna?”

“Yes, I think so.  But I didn’t spend much time with her before, did I?”

Luke shook his head.  “You said a wife was meant to give you an heir.  Other than that, you had other ways to amuse yourself.”

“That being the case, I can’t say losing my memory was a bad thing.”

“The only thing we had in common before was chess.  As much as I love the game, I’d rather spend time with you as you are now than play chess with the person you once were.  We don’t have to play chess while we’re here.  We can drink some brandy and have a conversation.  We can play cards, and we don’t have to play for money.  We can even catch up on current events if you wish.”

“Current events?”

“Sure.  Napoleon’s now in exile on Elba
.
A lot of gentlemen here are glad to see
that
the usurper got what he deserved.  Of course, there’s also
the
trouble we’re having w
ith America.  It
seems it’s always one thing or another.  Plenty to keep you occupied if you wish to learn more.”

“Did those things interest me before?” Jason asked.

“As long as you had your entertainment, you didn’t care what was going on,” Luke replied.

With a chuckle, he said, “You’ll likely find this amusing, but I think I enjoyed playing on Anna’s piano.  At the time, I tested it out because it was an excuse to sit close to her, but I wouldn’t mind doing it again.”

“Gentlemen have been known to play pianos.”

“But it wasn’t something I liked before?”

“No.  You liked music enough, but I can’t recall you taking an interest in playing a musical piece.”

Jason rubbed his eyes and leaned back in his chair.  “I don’t understand how I can be so drastica
lly different from before.  I
f I didn’t know any better, I’d say I was a completely different person.”

“Are you happy?” Luke asked.

“Yes.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

Jason laughed and tapped the arms of his chair.  “There isn’t one, is there?”

“Not that I can see.” Luke stood up and gestured to the other room.  “Why don’t I introduce you to the other gentlemen here so you can
put some names with some faces?
”

Jason
nodded
and stood up.  Feeling better, he followed Luke to the other room.

***

When Jason returned to the townhouse, he asked the footman to get the steward.  “Tell him to meet me in the library,” he added before the
footman headed down the hallway
.

As he passed the drawing room
, he heard the familiar sound of Anna playing on her piano.  He smiled and went to the doorway, careful to remain out of sight.  She never seemed to be able to play an entire piece when she knew he was nearby, so to hear her,
he learned to stay
hidden.  She was playing a slow but happy tune.  He’d come to learn that she had a tendency to play songs that mirrored her mood at the moment.  So right now, she was in a good mood
, though a bit thoughtful.

He sighed.  As much as he was enjoying London, he missed how carefree she’d been at their country home.  He had no idea why she worried so much over whether or not he’d find a way to fit in with the friends they had here.  Everyone they came across was more than understanding about his loss of memory. 
Perhaps in time, she would come to realize that, too, and then she could stop worrying.

He caught sight of the steward who was heading for the library and decided he would see Anna after he talked to the steward.  Once he reached the library, he had the steward shut the door and sit across from him.

“I’d like to see the ledger again,” Jason said and pulled his chair up to his desk.

The steward placed it in front of him.  “I trust you’ll find everything
is
in order, Your G
race.”

Jason nodded but didn’t say anything as he opened it.  He ran through the list of expenses.  “Good.  I see you and the other servants are getting paid what you should.”

“Yes, Your G
race, and we’re thankful for that.”

“I don’t blame you.  It’s a wonder you all didn’t q
uit
.” Jason continued to study the expenses.  “Are you budgeting for Lord Mason’s monthly allotment?”

“I am, Your G
race.  Should I stop?”

With a sigh, he rubbed the back of his neck.  “I don’t
remember why I had to begin his allotment.  Where is it
listed?”

“They’re under
M.A.
, Your G
race.”

“
M.A.
?”

“Monthly Allotment.  I didn’t know what else to call it.”

Finding the initials, Jason scanned the previous months and compared them to what Mason had received for that month.  “That’s odd.”

“What’s odd, Your G
race?”

“Well, I notice that the amounts differ from month to month up until my fall down the stairs.  Then it’s
been
the same
every month
.”

The steward nodded.  “You used to vary the amount depending on your…mood…at the time.”

“Mood?” Jason asked, finding that an odd way of putting it.

“You used to tell me what to pay your brother, and when you were in a good mood, he received more than if you we
re in a bad mood.  Forgive me, Your G
race, but I don’t know any more than that.  It wasn’t my place to question you.  I simply followed your instructions.”

“Of course.” Jason couldn’t have expected the steward to do anything more or less than that.  “Is the amount he gets now sufficient for his needs?”

“It’s more than enough, but whether your brother’s content with it is another matter.”

“He’s not content with what he receives?”

“He has come to me about getting more.  I had to tell him no.”

“Did you give him more than you reported in the past?” Jason asked, sensing there was more to the story than the steward wanted to tell him.

He slowly exhaled.  “I have, but only in the past.  I haven’t budged from the allowed expense since you got well.”

Jason’s gaze returned to the steward’s tense expression.  He drummed his fingers on the desk as he debated the best way to proceed with his questions.
“
Does Lord Mason come by often to ask for more money
?”

“He has a tendency to spend more than he has.”

“I’ll take that as a yes.” He shut the ledger.  “Isn’t there any way he can get an income that doesn’t involve my finances?”

“The easiest way would be if he married into money.”

“And the
other
way?” Jason asked.

He shifted in his chair and cleared his throat.  “I think we bot
h know the answer to that one, Your G
race.”

Right.  Mason would have to become the duke. 
After a tense moment passed between them, he said, “I imagine he was disappointed when I got well.”
He stood and handed the ledger back to him.  “Thank you for being honest with me.”

The st
eward rose to his feet.  “Your G
race, far be it from me to advise you on your financial affairs, but if you wanted to stop those monthly allotments, I don’t think anyone would fault you for it.”

No one
but Mason, he
thought.  Things were already
shaky
between him and Mason.  At the moment, it didn’t seem wise to press his luck.  “I understand the situation with Lord Mason, and I’ll be careful where he’s concerned.  In the meantime, we’ll let the allotment stand as it is.  It might be that Lady Templeton will marry him and take him to British India.”

“That would be a relief.”

Jason wondered if there was something the steward wasn’t telling him but decided they’d discussed enough for one day.  And perhaps with the way servants talked, the less said, the better.  “I have nothing else to ask.  You may go now.”

The steward bowed and left the room.

Jason sat back down so he could have a few minutes to clear his head.  He didn’t wish to see Anna when he was facing some dark thoughts.  Everything added up.  There was no other possibility he could see in the midst of all he’d just learned.  Mason had every motive to want him killed.  Losing his money to Lord Edon, becoming dependent on him for his income, and wanting more money than he was allotted.  It all made sense.

So he hadn’t been imagining Mason’s ill will toward him.  Mason might be pleasant to him on the surface, but underneath, he
hated him.  But what could he do about it?  If he gave Mason
more money, would Mason really be content with that or would
he want more?  He suspected
Mason’s desire for money outweighed anything else.  If he didn’t marry Lady Templeton, then Jason might be facing a very formidable opponent.

Jason leaned back in his chair and closed his ey
es, his fingers lightly brushing
the edges of the chair’s arms.  Something must happen, and it must happen soon because if Mason tried to make him fall off the horse
last time he visited Camden
, there was no telling what he’d try in the future.

T
he next day
, Anna couldn’t concentrate as her lady’s maid
finished tying the ribbon in
her hair.  Her mind ran over so many things.  The balloon launch, Hyde Park, the theatre,
Lady Cadwalader’s
ball...  All of it had been wonderful, a dream come true, really.  Jason hadn’t felt the need to slip out of the townhouse to seek entertainment
with another lady.

It
relieved her to no end that he hadn’t accepted Lady Hausen’s offer to take her as a lover.
 
The invitation occurred at
Lady Cadwalader’s
ball, and Anna had just returned from talking to Candace when sh
e caught Lady Hausen speaking
with Jason
in the corner of the room
.  She came up behind them as they talked, and even if Lady Hausen wasn’t doing anything outright inappropriate, Anna heard her invite him to her townhouse sometime.  He’d declined and left in favor of finding someone else to talk to
, and while Anna hadn’t told him she overheard the conversation, her
respect
for him increased significantly.  In many ways, it seemed as if he’d fallen right out of heaven when she’d needed him
the
most.