Her Counterfeit Husband (30 page)

“I was?” Curi
ous, he followed Don to the stall
and waited as he secured the animal in
it
.  “Did this have anything to do with a circus?”

“As a matter of fact, it did.” Don closed the stall door and placed his hands on his hips.  “It was a new act.  Do you remember it?”

“N
o.  I don’t remember anything from my previous life.  My first memory is of my new life. 
I woke up badly
injured.  I was at
an estate being tended to
by
a lady who said she was my wife.”

“Except she wasn’t?”

“Not at the time.
I came here to find out who I really am.  A gentleman, Lord Mason, told me my real name was Alastair and that I used to be in a circus.  You’re the only one who seems to know anything about me so I came here.”

“I remember talking to Lord Mason.”

“You do?”

“Yes.  He arrived here the same day
I talked to you
.”

Jason ru
shed to the entrance of the stable
and scanned his surroundings.  He hadn’t considered that Lord Mason might be following him, but now he knew Lord Mason had in the past.

“I assured him you weren’t Alastair, but then again, I wouldn
’t have even if
I knew you were but had lost your memory.  There’s something wrong with him.”

He turned back to Don.  “Yes, there is.  How did he get here?  I saw no
carriage with his crest on it.”

“He was
in a carriage without a crest on it
.”

Jason studied his surroundings one more time.
  He didn’t see anything that would make him suspect Mason was out there, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t lurking nearby.

“You think he followed you here?” Don asked, also examining the village.

“Anything’s possible.” And knowing Mason’s desire for money, he could very easily be biding his time until
he could kill him.  He
had no proof that Jason w
asn’t the real duke, which was
his greatest obstacle.

Don patted him on the shoulder.  “Come and we’ll have something to eat.”

Jason didn’t know what it was about Don that made him trust him, but he did.
  Without another word, he followed him to his home.

***

Anna sat at her piano and traced the keys.  The days without Jason dragged from one to another, and for every day he
didn’t return or send her a letter
, the possibility she mi
ght
never see him again grew stronger
.  Where could
he have gone
?
If only she knew what he was doing
. 
Camden wasn’t the same without him. 
She
wasn’t the same without him.  Did she make the right choice in returning here?  Before he left, she made sure he knew she would leave London, but what if he forgot?

She closed her eyes and fought aside her nausea.

Appleton entered the drawing room
and closed the door
.  “Your G
race, I haven’t hear
d you play anything ever since His G
race left.”

She opened her eyes, a tear falling down her cheek.  With a sigh, she grabbed her handkerchief and wiped her
face
.  “I’m not in the mood for music.”

“He didn’t say he’d be gone forever,” he softly began, “and when he left, he wasn’t upset
with you
.”

“But the longer he’s gone, the less likely
it is that
he’ll return.”

“We don’t know that.”

Unwilling to be comforted by his words, she turned from the piano and sighed.

“I realize it’s a small consolation, but if he doesn
’t return, you’ll still have the
child.”

Bowing her head so he couldn’t see
more tears fall from her eyes, she knew he was right.  In all the years she’d been unable to conceive, it struck her as a bittersweet irony that she should be expecting a child now.  But without knowing where Jason was, she had no way of telling him.

The door opened and the footman said, “Lord Mason is here
to see you, Your G
race
.”

Now she knew she was going to be sick!  She was ready to tell the footman to send him away when Appleton spoke up.

“I’ll send him away, Your G
race,” he told her before he left the room.

She
gripped the handkerchief in her hands and willed Lord Mason to leave her alone. 
Jason
had sent word to
him
that he’d be traveling for a while, so
he
shouldn’t be stopping by.  B
ut
if
she counted right, this was the third time he’d been by since Jason left.

The footman quietly stepped out of the room, and she finally looked up.  The room was, mercifully, empty, but she could hear Lord Mason arguing with Appleton.  She couldn’t make out what they were saying, but Lord Mason’s voice
rose and Appleton’s remained
calm.  Why couldn’t Lord Mason leave her alone?  Why did he continue to hover about?  Was he hoping Jason wouldn’t return?

She placed
her hand on her stomach and prayed she’d have a boy.  If there could be an heir
, he’d inherit the title.  Even better than that
, Jason would return
.  He couldn’t be married to someone else.  Appleton assured her of that from the search he did.
  But what if he didn’t ask the right people
to find that out
?

Footsteps alerted her
that Appleton was returning to the drawing room.  She took a deep breath and glanced at him.  “Is Lord Mason gone?”

“Yes, Your G
race.  I told him he mustn’t return until
he receives an invitation from His G
race.”

She nodded, wondering if he’d actually stay away.  “What does he want?”

“He says he wishes to make sure you’re all right.”
He paused for a moment and added, “I suspect there’s more to it than that.”

“What do you think he wants?”

“I don’t know.  That’s why I think it’s best if he’
s no longer welcome here until His Grace returns.  His G
race isn’t a fool.  He can handle him.”

“I agree.  I didn’t think so in the beginning, but he’s proven me wrong
.”

“He’ll return, Your G
race,” Appleton said.  “In the meantime, I hope you’ll remember to eat.”

“I hardly have an appetite,” she whispered.

“That’s to be expected given your condition, but it’s still good to eat something.”

She smiled.  “You’re always there to take care of me.  I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

He returned her smile.  “It’s
a pleasure to be your butler, Your G
race.  I’ll ask Cook to prepare some fruit for you.”

“Thank you.”

As he left the room, she turned her attention back to the piano and stroked the keys.  If Jason did return, she’d play anything he wanted to hear, and if she made a few mistakes, then she’d just keep playing.  She
hoped she’d get a
chance to play for him again.

***

“No, I can’t do it,” the footman whispered.

Mason stood with his horse and studied the manor Alastair stole from him.  This place was his birthright, not Alastair’s.  The title belonged to him, and Alastair had the nerve to hold onto Jason’s name and
title even after he was exposed for the fraud he was.  Looking back at Jason’s footman, he said, “Your hands are a
lready bloody, Fieldman
.  Don’t make it worse.”

“What blood?”

“The Duke of Watkins
died, and that was all because of you.”

Fieldman
shook his head and glanced around to make sure no one overheard them.  “No, he didn’t.  The poison didn’t have enough time to
work, and then Her G
race was tending to him all the time so I couldn’t slip the drinks to him.”

Mason impatiently waved his hand at him.  “No, you fool.  The poison did work.  But the duchess and butler disposed of his body.  Where and how, I don’t know, but they did.  And
somehow
they found someone who looked just like my brother to take his place.  Now that she’s with child,
he’s conveniently gone to France
?”

“Do you have proof that His Grace isn’t really His G
race?”

“Of course not.  They’ve been far too careful, and they’ve been using the butler to keep everyone away from the evidence.  Appleton must be removed.  Once he is, I can find
out
what I need and you’ll have enough money to live a peaceful and quiet life in the country for the re
st of your days
.”

“I can’t do it.  Appleton’s an honorable gentleman, and even if the duke is someone else, he’s someone worth working for.  I refuse to poison anyone else.”

The footman turned to leave but Mason grabbed his arm.  “I’ll make you a deal.  Either you take care of Appleton or I’ll find a way to take care of you.”

His eyes grew wide.
  “My lord…
”

“I mean it, Fieldman.  Either Appleton dies or you do.”
Without waiting for a response, Mason got on his horse and rode off the property.

D
on
opened the door.
“Francine, we have a visitor!” They walked through the doorway before he shut the door
.  “You remember what I said about owing you. 
She’ll be glad to see you.”

As
soon as a young woman carrying an infant entered the room, she let out a cry of surprise and ran over to hug Jason, making sure she didn’t make the baby uncomfortable.  “I don’t believe it!  Is it really you, Alastair?”

“I…it appears so,” Jason slowly replied.

She pulled away from him and looked at Don.  “It appears so?”

“He lost his memory.  How long ago was it that you woke up at that estate?” Don asked him.

“October,” Jason replied.

“What happened in October?” Francine asked her husband.

“I’m not
sure, but that’s what he’s here to find out,” Don replied.  “I think we should get something to
eat and drink.  We can talk in the kitchen
.”

Francine nodded and handed the baby to Don. 
“I’ll get some soup
ready.  Come to the kitchen.  I don’t want to miss anything.”

The gentlemen followed her to the kitchen, and when Jason sat down, Don held the four-month-old infant to Jason.  “Do you want to hold him?  We named him after you.”

Though Jason wasn’t sure what to do with a baby, he took the boy in his arms and
set him on his lap.  “You named him Alastair?”

“We had to.” Don smiled and ruffl
ed the boy’s hair.  “If it wasn
’t for you
,
Francine and I wouldn’t be together today.”

Shifting to better face Don, Jason studied him.  “What happened?”

“You helped me escape from the circus.  I told you I used to go by ‘fire eater’.  That’s because I could put the end of a flaming torch in my mouth and extinguish it.  I also juggled with fire and taught animals to jump through rings of fire.  Well, Francine happened to be attending one of our shows in Nottingham, and we
both saw her.  You
also fancied her, but since Francine wanted to be with me, you graciously bowed out.”

“I bowed out?  So I’m not married?”