Her Counterfeit Husband (36 page)

Appleton went to the desk and lit the candlestick while Jason let go of her and went to the cabinet.  Curious, she followed Jason and watched as he retrieved a key from the bottom shelf.  So she was right.  The key had been in there.  She joined Jason as he strode into the small room and placed the box on top of the desk.

“There isn’t money in here,” Jason began as he unlocked it, “but it does contain something important.  It wouldn’t have done Mason any good, but
it proves I have the right to the title.”

Surprised, Anna glanced at Appleton whose eyebrows rose in interest.  Turning back to Jason, she asked, “The right to the title?”

He opened the box and dug out a couple
of
papers.  “Your first husband had a twin brother, an older twin brother.  But the twin was sickly, and they didn’t expect him to survive so the parents and doctor decided to quietly get rid of the twin and claim there was only one child born at the time.” He handed her the papers so she could read through them.  “That sickly twin was me.  I had to confirm it with
someone at the circus, but he remembered me and he was the one who left me in the forest the night you found me.”

She shot Appleton a worried look.

“Do we need to be concerned about this person?” Appleton asked.

“No,” Jason softly replied.  “As long as Iron Jim believes I’m dead, there’s nothing to worry about.”

Her gaze went back to the papers and she read through them.

“So what does this mean?” Appleton pressed.

“It means that Alastair is no longer alive and Jason never died.  The only person who figured out I’m not Jason just fell out the window.  I see no reason why anyone else should
know.”

She set the papers back in the box and looked at Jason
.  “So there was no wife or children?”

“No,” Jason softly replied and smiled.  “Thankfully, there wasn’t.”

“I’ll see to it that the proper funeral arrangements are made for Lord Mason,” Appleton said
before he left the room.

Relieved, she collapsed against Jason who wrapped her in a protective hug.  Finally, her heartbeat was slowing down and she had stopped shaking.  The stress of the past month slipped away.  She closed her eyes and relaxed.  It was over.  Now they could leave the past
behind
and move on to the future without the secrets and shadows hovering nearby.

“I love you, Anna,” he whispered and kissed the top of her head.  “I can’t imagi
ne my life with anyone but you.”

“I love you, too
.  And it’s not just you and me anymore.”

“What?”

Noting the confusion in his voice
, she smiled.  “Shortly after you left, I discovered that I’m expecting a child.”

He slipped his finger under her chin and lifted it so he could make eye contact with her.  His lips curled up into a grin.  “When I set my mind to it, I can get things done.”

With a chuckle, she asked, “When you set your mind to it?  You think you can just will something like a child and make it happen?”

He
playfully
shrug
ged
.  “If memory serves, it’s imperative that a duke has an heir.  But we should be diligent.  Even if this child is a boy, we should aim for another boy or two or three or so…  I don’t think there can be too many.  You never know what will happen.”

“You’re plann
ing on having many children
?”

“Well, we’re bound to have a girl or two.  With any luck, they’ll be as pretty as their mother.” He tapped her nose before kissing it. 
“And if we don’t have a lot of children, trying will be a very enjoyable process.”

She laughed and hugged him.  “You won’t hear me complain.”

He cupped her face in
his hands and kissed her,
his lips lingering on hers until she felt
weak in the knees.  And the best thing about it was that this was the first of many kisses to come.

***

A year later

Anna placed her cup on the tray and turned to Candace who was seated next to her on the settee in the drawing room of Ann
a
’s London townhouse.  “Would it be wrong for me to congratulate you?”

Candace took a sip of her tea and shook her head.  “No.  I realize on the outside I need to wear my mourning clothes and act the part of the bereaved
w
idow, but there’s no denying my
relief in knowing I’m no longer chained to Ian.”

Anna recalled her relief when her first husband died and nodded.  “I understand.” And truly she did understand, much more than Candace would ever know
.  “What happened to Ian’s title?”

“It went to his cousin who is a much nicer sort than he was.”

“And you will live very well off the money left to you.”

“Yes.”

Anna studied her friend and saw the happiness on her face.  She thought perhaps it might be wonderful if
Candace could find someone
as wonderful as Jason, but she knew mentioning that right now wouldn’t be appropriate.  Candace needed time to be her own lady without the constraints of a husband.  She was still young at twenty.  There was time for her to remarry later.

Jason came into the drawing roo
m with their five-month-old son, and
Anna stood up
.

“Wasn’t he taking a nap?” she asked.

“I heard him playing in his room so I decided to bring him down here,” he replied.

Smiling, Anna glanced at Candace who rose to her feet.  “I don
’t know why we have a nursemaid when he does so much with Caleb.
”

“There’s going to be a balloon launch, and I don’t want Caleb to miss it,” Jason replied.  “Besides, he’ll like all the colors.”

Anna went over to them and took Caleb in her arms.  She adjusted the hat over his golden hair.  “He’s too young to remember a balloon launch.”

“That doesn’t mat
ter.  What matters is that we ge
t to spend the day together.”

“I think it’s a lovely idea,” Candace said and
touched Anna’s arm.  “I’ll come by for a visit in a few days.”

“I look forward to it,” Anna told her.

Candace said good-bye to Jason and followed the footman out of the drawing room.

“This poor little boy has no time to rest,” Anna playfully admonished Jason.  “Ever since we’ve been to London, you’ve been taking us all over the place.”

“Well, there’s a lot to do and see.  Besides, I don’t take him everywhere.  He stays here when we go to the theatre or the balls, and tonight we’ll attend another ball.  He’s growing up so fast.  I have to enjoy the time while it lasts, especially since I can look back and remember it.” He grinned at the boy and shook his hand.  “Maybe when you have a brother or sister, I won’t be so demanding of your time, Caleb.”

Her heart warmed.  “It’s wonderful that you want to spend so much time with him, Jason.  Really, it is.”

He kissed her.  “And when
we come back, you can play one of your songs for him.”

“You mean I can play a song for you?”

“He happens to like the same songs I do.  What can I say except
that
he has excellent taste in music?”

She laughed and kissed him.  “I love you, Jason.  All right.  Let’s see a balloon launch.”

“
And maybe we can get something sweet to eat on the way back.  I’d like for him to try iced cream.  Maybe tomorrow we’ll find another sweet for him to try.”

“Our son is one fortunate
boy to get so much.”

“There’s an entire world out there to learn about and who better than his parents to teach him?” Jason tickled the boy under his chin, and the boy squirmed against her, laughing.  “We’re building memories.  Good ones.”

Tears filled her eyes, but these were tears of joy and that being the case, she didn’t mind them.  Jason never did re
cover the memories of his past
, and while she suspected it was for the best, she was glad for the memories they were creating together with their son and would share with the
ir
other children in the future.

“May I see you out?” Appleton asked, stepping into the drawing room.

“Yes.  I think we’re ready.” Jason glanced at her, and she nodded.  “We won’t be more than two hours.”

She followed Jason, and as they passed through the front door which Appleton held for them, she caught the expression on Appleton’s face and knew he couldn’t be happier for her.

“Have a good time, Your G
race,” he told her.

“I will,” she replied, grateful for all he’d done for her.  Had it not been for him, she wouldn’t be here today.  “Thank you.”

He bowed and softly shut the door behind them.

Jason
patted the small of her back.  “Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be up in the air in a balloon?”

She laughed. 
“
Of course not
.”

“No?  Really?” They headed down the side of the street, and he pointed to the sky.  “Imagine how fun it would be
if we were all the way up there, l
ooking down at all the people and houses.”

“Being up at that height is exactly why I wouldn’t like it.  There is a possibility of falling.”

“A slim one.  But sometimes you have to take risks to truly enjoy life.”

“I can enjoy life with my feet on the ground as much as I can up there.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“It’s true.”

While they continued their good-natured debate on the way to the balloon
launch, Caleb rested his head on Anna’s
shoulder, and Anna smiled, anticipat
ing the many adventures that were
to come…though none would involve her going up in the air in a balloon.