Her Counterfeit Husband (21 page)

Again, she used all her
willpower
not to say something as the two gentlemen left together.  The only saving grace in this situation was knowing that Jason didn’t remember anything.  Since he really did have amnesia, then Lord Mason couldn’t
catch him i
n a lie
.  Even so, she wished Jason had
n’t run off with him.  Sure, her firs
t husband could stand up to
him, but Jason was so gentle and kind, she wasn’t sure what to expect.

“Your G
race, did you have a good trip?”

She turned in time to see Appleton approaching
her
.  Her shoulders relaxed, and she
smiled.  “Yes, I did
.
”

“I’m glad to hear it,” he replied.

She waited until the coachman departed with the carriage
before continuing.  “Lord Mason is here.”

“Yes, I know.  He came to see
His Grace, but I told him His G
race wasn’t due back until later today.  You came sooner than I expected.  You say everything is all right?”

“Yes.  It couldn’t be better
.  I
never knew marriage could be so wonderful.”

“It seems to me that marriage is neither good nor bad, but it’s the people in it who make it so.”

She chuckled.  “
That’s true. 
The right person makes all the difference.”

“It’s nice to see you laugh.” He grinned and motioned for her to go into the house.  “I’ll have your favorite tea and biscu
its made for you.”

“Thank you, Appleton.”

As she
walked
to
ward
the steps that would take her inside, she he
ard a horse neighing.  Hopeful
, she turned to see if Lord Mason
was heading off the property, b
ut
to her dismay,
he
wasn’t.  Instead, she saw him and Jason riding their horses.

“Appleton?” she asked, turning to him.

“It’s not my place to tell His G
race he shouldn’t ride a horse,” he softly told her.

“But you know how much it scares him.”

“And he knows it, too.”

“Lord Mason is baiting him,” she weakly said, her heart pounding anxiously in her chest.

“You’ll have to trust that His G
race can
take care of himself.  If he went on the horse, then there’s a good reason for it.”

He was right.  She knew he was right, and yet, she wanted nothing more than to run out there and demand he return the horse to the stable at once.  After six years of being miserable, she was finally happy, and Lord Mason was threatening to take that away from her.

“It’s best to let His G
race handle things,” Appleton told her, his tone sympathetic.

“All right.  And it’s not like he knows the truth.”

“That’s to his benefit.”

And he must never know.  She didn’t have to say it.  Appleton understood.  As long as Jason didn’t know, he was safe from anything Lord Mason might try to do.

***

“One would never think you’ve ridden a horse before,” Mason called out.

Jason couldn’t be sure if Mason’s tone was teasing or mocking, but he was focusing too much on his horse to care.  It wasn’t that it felt unfamiliar to be on it.  In fact, it felt as if he had been on it in the past.  But something about the animal made his stomach turn
, as if it
was determined to see him harmed.  It was nonsense, of course, since it had been the fall down the stairs that injured him, but it was still an unsettling feeling.

“You say you don’t remember how to ride a horse?” Mason asked,
trotting beside him
.

“I did lose my memory,” Jason said, hoping his voice didn’t betray how nervous he was.

Why did he let Mason talk him into riding a horse?  He never should have agreed to it, but there was something about Mason that made him want to prove he could perform any task, no matter how dangerous.  And that wasn’t good.

“You forgot how much you love to ride that magnificent stallion,” Mason said.  “It’s your pride and joy.”

“It is
?” The horse stepped into a
slight
dip and Jason’s grip tightened on the reins.  It’s all right, he thought.  He wasn’t going to fall off and be run over by the thing.  He gulped, wondering why he should even imagine the animal running over him.  Glancing at Mason who was scanning the landscape with mild interest, he asked, “You said I never had any trouble with horses?”

Mason chuckled.  “I should say not.  They knew better than to defy you.  Y
ou were a formidable gentleman…
before the memory lapse.”

Jason caught the silent challenge in Mason’s stare, but he couldn’t hold his gaze.  He had to focus on the path his horse was traveling, and that required far more attention than he cared to admit.

“You don’t remember falling down the stairs?” Mason pressed.

“No.  How could
I?  That’s why I lost my memory.
”

“And you fell down the stairs leading to the main entrance?”

“Yes.” That’s what Anna told him, and he had no reason to doubt her.

“So while you were deathly ill with a fever, you stood up and tried to walk down the stairs.”

“Right.”

“Hmm…”

“Hmm, what?” Jason snapped, not appreciating whatever Mason was hinting at.

“There’s no need to be
touchy
with
me, dear brother.  I’m merely wondering
how a fall of that magnitude didn’t break your neck.”

“It was probably because of
the way I fell,” Jason replied, heat rising up
to
his face.  “Are you calling my wife a liar?”

“Most certainly not.  I just never heard of a gentleman who fell down the stairs and survived.”

“Well, now you have.”

“Yes.  I have indeed.”

Jason let out a frustrated sig
h.  As much as he tried not to show Mason that he could bother him, it didn’t work.  Mason knew exactly how much he was upsetting him, and
by the smirk on his face, he took a fiendish delight in it
.

“Let’s no
t
tarry,” Mason said.  “The whole point of being on a horse is to ride it
, is it not?
”
He gave him a wink and urged his horse into a full gallop.

Jason decided he should get over his fear of the horse, and the sooner, the better.  He wouldn’t give Mason any more reasons to
taunt
him.  With more courage than he felt, he snapped the reins and joined Mason.  It wasn’t so bad now that he’d adjusted to the way the horse moved, but he couldn’t stop the feeling that he’d fallen off
of
it at some point in his past.  Maybe he did and no one else knew about it.

Sweat broke out across his forehead.  He felt the world tilting around him for a brief instant, but he blinked and refocused.  To his surprise, Mason wasn’t taking the trail but was veering off toward a group of trees.
He gripped the reins and fought the urge to turn back toward the fountain where it would be safer.  If Mason insisted on going this way, then he’d do it.

“Now do you remember why you loved riding?” Mason called out.

“I told you I don’t remember anything,” he shouted, breathing heavier than he knew he should be.

The ride wasn’t that strenuous, but his mounting apprehension about those trees was making it harder to breathe.  He gulped and put pressure on the
stirrups,
slightly lifting himself off the horse.  He had no idea what he was doing or why, e
xcept it seemed natural to do it
.  They came closer to the trees.  So close, in fact, he wondered if they’d have enough time to stop.

Mason made a smooth turn and ran alongside the trees, and since he
urged the horse to go faster
, Jason fell behind, unwilling to go faster than he already was.  He didn’t like this.
His horse was g
oing under the trees, and
the branches
seemed too low
.  Heart racing, he tried to fight
the sensation of
falling
off the horse, but the sensation was too strong.

Something in him snapped, and he knew he couldn’t stay on the horse anymore.  He
reached up, grabbed one of the thicker branches, and swung up on it.  His horse neighed and bucked back, hitting the bra
n
ches, but Jason leapt over to another branch before he lost his balance.
 
Mason pulled the
horse to a stop while Jason’s horse
ran off in the direction of the stable.  Gasping for air, Jason turned his attention to Mason who looked up at
him
with a surprised look on his face
.  He gripped the bark of the tree in his hand, his shock maki
ng it so that he couldn’t speak
.

“How did you do that?” Mason asked.

Jason gulped and shook his head.  “I don’t know.  Did I ever do this before?”

“I’ve never seen you do it.” After a moment,
he threw his head back and laughed.  “Bravo, dear brother.  You did a splendid job.  But I am won
dering if you can get back down?
”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, let’s see if you can do it.”

Seeing as how he had no other choice,
he swung down the branches until his feet hit the ground.  He looked up at the highest tree branch he’d been on and wondered
how he reacted in time to get up there
.
He didn’t think he made
it
a habit of climbing trees.  For some reason, that didn’t seem right.  But somehow, he had done something similar.
 
He turned his attention to the ground.  While up there, he hadn’t
been afraid of the height, and he wondered if that should be a surprise
.

“Marvelous.
  Absolutely marvelous.” Mason clapped his hands.  “I wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t see it with my own eyes.  You must come to my estate.  I’ll have a dinner party, and you can tell everyone about it.”

“Oh, I don’t think that’s necessary.”

Mason slid off his horse and led it over to him.  “Not necessary?  After a fine show like that, you deserve a round of applause.  I insist on inviting our friends over so you can receive the praise you deserve.  Now, I won’t take no for an answer.  You are my brother, after all, and I can’t wait to see the look on
Ian’s
face wh
en he finds out how you did that.”

“Lord Hedwrett?”

“Yes.  You do remember we called him Ian at my last dinner party?”

“There were
many names I had to remember that night.”

“I understand.
I’m sure we overwhelmed you.  Fortunately, you will be able to see everyone again, and this time, we won’t be strangers.” Mason patted him on the shoulder and led him and the horse in the direction of the manor.  “It’ll be good for you.  Anna will enjoy it, too.  Candace will be there.  I hear the two get along so well they forget the other ladies are in the room with them.”

He knew Anna wouldn’t like the
idea
, and he liked it even less. 
Before he could reply, he caught sight of Anna hurrying in their direction.  “Excuse me, Mason.” Worried something was wrong, he ran to meet her.

She slowed and waited for him to reach her before she came to a stop.  “I saw your horse go by and thought you were hurt.”

Pleased she worried about him, he grinned.  “No, I didn’t get hurt.”

“But why did the horse run off?”

“I left it in favor of a tree branch.”

“What?”

He glanced over his shoulder and saw that Mason was almost within hearing distance of them.  “I’ll explain later.  My brother wants us to go to another one of his dinner parties.”

She grimaced and shook her head.  “Jason, I’d rather not.”

“
I know.” Since Mason had come close enough to hear them, Jason turned to him.  “I regret to inform you that my wife and I will be detained for a time, so we are unab
le to attend your dinner party.  We are enjoying our time as a newly married couple, or at least newly married from my perspective.  I trust you understand.”

Mason glanced from her back to him and bowed his head.  “Forgive me for imposing.  Of course, you need time to be with her.  I’ll send
an invite at another time.  T
hen you can tell everyone your marvelous
act
while we were at
the trees.” He hopped up on his horse.  “At a more convenient time.”