Her Counterfeit Husband (29 page)

“I take it that Appleton knows,” Jason softly said.

Unable to make eye contact with him, she asked, “What do you want to ask me?”

“
Mason said that I’m not really his brother.  He said
I’m someone named Alastair and
that
I used to work in the circus.  Is he right?”

Her shoulders slumped.
“I don’t know if your real name is Alastair or if you worked in the circus, but
he’s right about you
not
being
his brother.” There.  She said it.  The horrible truth was out in the open, and now she’d have to suffer whatever consequences came from it.

For a long moment, Jason didn’t speak.  He didn’t even move from his spot near the door.  She couldn’t be sure what he was doing, and she didn’t dare look at him to find out.  Her gaze remain fixed on the piano keys in front of her, though she remained facing in his direction.

“Why did you lie to me?” Jason asked.

Tears sprang to her eyes.  She didn’t know what was worse: having to explain it or the gentleness in his voice.  “I didn’t see any reason why you should know.  Appleton searched for anyone who might know you, but no one did.  We didn’t know who you were.  We found you on the forest road, beaten and left for dead.”

“What were you and Appleton doing in the forest?”

She sniffed and wiped her eyes.  “Burying my husband.”

“Your real husband.  The one I replaced?”

She nodded.

“So when he became ill, he died?”

“Yes,” she whispered.  “And Lord Mason was going to come here to take his place.  The title would have gone to him, and he’s worse than his brother was.”

Jason approached her, his steps slow as he crossed the room.  Lowering his voice, he asked, “How did you plan to hide your husband’s death?”

“Appleton was going to tell everyone that he went on a trip.  It wouldn’t have been uncommon.  He’d traveled in the past. 
I
thought that
when people started getting suspicious, Appleton and I
could
gather enough money to disappear so that by the time everyone realized he was dead, we’d be long gone.”

“But then you found me?”

She nodded again and finally looked at him, afraid of what she’d see, but he didn’t seem to be condemning h
er as she’d feared.  Instead, there
seemed to be
a spark of understanding in his eyes.  Encouraged, she continued, “You look just like him.  We couldn’t believe it.  Our original plan was to ask you if you’d pretend you were my husband, but then you didn’t remember anything or anyone and…” She cleared her throat.  “It just seemed easier this way.  If you didn’t know the truth, then when Lord Mason came around, you wouldn’t have to hide anything from him, and you’d be innocent of the lie.”

“An
d you don’t know anything
about my past?
  Anything at all?
”

“No.”

He knelt in front of her
and place
d his hand on her knee.  “
I know what life was like for you with your husband, and I know what kind of person Mason is.  I can’t fault you for doing what you did.”

It took her a moment
to understand what he was saying, and when she realized he hadn’t condemned her, she felt as if a w
eight had been lifted from
her shoulders.  “Thank you, Jason.” She held his hand.  “Thank you.”

“
Anna, I need to find out who I am.”

She blinked and tried to make sense of what he was saying.  “What?”

“
In the carriage, I remembered
a gentleman at Gretna Green who called me Alastair.  That was the same name Mason called me tonight.  That has to be my real name.  I have to find out who I am.”

Her hand tightened on his as a flicker of panic came over her.  “Why?  What’s wrong with things as they are now?  Someone wanted you dead.  You were beaten so badly you would have died if Appleton hadn’t found you.
”

“
That’s not what I’m concerned about. 
I need to find out if I had a wife
.”

“No.  You didn’t have a wife.  No one recognized you.  Jason-”

“No one Appleton asked recognized me, Anna.  And if someone did but they wanted me dead, do you think they would have said they did?”

“But you don’t remember anyone from that life.”

“Does that mean I’
m supposed to forget my duty
to a wife I might have had before Appleton found me
? 
And what if there are children? 
What kind of gentleman would I be if I
didn’t do right by them
?”

“And what of your duty to me?”

He paused, his gaze going to their hands.  With a sigh, he returned his gaze to her, his expression resolute even as pain filled his eyes.  “If I was married, then our marriage is null and void.  You know that.”

“But I love you.  I don’t want you to go.”

“I love you, too, but I need to find out.  If I find out there’s no wife, I’ll return.  I don’t want to leave you, but I need to.  I won’t tell anyone what I learned tonight.  As for Mason, you ha
ve another problem altogether.”

He released her hand and stood up.  Pacing to the window, he peered out
of it and released his breath.

“He knows everything
,” Jason continued
. 
“
He knows more than you do.  I don’t know how, but he does.  Obviously, he’s been investigating things for
a while.  I’ll talk to the servants
, tell them I’m going to take a trip.  I won’t disclose how long I’ll be gone, but I’ll
explain that they must
protect you.  I don’t trust Mason
, Anna.  He knows more than we do about my past, and he wanted half of your husband’s money to keep quiet.”

Bolting to her feet, she hurried over to him.  “Give him the money, Jason.  Lady Templeton will marry him if he has it, and he’ll go to British India where he won’t be a threat anymore.”

“It won’t be enough.” Jason turned from the window and faced her.  “I’m not so gullible as to believe he’ll be satisfied with half the money. 
He’ll want it all.  You said
he was eager for your husband to die.”

“To get the title, but Lady Templeton will come with more money.”

“And the more he’ll receive, the more he’ll want.  I have a sense about him…” He shook his head.  “I can’t explain it.  You’ll have to promise me that you’ll be careful.  Make sure you have someone you trust with you at all times.”

She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him, taking small comfort in the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.  “Take me with you.  If you turn out to have a wife,” her throat went dry but she managed to choke out, “I’ll say I’m your sister.  Then I’ll do what I had planned to originally do.  I’ll leave for another country and be out of Lord Mason’s way.”

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.  “I can’t take you with me.  It’s too dangerous.  The people who left me in the forest might find me.  I can’t have them coming after you, too.”

“Then don’t go at all!  Stay with me.”

He gently pulled her away from him.  “I can’t.  I have to know who I am.”

“You’re the Duke of Watkins!  What more is there to know than that?”
She burst into a fresh wave of tears.  “Let the past be in the past.  Whatever is out there can take care of itself.  You’re the duke.
You were in the forest when I needed you. 
You’re meant to be with me.”

“If there is no wife
and children, then I’ll return to you
.” He kissed her, and even if she didn’t want to admit it, the kiss was much too final.  “No matter what happens, I love you.  I’ll love you to my dying day.”

She closed her eyes and fought to think of something—anything—that
would
make him stay.  But words eluded her, and before she knew it, he quietly strode out of the drawing room.  He closed the door softly behind him, and within the next second, she collapsed on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably until she had no more tears to give.

J
ason could think of only one person who could start answering his questions, and that was the gentleman he’d run into the last time he was at Gretna Green.
Don.  If Jason remembered right, Don
had referred to himself as the ‘fire eater’.  He had no idea what that meant, but it was all he had to go
on
, and he hoped it would be enough to find him.

Time had passed
in agonizing slowness since the
night
he left London
, and
the
coachman
he paid seemed to take longer than
his regular one
.  He supposed
the time dragged on because Anna
wasn’t with him.  He couldn’t help but think of her
with every mile that separated
them
.

Half a month
of travel came and went before he
reached his destination.  H
e checked into an inn
before he went
to the front desk where the innkeeper was checking his books.

“May I help you, Your G
race?” the innkeeper asked.

“Yes.  I was wondering if you’re familiar with a gentleman by the name of Don.” He chuckled.  “You’ll think
it strange, but he might go by
‘fire eater’.”

The innkeeper laughed.  “Yes, I know the gentleman.  Came here when a circus passed through and never left.  Married one of the ladies who
live
s
here.  Come.” The innkeeper led Jason to the window and pointed to a lane not too far from the inn.  “Lives down that way.  He’s a blacksmith now.”

Jason thanked him and left the inn.  As he walked down the road, he tried not to think of the day when he’d been coming through here in search of a priest to marry him and Anna, but no matter what he did, she was always on his mind.  With a regretful sigh for how happy he’d been the day they married, he forced his attention to the task at hand.  He found the blacksmith’s shop easy enough and entered through the open door.  He recognized Don right away, even though the gentlem
an had his back to him as he shoed
a horse.

“Pardon me,” Jason called out.  “I was wondering if I might have a word with you?”

Don gla
nced over his shoulder.  “Your G
race, I didn’t think anyone came to Gretna Green
after
they married.”

Jason stepped closer to him.  “As I recall
,
you called me by another name last time I was here.  It was Alastair.”

He finished with the horseshoe
and gently placed the hoof down.  With a shake of his head, he grinned.  “I’m sorry about that.  It’s just that you look so much like him.”

“What if…  That is to say, I have good reason to believe I might be him, this Alastair that you speak of.”

Don crossed his arms and scanned him up and down.  “You’r
e the same height and build
, and
besides
that, you got
the same face.  But didn’t you say you’re the Duke of Watkins?”

“I’m not sure.  I was hoping you could answer some questions for me.”

“Let me get
this horse back into the stall.  Then we’ll
talk in my home.”

Jason nodded his consent and waited as Don led the horse in his direction.  He balked and Don paused, stopping the horse.

“Does the horse frighten you?”
Don asked.

“I’m trying to get over my fear of horses.”

“You really mig
ht be Alastair. 
Alastair fell off a horse during a routine and nearly
got
trampled to death.”