Forever Mine (6 page)

Nicholas smiled grimly at the man. Behind him, Vickie sighed softly. Was there a hint of regret in that sound? No, he knew his wife too well. With a limber movement, he swung his good leg over Zeus’s neck and slid to the ground.

“Thank you, Jamieson. Her ladyship and I appreciate your good wishes.”

Nicholas turned and grasped Vickie by the waist then lowered her to the ground. The intensity of the heat flooding through him as her body slid down his chest sucked a sharp breath from him. What the fuck was wrong with him? Not even before their wedding had he experienced this visceral type of sensation where his wife was concerned.

It was such an intense physical connection with her that it stunned him. Staring into the brilliance of her sapphire eyes, he saw a glimmer of fear. Nicholas frowned at her, and she averted her gaze. Why would she fear him? He mentally shook his head. He was letting her odd behavior get the better of him. Disgusted with his reaction to her, he put some distance between them and turned to his butler.

“Jamieson, the countess has suffered a head injury and is having difficulty with her memory. Please inform the staff she may require assistance remembering where things are.” Not waiting for the butler to reply, he turned back to her. “If you require anything ask for Mrs. Beechum.”

“Thank you.” Her quiet, pleasant reply aroused the devil in him.

“Perhaps I should mention that we have guests coming for the weekend.”

“
Guests
?” The alarm in her voice amused him. He’d rarely seen Vickie unnerved by anything, but her apprehension was clearly visible.

“Friends of mine. Naturally, if the idea of entertaining is an overwhelming one, I’ll be happy to express your regrets.”

Nicholas couldn’t resist taunting her. The moment Vickie learned Eleanor was in the house, she’d reveal herself, and this ridiculous game she was playing would end. With restrained amusement, he watched uncertainty flit over her features before she narrowed her gaze at him.

“Why do I get the feeling you’re hoping I’ll make a scene?”

“Hoping? My dear, I’ve come to
expect
tantrums where you’re concerned,” he said with a scornful smile.

The Countess of Guildford was in for an unpleasant surprise. A twinge of guilt pricked his conscience at the confused look of alarm sweeping over her features. He crushed the emotion. Vickie had never displayed a care for anyone’s feelings, and he was not about to have her make a mockery of him with this pretense of hers.

“Your wife must be a real bitch to make you hate her so much.”

The quiet words make him jerk with surprise as he tried to convince himself the sympathy on her lovely face was a farce. Speechless, he managed to maintain a stoic expression as she turned and followed Jamieson into the house. He’d fully expected a tirade, not this dignified condemnation of his mockery.

With a shake of his head, he watched her disappear into the manor. Damn if the woman wasn’t acting strangely. If he didn’t know better, he’d say she was telling the truth. But then Vickie only told the truth when it suited her. He’d learned that particular lesson all too well the day of their wedding. The memory wasn’t a pleasant one.

His gaze narrowed and focused on the façade of the manor. The return of Brentwood Park to his family’s holdings was a small consolation given the state of his marriage. Nicholas made his way into the house then walked through the library to the hallway leading to his study.

Closing the door behind him, he limped to his desk and sank down into his chair. His leg was throbbing. His boots were damp on the outside, and although the insides were relatively dry, the leather still held the icy temperature of the pond. Vickie would be fortunate if she escaped a bout of pneumonia from her panicked plunge into the pond. Jaw tight with tension, he tried to comprehend what would make Vickie do something so foolish. Her flight had been one of abject terror. Nicholas immediately snorted with disbelief. It had been a brilliant performance by his wife. Nothing more. The throbbing of his leg broke into his train of thought. He grunted at his stupidity for not going upstairs to change first. The cold penetrated its way down to the bone that had never healed properly. Forcing himself to ignore the pain, Nicholas reached for pen and paper.

He quickly wrote an announcement for the Times and Daily Telegraph. As Vickie’s parents had died of influenza several months after their wedding, her closest living relative was an aunt, and Nicholas made sure to write the woman as well. With each note he penned, one weight after another lifted from his shoulders. The last letter was to Scotland Yard, and as he signed his name, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the police might pay them a visit, he was hopeful they would simply wait until they returned to town in a few weeks. He’d deliberately omitted any reference to Vickie’s claim of amnesia. He wasn’t about to be humiliated by announcing a condition his wife was using to make him the laughingstock of the Marlborough Set.

When they finally returned to London, she would have returned to her usual self, and they would continue as they had for the past two years. Two strangers living under the same roof. Nicholas stood up and pulled the bell cord then returned to his desk to address the notes. He’d just completed sealing the envelopes with a wax seal of the Guildford crest when a knock on the study door announced Jamison’s entrance.

“Jamieson, have one of the stable hands deliver these letters first thing tomorrow morning. I’d send them by telegraph, but I’d preferred they be delivered in person, to ensure they’re not lost in the shuffle. It’s imperative these reach the appropriate individuals as quickly as possible.”

“Yes, my Lord.” Jamison hesitated for a moment, and Nicholas eyed the man with curiosity.

“Yes?”

“It’s… I simply want to say that the staff and I are relieved and happy that your lordship’s recent troubles have been resolved.”

“By that you mean the hangman’s noose is no longer a threat,” Nicholas said quietly. He couldn’t deny the relief he’d not dared to feel until this instant. It was a heady sensation, and he struggled not to believe it was a dream.

“Yes, my lord.”

“Thank you, Jamison, and express my thanks to the staff as well.” The butler nodded.

“I’ll see that these letters are sent immediately, my lord.”

Jamieson accepted the letters as the faint clattering sound of carriage wheels on gravel filtered into the study. Jamieson turned quickly with the obvious intent to head toward the front door, but Nicholas forestalled him.

“I’ll greet my guests, Jamison. Those letters are too important to delay sending. Have Albertson and Baker come assist with the baggage.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Nicholas followed the man out of the office and walked to the front door. As he descended the steps to the driveway he saw his friend, Sebastian Redding, Viscount Starling, assisting his wife Anna out of a black carriage he’d arranged to have waiting for his friends at the train station. Sebastian greeted him with a rueful twist of his lips.

“Well, Nicholas, I believe you’ve won our small wager. You told me we wouldn’t make it before three, and you were correct,” Sebastian said with amused resignation. Laughter parted Anna’s lips as she touched her husband’s cheek in a tender gesture.

“You must forgive him, Nicholas. I’m to blame. Sebastian tried to depart earlier, but you both know I’m habitually late, no matter how hard I try to be on time.” The Viscountess Starling moved forward to kiss Nicholas’ check with affection.

“I’m sure he finds it easy to forgive you most anything, Anna.”

“Almost, but not quite,” she said with an impish smile directed at her husband. “I can recall several moments when I feared he would not be so charitable.”

Nicholas suppressed a twinge of envy as he watched Sebastian capture his wife’s hand and raise it to his lips in a loving gesture. Her hand still enclosed in her husband’s, Anna turned back to him.

“The others will be along later. Eleanor had a social engagement she couldn’t put off. Charles stayed behind to serve as her escort. John had an unexpected business meeting until one this afternoon. So I imagine everyone will be here by five, well in time for supper.”

“It’s just as well. I have something I wish to discuss with you both without the others present,” he said. Nicholas gestured toward the house.

With Anna in the lead, the trio climbed the manor’s marble steps and entered the massive foyer. As he did almost every time he crossed the threshold of the manor, Nicholas looked upward. The unusual skylight with its stained glass replica of the Guildford coat of arms illuminated the main foyer. Four generations ago, a Guildford had wagered and lost the manor to one of Vickie’s ancestors in a card game. Although the house had been renamed, the skylight with the Guildford crest had escaped demolishment.

A wide staircase swept up to the second floor in a smooth circle, enhanced by a warm oak banister. Family portraits lined the walls going up the stairs, while a salon and library faced each other across the large foyer. With a small sweep of his hand, he invited his friends to enter the salon. Nicholas closed the double doors behind Anna and Sebastian then crossed the carpet to the sideboard. As his friends seated themselves near the fire, he poured some Madeira and offered it to the couple before taking up a position at the fireplace in the hope the crackling fire would warm his leg and ease its throbbing.

“What is it you wish to discuss with us, Nicholas?” Sebastian asked with curiosity.

“Vickie has returned.” The words resounded like a gunshot in his ears, and Nicholas heard Anna gasp.

“
Good God
,” Sebastian exclaimed. “Did she say where she’s been?”

“Actually, she claims she’s not Vickie. There’s a rather nasty bruise and cut on her forehead, and she says she has no memory of where she’s been.” Nicholas took a sip of wine then examined the shape of his glass as if it would provide him with an explanation for his wife’s strange behavior.

“But if that’s true, how did she know to come here?” Curiosity filled Anna’s soft question.

“Precisely.” The muscles in Nicholas’ cheek twitched as he fought to hide his anger.

“Forgive me, Nicholas, but does she have the capacity for creating such a complex alibi?” Sebastian offered a look of apology to Nicholas.

“I confess it’s one of her more elaborate stories. But I don’t think she had any help.”

Nicholas felt the same frustration he saw in the other man’s eyes. He knew his friend was thinking about Vickie’s connection to Jack Reardon and the man’s radical politics. The man’s recent propaganda had been enough to have alarmed Sir Kenelm, the Home Secretary. Up until Vickie’s disappearance, he and Sebastian had been quietly monitoring Reardon’s movements at Sir Kenelm’s request.

“The fact that Lord Darby is in Reardon’s pocket isn’t a good thing,” Anna said with a look of concern on her face. “If she is involved, it will make things extremely difficult for you, Nicholas.”

“Christ, Anna.”

Sebastian groaned as Nicholas stared at his friends in amazement. What the hell had the man been thinking to share information with his wife? Anna was trustworthy, but one innocent slip of the tongue to another woman, and the entire Set would know they were watching Reardon, which meant the man would know too.

“I figured it out on my own, Nicholas,” Anna said with a shrug. “Sebastian didn’t tell me anything. I simply told him what I’d deduced or…imagined.”

“In another time, you’d be burned for witchcraft, my love.” Sebastian glared at his wife who smiled serenely back at him, which made his friend’s frown grow more stern. “As it is, your…insights, while valuable to me, are not easily explained to others.”

Although Nicholas had known about Anna’s intuitive ability for some time, this was only the second time he’d witnessed it firsthand. Anna’s unique skill gave Sebastian an advantage that no one else possessed, but it was one that was tricky to manage. Nicholas studied the woman for a moment as he considered her observation. Anna was right. If Vickie was involved in any of Reardon’s plans, as her husband it would put him in a damned awkward position. He quickly rejected the idea and shrugged as he shook his head.

“Vickie might be rather blind to government politics as opposed to society ones, but anarchy? No, she’s vain, thoughtless, and spoiled, but nothing more. I’m certain her only connection to Reardon is Darby.”

“You said she has a bruise on her forehead. The fact that she’s been missing for so long might mean she was attacked and left to die somewhere. Possibly even held prisoner and escaped.”

Sebastian’s theory made sense, but he knew his wife well. If anything, Vickie had fallen and was using her injury in one of her manipulative games. What he wanted to know was where she’d been hiding for three weeks. He shook his head as he rejected his friend’s hypothesis.

“No, I think Vickie simply wants to play an elaborate game to garner sympathy for herself.”

“And what if she’s telling the truth?” Anna’s quietly spoken question caught him by surprise.

Nicholas frowned as he recalled Vickie’s panicked flight from the cottage and her lack of fear with Zeus. The woman he’d married would never have run from him, let alone come close to drowning in an effort to escape. Nor would Vickie have so fearlessly stroked Zeus’ head before mounting the stallion. Even despite this unusual behavior, he found it impossible to believe her lies.

“My wife has a talent for lying, and like all her fabrications, this game will end sooner or later,” he said with a firm shake of his head.

“Perhaps you should reexamine what you do know.” Anna smoothed her skirts in a brisk manner. “The first question to ask is
why
she disappeared. Sebastian said you hired a private investigator when she went missing. Did they offer up any idea as to why she vanished?”

“No. She left Guildford House at dusk, and her maid said Vickie requested a hack as she was having dinner with friends before the Grenville ball.”

“How odd.” Anna mused in puzzlement.

“What? The hack?” Humiliation made his gut twist as if a knife had stabbed him. “Vickie is fairly discreet when it comes to her romantic liaisons. She’d never do anything to jeopardize her position in society.”