The Viscount's Counterfeit Wife (39 page)

“No, they don’t and
that’s all I’m going to tell you. You know what Dr. Graham said.”

“It’s just that…
I’m so at sea. I’m trying to understand.... to remember.”

“Well, no matter how
much you press me, I’m not going to tell you more. I’ve already
said too much.”

“But how much of it
can I believe?” he mused.

How dare he question
her! She snapped, “Well, that’s the way it has to be. I can do
nothing about your lack of trust.” Hearing herself, she felt the
hot stain of mortification heat her skin.
She
was insulted by
his
question? His lack of trust? She exhaled noisily, exasperated with
herself. She was an idiot. And a liar. His instincts were absolutely
correct. Almost everything she told him was lies!

Uncertain how to
continue, she confronted him. “I saw you in the window. How did Mr.
Mason end up being discovered instead of you?”

“Seems I wasn’t the
only one keeping an eye on the proceedings,” he said. “When they
shouted at me, Mason yanked me behind a tree and pitched himself
forward to be discovered in my place.”

Her sham spouse didn’t
seem too worried about Mr. Mason or about almost being caught, while
her heart was still racing at full speed. Easy for him. He had no
idea what a scandal he’d have caused.

“Once their attention
was on him, I moved back here.” He expelled a shaky breath.

So he wasn’t as calm
as he appeared. Good. He had to be more careful!

“I’m grateful for
his assistance. I’d have hated being the focus of all that
attention, especially since I can’t remember if I even know any of
them.” He looked at her, clearly hoping she’d tell him if he did
know anyone.

“I trust you’ve
learned your lesson and that you’re going to find a way to leave
here without being seen. Immediately.” She wouldn’t breathe
freely until she was sure he was safely away from here.

“I’m just waiting
to be certain Mason’s going to be all right.” His resolve sounded
unshakeable. “He saved me. I won’t abandon him.”

Although she wanted him
gone right now, she liked that about him. He was an honorable man,
despite having no memory of being taught it. “So you didn’t come
together?” She wondered if he realized that Mr. Mason had been
following him.

“No. I had no idea he
was there until he leapt to take my place. I suppose he was here to
protect you?” he asked.

Not bothering to answer
him, she said, “If you promise not to move from here, I’ll go see
if I can ensure he is well treated and released.” She put her hand
on his arm. “But if he hasn’t returned in a quarter of an hour,
promise me you’ll find a way to leave undetected. I’ll do my best
to get him away safely.”

“I promise.”

“Thank you.”

He grasped her wrist to
stop her from leaving. “Come kiss your husband adieu, my darling.”

“Shh…” If anyone
overheard him saying that!

“Still shy, even in
the dark of night,” he teased. “How did we ever get to the point
of marriage?” He hesitated, having just recently garnered a new
impression of their relationship. “You never answered me the last
time. Mrs. P tells me you left your home a little more than three
weeks ago and you weren’t wed then. So we can only have been wed
that long. Ours must have been a very hasty wedding.”

Oh god, not now. “I
just told you that!” she whispered furiously, refusing to say more.

“What happened? What
did I do to cause you to back away from our marriage like a
frightened virgin?” He tapped a finger on her nose. “Some day I’m
going to remember, you know. I’m hoping the good memories will
outweigh the bad.”

To Tally, that sounded
more like a threat than a promise. “I must go back or my sisters
will send out a search party for me.”

He leaned down and
pressed his lips softly to hers but, somehow, the instant their lips
touched, a searing need rose in her to stay here, in his arms, and
let the whole world dissolve around them. Let everyone discover their
secret!

His mouth slid from
hers to nibble at her neck, sending shivers scurrying down to her
toes. His fingers ran along the same path his mouth had taken and
ended by gently encircling her neck and lifting her chin, forcing her
to look into his eyes. His other hand stroked over her bodice and,
when she gasped, he flashed a wicked smile. “Ah, sweetheart, the
things I want to do to you.”

But his hearing was
better than hers, it seemed, because he suddenly put his finger
against her mouth to silence her moan and lifted his head to look
toward the house.

What
was she doing!
Standing out here in the garden behaving
like a wanton! She moved back a little, straightened her dress and
patted her hair to see if it was intact. Luckily, it had been well
pinned and lacquered; not a hair seemed out of place.

“I have to go in,”
she said reluctantly. “Someone is sure to miss me soon.”

He pulled further away,
leaving her bereft, feeling a strong sense of loss.

“How are you coming
home?” he whispered.

What? He asked a
prosaic question like that, after they’d almost set the nearby
shrubs aflame with their kisses! “My sister has arranged for her
carriage to bring me home.”

“You will have
protection?”

Shaking her head to
clear it of the sensual mists caused by his touch, she replied, “Yes.
I’m the youngest, so they still treat me like a child. I’m
certain there will be footmen accompanying the driver.”

“Promise me you will
insist on at least two footmen. Mason may not be free to protect
you.”

“He was not supposed
to be here tonight. So I made arrangements with Venetia.”

“At least, two
footmen?” he repeated. “Humor me in this, please, Tally. If not,
I’ll be forced to wait out here all night until you leave.”

She was so surprised to
hear him use her nickname, she almost missed the rest of his
sentence, but not the underlying message. He was concerned about her.
“Don’t worry, I’ll insist on sufficient protection.” She gave
a weak smile. “I’m not that brave in carriages, anymore, day or
night.” At his perplexed look, she realized he had no idea why
she’d developed this new fear.

“Good. I’ll feel
better knowing that you’re well guarded.” He bent to place a
quick kiss on the end of her nose. He whispered, “Remember, I don’t
need my memory to know that I love you and need you to be safe.”
Then he backed away into the heavier foliage and disappeared into the
shadows.

For brief moments, she
stood savoring the warm glow of having someone, other than Foster,
care enough to watch over her. Her hand touched her nose to hold onto
the light kiss that, like a moonlight butterfly, alit for mere
seconds before taking wing into the dark sky. She repeated his final
words in her mind and felt the sudden weight of sadness. No man,
especially not a strong, proud gentleman like Reed, would forgive her
for duping him into believing they were married.

When… if… he ever
recovered his memory, he was going to despise her!

The noise from inside
increased. Someone had just opened the French doors and come outside.
She’d better go back, though all her inclinations were to fly home
to spend the rest of the night in Reed’s warm embrace.

Grimacing at how
impossible that fantasy was, she made her way back and slipped into
the ballroom. The heat from the assembly was almost overpowering. She
was relieved to see both her sisters on the dance floor. No one had
noticed her absence. Good.

“I’ve been looking
all over for you.”

“Oh! You startled
me!” She turned to find Mr. Dubuc behind her.
Almost
no one
, she corrected herself.

“Where have you
been?” His smooth, honeyed tone was roughened by annoyance.

He sounded almost
accusatory, which put her back up. She was not his concern! “I took
advantage of the excitement to get a little fresh air,” she
explained calmly. “What happened to the Peeping Tom?”

He visibly swallowed
his irritation. Interesting. So he wasn’t as insouciant as he
wanted to appear.

“They took him
upstairs to the library.” Rapidly recovering his former languid
cadence, he cast a bored glance over the crowd. “Hargrave and
Morley are questioning him.”

“I see.” The Baron
and her brother-in-law, together! How well did they know each other?
That could spell trouble. Not sure quite what to do, she knew she had
to at least try. “If you will excuse me, I must have a word with
Milana.”

He didn’t look
pleased about her leaving him again so soon, but she gave him no
choice. She headed toward the back of the house, intending to take
the servant’s stairs, to look for the library.

“You sly dog, Mason.”

At the sound of men’s
voices, she withdrew quickly into the shadows of the back hall, torn
between staying to hear what was being said and leaving, so she
wouldn’t be caught eavesdropping.

“Sh! Lower your
voice, Morley. You’ll have the lot of them out here, wanting to
know why Mason arrived the way he did.”

That was her
brother-in-law’s voice.

“I don’t mind
telling them that I hadn’t been invited but knew the Baron would be
here and I needed to talk to him.”

Mason’s voice!

Multiple footsteps
clomped heavily down the back stairs amid subdued male laughter.
First down was the Baron, then Mr. Mason, followed by her
brother-in-law. She detected no animosity among the three men. In
fact, if one didn’t know better, the three seemed quite friendly.

She faded even further
into the shadow of the stairwell. She was amazed to see Hargrave
shake Mr. Mason’s hand. The Baron even clapped her investigator on
the back as they led him to a side door and bid him goodnight.

Puzzled at the bonhomie
among the men, she had the sudden thought that maybe Reed, with his
memory, would have recognized her brother-in-law and the Scot. Mr.
Mason had given no indication he knew or could identify Reed Gordon,
but for an interloper, he appeared to be on remarkably good terms
with both her brother-in-law and Reed’s friend, the Baron.

The Baron! Why hadn’t
Mr. Mason recognized Lord Morley the other day at the Art Exhibit?
Oh, he hadn’t been there! For a moment, she’d forgotten. She was
so unnerved she was ready to see people conspiring at every turn. He
had missed Reed’s meeting with the Baron and his friend.

But he was at the
library when she’d researched Lord Morley. And she’d given him
the Baron’s sketch! If he knew him, surely he’d have told her!

Maybe he hadn’t known
him but had come here looking for him to ask him about Reed? No, that
didn’t sound right. Something was wrong. Was her investigator
playing some deep game? She made her way slowly back to the
celebrations. She tried to remember what Foster had told her about
who had given him the Scot’s name? Was he a plant sent there by
those trying to hurt her? Had the investigator agreed to help her for
motives other than her protection and to solve an intriguing amnesia
case?

She no longer felt as
safe as she had moments earlier.

Perhaps it wouldn’t
matter. Their first problem would soon be solved, whether Mr. Mason
knew the Baron before this evening or not. Now, he’d be able to
learn Reed’s true identity and make sure he was returned safely to
his own home. After that, she’d confront her investigator and find
out why he hadn’t told her. Then, because he seemed to genuinely
want to help her and she didn’t want to believe he was working
against her, she’d ask him to find Monsieur.

Which reminded her, she
must find a way to talk to Mr. Dubuc about his uncle.

“There you are.”

Looking up, she saw
that very man approaching her.

Speak of the devil! She
quelled the shiver of premonition that raced up her spine. Her nerves
were on edge. She walked calmly along the hallway to meet the man
strolling in her direction. He was not a devil. There was nothing
sinister about Mr. Dubuc, for goodness sake! “This sounds like the
same conversation we had just ten minutes ago.” She laughed.

“Not exactly. This
time, I’m hoping for a more felicitous ending.”

He’d gotten over his
huff, she was pleased to note. Tally knew she was not without
attributes, but the idea that he could have fallen for her this
quickly didn’t hold much sway with her practical side. So she had
to ask herself, what did he want? He’d only just met her!

Offering her his arm,
he smiled and said, “Shall we take a turn around the room. The
crowd has thinned a little so we should make it the entire way
unscathed.”

She chuckled at his
sally and placed her hand lightly on his sleeve. “Thank you, kind
sir, a stroll would be nice.” It was a fillip to her confidence to
be pursued by the best-looking man here tonight. He took himself a
little too seriously, but he was exerting himself to be amusing and
for the most part was succeeding.

Besides, it was the
perfect opportunity for her to ask him about Monsieur.

Suddenly a warm arm
slid around her waist, startling her. “Come,
bella
.
Mr. Dubuc has monopolized you for long enough.” Milana slanted him
a knowing smile. “It’s time for you to meet some new dance
partners.”

Mr. Dubuc tsked in
annoyance but, seeing he had no choice, gave in gracefully. He
shrugged his elegant shoulders and gave a rueful smile. “I will see
you later,
mademoiselle
.”

The next hour was a
whirl of introductions. If Victor Dubuc’s presence had saved her
from being cast in the limelight until now, her sisters clearly
intended to make up for lost time. Despite her efforts to remain in
the background, they were determined to have her shine as their guest
of honor. They were still hoping to convince her to make a proper
debut.