The Viscount's Counterfeit Wife (51 page)

If so, she couldn’t
be trying to entrap him. What better way to force him into marriage
than to have her eminently respectable grandmother witness them
living in the same house together?

He needed to think
about this a little more. Yes, moving with her would embarrass her
and he was curious to see how she planned on ending this farce, but
he was too worried about her being harmed by the Vanisher to allow
himself that luxury. Naturally, he had no intention of living next
door with her! He just wanted to make her worry about it for a while.
To punish her for what she’d done.

And now that her
grandmother was there, it would set them on a road of no return.
Hell, he’d be playing right into her hands. He’d either have to
wed her or be responsible for her ruin, and although he’d dearly
love to teach her a lesson, he wasn’t ready for either of those
alternatives.

But could he protect
her from his enemies if he wasn’t in the same house? They’d tried
to kill her and the rest of his household, twice. Who was to stop
them trying again?

On the other hand,
maybe her moving next door would be the best protection. His enemies
had no reason to harm the neighbors, when it was him they were after.

After considering it,
he decided that though he wouldn’t be moving next door with her, he
wouldn’t tell her about getting his memory back either. He had the
feeling that if he told her, she would make herself scarce. He’d
lose the chance to get the full explanation.

Grudgingly, he admitted
he’d also lose the opportunity to spend time with her as his real
self.

Anger and confusion may
reign in his brain, but his body knew precisely what it wanted. It
wanted to be deep inside of Tally. It craved completion of what
they’d started so many times.

Christ!
She was probably a virgin!

Ah hell and damnation!
Was he going to have to wed her to bed her, after all?

* * *

“There’s something
havey-cavey about this whole moving business,” her grandmother
grumbled, stomping up the steps and into the rented house. “I trust
you haven’t put me upstairs, dear. You do recall I have trouble
with my old knees?”

Eyeing the sprightly
way her thwarted grandparent had practically skipped up the stairs to
the front door, Tally suspected there was nothing really wrong with
her Grandma’s ‘old knees’. She simply liked to know what was
happening at all times, especially when it concerned her
grandchildren, and what better place to observe things than on the
ground floor!

“I remembered. Come,
I’ll show you to your room.” She walked along the corridor
leading to the back of the house. “Here is the perfect room for
you. Spacious and quiet, and overlooking the garden, away from the
street noise.”

Her life might be on
the brink of disaster, but she almost laughed aloud at her
grandmother’s moue of disappointment. This was not what the dear
tactician had expected. She wanted to be front and center, with a
room as close to the entrance hall as possible, where she could keep
an eagle eye on all the goings-on. This unusual room was tucked away
from the hustle and bustle of the house on the ground floor.

It had come as a
pleasant surprise. The same space in Reed’s house was a study,
which she’d had to convert into a bedroom for Mr. Mason, so he
could remain on the ground floor, relatively close to the entrances
and exits. And where he was, thankfully, going to remain! He was no
keener on being in the same house as her grandparent, than she was to
have him there.

In this house, that
modification had already been made and she’d known immediately it
was just the right spot for her Grandma.

“It’s large enough,
that’s true.”

She watched her
grandmother searching for some excuse as to why this room would not
do. “Luckily, it has already been altered into a bed chamber, so I
knew it had to be yours. It even has a dressing room where your maid
can sleep.”

So
there!

“The owner must have
re-fit the house for someone like you, who can no longer climb
stairs.” She hid her grin at her grandmother’s quickly concealed
look of outrage. “Now, I’ll leave you to get settled. I have to
see about organizing the rest of our things.” She went to the door,
ready to leave. “Should you need anything, please ask your maid to
fetch someone, because all the help will be busy going to and fro
between the houses and may not be available to respond to the
bell-pull.”

Her grandmother might
think she had triumphed by summarily moving in with her grandchild,
but there were ways of making her pay for that presumption.

The older lady’s lips
twitched. She knew she was being hoist with her own petard, even if
it was being done gently.

Good!

Tally lost her smile as
soon as she left the room. What was she going to do when Reed showed
up with his things and demanded to move into her bedroom!

Her only recourse was
to tell him the truth. The whole truth. That was what she’d been
trying to do earlier, but then Grandma had arrived and he’d run off
as if pursued by bandits. Not that she was eager to confess, but now
she had no other choice.

How he was going to
react was what frightened her. Would he understand her reasons for
the deception or would he be so angry, he’d denounce her publicly?

* * *

“I’ll be glad to
see the end of this mission.” Reed had other preoccupations on his
mind, like his counterfeit wife. And he wished he felt completely
himself again. He was still a mite sluggish and disoriented from the
disturbing weeks he’d just spent.

He and his two
colleagues were sitting around a table at Sylvester’s, a coffee
house where the Brotherhood of Spares — of which Jace, Max and
Reed’s brothers were members — often met for drinks or for
informal meetings in one of the private rooms upstairs. They had
commandeered one of the private salons tonight given the confidential
nature of their discussion.

This time, Jace and Max
swore they had taken extra precautions not to be followed, although
this place was perhaps too well-frequented with people who knew
Adley, for him to feel comfortable about showing his face here.

“Losing one’s
memory makes a man reflect on what’s important to him.” Reed
wouldn’t usually admit to such thoughts, but he trusted both these
men with his life, so why not with his innermost thoughts. This
amnesia business had changed him. He would never have been so free
with his innermost thoughts before this.

“So does marriage,”
quipped Jace.

Reed speared him with a
look.

“I feel the same,”
Max admitted. “It’s been a long time out in the field this time.
I need a good rest… preferably combined with some good recreation.”
He winked and grinned.

It’d been a good six
years since Reed felt as carefree as Max. Maybe he never had. In
spite of his not-entirely-merited rakehell reputation years ago, he’d
always taken life a little more seriously than many of his peers.

It might have something
to do with the fact that he was the heir and not a spare, like Jace
and Max were. He’d known he would one day have to step into his
father’s shoes and run the earldom. Lord, he hoped he’d be wise
enough to never become as autocratic and manipulative as his father
was with his offspring.

He clapped his hand
over his eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’ve just realized
that my father was in the park the other day.”

“He didn’t
recognize you?” Max sounded shocked.

“I was dressed as
‘
Mr. Manfred
’.”
He had given names to all his disguises, much to the hilarity of Jace
and Max, who soon joined in the fun and named theirs too.

“He sat down beside
me on a park bench and talked to me, staring at me the entire time
like he was seeing a ghost.” He laughed aloud. “In the end, just
as I was about to leave, he told me I was the dead spit of his uncle.
But it’s only just now that I realize I was speaking with the
Earl.”

Jace nodded. “Manfred
is a good disguise.”

Heavy footsteps
climbing the stairs and laughter traded with clients below signaled
the arrival of his brothers.

“I trust we’re
finished with our plans, gentlemen, because that din approaching
tells me my brothers have arrived.”

“In that case, I’ll
be off home. I’d stay if I thought I could be any good at keeping
you safe, but I’ve gone too many hours without proper sleep.”
Jace stood. “I’ve got the Chief’s best posted both inside and
outside of here to protect you. We don’t want the Horde succeeding
at this late date. They will follow you home and join the others
already stationed outside both houses. From now until you deliver
those documents, you won’t be left alone for a minute.”

Max also got up. “I’ll
go too.” He gave a devilish grin and sauntered off ahead of Jace.
“Need sleep badly…” He turned his head back over his shoulder
and gave them a devilish grin.

Jace and Reed exchanged
droll looks. “Somehow, I doubt he intends to sleep alone,” Reed
said.

“He’ll never
change.” Moving out from behind the table, Jace gripped Reed’s
shoulder firmly.

Unfortunately, he
picked the wrong shoulder... Again! Reed bit off a bellow, but he
didn’t feel like explaining he’d been shot, at the moment. Jace
would sit back down and begin interrogating him! So he gritted his
teeth and swallowed his curses.

“Glad to see you back
to yourself,” Jace said before following Max. “I’ll set up that
meeting with the Chief the moment he gets back.”

Reed watched Jace and
Max banter with his brothers and clap them on the back as they passed
them on their way out. He was reassured to hear that next door was
being included in the guards’ duties. He’d explained about Tally
and the others moving, so the perimeter of protection was being
expanded to encompass them too.

His brothers approached
with wide smiles on their faces, though he detected a touch of
sheepishness in their glances too. What mischief had they been up to?

“Finally!” Chase
gripped him firmly on the arm. “We’ve been wondering what
happened to you.”

At this rate, his sore
shoulder was going to fall off! He winced, but bore it without
complaint. Admitting he’d been shot would only succeed in getting
his brothers riled on his behalf.

“I’ve just spent
almost a week with amnesia.”

“What’s that?”
Francis asked.

“I hit my head so
hard, my memory was knocked right out of it.”

“Completely?”
Chase’s voice rose in amazement.

Reed smiled wryly at
his brothers’ shocked looks. “I’m afraid so. I only recovered
it this morning. Most of it, I hope!”

It wasn’t often he
got to see his younger brothers struck dumb. He paused to enjoy the
rare moment and was exceedingly grateful he was getting the chance to
do so. What would his future have been like if his memory had never
resurfaced?

A sudden twist of
Francis’ lips warned him his brother was rapidly recovering from
the shock. “Not much of a loss, I’d say.”

Chase threw back his
head with a gust of laughter, while Reed cast an
I-expected-as-much-from-you look at his youngest brother. Life was
getting back to normal and it felt good.

“Grab a seat and I’ll
tell you all about it.”

“And where does the
beautiful Mrs. Leighton fit in?” Chase asked, plunking himself down
across from Reed.

“That’s none of
your business. And I’d really appreciate you not mentioning her
name to anyone.”

“Hey!” Chase thrust
his hands out, palms forward, in a defensive posture. “We’re your
brothers, we wouldn’t do anything to cause you trouble.” He
glanced uneasily at Francis. “Not knowingly.”

Reed’s instinctive
reaction was
‘Great, what had
they done now?’
“That doesn’t sound reassuring.”

“Does she now know
your real name and that you have a title?” There was pure mischief
in Francis’ grin. “Because she didn’t when we met her.”

Reed realized they were
aware of much more of the story than he’d thought.

“Since I’ve been
going as Gordon for six years now, I’d say, probably not.”

Ah… It hadn’t
occurred to him earlier but, if that was so, she definitely couldn’t
have been angling for his title. Unless his father was involved (
and
he didn’t really believe that this time)
, there was no
way for her to know who he was.

“Let’s change the
subject. How would you feel about doing a little bit of investigating
for me?
What do you know about
Edgar Traubridge
?”

Tally paced nervously
in Reed’s drawing room that night, waiting impatiently for his
return. She had to tell him everything! Surely he would never have
said he was going to move next door with her if he had his memory
back, as Foster suspected! But she had to ensure that didn’t
happen. Especially now that her grandmother was living there.

“When did you plan to
tell me that you were the one who shot me?” She jumped, her hand to
her heart. She hadn’t heard a thing. His greeting completely
knocked the wind out of her sails.

Oh
my god, he knew!
Dismay and shock struck her in one fell
swoop. Had he remembered or had someone told him? Only she and Foster
knew and she doubted he would ever tell, even under pain of death.
“How do you know that?”

“I remembered.”

Two words, two simple
words that changed everything. So Foster was right. Her heart sank
down to the soles of her feet.

He answered her next
question before she even asked it.

“Everything.”

“I see.” And just
when she’d steeled herself to confess!

The crackle of the fire
suddenly sounded overly loud in the drawing room. “That’s why I’m
here tonight. I was going to tell you everything,” she said
quietly. It sounded lame even to her own ears.