Forever Mine (35 page)

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” He cradled her and brushed a lock of hair off her wet cheek.

“I had another…nightmare. When I woke up you were gone, and I thought… I thought I was back in the future without you.”

“It was just a dream, sweet witch,” he whispered. “You’re right where you’re supposed to be.”

“I don’t know why I’m so weepy all of a sudden,” she choked out as she stared into the flames of the small fire in the grate. The corners of his mouth quirked at the memory of Vickie’s personality and her outbursts.

“Would it help if I pointed out that in the past you were prone to a prolific number of tears and tantrums.”

“
That wasn’t
—”

“You.” He finished her sentence with a chuckle.

She was right. Vickie’s personality had been completely replaced by Victoria’s. A fact someone was attempting to use against her and, ultimately, him. Another possibility slipped into his conscious mind, and he immediately rejected it. But like an insidious spider web, it drifted through his head again. He forced the thought out of his mind with a silent grunt. The woman in his arms was his wife. She wasn’t an imposter.

Nicholas’ gaze focused on Victoria again as she wiped her damp cheeks with her fingertips. Even teary-eyed she was beautiful, and she was his. He would do whatever it took to protect her. Eyes wide in her face, there was still the shadow of fear in her gaze. Concerned, he caught her hand and carried it to his mouth.

“Tell me about your nightmare,” he said quietly, yet with a firmness he knew she would respond to. She shuddered against him and averted her gaze. Aware how deeply the nightmare had affected her, Nicholas gently pushed her to answer. “Victoria.”

“I’m with Edmund. We’re in a very dark place.” He could hear the fear in her voice, and his chest tightened painfully at his inability to ease her fear. She trembled in his arms as she stared into the fire. “Edmund’s very frightened, but I keep telling him you’ll come for us. He’s crying, and I can’t see where he is. The floor…it’s slick…slimy, really. And there are mice—no rats—there are rats scurrying across the floor.”

“It was a bad dream, Victoria,” he said quietly. “I’m not about to let anyone hurt you or Edmund.”

Nicholas wasn’t sure she believed him, but she burrowed her body into his and laid her head on his shoulder. Silence drifted between them, and he glanced down at her to see her staring into the fire. Several embers in the fireplace flared and the flames lit up her features. Victoria’s nightmares troubled him. For the past week, he’d woken up to her soft moans of fear and unintelligible protests of terror.

Each time he’d gently soothed her until she slept quietly again. He was certain her dreams were connected to whatever had happened to her during the time she was missing. There was a darkness bottled up inside her that only emerged when she was asleep or when she’d fainted. It had been more than a month since her last occurrence. The fact that she’d deliberately induced the episode only deepened his fears for her general well-being.

Whatever trauma she’d endured while she had been missing was one she was still affected by. Even Bertram was puzzled by Victoria’s condition. The doctor had sent word that several of his colleagues had indicated Victoria’s case was similar to others, but that there was no treatment for the condition other than rest. The one heartening thing in the doctor’s note had been the statement that few patients reverted to their previous personalities.

Curled up in his arms like this, he realized he couldn’t imagine life without her. She shivered against him, and he frowned at the thin wrap she was wearing over her naked body. With a growl, he closed the robe over her lovely legs and pulled her into him as tight as he could.

“You’re cold. This robe is for summer use, not winter,” he muttered in gentle rebuke. “Tomorrow, I’m ordering Molly to pull your winter clothes out of storage. Although if you’d go to London with me, it would afford you the chance to buy new clothes.”

“Have you seen how many dresses are in my wardrobe?” she said with disgust as she looked up at him. “It’s obscene for one woman to have that many outfits just for one season of the year. And don’t start on me about London.”

The last part of her response was one of defiance, and he closed his eyes with frustration. The woman was backing him into a corner when it came to why he was so insistent she go with him. With a sigh, he caught her chin with his fingers and forced her to look at him.

“Victoria, it’s not just business matters I must attend to. I’ll not be able to return to Brentwood Park for Christmas, and I’d prefer
not
to spend the holiday without you.” Nicholas grimaced as he tried to frame his words in the best possible light. “I’ll not order you to go, but I want you to come with me. You’re my wife, and I want you with me.”

“How many times do I have to tell you—”

“So help me God, Victoria,” he growled with irritation. “What do I have to do to make you understand you’re my wife? Marry you again?”

As the words left his mouth, he realized it was exactly what he wanted to do. He wanted to marry her. Legally, she might be his wife, but she was no longer Vickie. He wanted to prove to her that he had no doubts about who she was. Nicholas ignored the voice in the back of his head that tried to tell him there was another reason for his decision.

The thought had been troubling him for weeks, but he wasn’t ready to admit the truth yet. Nicholas stared down at Victoria’s shocked expression. The voice in the back of his head grew stronger, but he suppressed it out of fear. Victoria drew in a breath then released it quickly.

“You would do that?” she whispered.

“Yes. If only to ensure you can no longer continue to deny being my wife,” he teased taking pleasure in the look of happiness on her face.

“Oh, Nicholas,” she exclaimed softly. “Yes, yes, I’ll marry you.”

Her arms wrapped around his neck, and she pulled his head down to kiss him. The softness of her mouth against his was a sweet caress. There was only a hint of passion in the kiss, but a deeper emotion layered the taste of her mouth against his. It was an imprint on his soul, and deep inside he knew the connection between them was a bond so strong nothing could break it.

Slowly, her mouth left his, and she smiled up at him. There was a glow about her that made her look even more beautiful than he’d ever seen her. A part of him almost wished Lockwood could see her now to paint her face, but he immediately crushed the thought. He had no wish to share this moment with anyone.

“Do you really want me to come to London that badly?”

The tentative question startled him, and he frowned. He’d not made the offer to marry her in exchange for her agreement to go to London with him.

“My proposal was not an attempt to coerce you to go with me to London,” he said in an irritable tone.

“I know that,” she murmured.

Confusion and hesitancy flashed in her eyes as she met his gaze then looked down to where her hand was pressed against his chest. When she remained silent, he breathed a quiet sound of puzzlement.

“Tell me why you’re so adamant about not going to town.” The moment he spoke, fear darkened her gaze. He narrowed his eyes at her. “Out with it, Victoria. I want to know why you’re afraid to go with me to London.”

“Because someone wants…I’m so different from Vickie. People are bound to think I’m an imposter, which technically I suppose I am, since I’m not Vickie…” She blew out a harsh breath of disgust. “It’s all so damn confusing.”

It was obvious to him that she was frightened, and he was certain she’d changed her explanation so as to hide her fear from him. He carried her hand to his mouth and kissed the inside of her wrist.

“I’ve no doubt there will be gossip. There might even be rumors that I murdered Vickie and replaced her with you,” he said quietly. She drew in a sharp breath, and he knew she’d thought the same thing. “Nothing will come of it, Victoria. Rumors are not the same thing as truths.”

“But the police—”

“The police need evidence to even suggest foul play. We don’t know how or why you went missing. However, your injuries were observed by reliable witnesses. Dr. Bertram has examined you and consulted with experts regarding the changes in your behavior. Rumors and gossip are irrelevant.”

The thought of someone publicly denouncing her as an imposter bothered him far less than the men who’d chased her that night across the estate. Especially when he knew those same men and the writer of the notes were connected. Victoria appeared ready to argue with him, but nodded when he frowned at her. Silence stretched between them for a long moment, before she sighed.

“I’ll go with you to London,” she said softly. The words filled him with relief, and he closed his eyes for a brief moment at the elation surging through him.

“Thank you, sweet witch,” he murmured as he pressed his mouth against the side of her head. The tangy smell of citrus filled his nostrils, as her hand stroked the side of his face. He looked down at her, and the mischievous expression on her face made him arch his eyebrows.

“I’d like to go back to bed…but not alone,” she said with an enticing smile.

In a lithe movement, she slipped free of his arms and stood in front of him. The thin material of her robe allowed the fire to illuminate her body beneath the robe, and his heart slammed into his chest as his gaze ran over her sweetly curved hips, lush thighs, and full breasts. She was exquisite, and she was his. Victoria stretched out her hand to him. With a smile, he clasped her hand in his and followed her to bed, all the while knowing he was willing to go to hell and back to possess her body and soul.

London

December 1897

V
ictoria trembled as she watched Nicholas climb out of the carriage and turn to offer her his hand. She hesitated. Although Sebastian and Anna had called on them the day after their arrival to London, this was her first public appearance. The idea of being put under the microscope made her stomach churn.

“Nicholas, I can’t do this.”

“Of course you can, sweet witch.” His smile reflected reassurance. “I’m not going to throw you to the wolves. I’ll not leave you.”

After a another moment of indecision, she accepted his hand and stepped out of the carriage. On the sidewalk, Victoria stared up at the brightly lit building they were about to enter. Another tremor shook her, and he bent his head.

“It will be all right, sweetheart. I’m not going to leave you alone.”

“Good, then everyone will know how bewitched you are by my charms.” Her humor was an attempt to bolster her courage.

“Careful sweet witch, do not tempt me to weave my own spell and show how enchanted you are with me.” A devilish twinkle in his eye, he tucked her arm in his and led her up the steps of the opera house.

Inside the large lobby, Victoria allowed Nicholas to remove her cape, and he handed it and his own coat to the attendant in the hat room.

“
Vickie, darling.
” A shrill, excited voice in front of her caused Victoria to wince. The owner of the voice, a young woman dressed in an elaborate green silk gown adorned with flourishes of ruffles and bows glided toward her.

“I’m so happy to see you,” the woman said as she eyed Victoria with intent curiosity. “We’d given you up for lost.”

“Thank you for your concern,” Victoria murmured as she groped for Nicholas’ arm. When she felt the strength of his forearm beneath her hand, she heaved an inward sigh of relief.

“Good evening, Lady Farling.” Nicholas greeted the woman with a bow. “You must forgive Victoria, her memory is still faulty.”

“So I’ve heard, you poor dear,” Lady Farling simpered. “I’m just so glad to see you back among us.”

“Thank you,” Victoria said again.

“If you’ll forgive us, my lady, we’re meeting friends.” Nicholas caught Victoria’s arm in his firm grip and started to pull her away from the woman.

“Of course,” the woman said as she narrowed her eyes at Victoria. “I’ll call on you soon, my dear.”

“Abominable woman,” he muttered when they were out of earshot.

“I take it you don’t care for her?” she said with a soft laugh.

“I never did understand what you—” He stopped and corrected himself. “—what Vickie saw in her. The woman is an infernal gossip.”

They climbed the wide staircase with a number of other guests, several who greeted them with open looks of speculation. At the top of the stairs, Nicholas guided her down a corridor lined with several doorways with drawn back curtains. They stopped at one of the last doorways and entered an opera box overlooking rows of seats on the floor below. A noticeable hush swept over the people below their box, and Victoria stiffened as a flurry of conversations followed.

“This will be the most difficult part of the evening, sweet witch,” Nicholas murmured reassuringly.

“You could have warned me,” she snapped with irritation. Grateful for the fan Molly had insisted she attach to her wrist, Victoria popped it open. The silk bound slats fluttered madly in front of her face.

“You were nervous enough—I had no wish to make matters worse.”