Her Counterfeit Husband (22 page)

Jason waited until Mason left before turning back to Anna who visibly relaxed.  “He really bothers you.”

She shrugged and crossed her arms.  “He’s not the nicest of gentlemen.”

“I understand that,” he replied and pressed his hand on the small of her bac
k to lead her to the manor.

“I wish he wouldn’t come by so often.  It wasn’t pleasant when he came by a couple times a year, but
it’s disturbing he keeps coming by as often as he does now
.”

“That’s why I told him we prefer to spend time alone.  Perhaps he’ll stay away longer this time.”

“I hope so.” After a few moments, she asked, “Wil
l you tell me what happened at the trees
?”

With a chuckle, he nodded.  “I have to admit it was a surprising display of my agility.  I had no idea I was capable of such a thing.”

“What thing is that?”

“When I rode close enough to a tree branch, I swung up on it as if I’d done it all of my life.  Do you recall me performing such a task before?”

Her eyebrows furrowed and she shook her head.  “No, no I don’t,” she whispered, an uncertain tone in her voice.  “What do you think it means?”

“I have no idea.  I suspect I’ve done something similar in the past.  I must have if I knew what to do, don’t you think?”

Biting her lower lip, she nodded but didn’t say anything.

“Perhaps it’s something I learned before I met you.
I think what surprised me the most was how natural it was, as if I was born doing it.  I know that sounds odd since I obviously didn’t do it often, but it feels like I did.”

She
glanced at him, and he thought he saw a worried look in her eyes.

“Anna, are you all right?”

Taking a deep breath, she offered him a tentative smile and slipped her arm around his.  “Yes.  I’m fine.  I…
I’m just relieved you’re all right.  It doesn’t sound like jumping on a tree branch while riding a horse is a safe maneuver.”

“Probably not.  That’s why it seems like I shouldn’t know how to do it, and yet I do.”

“Well, neither one of us know why, so I suppose it’s not worth thinking about anymore.”

He grinned and kissed her cheek.  “You’re right.  I’d rather think about us instead.”

Her body relaxed against him.  “I agree.  What do you want to do today?”

“I wouldn’t mind seeing if everything has been put away in your bedchamber.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Her cheeks grew pink as she caught his meaning.  “I’m sure everything is fine, but if it makes you feel better, we can do that.”

“It would.  Plus, we need to get out of these cloth
es
.”

“Yes, indeed we do.”

Catching the teasing gleam in her eye, his smile widened as they continued their stroll to the manor.

I
n April
,
A
nna woke up in her bed, wrapped in Jason’s arms.  Ever since they married, he’d slept in her bed, something that pleased her though she wouldn’t tell him.  It was wonderful to be loved so well.  The past six years were now a blur to her, and if she had to go through it all again so she could be with Jason, she would.

She studied her husband as he slept.  In sleep, he looked happy.  Of course, he looked happy while he was awake, but she fancied that in sleep, he
always had
good dreams.  She brushed aside the lock of blond hair that had fallen over his eyelids and noted the silky strands between her fingers.  Then she traced his cheek and his jaw, enjoying the rough sensation.  He would shave it away, but she liked the masculine appeal it gave him.

His eyes opened and he smiled.  “
Good morning,” he murmured and drew her closer to him before he
closed his eyes.

“Good morning, Your G
race,” she whispered.  “Did you have good dreams?”

“I did.  Then I woke up and realized they were all true.”

Pleased, she gave him another kiss.  “What can I do to make you happy today?”

“Take me to London.”

“Why London?  Aren’t you content to remain here?”

“I am.” He opened his eyes and cupped the side of her face with his hand.  “I enjoy every moment we have together.  I just remember what you said about London.  The theatre, the balls, a walk in Hyde Park, the museum
..
.  There are so many things to do there.  I want to go to them.  I want to experience everything.  I want to embrace life.”

Taking in the enthusiastic tone in his voice and the excitement in his eyes, she knew she didn’t have a choice.  He’d been hiding from the world in this place.
She sighed. 
“You’re right.  I’ve been selfish to keep you here all to myself.”

He chuckled and kissed her.  “I wouldn’t say selfish.  It gave us a second chance.  I’ll never regret that.”

She wouldn’t either, but she wondered if it was wise to send him to London where people knew her first husband.  Undoubtedly, Lord Mason would be there
this time of year
.  She took a deep breath to steady her racing heart.  There were far too many things to fear, and now she had to worry that someone in London would figure out Jason wasn’t the duke.  God help her if that person knew Lord Mason.  She released her breath and hoped Jason didn’t pick
up on her increased heart
rate.

“We’ll have a wonderful time there, Anna.”

Jason’s soothing tone helped her relax, but only a little.

“You’ll see,” he continued.  “We’ll go to London and see the sights and dance.  We’ll have some great memories that we’ll bring back with us to warm us up during the cold winter months.  And if the memories don’t warm you up, I’ll be happy to help.”

Despite her apprehension, she found herself laughing at his joke.

“There.  That’s better,” he said and hugged her.

“I can’t
deny you anything,” she replied
.

“That’s
a good thing,” he insisted and kissed her again.

Wrapped protectively in his arms, she could only hope the decision to go to London wouldn’t be the wrong one.

***

Jason
sorted through
the desk that was in the room off to the side of his bedchamber. 
Now that he could read, he wanted to see what documents were in the desk.  He
wiped the sweat from his forehead and checked to make sure the small window in the room was open.  It was and the breeze w
afting into the room was cool. 

Someone knocked on the door, and he
looked up
, surprised to see Anna standing in the doorway.  “I thought you wished to play a few songs on the piano be
fore you retired for the night,
”
he said.

“I planned to
, but then I thought of something I need you to do.  Will you come to my bedchamber when you’re done in here?”

If she wanted to make love to him, all she had to do was say so, but he thought it was charming she was too embarrassed to come out and say it.  With a wink, he said, “I’ll be there soon.”

Though she seemed confused by his reaction, she shrugged and nodded.  “I’ll be waiting for you. 
I’ll have everything ready.  There’s not much time to waste
.”

He chuckled.  “I didn’t realize you were so impatient for me.”

“Well, it’s something that needs tending to, and the sooner, the better.”

“In that case, do you want me to join you
right
now?”

“No.  I’m not that impatient.  I can wait until you’re done in here.”

He watched her as she left the room and grinned.  It
was nice to be wanted
so badly.  His gaze went to the open drawer in the desk.  It was the last one he had to examine.  He collected
the papers and a safe and set them
on the desk.  Sorting t
hrough the papers, he learned what
assets
c
ame with the estate, and after reading through those, he picked up the safe.  He studied the lock and recalled the key
he put
in his cabinet.

Placing the safe down, he
went to the cabinet
near his bed
and opened it.  He searched the bottom
of the shelf and found the key.  Once he returned to the room, he sat at the desk and inserted the key into the
lock.
After he opened it, h
e pulled out the documents and studied them.  With a frown, he put them down and opened a drawer so he could pull out the paper where the family lineage was documented.

“This doesn’t make sense,” he whispered as he set the paper beside the family tree he’d found in the safe.

The paper was nearly identical,
except
for one thing
.  He traced through the lineage to compare the two
pieces of paper
.  Everything was the same except for one thing: one person was missing from the family tree.  That person happened to be his
twin brother.

Setting the paper aside, he searched through the other papers in the safe and discovered a notice of death.  He sighed.  His poor parents, especially his mother.  He rec
alled that Mason said their parents
refused to have visitors shortly after Jason was born an
d now it made sense.  Their parents were
grieving the death of the first twin, his older brother of t
hree minutes who was never
named.  The cause of death was reported as a stillbirth.

He
sighed and picked up
another piece of paper
. 
It was a letter from his father instructing Jason to never mention the death of the unnamed boy.  Jason put the paper down and debated whether or not such a thing was necessary.  Why keep the infant’s death a secret?  There wouldn’t be anything to gain from it.

He sat back in his chair.  He should tell Anna, shouldn’t he? 
Drumming his fingers on the desk, he thought over the pros and cons to both options.  Sighing, he rubbed his eyes.  He didn’t like the idea of keeping anything from Anna, but telling her wouldn’t change things. 
It certainly wouldn’t bring his brother back.  Looking at the safe and papers around it, he decided he would honor his father’s wish and not tel
l anyone about his twin brother
.
 
He put everything back
in the desk
before he
returned the key
to the cabinet.

His attention
went to the door connecting his bedchamber with Anna’s, and he smiled.  He’d kept his wife waiting long enough.  The poor lady went through all the trouble of telling him how much she wanted him in bed with her.  The least he could do was oblige her.

He
decided he wouldn’t bother his valet this time and dressed for bed.  When he secured the straps of his robe, he went over to the door and entered Anna’s room, pleased to see that she was also in her robe.  She sat in front of her vanity and brushed her hair.

His smile widened and he tiptoed over to her.  He covered her eyes
with his hands.  “Guess who?” he whispered.

“Umm…” She tapped the brush in her hand.  “Can you give me a hint?”

Chuckling, he removed his hands and kissed her cheek.  “Does tall, strong, and handsome sound familiar?”

“No, not really.”

“You’re charming.” He kissed her neck, and she giggled.  “Now, what did you want me for when I was in my bedchamber?” Even i
f he already knew, he’d like to hear
her to say it.

“I need you to read that book.”

He waited for her to say she was joking, but she pointed to her desk
,
which was on the othe
r side of the room.  Just to make sure she wasn’t kidding, he humored her and walked over to the desk.  His eyes grew wide.  Indeed, she hadn’t been joking.
  The book sat on top of the desk, opened to the first chapter as if mocking him.  At least there weren’t papers beside the book this time or else he’d be expected to practice his writing as well.  He knew she took the task of teaching him to read and write seriously, but this was ridiculous.