Her Counterfeit Husband (25 page)

“Yes, we are,” Jason told her father.

“Excellent.  My daughter and I are hosting a ball in five days, and we’d be honored if you attended.”

“We’d be delight
ed
to attend
, thank you.”

Lord Mason grinned.  “You made the right choice, dear brother.  No one in all of British India hosts more elegant balls.  I dare say, no one in London has matched his genius either, but all of London will know that soon enough.”

Her father laughed.  “My lord, you flatter me.”

“But not beyond what you deserve
,” Lord Mason replied.

Anna took a deep breath and released it.  She couldn’t recall the last time she watched Lord Mason trip all over himself to impress someone, and it was making her sick to her stomach.  If she didn’t sense
that
Lady Templeton was as horrible as he was, she’d extend her sympathies to the lady.

“Well, my wife and I were about to enjoy the museum,” Jason said and took Anna by the elbow.  “I don’t remember London, and we thought this would be a good place to start.”

“Oh?” Lord Mason asked.  “Are you remembering pieces of your past?”

“No, it’s not like that.  I only mean that I have a lot to learn about London,” Jason replied.  “I apologize for the confusion.”

“Seeing as how I haven’t been to the museum yet, I have much to learn as well,” Lady Templeton’s father said.  “Why don’t we all go in there together?”

“What a
wonderful idea
!” Lord Mason turned to his brother
.  “It’ll give me a chance to tell you all the wicked things the peop
le in those portraits did
.”

“Lord Mason, you are a dangerous gentleman for my daughter to be around,” her father said with a twinkle in his eye.

“I promise to only speak to my brother when she isn’t in hearing distance,” Lord Mason replied.

Her father chuckled and motioned for Anna and his daughter to enter the museum first.  With a sigh, Anna realized she’d be spending most of the afternoon with Lady Templeton.  Forcing another smile, she joined his daughter and
spent
a very uncomfortable
afternoon
at the museum.

F
our days later, Jas
on decided to go to White’s and see if anything there would seem familiar to him.  He told Anna
his plan
during breakfast, and though he couldn’t be sure, he thought she wasn’t pleased.  Mindful of the servants
, he held off on asking her why.  After breakfast, he went to his bedchamber where
his valet helped him change his clothes. 
Knowing Anna would
also be changing clothes, h
e waited until her lady’s
maid left her bedchamber before knocking on her door.

“Come in,” she called out.

Accepting her invitation, he slipped into her room and shut the door behind him.  She glanced up from where she studied her reflection in the vanity mirror and smiled.  He couldn’t be sure, but there seemed to be a hesitation in it.

“Would you rather
I not go to White’s?” he asked, stepping toward her.

She took a deep breath and sighed.  “You should go to White’s.
  You need to talk to other gentlemen without your wife lingering about like a shadow.”

Finding the way she chose to word that statement amusing, he approached her, turned her to face him, and wrapped his arms around her waist.  He gave her a kiss and noted the pleasant way she relaxed against him.  “You don’t linger about me like a shadow.”

“Maybe not like a shadow, but you have to agree I haven’t let you out of my sight ever since we came to London.”

“I take that as a compliment.  You hate being apart from me,” he joked with a grin.

She chuckled.  “
Yes,
I
do
enjoy being with you very much.”

“That’s good to hear.  I enjoy being with you, too.”
He gently squeezed her and added, “If you’d rather do something else, I’d be happy to oblige.”

After a moment of silence, she shook her head.  “No.  You need to go to White’s.  Gentlemen
should
go to gentlemen’s clubs.  It’s why they’re called gentlemen’s clubs.  A husband needs to be with other gentlemen from time to time just like ladies need to be with other ladies.” She patted his chest and smiled at him.  “You need to go.  Have a good time.  Make sure you miss me
,
and be
happy
when you see me again.”

“I can do that.”

“Good.” She kissed
his cheek.  “Don’t be too long.
”

“No, I won’t.  I figure I’ll be there for an hour or two.  But,” he added, “I don’t think that’s any way for a lady in love to kiss her husband.  It should be more like this.”

He lowered his head and kissed her, brushing his tongue along her bott
om lip until she parted her mouth
for him.  When she did, he deepened the kiss and pulled her more tightly against him.
  She sighed in contentment and
wrapped her arms around his neck.  They remained in each other’s arms for a good minute before he reluctantly pulled away from her.

“Now that’s how you kiss the gentleman you’re in love with,” he whispered.

She grinned and gave him a playful nudge in the side.  “Go before I change my mind and insist you spend the day with me.”

“When I return, I’ll be all yours, and you can do whatever you want to with me.”

She giggled.  “I wouldn’t mind taking a stroll in Hyde Park.”

“We’ll do that.”

With a wink, he headed for the stairs and left the townhouse to go to White’s.  He wasn’t sure what to expect when he got there, but as he entered the establishment, someone called out to him.  Surprised, he turned and saw Lord Basemore.

“It’s good to see you, old friend,” Lord Basemore said as he patted him on the back.  “I dare say that I didn’t think your wife was going to let you come here.  She’s been terribly possessive of you ever since you recovered from your illness, but I don’t think you can blame her.  You
almost died
, after all.”

“I don’t mind spending all the time I do with her,” Jason replied.  “
Between you and me, I don’t deserve her.
”

“We all have our faults, but I admit that you’re more likable than you used to be.”

“Am I?”

“I never voiced a complaint, of course, but I always thought you were a bit rough around the edges.  It’s nice to see you as you are now.”

Considering
the changes
Anna liked
in him, he wasn’t surprised to hear Lord Basemore express the same sentiment. 
“Forgive me for not remembering, but are we on a first name basis?”

“We were, but that’s because we’re cousins.”

“We weren’t friends?”

“Not like you and Ian are.”

It took Jason a moment to remember that Ian was Lord Hedwrett.  “I have a lot to learn.  What is your first name?”

“Luke.” He motioned to one of the
chairs.  “Are you up for a game of chess?”

Jason indicated his consent, and he followed Luke
to the
chessboard.  Once they sat down, Jason glanced around the room and saw a few other men playing chess.  The cheers from the other room caught his attention.  “What’s going on in there?”

“Oh, that’s where you can play cards.” Luke glanced toward the room.  “Would you rather do that?”

Jason shrugged.  “No, I don’t think so.”

“You might enjoy it more than chess.  At least, you used to.”

“Maybe I’ll try it another time,” Jason replied and turned his attention from
the other room where another round of applause erupted.  “That must be some game in there.”

“It usu
ally is when Lord Edon’s playing.  I don’t know how he does it, but he wins almost every hand he plays.  He was born with a gift.  It used to irritate you to no end because you knew he never cheated.  You tried many times to figure out
his secret and finally realized
he had none.  It was just pure, dumb luck, you’d say.”

“It bothered me that Lord Edon would win?  Then I wasn’t his friend?”

“I’m not sure if Lord Edon has any friends.  He knows a lot
of
people, but he doesn’t seem to have any close relationships. 
He doesn’t even have a mistress.  From what I hear, he visits prostitutes
or visits ladies once and that’s it
.  I think it’s because he doesn’t
want to develop any emotional ties to
anyone
.  But to each his own, right? 
Whatever Lord Edon does, it’s not any concern to us.”

“Perhaps.” Jason paused before adding, “Was I the same way?”

“No.  You had friends and mistresses.”

“Mistresses?” He didn’t recall Anna mentioning that.

“You had five over the course of ten years, if I remember right.  There would come a time when you’d tire of them and move on.  You always said ladies were to be enjoyed until they wore out their use.”

Jason sighed.  He should have expected as much based on his other undesirable attributes in the past.

“It’s not uncommon to have a mistress.”

“Maybe not,” he replied, but he already decided he wouldn’t take another one.  He couldn’t imagine being with someone else the way he was with Anna.
“Would it be a strange thing if I admitted that
I like who I am
now
better than who I used to be
?”

Luke smiled and shook his head.  “To be honest, I didn’t care much for who you used to
be either
.”

Jason leaned forward
and lowered his voice
.  “What do you make of Mason?”

He grimaced.  “I know he’s your brother and my cousin, but I care for him even less than I used to care for you.”

“If you don’t like him, why did you go to his dinner party?”

Luke laughed.  “You really don’t remember how things were.  Mason isn’t a gentleman you refuse.  If he invites you to his dinner party, you attend because if you don’t, he
has a way of making life difficult for you.”

“Difficult how?”

“It’s hard to explain.  When you were upset
, it was obvious.  You’
d come right out and say it
.  With Mason, he pretends to be your friend until he decides to
do something about it
, and when he does, you rarely see it coming.”

“Has he made life difficult for me in the past?”

“No,” Luke replied.  “He didn’t
do anything to you.  You would have made his life worse because you had all the money, and Mason wasn’t about to let the money go.”

“Doesn’t Mason have his own money?”

“Not after he lost it to Lord Edon two years ago.  You lost some money to him as well, but you had plenty left over and Mason didn’t.”

“Mason’s indebted to me?”

“I suppose you could say that,” Luke said.  “You have the steward pay him a stipend every month.”

Jason recalled the ledger and remembered seeing Mason’s name.  “I thought it was standard for me to pay Mason somet
hing since I have the title
.”

“No.  Mason has
his own wealth.  Or rather, he did.  Without
you there to boost him up, he’d be
poor.”

“Do you think that’s something he might resent?”

“Resent?  I don’t know how that could be since he’s the one who lost his money to Lord Edon after you warned him to stop gambling. 
He ought to be grateful
.  If Mason was my brother, I wouldn’t give him anything, but then, I don’t care for him.  You ready to play chess?”

Jason nodded, but his mind was still on what Luke had just told him.
He rubbed his chin.  Something was wrong.  Mason did resent him, and this might be the reason why.  But what would Mason do if he resented someone enough?  Get him on a hor
se, knowing full well that he
was scared of riding it, and then head for the trees? 
Jason didn’t like the way his thoughts were going, but the more he recalled that day and how fast he had to go to keep up with Mason, he had to wonder if Mason wa
s hoping he’d fall
.