Her Counterfeit Husband (33 page)

She forced a sip of tea, sure her sudden wave of nausea had more to do with Lord Mason than with her pregnancy.  “He left before he knew.”

“Oh, then he’ll want to return as
soon as he receives your letter
.”

She took another sip and nodded.  She had no way of telling Jason, but Lord Mason didn’t have to know that.  Noticing that he didn’t drink from his cup, she asked, “Is the tea not to your liking?”

He glanced at the cup before turning his gaze to the footman.  She sensed the two sent a silent message b
etween each other
but had no idea
what that message was.  The exchange caused her a flicker of unease.  Then she recalled returning from Gretna Green with Jason and seeing the two arguing.  Whatever the issue was at the moment, Lord Mason seemed content and drank from his cup.  She lowered her gaze to the tea in her cup.  Lord Mason’s tea came from the same pot as hers did.
  Did Lord Mason think something was wrong with it?

Losing her appetite for the tea, she placed her cup down.  When Lord Mason’s eyebrows rose, she said, “I’ve been having difficulty drinking and eating because of the child.”

“Of course.”

She shifted in the chair, not sure what to make of the knowing tone in his voice and what she thought was a smirk on his lips.  “What matter do you wish
to discuss
?”

He glanced at the footman again.  “I’d rather discuss the matter in private.”

The hair on the back of her neck rose on end at the thought of being alone with him.  “I’m afraid I can’t oblige you on that.  With my stomac
h being as uneasy as it is, I’d like him nearby in case I need something to eat.  Can’t we discuss the matter with him here?”

Though he didn’t seemed pleased, he said, “Yes, we can.  I suppose I’m not used to having the help nearby whenever I have conversations in my home.”

She shrugged.  What could she say to that?  Not everyone had an unsavory relative who insisted on stopping by all the time.

“I thought you might like to attend a dinner party I’m having.”

She waited for him to continue, but he took another drink from his cup and waited for her to respond. 
Why should an invitation to a dinner party require them to talk in private? 
Dismissing the silent question, she shook her head.  “I’m sorry.  As muc
h as I would love to accept, my nausea comes and goes at unpredictable times.  I’m afraid I wouldn’t be a good visitor.”

“I hadn’t considered that.”

“Is there anything else?”

“No.  I’ll be on my way.” He set the cup down and stood up.  With a bow, he added, “I hope you receive word from my brother soon.  I’d like to congratulate him in person on accomplishing what was once thought to be the impossible.”

Without another word, he followed the footman out of the room.  She released her breath and sat back in the chair.  She didn’t believe him.  He had come by for something else, and if Fieldman hadn’t been in the room, she would have found out what it was.  But there was no way she was going
to risk being alone with him.

She stood up, and o
ut of curiosity
, she crept out of the room.  She
headed down the hallway that led to the front entrance.  Just beyond the door, she spied Lord Mason and the footman talking in low tones, far enough from the door so she couldn’t make out what they were saying.  Lord Mason looked agitated, and the footman looked apprehensive.  Her eyebrows furrowed.  What could possibly be going on between them?

“Your G
race?”

She jumped and whirled around.  Pressing her hand to her heart, she laughed when she realized it was one of the maids.

“I didn’t mean to startle you, Your G
race,” she replied with a smile.

“You were so quiet.  I didn’t hear you.” Relaxing, she continued, “What is it?”

“Appleton wanted you to know he ate some oatmeal and was able to keep it down.  He thought you might find the good news encouraging.”

“Yes, I do.  Thank you.”

Deciding to leave the matter between Lord Mason and the footman alone, at least for the moment, she hurried to Appleton’s room so she could see how much
better he was doing
.

A
nna slept well that night.  Even if she missed the
warmth of
Jason
’s arms
, she took comfort in knowing Appleton was on the mend.  The doctor was encouraged as well and figured he got
the right medicine to speed his
recovery.
  He said it was the last medicine he’d tried with her
first
husband before
he
recovered.  Though she accepted the possibility that getting the medicine immediately after getting sick
worked
, she wondered if there was more to i
t than that.  What did cause Appleton’s
illness and why
was
it so much
like what her husband went through before he died?

When she woke up, her first thought was to check
on
Appleton to make sure he was still feeling better.
  She didn’
t even bother eating breakfast
.  With any luck, he felt well enough to get out of bed today.  But as soon as she saw the
maid carrying a bowl full of vomit out of
his room, her countenance fell
.

“Is Appleton,” she gulped, “worse?”

The maid stopped and gave
her a solemn nod.  “I’m sorry, Your G
race.  I don’t know what happened.  Fieldman was so attentive to him through the evening and last night.”

As the maid passed h
er to go down the hallway, Anna clenched her hands together and held her breath.  Fieldman tended to him and he was worse?  She recalled the times she’d seen
Lord Mason talking to him
.
Fieldman had also tended to her first husband during his illness.

Her mouth set in a grim line, she entered Appleton’s room and saw that he was weak in his bed, his face pale and a grimace on his face.  He opened his eyes and turned his head in her direction.  She tried to smile, but it wouldn’t come.  There was no way this could be a coincidence.  When she’d given him water and o
versaw his meals, he got
better.  Fieldman oversaw these things and he got worse?

“Is it true that Fiel
dman gave you food and water
when you got sick the first time and then this time?” she asked, hoping he didn’t detect the bitter edge in her voice.

He thought for a moment and nodded.  “Besides the two maids who’ve been cleaning up after me, Fieldman’s been the only one here.  Well, besides you.”

Just as she suspected.  “You are to only eat and drink food and water I bring to you,” she said.

His eyebrows furrowed.  “Your G
race?”

“
I don’t have time to explain
.  I need to talk to Fieldman.”

Without waiting for his reply, she stormed out of the room.  She hurried down the hall and searched for the footman.  With each step she took, she grew angrier and angrier.  How could the footman do this to her and Appleton
?  He was hired shortly after she married her first husband, and in that time, she had no reason to distrust him.
She didn’t know what hook Lord Mason used to make him do his dirty work, but she had no doubt Lord Mason was behind it.

She found Fieldman leaving the kitchen with another pitcher to give to Appleton.  This only served to shoot another spark of rage through her.  He could knowingly poison someone after seeing the misery he was putting him through?  Taking a deep breath, she stopped in front of him and made eye contact with him.  “You are relieved of duty.  I demand you give me the pitcher at once, pack your things, and leave.  And don’t think about coming b
ack.  If you so much as set
foot on my husband’s property, I’ll have you shot.  Is that understood?”

His jaw dropped and
his face turned white.  “Your G
race?”

“Did you have trouble understanding my instructions?”

A long moment passed between them until he broke eye contact and
handed her the pitcher.  “No, Your G
race.  I’ll leave at once.”

Good.  She gripped the pitcher in her hand and remained still as he headed for his room.  She examined the water in it.  It looked harmless.  No one wou
ld suspect something so common c
ould be used for foul play.  She had the sudden urge to go over to Lord Mason’s estate and make him drink the contents of the pitcher, see what he thought about being so sick that all he could do was lie in bed and vomit.
  But what good would it do?  Whatever he wanted, he’d find another way to get
it
.  And that was the crux of the whole matter.  What was it Lord Mason wanted?
  Was it her first husband’s title?  But how did that involve Appleton?

Did Fieldman know?  But
why would Lord Mason confide in
him?  He was a footman, not a confidant.  No.  Lord Mason might bribe him or threaten him, but he wouldn’t divulge the reason why
he
wanted her first husband and Appleton dead.  It couldn’t be her.  Lord Mason wan
ted to be with Lady Templeton.

Realizing she wasn’t going to figure it out—and might not ever figure it out, she took the pitcher outside and smashed it on the ground, watching as it shattered into twenty pieces.  If only she could
be rid of Lord Mason as easily as she was rid of that pitcher.

She returned to the house and went to the footman’s room.  Even if he didn’t know everything, perhaps he’d know something she might be able to piece together.  But when she reached his room, all her hopes disintegrated.  The footman had hung himself.

***

When Jason arrived in London, he thought it looked different from the last time he was here—when he was with Anna.  It seemed more impersonal, distant, cold. 
But then everything seemed that way without her.  She’d given hi
m
a place to belong, a place he could call home in the world.  And he’d never been so aware of it until he left her to find out the truth about his past.  Soon enough, he’d return to her, and when he did, he’d never leave her again.

But before he could go home and spend the rest of his life with her, he needed to go to the ci
rcus and find out if Willie-the-juggler
was still there.
He prayed Willie was there.  By the time he made it to the circus, it had already begun
.  He paid for h
is ticket and found a seat in
the crowded
amphitheater.

As he watched the acrobats swing on the ropes high above the crowd, he waited for something—some spark—to assure him that he’d once been an acrobat, but he felt no hidden memory trying to come to the surface.  He sighed in disappointment.  It really was as if th
e past had never happened
, except for his fear of horses, but he had no memory of falling off a horse.

Two horses came into the ring, a
nd two acrobats swung
down the lower bars
and jumped onto the horses.  Jason crossed his arms and studied the acrobats as they stood up on the horses
and performed their routines
. 
Did he really do all of that at one time?  It seemed as if it should have been
someone else who did all of tho
se things, but as he watched one of the acrobats grab a low bar and swing up it then swing onto a higher bar, he realized he’d done the same maneuver that day when he and Mason rode their horses.  So
he had
done this routine before.

Another acrobat descended
onto the horse and took over. 
The whole process was done with ease
.  He couldn’t help but be inspired by it as he watched the performers continue their act.  The six acrobats had different roles during the routine, but they made the whole thing look like one fluid movement.  The fact that there were enough acrobats for the act told him that his role had been expendable, and maybe that meant he had been easy to replace.  Maybe that was why no one bothered to look for him when he was dragged out to the forest and left for dead.