Awareness flickered in his eyes, and she sensed that felt like a truth to him or he had some memory.
“Why were you not with me?”
“We…we had an argument, and I disembarked at Dover and made my way home on the train,” she whispered, so aware of that hand on her cheek.
He pinched her chin, lifted her head up more to meet his. His gaze searched hers, his own dark with cunning and intelligence. “Am I really your husband?”
What am I doing?she silently wailed. “There is a small red strawberry birth mark on…on your…manhood.” The words choked from her.
Shockingly, his eyes crinkled at the corner. “That only proves we have been lovers.”
“It does not! I wouldnever…never,” she spluttered, her entire body engulfed in waves of mortification.
Wariness entered his eyes. “You are genuine,” he said slowly, “that you would never take a lover without the benefit of a marriage.”
She shook her head fiercely, and he released her as if she had been burned. Her heart pounding, Georgianna shuffled away, unable to look at Cousin Albert’s dissentingly curious stare.
He stepped toward the earl. “Miss Heyford is my cousin, Mr. Stannis. I can also assure you that a lady with her stiff moral rectitude would not have taken a lover—”
“Good God, stiff moral rectitude?” The earl growled. “I cannot recall my own bloody name, but I would not have marriedanywoman owning to a stiff moral—”
Unable to continue, he spun away from them and marched over to the small window where he grasped the edge of the sill in a white-knuckle grip. Georgianna closed her eyes. She could not do this. She had to tell Albert the truth and have him find a way to discover the earl’s family. Surely it could not be that difficult. Then she would determine a way to suppress the gossip that was bound to happen.
Should the good people of Crandell think I was this man’s lover…all is lost. But I cannot keep pretending…this madness.Oh, this web is too tangled!
An awful sensation entered her stomach, and she knew Mr. Benedict Ford, one of their wealthiest and most connected landowners in Crandell, would no longer hire her to cater for his beloved wife’s garden party.
My family needs this money, and this wretch has already cost me a fortune!
“I feel it is best you take him home today,” Albert said in a low voice, cutting into her frantic musing.
“Home!” Georgianna glared at her cousin. “I think it best Mr. Stannis remain here until—”
Her cousin waved aside her objection. “Your husband will need the sense of safety and familiarity. The wound on his head will also require diligent care, and I know I can trust you with this, given how often you have helped me here.”
“Albert, I—”
“You are clearly…entangled with this gentleman,” he said without meeting her direct gaze. “I will hand his possessions over to you, the money, and a lapel pin that seems like it has diamonds. I will procure a pair of shoes for him to wear and have the bill sent to you.”
She blinked, looking down at the bank notes he stuffed in her hands. Georgianna closed her eyes and wrestled with her good upbringing and conscience.
He owes me money that my family desperately needs, she reminded herself,and he is a cruel beast! Not to mention, even if only for a few days, I need to protect my reputation until a better plan is formed.
“Albert, we…we may not be married,” she started to whisper, only to stop when he squeezed her hand.
“I do not need to know the full details or if there was consummation,” he said, flushing. “The news will already be all over town that our mysterious stranger is the eldest Heyford’s husband. Do not mistake the pointed look my relative did to your belly.”
She groaned, hating that her hands trembled. This was a mess, one of her own makings by her damn curiosity. “I…”
“I have never seen you appear so out of sorts,” Albert said gently. “I do not know the reason behind the suddenness of your marriage to this man, but I know you to have a sound head, Georgie. This situation might seem frightening now, but his memory will return in due time.”
Beads of sweat trickled between her breasts. “How long?”
He sighed. “It could be months…or years… I have read in some cases never.”
“Never?”
“The medical community does not understand the full of amnesia. I cannot say for certain how long it will take Mr. Stannis to recover his memories, nor can I make any guarantees. He theoretically could recover in years or even weeks. I have read about a case study in Edinburgh where the patient recovered his full knowledge and abilities after three weeks.”
