She opened the door.
There she stood. Marianna Spencer Mayfield. In the flesh, and very much alive. At first glance, she looked as bright and beautiful as ever, gaily dressed in a purple cape and glimmering golden-yellow gown beneath.
Marianna smiled archly. “Surprise.”
Hannah felt as though she faced a firing squad. Panic seized her throat.
“Come now, Hannah. You’re not going to pretend you don’t recognize me?” One penciled brow rose in part amusement, part challenge.
“W-won’t you come in?” she asked woodenly, and stepped back from the door.
Marianna hesitated, her smile fading. “Is he here?”
Hannah shook her head. “He just left.”
She sighed. “Good. I’ll need a drink before I face him.”
For some reason Hannah didn’t correct her misapprehension that Sir John had merely stepped out and would return soon.
Marianna strode into the drawing room and sat heavily onto the sofa. Hannah perched on the edge of a chair nearby. At closer inspection, she saw that Marianna had applied cosmetics with a heavy hand, her skin beneath lacking its former brilliancy, and the fine lines at the corners of her eyes deeper than she recalled. Her teeth were duller too, stained from perhaps tea or even tobacco. Her dress, visible where the cape gapped, was creased and showed signs of wear. The shoes peeping out beneath were scuffed. The last month or two had clearly been hard on her.
Marianna asked, “Are you surprised to see me?”
Hannah swallowed her panic and murmured, “Uh ... yes.”
“And not happy about it apparently. No joyful reunion for your old friend, back from the dead?”
Hannah faltered, “But your body ... your cloak. Dr. Parrish and his son saw you....”
“No. They saw my red cape tied around a piece of wooden wreckage and shoved out to sea. It worked quite well, I thought. I hid behind the rocks and then made my way north after nightfall. Very clever of me, was it not?”
Hannah slowly shook her head. “We heard a rumor you’d been seen in London. But we didn’t think you’d return here.”
Again, one brow arched. “Hoped I would not, I think you mean.” Marianna leaned back. “Might I have that drink now?”
“Oh. Of course.” Hannah rose and stepped to the decanter on the side table, removing the stopper and pouring a glass of Madeira with unsteady hands. While her back was turned, she said, “Mr. Fontaine came here looking for you, soon after the accident. He was distraught.”
“Yes. We had quite a passionate reunion, I can tell you. For a few days, a week. Yet not a fortnight had passed before things changed between us.”
Hannah turned and carried the glass to her. “And where is he now?”
Marianna waved a dismissive hand, then accepted the glass. “You know how it is with men. Once they can have a woman anytime they want, all the mystery is gone. The thrill of the chase disappears and then, so does he.”
“I am sorry to hear it.”
“Are you? Yes, I imagine you are.” Marianna took a long drink. “After Anthony joined me, he and I hid away in Wales for a time. Expecting any moment for Sir John or a constable to come knocking, looking for us. Yet no one ever came. I think Anthony liked the excitement and adventure of living on the run. But that feeling didn’t last.”
She looked down at her ragged fingernails. “He liked being with me when it was forbidden. Stolen moments. Secrets. Not a nagging wife, day after day, with a child on the way. It turns out he had little interest in becoming a father.” She drained her glass.
Hannah glanced at Marianna’s flat abdomen and concluded she had lost the child, but was afraid to ask.
Marianna glanced up, eyes flinty. “I assumed I had been declared dead. That my plot had worked and that was why no one came looking for me. Anthony was angry. He thought I should have stayed in case Sir John did not recover. He derided me for giving up my widow’s jointure. Money we could have lived on quite well. I told him no matter. If Sir John died, I would simply declare I had been lost at sea, lost my memory, and only recently realized who I was and return the grieving widow to reclaim what was rightfully mine. Though I reminded Anthony that Sir John had threatened to change his will and cut me off with only my jointure. Anthony assured me it was all bluster. Another maneuver meant to force me into submission. In the end it did not matter, for Sir John did recover. Lived to spite me, no doubt.”
She lifted her empty glass, and Hannah rose to refill it.
“Anthony and I got bored in the rustics and decided to try life in London—big, anonymous London. Of course by the time we arrived, the season was all but over. Thankfully, some not enamored with country life remained in town and we were able to find some amusement. We stayed away from the finest places I had frequented in the past. We found lodgings in an unfashionable area to be safe. But that soon lost its appeal as well.
“Finally we became brazen and decided to attend a masquerade being held by a casual acquaintance. Where we might enjoy all the fine food, wine, and company we were missing, without fear of exposure. It took me ages to get ready with no proper lady’s maid to assist me. Anthony lost patience and said he was going to his club and would find me at the ball later. We would meet like two masked strangers and flirt with one another as though for the first time. So I arrived at the ball alone. I did enjoy myself for a while. Such august company. Such charming costumes and happy music. I began to look for Anthony, expecting any moment for him to appear at my elbow, declare me the most intriguing creature in the room and beg to dance with me, or to lead me into some shadowy corner to steal a kiss.... But he did not. I began to fear he did not recognize me, for he had left before I donned my mask. So, in desperation or boredom, I became more brazen yet and lifted my mask, hoping he would glimpse my face and rush to my side. Someone did come to greet me, but it was not Anthony. It was a blond officer I vaguely recognized, though I could not have said from where or what his name might be. I slipped my mask back into place, fearing I had been caught. Fearing everyone would now know Marianna Mayfield was alive after all.
