“Oh?” Julian raised a brow. “What didn’t they tell me?”
“It’s not what they didn’t tellyou,” she replied, looking down at her teacup. “It’s what I didn’t tellthem.”
A sense of unease had him shifting in his seat. “Go on.”
She released a slow breath and met his gaze once more. “On the Saturday after you left, I set out on a walk to Freya’s Farewell. I thought to revisit our Thursday outing. To relive it in my mind.” Another smile came and went, followed by a touch of deeper color in her cheeks. “It was a fine day, but terribly windy. Ruffy was with me, as usual, sniffing here and there. As we were walking along the edge of the stream, he halted suddenly, pointed his nose into the woods, and began to bark. His hackles lifted as well. I’d never seen him do that before, so it was unsettling, especially since I couldn’t see any reason for it. There was no sign of anyone or anything in the woods. Anyway, after a few moments, he stopped barking and his hackles went down. I told myself he must have spotted a fox or some other creature. In any case, he went off across the fields and I continued on my own, though I confess my uneasiness never quite left me.”
As she’d been speaking, a seed of suspicion as to where this was going had sprouted in Julian’s brain. Something he hardly dared to contemplate. The mere thought of it chilled his blood.
“When I got to the top, I hesitated to venture onto the ledge because of the wind,” she continued. “It was so strong and so loud, which is why I didn’t see him, why I didn’t hear him.” Her lip quivered. “I was looking at the view, Julian. I was looking at Myddleton and thinking about you. Not for one moment did I suspect someone was there, that I wasn’t alone. Not until someone grabbed me from behind. A man, obvious from his size and strength. He pushed me onto the ledge, and I thought… I thought I was about to die.” She closed her eyes briefly and pressed her hand to her mouth as the sweet blush in her cheeks faded.
“Christ.” Julian pushed his chair back and went to lift her into his arms. “Leopold?”
Trembling, she all but fell into his embrace. “Yes, but I didn’t know that at first.” She gazed up at him. “It was only when he spoke that I realized who it was.”
Molten rage coursed through Julian’s veins. It took an effort to keep his voice steady. “Did he hurt you?”
“He frightened me. I mean, he implied he was going to push me off the ledge. I feel sick just thinking about it.” She shook her head. “I never once saw his face. I asked what he was doing there, and he said he’d been watching me for some time. Watchingus. You and me and the twins.”
“How did he know where to find you?”
“I can’t be certain. Inspector Taggart said Mr. Mason’s office was broken into, but didn’t think it had anything to do with Leopold. Yet he knew about our day at the river, my night at Myddleton, and our outing to Freya’s Farewell. He even mentioned our kiss. Then he laughed in my ear and told me I’d been wasting my time, because once the truth came out about who I really was, you’d abandon me. He said my entire life had been a lie, that I was not who I thought I was, and that Hattie and Janet knew the truth of it. I asked him what he meant, but he just laughed again and said I had to ask them. I had no idea what he was talking about. I thought he’d lost his mind.”
Julian’s arms tightened around her. “Promise me you’ll never go out alone again. At least till this cad is caught.”
“I don’t think he will be caught.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I remembered the ring that Hattie mentioned, and I looked at his hands to see if he was wearing it, but he wasn’t. He wasn’t wearing any rings at all. So I asked him if he killed Karl Hoffman. He denied it immediately, but said he had to leave England because the police were looking for him and he didn’t want to hang or be transported. Then he released me, but demanded I close my eyes and count out loud to fifty without stopping or I’d regret it. I got as far as twenty, by which time I knew he’d gone. I stayed up there for quite a while afterwards, trying to make sense of all he’d said. I was so confused by it all and knew I needed to gather my wits beforereturning to Ferndale, because I’d already decided I wasn’t going to tell Hattie or Janet about any of it.”
Julian frowned. “Why? Surely you don’t harbor some kind of sympathy for the fellow.”
“No, it had nothing to do with sympathy. What he told me about my life being a lie made no sense, but there was a measure of conviction in his voice that made me hesitate to reject it out of hand. I mean, why would he concoct such a tale? It was vague, yet also specific, somehow. And I just had this… thisfeeling. What I couldn’t get straight in my head was how I could approach Hattie and Janet about it. If they were harboring secrets, how could I be sure they’d admit to them? And if they denied everything, how could I be sure they were being honest? So, I decided I needed some kind of proof. Something tangible that left no room for doubt. If secrets did exist, perhaps their origins lay within the walls of Ferndale Grange. I went home eventually, of course, told them I had a headache, and took myself off to bed. The next morning, I waited till they’d left for church and then set about searching the house for something—anything—that might explain what Leo meant. And I found it, Julian. Some yellowed papers, hidden away in a chest in my mother’s bedroom.” She winced. “I cannot begin to describe how I felt as I read those letters. In a matter of minutes, everything I’d held true crumbled into dust. It was as if my life, the life I’d always known, had been lived by someone else. The real me, the secret bastard child, possessed nothing more than a handful of vague memories; a childhood visit to a house in the countryside, fields and stone walls, a black-and-white dog, an eggcup. And a song.” She laughed softly. “The funny thing is…”
Julian groaned. “I fail to see anything remotely funny in this, Annie.”
“I know. It’s just that in those first few seconds at Freya’s Farewell, when I thought I was about to die, all I could think of was that I’d never see you again, and I regretted, with all my heart, not telling youthat I loved you when I’d had the chance. As it happened, learning the truth about the circumstances of my birth had the same result. I made a decision that, as far as I knew, meant I would never see you again. Which is why, now that I am blessed with this chance, I must say it before anything else is said.” Her sweet gaze wandered over his face, before settling back on his eyes. “I love you, Julian Northcott. So very much.”
“And I love you, Annie Fairfax, with all my heart.” He stroked her hair. “You should have had more faith in me.”
“Yes, I should have, of course,” she replied, “but I wasn’t only thinking of you. I was thinking of your family as well. Do they know the truth about me?”
Julian nodded. “That’s why it took me a while to get here. Since I knew I wanted to marry you, I had to return to Highfield to discuss everything with the family. Then I came here to find you.”
“Dare I ask what they thought of it all?”
“That’s what we need to talk about.” Julian cast a quick glance at the clock.Time yet.“After some discussion, it was agreed that, on the face of it at least, it would be best to leave things as they are. Or were. That is, if asked, to say that you are a physician’s daughter from London.”
Annie blinked. “But why would…? I mean, that’s not really who I am, though, is it? Are you saying they disapprove of my circumstances? Of the truth?”
“That is not what I’m saying at all,” he replied. “What Iamsaying is that your family and mine knows the truth, as they should, but when it comes to anyone else, the truth is none of their business.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Even so, I’m not sure I’m comfortable with more deceit. There has been enough of it already.”
“I see your point, but you have to consider the world to which you have recently been introduced and will soon be a part of. Its occupants might be described as gentlefolk, but they are not all gentle. Ifmeddlesome Lady Marzipan, who means absolutely nothing to you and me, corners you at some society event and asks about your background, what would you rather tell her? The truth you’ve embraced for most of your life, or the somewhat complicated truth you’ve only known about for the past fortnight? And which of those responses, do you think, is more likely to elicit a malicious hailstorm of gossip followed by a blatant snub?”
Annie appeared to ponder for a moment, then, “Lady Marzipan, Julian?”
