“Yes, that was the story I told everyone.”
Her chest tightened, and suddenly, she couldn’t breathe. She swayed again, and this time when he held her in his arms, he wouldn’t allow her to pull away.
“Let’s move you to somewhere you can sit.”
His words seemed muffled in her ears, but she nodded and allowed him to lead her back into the stable and onto a stool. She sat and leaned against the wall behind her. Ellie studied his face the best she could with unclear eyes and dim lighting in the stable. He did resemble Adam. But this man seemed to have more muscles—and, of course, facial hair. She recalled that Adam had a dimple on his right cheek. Unfortunately, she couldn’t see it on this man because Lord Calvin’s beard covered that spot.
“Ellie, please forgive me for springing the news on you this way. I didn’t know how else to say it.” He patted her hand gently.
“No…no. I cannot believe this—any of this.” She jerked her hand away. “Adam Haddington is dead. If he were alive, he would have contacted me sooner. But it’s been three years.” She paused and scowled. “Three very long and miserable years. Do you understand that? The kind and considerate andlovingman I was in love with would have not trampled on my emotions in such a way.”
A frown claimed Lord Calvin’s expression. “I know it was wrong to keep this a secret, but the truth is I couldn’t say anything. I couldn’t even tell my family until about six months ago.”
Breathing deeply and steadily helped the dizziness in her head disappear faster. Finally, Ellie regained her strength. With it came a spout of anger. She shoved her palms against the man’s chest, moving him away from her so she could stand. He fell back on his bottom, looking up at her with wide eyes.
“You are really Adam Haddington?”
“Yes.”
“Prove it.”
He rose to his feet, brushing the hay and dirt off his trousers. “How should I prove it? Was it not enough that I remembered that you enjoyed sneaking out of the house at night and riding Pegasus, or that I called you Eleanor?”
“No!” Tears stung her eyes, but she refused to shed them. “I need more. This is too unbelievable. And I’ve been so naïve lately, I’m afraid to trust my own heart anymore.”
“I understand.”
His stare stayed on her during the next few silent moments. Her heart beat differently this time. So much had wrecked her life lately. Could she possibly have another disaster happen to her so soon? She wouldn’t be able to handle any more. This was probably all just a bad dream, brought on by what she had witnessed between Vincent and Lady Livingston. Hopefully, she would awaken from this nightmare very soon.
“Before I left for battle,” he said softly, “you gave me your favorite locket. It was something your grandmother gave you before she died. You told me that you would wait for me to come home so we could be married.”
Her heart twisted.The locket!She had forgotten about that necklace. The memory resurfaced, and she recalled giving him the locket and crying in his arms. He was dressed in his military uniform. He looked so handsome in the red coat and white trousers. He’d kissed her one last time, and she vowed she’d treasure that moment forever.
The tears she’d tried to stop rushed forth and blurred her vision. Although he’d given her the proof, it was so hard to believe. Who would believe something like this, anyway? Perhaps she was still dreaming…
“Eleanor”—his voice broke—“you didn’t wait for me as you promised.”
“Are you jesting?” She found the strength in her voice to shout at him. “You were dead!” She pushed past him, suddenly having the energy to pace the stable. “I mourned three long years for you. I didn’t want to marry anyone else, just to keep your memory in my heart forever.”
“But you are engaged.”
She rolled her eyes and glared at him. “Only because my father forced my hand.”
Adam’s face brightened, and he moved toward her. He grasped her hands and held them to his chest. “You don’t love Lord Trenton?”
Memories of what she had heard and seen earlier this evening rushed back into her mind. Vincent and Lady Livingston in each other’s arms. Just as before, she experienced the crushing blow to her heart, feeling as though it was slowly being ripped from her chest. She didn’t know which pain was worse—finding out her soldier fiancé was killed in battle, or that the man who’d swept her off her feet had betrayed her.
She huffed and folded her arms. “What an insensitive question to ask.”
“Forgive me.”
She tried to push the image of Vincent and his mistress out of her head and focus on the conversation she was having with a dead man. “So, Adam, tell me why you had to lie to everyone? Why did you have to pretend that Adam Haddington was killed?”
His shoulders sagged as he ran his fingers through his dark hair. “Napoleon had spies everywhere. I never knew whom to trust. But one night while I was in camp, I stumbled across some information that was essential to stop Napoleon. One of the men in my camp had been a traitor. I knew it was up to me to turn him in. Misfortune was with me from day one, and I nearly died before getting this information to my superior. Most people believed I had died. That was when I decided it was better for me to stay dead and sneak the missive to the prince regent as someone else, than to see if fate would allow me to live a second time.” He walked to one of the stalls. “Around this time, my cousin, Lord Calvin Drake, was ill. The physicians didn’t know what was slowly killing him. I came back just in time to see my cousin leave this world to meet his maker. That’s when I decided to take over his role and leave Adam Haddington buried in the ground.” He turned and looked at her. “When I spoke to the prince regent himself, he also instructed me not to tell anyone that I was still alive. As Lord Calvin Drake, I could be a spy for the prince.”
The pain in her skull increased. All of this was just too strange. Distrust took over her feelings, and she wanted to scream at him for lying to her. But doing so would only make her headache worse, and she couldn’t take it. She couldn’t think any more tonight. She couldn’tfeel, either.
“Adam, this is too much information for me to absorb tonight. Please, allow me to retire to my bedchambers and think this over. I honestly need to be alone now.”
