by Kathy Love
“So,” Sebastian said slowly, “you are having moral issues with this?”
“Yes.”
He shook his head, amazement clear in his hazel eyes. “Damn, you two are perfect for each other.”
She frowned, unsure what he was talking about.
“Listen,” he said, “do you like Rhys?”
She nodded.
“And do you want to be with him?”
She considered lying, but she couldn’t. She did want to be with him-desperately. She nodded.
“Then I don’t see a problem. I certainly don’t think Rhys’s amnesia would somehow make him attracted to you when he normally wouldn’t be. Hell, nothing would have made him attracted to his real American betro …”
Jane gaped at him, eyes wide, her mouth falling open. Was he saying that Rhys had a real fiancée? Dizziness whirled through her.
Sebastian immediately came to stand in front of her. He caught her arm, as if he knew she was woozy.
“I said that the wrong way,” he told her, his voice steady and apologetic. “Rhys seems to think he is an ancestor of ours, and I have seen pictures of the American woman the real viscount married. She was-unattractive.”
Jane felt relief clear away some of the dizziness. At least she didn’t have to add adulterer to tramp.
“Jane, Rhys is happier than I have seen him in years. And that isn’t because of the amnesia; that is because of you.”
Her heart leapt in her chest at the idea that she was making Rhys happy-but something seemed odd about Sebastian’s assurance. Why would he be happier with the amnesia? Were there things in his real life he needed to forget? Or maybe she was just reading too much into Sebastian’s words.
She studied him, trying to decide which it was, but his hazel eyes revealed nothing.
She sighed. “Rhys and I don’t even know each other. And we can’t get to know each other, because he thinks he’s a viscount, and I’m pretending to be his fiancée.”
“But it won’t always be that way. And you are good for him.”
She wanted that to be true.
“Jane, I know my brother. He is very particular, and if he is with you, it’s because he wants you. Not because you just happen to be part of his current delusions. Just have fun.”
How easy it would be simply to accept Sebastian’s advice. But she still thought it was wrong to continue a physical relationship. She had to wait until they could honestly know each other.
“You will stay, won’t you?” he asked.
She nodded. She would stay. She would continue to hang on to the excuse that this arrangement made the most sense with her financial situation, but she knew she was lying to herself. She wanted to be close to Rhys. But she also needed to know more about the man. To understand him.
“Yes. I’ll stay, but I can’t take your money,” she said resolutely. “It makes what happened between Rhys and me feel-cheap. I’ll stay because I owe Rhys to help him if I can. Also… Can you tell me something about him-his real life-so I at least feel as though I know something about him?” So I didn’t just sleep with a total stranger.
“What-what has he told you?”
Jane frowned. Why should it matter what Rhys had told her? He was the one with amnesia, wasn’t he?
But she finally said, “He told me your parents passed away?”
“Yes, when I was twenty-two and Rhys was twenty-six.”
Jane nodded, so Rhys did understand loss. They did share that.
“Do you really have two other siblings?”
“Yes.”
Jane nodded, gladness warring with envy. He had other family to care about him, to love. She didn’t begrudge him that. She wanted him to have others in his life. His siblings just made it all the more clear that she was alone. And once Rhys was better, she might be totally alone again.
She straightened. Perhaps it was best, despite the intimacy she’d just shared with him, to prepare for that possibility. Maybe that would make things easier in the long run.
“I will stay,” she told Sebastian again, “for the time we originally agreed on. But I do need to be searching for my own place and a job.”
Sebastian opened his mouth as if he planned to argue. Then he closed it. He looked at her speculatively, then asked, “What do you normally do for work?”
“Normally, I ran a funeral parlor. But I actually have my BA in accounting. That was what I intended to do here in New York.”
“A funeral parlor?”
“My father was a mortician.” She waited, expecting one of two typical responses, repulsion or morbid curiosity.
She got neither. Instead Sebastian chuckled, shaking his head. “I swear you two are a match made in heaven.”
But before she could ask him what he meant, he asked, “Would you be able to handle the finances of a nightclub? Accounts payable? Ordering supplies? Payrolls? Taxes-that sort of thing?”
She frowned. “I don’t see why not.”
“Great! You’re hired. Rhys and I stink at the financial end of the nightclub. I do it, but I truly hate it. I’d be thrilled to lose the job.”
She shook her head, that dizzy feeling coming over her again. “You want me to work at the club?”
“Sure. It’s the perfect solution. You won’t be taking money for doing the dirty with my brother, yet you’ll still be here and financially stable.”
“But I won’t be watching him, which is the reason for me to stay here in the first place.”
“Oh, well, I wouldn’t want you to start until after the New Year, and who knows, by then Rhys could be fine again.”
She frowned. Something just didn’t add up here. Why was Sebastian so set on her staying here? And she still got the feeling that Rhys’s ailment wasn’t distressing Sebastian in the least. The doctor hadn’t even come today as he had said he would.
“I thought the doctor was supposed to come today to examine Rhys.”
He was nodding before she even finished her sentence. “I did, too. So I called, and it seems I misunderstood. He said tomorrow, because of the holidays, you know.”
She nodded. Okay, but that still didn’t explain why it was so important that she stay here.
“If I do take the job at the club, I will still be leaving to live in my own place-after you figure out another arrangement for Rhys.”
Sebastian shrugged. “That’s fine.” He picked up his book as though he planned to start reading again. Then he paused, the book in his lap. “I just thought, since we have this big apartment and you don’t have a place, it would be easier for you to just stay here. Finding good rentals in this area can be tough, but I suppose you could leave…”
Suddenly she felt a tad silly, and more than a little overly suspicious. He was just being kind, and she was looking for ulterior motives.
“You’d love working at Carfax Abbey, I think. It’s a fun place.”
When she frowned with confusion, he clarified, “The nightclub.”
She nodded. She did need a job, and Sebastian was offering a real one this time. In a nightclub, which was infinitely different than a funeral parlor. It could be exciting and fun. She loved the idea of being surrounded by people out for a good time. Dancing, socializing, living.
She wasn’t going to even speculate on the faint rise in her pulse when she thought about the fact she’d be working with Rhys. Given how uncertain everything was with her relationship with the man, it wasn’t wise to take a job with him. She had to keep reminding herself that things could change. Would likely change.
But on a practical note, Sebastian was offering her an exciting job, a good job. She’d be a fool to pass up the deal. And if the situation changed once Rhys regained his memory, well, she’d figure that out when the time came. Right now, she wanted to stay, although she did intend not to let things get out of hand like they did last night. She still believed she and Rhys should wait to continue the physical side of their relationship until they both understood what was going on.
/> “Okay,” she said slowly, “I’ll take the job.”
CHAPTER 10
Rhys scrutinized the kitchen. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something didn’t look like he remembered. Didn’t the kitchen have a fireplace? And he could have sworn Cook kneaded bread on a large wooden table. Granted, he hadn’t been in the kitchen since he was a child. Or perhaps he was remembering the Derbyshire estate. That had to be it.
The door swung open, and Jane walked into the room. She wore an unfussy skirt in dark blue and a white top with a single row of buttons running down the front. The neckline was opened slightly, revealing the hollow at the base of her throat and a little vee of the creamy skin underneath.
“Hello,” she said with a shy smile.
The changes in the kitchen suddenly didn’t matter.
He walked over to her and pulled her against him. She squeaked at his abruptness, but the sound was lost against his lips as he kissed her. She returned his embrace after only a moment’s hesitation.
“I like this,” he said when they finally parted. He toyed with a button on her blouse.
She blushed. “You are very easy to please.”
“Actually, I am rather difficult to please. Very exacting. Very particular. You just happen to be perfect.”
She made a noise somewhere between a laugh and a snort.
“You don’t believe me?”
She shook her head. “It’s funny, though, your brother just said the same thing about you being particular.”
“Did he? For once Sebastian is right.” He caught her hips and walked her backward across the kitchen until her bottom hit the edge of the kitchen cupboards.
Her surprised laughter filled the room, a sweet, joyous sound.
Rhys smiled down at her. His pelvis and his hands pinioned her there against him and the counter.
Her smiled faded, and she looked up at him with wide, serious green eyes.
“You keep doing that. Giving me reactions very different than the ones I’ve been aiming for.”
She smiled, although it was only a bittersweet half smile. “I’m sorry, this is all just so new to me-and I’m just sort of flying by the seat of my pants here.”
His smiled broadened at her description. “Why do you feel that way?” he asked.
“I…” Her cheeks grew pink. “I really liked what we did earlier…”
“Mmm, I did, too.” Really, really liked it. He leaned forward to steal a quick kiss.
Pink deepened to red. “But I think we shouldn’t do it again.”
His smile disappeared.
“I know I told you that I didn’t want to wait-but I think we should. Wait. Until we are-until our situation is different.”
Jane didn’t know how she’d expected Rhys to respond, but it definitely wasn’t the reaction she got.
He spun away from her and shouted, “Sebastian!” in a loud, commanding voice.
He waited for a moment and then shouted his brother’s name again.
After several seconds, Sebastian strolled into the room, looking as though he hadn’t even heard his brother’s wall-shaking bellow.
“Good God, Rhys, haven’t you ever heard of simply walking into the room where the person you want to speak to is-and talking to said person in a normal voice?”
Rhys didn’t answer him, instead saying, “Please tell me that we have at least one servant who isn’t away on holiday.”
“What? Why?”
“Because Jane and I need to go to the vicar-this instant.”
Sebastian threw a bewildered look at Jane.
She shook her head. She had no idea what to say or do. But apparently Rhys had agreed to wait until the circumstances were different. He just intended to change the situation as soon as possible by getting them married. Too bad that wasn’t the circumstance she hoped would change.
“A servant?” Rhys asked again impatiently. “I don’t intend to show up at the church with Jane and me on the back of the same horse.”
“Well, there aren’t any servants. So you will just have to wait,” Sebastian told him flatly.
Just then the kitchen door opened, and a hulk of a man with a bald head and neatly trimmed goatee entered the room. He glanced at everyone, but his face remained impassive.
“Mick,” Sebastian greeted, then gestured to the two white plastic sacks Mick had set on the floor. “Thanks.”
Mick nodded and started to turn to leave.
“Mick?” Rhys said.
The hulk stopped and looked back at Rhys.
“Mick,” Rhys repeated. “You work for us.”
Mick did raise his eyebrows in response.
“Thank God, man.” Rhys walked over and clapped the giant on the arm. “Ready me a carriage. Immediately.”
At that, Mick’s brows shot up even farther, an almost laughable expression of perplexity coming over his stoic features.
Sebastian stepped forward. “No. Don’t ready-a carriage, Mick.”
“Okay,” the huge man agreed, the word rumbling low in his throat like the distant echo of thunder.
Rhys turned to glare at his brother. “Why ever not?”
Sebastian hesitated for a moment, then stated, “It’s after nine o’clock. Too late to go to the vicar. He will be asleep.”
Rhys pondered that, then nodded. “Perhaps you are right.” He turned back to Mick. “But please do have a carriage readied first thing tomorrow morning.”
Mick looked at Sebastian, who nodded. The hulk nodded, too. “Okay,” he said again, confusion clear in the low rumble.
“Thanks, Mick,” Sebastian said.
“Okay,” Mick said once more, then left.
Rhys crossed back to Jane and caught her hands, rubbing his thumbs back and forth over her knuckles. “We will go to the church first thing tomorrow morning and get married.”
Sebastian came up behind him. “You can’t do that.”
Rhys glanced at his brother over his shoulder. “Yes. We can.”
“No. You can’t.”
Rhys released one of her hands and turned to face Sebastian. “And why can’t we?”
“Well…” Sebastian rolled his eyes upward for a moment as if he was inspecting the kitchen’s high ceiling. “You just called the banns,” he blurted out, then smiled smugly. “It’s still going to be over two weeks before you can be married.”
Rhys glanced at the floor, considering that announcement.
Sebastian cast Jane a quick look, wiggling his eyebrows proudly.
Jane forced a slight, bemused smile back. The argument would have been quite funny if it hadn’t been so odd.
“I will go to the archbishop and tell him that a special license is required.” Rhys gave his brother a significant look, although Jane didn’t understand the significance.
Sebastian gaped at Rhys. “You would do that? You would besmirch Jane’s reputation like that?”
Rhys gave Jane a sheepish look.
Jane stared back at him, stuck on the fact Sebastian had actually used the word “besmirch.”
“I would, of course, require the vicar’s discretion on the details of the ceremony. But I do, in fact, think Jane stands a larger threat of being ruined if we wait. After all, she has no chaperone-not even a servant. And she could very well be with child already.”
Jane gaped at the brothers. Rhys was suggesting that they had to marry because she might be pregnant! Her heart did several somersaults in her chest. She could be pregnant.
She sank back against the counter, her sudden movement drawing Rhy’s attention to her.
“Are you all right?” he asked, his eyes scanning her face.
“You don’t really think I’m pregnant, do you?” Her voice sounded reedy, not at all like her own. How could she have been so careless, so-so dumb. She could be pregnant. Of course she could.
Rhys gently squeezed her fingers. “It is certainly a possibility.”
She blinked up at him, shock still making it difficult to comprehen
d much of anything. Then she noticed Sebastian over Rhys’s shoulder. He adamantly shook his head and waved his hands repeatedly, while mouthing the word “no.”
She frowned. What was he trying to tell her? She tilted her head and gave him a confused, questioning look.
“Sebastian? What the hell are you doing?” Rhys asked sharply, following her gaze over his shoulder toward his brother.
Sebastian immediately dropped his hands, his mouth snapping closed. Then he said in an offhanded voice that belied the fact that he’d just been motioning like a mime gone mental, “Fine. We will get a special license, but let me do it. I’ll go to the archbishop, and then I can bring the vicar back here to perform the wedding. That will decrease the risk of scandal.”
Rhys considered that plan, then nodded. “That is probably a good idea.”
Sebastian breathed out a sigh of relief. “Good. Now, if there are no further crises, I think I should head to the club.”
“Another good idea,” Rhys agreed.
Sebastian shot Jane a reassuring smile, then left the room.
She remained against the counter, her hand in Rhys’s, feeling more than a little dazed by the events of the past few minutes.
“Janie, you are all right, aren’t you?”
She swallowed and forced herself to meet Rhys’s riveting, amber gaze. Could she really be pregnant with this man’s child? The chances were slim-but not impossible.
“Yes, I just hadn’t even considered pregnancy as a factor when we…”
He smiled. “We weren’t thinking about much aside of each other.”
“No.”
“Listen, you must be starving. Why don’t you see what we have for a simple meal, and I will go in the library and start a fire. We can dine there.”
She nodded, still feeling too stupefied to consider eating.
Rhys leaned down and captured her lips, giving her a tender kiss, only the gentle caress of skin against skin.
“It will be fine,” he assured her again.
She forced a smile and watched him leave the room, his walk graceful and confident.
She took a deep breath-just when she thought things couldn’t get any weirder. She doubted that she was pregnant. It wasn’t the right time of the month-she didn’t think. She’d never thought about the ins and outs of getting pregnant. She’d never needed to. But she should have been more cautious for many reasons.