Page 32 of The Duke of Lies
“Are you afraid he’d be angry? He didn’t seem to be. He told Simon it had been a harrowing experience and that such a thing was bound to change a man. Or something like that.” She shook her head. “Since I’ve been with child, my memory for details is just not what it once was.”
Verity smiled knowingly. “That won’t last. You’ll require all your wits when the baby comes, and your body will realize that. Or so it did for me.” Beau’s birth had been an awakening from the months of uncertainty and anxiety precipitated by Rufus’s disappearance. Beau had given her everything she’d been missing—a purpose and love.
“I’m glad he wasn’t angry,” Verity added, then frowned. “Actually, he doesn’t seem to get angry. Not anymore.”
“He really does sound like a different person,” Diana said.
“I think he might be,” Verity said quietly, finally giving voice to the suspicion that had haunted her mind since he’d returned.
Diana sat forward, her blue eyes wide. “You think he’s an imposter?”
“I don’t know. I just don’t think he’s the man I married.”
“But he looks like him, doesn’t he?”
“For the most part. I would say his appearance is different, but I suspect much of that is his demeanor. He is far more relaxed. He smiles and laughs. All that changes the texture of his face.” She looked down at her lap and smoothed away a piece of lint from her dressing gown. She snapped her attention back to Diana. “And his eyes are green.”
“What color were they before?”
“Hazel. When I pointed out the difference, he said they look different depending on the light. I’ve yet to see them any hue but green since his return.”
“Aren’t Beau’s eyes green?” Diana asked, settling back against the chaise.
“Yes. In fact, I would say their eyes are very much alike.” Verity shook her head briskly and stared out the window into the darkness. “That’s what’s very strange. I would wager he isn’t Rufus, and yet he has to be.” She turned her gaze back toward Diana. “Who else would he be?”
Diana blew out a breath. “That is a very good question. Since there is a resemblance, could he be a relative?”
“I’m not aware of any. Rufus was the only remaining male offspring in the line when Augustus—the former duke—died. The duke’s only son died when he was seven or eight.”
“Which left his younger brother’s son as the heir. And Rufus has no siblings.”
“He had a brother and a sister, but his brother died in Spain in 1809, and his sister of an ague when she was twelve.” She knew so few details about her husband, and what she did know were things Augustus had told her. Otherwise, she might not have known Rufus had siblings at all. She hadn’t thought to ask him about them. Perhaps she should.
Except that was tantamount to saying she thought he was an imposter, and she didn’t want to do that. If hewasn’tRufus, then her real husband could be out there somewhere. A slight shudder racked her frame.
Did she really believe that? She’d long thought him dead. No, she’dhopedhim dead. There was a distinction, and it had been brought into sharp relief the moment Rufus had returned. Anything was possible, and she would take nothing for granted. For now, this version of Rufus was far better than the last, and she didn’t want to provoke a disturbance.
Was she still afraid of him? Yes, though her apprehension had diminished. Which scared her more than anything. She must remain vigilant and be prepared for when he returned to his former self.
Only she didn’t think he was his former self, did she? Verity propped her elbow on the arm of the chair and dropped her forehead into her palm.
The touch of Diana’s hand on Verity’s head drew her to look up at her cousin. Diana gazed down at her in sympathy. “What can I do?”
Verity lifted her head and pulled her feet from the stool so Diana could sit. “I don’t know that there’s anything anyone can do. He’s my husband.”
“Or not. You could question him, force him to go to London to be recognized as the duke.”
“I could do that?”
Diana shrugged. “I’m not sure, but wouldn’t he be summoned with a writ if he didn’t appear?”
“That would be upon his inheritance, which happened seven years ago, and which he answered. I have no idea what to expect in this instance.”
“I can talk to Simon. He might know.”
That would mean sharing her suspicions with another person. She wasn’t sure she wanted to do that. Her hesitation must have been apparent, because Diana said, “He can be trusted as implicitly as I can. I should have told you this before you confided in me, but Simon and I don’t keep secrets. I wouldn’t feel right not telling him.”
Verity both understood and envied that. “Your marriage is truly something to aspire to.”
