For You (3 page)

“I’m sorry to say, I do not know how you arrived here, or why. However, given your arrival occurs at a time convenient for myself and my daughter-in-law, I feel it would be imprudent of us not to take advantage.”

Julia stiffened. Mellicent could not possibly mean what she said.

Payne—no, not Payne—Drew frowned. “I’m afraid I don’t catch your meaning.”

“You can’t possibly mean for him to take Payne’s place?”

“Why that’s exactly what I mean, my dear.”

Julia sank onto the bed beside her mother-in-law. Her legs simply wouldn’t hold her a moment longer. “You wish him to pretend to be my husband. No. I will not allow it.”

Mellicent had always been one to come to decisions quickly, but this was ridiculous.

“Wait, what?” Drew’s head swiveled from side to side as he switched his gaze between them.

“I fear we have little choice.” Mellicent cradled Julia’s hand in hers and looked her straight in the eye. “I regret the necessity, yet we cannot deny my son behaved horribly toward the both of us. He gambled his way through your fortune, left a pile of debt at your feet, and did absolutely nothing to see that you and I would be cared for in the event of his demise. He was, unfortunately, his father’s son.”

Julia’s heart broke. She could forgive her cruel, foolish husband many things, but the heartache he caused his mother… “Had you been given the opportunity to raise him as you wished, he would have been a better man.”

“Thank you, my dear.” Tears clouded Mellicent’s eyes, but she didn’t let them fall.

“That’s all well and good, but I’m not him, and I have no intention of pretending I am.”

“I suppose it is quite a lot to ask.” Julia couldn’t blame him for not wishing to perpetrate a deception of this nature. “I assure you, were we not in dire straits, we would never ask such from a stranger.”

“Dire straits? How do you think I can help?” He still frowned, but his expression had turned more thoughtful than angry or confused. Perhaps he would be willing to lend them aid after all.

“My husband did not see fit to provide for my, or his mother’s, future. Therefore, his cousin has laid claim to his title and all the entailed property. This house is un-entailed, and yet his good cousin has claimed it as well. He has insisted we vacate the premises before the beginning of the season so he may take residence. He has also claimed that because of Payne’s mismanagement of the estate, there is no income to provide for my dower rights. We shall soon be destitute.”

****

“Sounds like your husband was an asshole.” Ah, shit. Just like him to stick his foot in his mouth. The mother looked like she’d sucked on a lemon. And his angel didn’t look too pleased with him either. Great. “Oh, jeez. Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“My son had many faults. I am not blind to them.”

“Let me get this straight then. You want me to pretend to be your son.” He switched his gaze to his angel. “And your husband, so that I can—what? Keep your cousin from inheriting everything? If this guy, Payne, was as bad as he sounds, you’re still going to have money problems. And I have no idea how I got here, but I have a life of my own to get back to.” Maybe. There was no way that bus missed him. Did he have a life to return to or had he been completely squashed by the double-decker? “Besides, you seemed to realize the truth rather quickly. What makes you think I can fool anyone else?” Man, he almost sounded as if he were considering this.

“I believe we shall have no problem. Who would suspect? We can blame an injury on your disappearance and any lapses in knowledge you may display.”

That might work. “You want me to pretend to have amnesia.” At their blank looks, he continued, “You want me to pretend I can’t remember who I am. What happened to me. Why I was missing.”

The mother nodded. “Precisely. Julia and I will proclaim you to be Payne. Questions will be asked, but in the end, they will trust his wife and mother’s word.”

“You do look remarkably like my husband. I am hard pressed to discern a difference in your appearance.”

Had she loved her husband? He doubted it. Her voice was flat and hard whenever she referred to him. Nothing like the sweet tone Brenda used when she talked about Chuck. He got the impression this Payne guy hadn’t gone out of his way to make sure his wife was happy.

The guy hadn’t only been an asshole, but an idiot as well. Who could have this woman in his bed and not appreciate her? And what the hell was he doing thinking about having her in his bed? He was pretty sure that wasn’t going to be part of this deal.

He kept his expression impassive as she studied him. He couldn’t help standing taller and throwing his shoulders back. He wanted to come off favorably in this comparison.

“Your accent is odd. I can’t place it. And you look a trifle younger, perhaps.”

“I’ve moved around a lot. I can pull off a decent British accent when I want,” he said, switching his accent to prove it. She nodded her approval. “How old was Payne when he died?” he asked.

“He had recently achieved his twenty-sixth year.”

Score one for me.
“I’m thirty-two.”

His angel just lifted her brows. He couldn’t tell if she were impressed or not. He hoped so.

Which was ridiculous. He couldn’t stay here pretending to be someone he wasn’t just because he had the hots for the guy’s wife. What the hell was he thinking? “This is insane.” He checked his watch. Quarter to one. “My friend’s probably freaking out, wondering where I am. I don’t know how that bus missed me—” He rubbed his shoulder. He could swear he’d felt the impact at the time, but now, other than one hell of a headache, he felt fine. Not even a bruise. But he couldn’t remember how he got here. “Can you at least tell me how I got here? Last thing I remember was pushing Chuck out of the way of that bus and knowing I was about to bite it. So how did I end up here?”

“I heard a noise in my husband’s bedchamber. You were lying on the bed when I came to discover the cause.”

“So I just walked into some stranger’s house, made my way to the bedroom, and passed out? And, oh yeah, I just happen to look exactly like the guy who used to live here?” This made no sense whatsoever.

It
didn’t
make sense. Damn, he was an idiot. He laughed. “You got me. Where are the cameras?” He searched the walls, trying to find evidence of a hidden camera. But they could be tiny, couldn’t they? He’d probably looked right into the lens already with no idea he was giving them the money shot.

He turned back to the ladies. They were good. He’d give them that. Neither of them broke character for an instant. They just stared at him, mouths open the slightest bit, as if he’d gone out of his head. “Really, you had me good there. Who’s behind this anyway? Must be Chuck. He was in on it at any rate.” He went to the nearest door and peeked through. No one. “You guys are good, real good. Where’s he hiding? Come on out, Chuck,” he called.

“I beg your pardon.” The two women glanced at each other then back at him. “I’m afraid we have no idea what you are going on about,” the angel said.

“Give it up, Angel. You got me good, but it’s time to come clean.” Still, why couldn’t he remember getting here? “What the hell did they give me? Because I don’t remember getting here, and I’m going to be seriously pissed if this lasts. Screwing with a person’s memory is not cool. Drugs are serious shit, you just don’t go about messing with someone like that.” A joke was one thing. He was a good sport. But to drug him?

That had to be the answer. He had a hard time accepting that his friends would give him anything that would screw him up so royally, though.

“I can assure you we had nothing to do with your memory lapse. As I have already told you,” Julia said through gritted teeth—his angel had a temper, apparently, “I simply found you in my house, unconscious on my husband’s bed. I assumed you were, indeed, Payne, and fetched Lady Payne to inform her of my
happy
discovery.”

Didn’t sound happy to him. And he was pretty well convinced this wasn’t a joke. “If this isn’t a joke, why do I feel like I stepped onto a movie set?” He made a gesture to take in their crazy outfits. “What’s with the Elizabeth Bennet look?” He was quite proud of that reference. If Heather could hear him now, she’d never accuse him again of not paying attention during all those freakin’ Jane Austen films she’d made him watch.

They regarded him with furrowed brows. Julia seemed to have no idea what he was talking about, but Lady Payne said, “Elizabeth Bennet? I believe I read a book with a character by that name. You’ll remember, Julia? I mentioned it a few months ago. I can’t recall the title. I quite enjoyed the story.”

“I haven’t had much time to read of late.”

Okay. Two women. Only a vague knowledge of
Pride and Prejudice
. Something wasn’t right.

“Did you just get home from some kind of fancy party then?”

“On the contrary. Lady Payne was asleep, and I about to take my rest as well.”

“Then why are you dressed like that?”

Julia smoothed the fabric of her dress over her knees. “I was not expecting company, and so am dressed for a quiet evening at home. On that note,
your
clothing is…unusual.” She blushed and looked away. As if he were wearing a swimsuit rather than a very conservative suit and tie.

He looked down at himself. His tie was loose, crooked. His white shirt gaped open halfway to his belt, and the sleeve on his jacket was ripped.

He looked like he’d been hit by a bus.

****

Julia watched the confusion on Drew’s face. The poor man. He obviously had no idea how he’d come to be in Payne’s room.

He wasn’t the only one.

She strove to hide her own confusion. She should be frightened of this stranger, yet she wasn’t. In fact, she felt more comfortable with him than she had with her own husband.

Even when she’d first met Payne and he’d done his best to charm her, she’d felt a frisson of fear whenever he paid court to her. She’d thought it exciting.

She’d been such a fool.

Not so with this man, Drew. She felt no fear, which was ridiculous given he had broken into her home. Yet she believed he had no memory of how he got there. There was something in the way he looked at her that made her trust him. That he would protect her at all costs.

Something Payne had neglected to do.

She clenched her fists. This situation was untenable. She must resist this foolish impulse to trust this stranger with her husband’s face and the odd clothing.

“I know I’m a mess, but this was a pretty good suit before the accident. I got it only a few years ago when I first moved to London.” He gazed off into the distance for a moment. “So, that was only…two thousand twelve.”

Mellicent’s gasp was louder than her own. “Two thousand…”

“No. Impossible.” Had he lost his mind? Or did he hope she was out of hers?

“Why?”

“Because it is currently eighteen eighteen. What you say is ludicrous.”

The color drained from his face. “Eighteen…” He clutched at his chest.

Mellicent gripped her arm so tightly, Julia winced.

“This is my doing,” Mellicent said.

“However do you mean?”

“I prayed for a solution to our problems and he arrived.” Mellicent reached a hand out to Drew. “I apologize for bringing you here so unceremoniously, but all things considered, we can do each other a tremendous favor.”

“How so?”

Julia hoped he wasn’t about to be sick. The way he continued to clutch his chest and take great gulping breaths of air worried her.

“It appears you have been given a second chance at life.”

Julia stared at her mother-in-law. “You believe this man has been pulled from the jaws of death nearly two hundred years in the future in order to live out his life with us?”

“The bus didn’t miss me, but instead of dying, I traveled through time?” He paced across the carpet at the foot of the bed. “If that’s the case, I can’t go back, can I?”

“No. I’m afraid not,” Mellicent said. She rose and stepped in front of him, forcing him to cease his endless pacing. “Please consider my offer. You can have a decent life here. There will be some effort required to return the family fortune to what it once was, but I cannot believe you would have been sent here if you were not capable of rectifying the situation.”

“I am good with money. I could look at your books. See what you need to do.”

“Excellent.” Mellicent clapped her hands. “And we have much to offer you in return. As Andrew Engledown, Earl of Payne, all that once belonged to my son would become yours. We simply ask that you be more thoughtful than my son and see to the future of his wife and mother.”

Julia stifled her gasp. Did Mellicent not realize Julia came in that package she just offered to a stranger? If he were the earl, than she was his countess. Would he expect to claim his rights as her husband?

He must have been thinking along the same lines because his gaze bored into hers. “What do you think of all this, Angel?”

“My name is Julia, Lady Payne. Not Angel. You may call me my lady.”

“Well, my lady. How do you feel about your mother-in-law’s idea? Are you ready to accept me into your home, your life? Are you ready to have a husband again?”