I realize you are only just settling into your new life and home, but I fear I must disrupt. While it will seem an oddity to you, and I will confess it is unusual, your father’s will requires that all you boys and your families come to Lampton Park for the reading of its final portion. He was very specific about this.
Though the reason for this gathering is perhaps not the happiest, I am so pleased at the possibility of seeing all my boys again, and you in particular, Charlie. I look forward to hearing how you are progressing with your marriage and the life you are building.
Come as soon as you are able, with plans to stay until all of you are able to arrive and these matters can be seen to.
All my love,
Mater
She anticipated hearing a good report from him, reassurances that all was going well. He and Artemis were not much better off than they had been when last Mater had seen them. They spent most of their time ignoring each other. When they weren’t isolated, they were generally arguing. And now and then, they had moments of companionable peace, like they’d had today.
And on the back lawn during their game of catch us, catch us. Heaven knew he’d thought about that moment many times. He imagined himself touching her soft curls again, putting his arm around her. He couldn’t shake the idea, and he couldn’t deny that it was far more appealing each time he pondered the possibility.
But even that bit of encouragement didn’t change the reality of their situation. His struggling marriage would be subject to direct comparison with the loving and successful families his brothers were building. Fleeting moments of not wanting to strangle each other would not pass muster at Lampton Park.
Charlie couldn’t bear the thought of disappointing Mater. And his brothers would alternate between teasing him mercilessly and offering mountains of unsolicited advice. He didn’t care for the possibility of either one.
“Is something the matter?” Artemis asked.
“We are being summoned to Lampton Park, something to do with my father’s will.” He couldn’t reconcile that part of it. Father had been gone for thirteen years. How could any aspect of his will be read and enforced only now?
“Will very many people be there?” She gave no indication of what she hoped the answer would be.
“My entire family,” he said. “And I know them well enough to be certain they will not bother to hide their curiosity about the two of us.”
After a moment’s hesitation, she spoke again. “What are we to do? I suspect neither of us wishes to be scrutinized.”
He could think of only one answer. “The same thing your brother-in-law told us to do in London”—once more mimicking the duke’s voice—“we will undertake a required bit of playacting.”
“We’re going to lie to your family?”
He hated that her evaluation wasn’t entirely an exaggeration. “I propose we call a truce between the two of us while we’re there. We’ll make a show of being on friendly terms and, in so doing, avoid the awkwardness we would endure otherwise.”
In other words, yes, he silently added.We are going to lie to every last one of them.
Chapter Fourteen
Charlie had been adept atpretending to be other people all his life. He could recreate each of his brothers’ mannerisms and vocal oddities. His schoolmates had been endlessly entertained by his impersonations of every professor and headmaster they’d ever had. He, of course, could also do impersonations of all of his friends.
Thus, playing the role of doting husband was not terribly difficult; he simply acted like he wasanyof his brothers.
The journey from Brier Hill to Lampton Park required multiple days. They’d already passed two nights at inns along the way. They’d made a show of being a perfectly content couple and, as a result, were never given a second glance. Nothing about them drew anyone’s notice. That was the goal.
On their final night on the road, they stopped at the White Horse, a quaint coaching inn with a warm, inviting atmosphere. They’d arrived too late for the supper hour, but the proprietress was nearly overcome with concern over the state of their bellies and well-being.
“You must be fair starving.” She eyed Artemis. “You’re so thin, love. Such a tiny thing. You’ll be fainting clear away, you will.”
“I’m not so desperate as that,” Artemis assured her.
“Help me to convince her, sir,” the woman said to Charlie.
He adopted his brother Layton’s approach with his wife when she was worn thin but too distracted to take proper care of herself. He set an arm about her waist and pulled her next to him.
With a soft smile, he leaned close and, in exactly the solicitous tone his brother used, said, “A bit to eat before you retire for the night would likely do you good.”
He’d known from the first moment he met Artemis that she was an actress of greater ability than even those appearing on the London stage. She’d proven that true again and again the last three days.
She leaned against him, her posture and expression demure. “I am so tired. I don’t mind being a little hungry, if only I can lie down.”
