“Setting aside the cruelty of such an accusation,” Philip said, “why does Alicia think anyone would believe her? I am recently married. I have been in England for less than six weeks.”
“The timeline is delicate, yes, but unfortunately credible…” George let out a long sigh, leaning forward on his arms. He looked like he might be sick. “She returned to England a few weeks before you, didn’t she? Well, she claims that the two of you reconnected before any of us knew, and that conception happened shortly after.”
“But you don’t believe her.”
“Not a whit. She revealed her pregnancy to me a few days before your wedding, and at that point, she made no mention of you being the father. I suspect she concocted this plan as a final attempt to separate you and Anna.”
“But if you knew…” Philip tensed. “Were you trying to set Alicia and me up to conceal her condition? To trick me into thinking?—”
George shot to his feet. “Never. I swear my life on it. Had I known about things sooner, I would never have suggested that the two of you try and reconnect. I wouldn’t do that to you. I feel like such a fool. She latched onto the idea of being courted by you immediately—was so forward.
I should have seen the signs. She must have thought you would be quickest to marry, given your previous acquaintance, or that you would easily succumb to your vices, and then claiming you fathered her child would have been an easy trick.”
“Easy, except for when the child is born and undoubtedly has the air of an Italian actor,” Philip scoffed, not wanting to hear any more about Alicia’s perverse plans. “She has tried to come between me and Anna on our wedding day. What does she possibly stand to gain by accusing me of this now? I am married and not likely to abandon my new wife for her.”
“The state of your marriage is not unknown to us.” George choked on his words, and Philip dreaded what would come next. “I foolishly told Alicia that you and Anna were entering into a marriage of convenience. She hopes that your already fragile marriage will be annulled if she comes forward—by Magnus retracting his consent upon discovering your bastard. And since she assumes you have no regard for Anna…”
“She believes I will agree to the annulment to protect my reputation. Claim her bastard as my own and finance whatever lifestyle she pleases. Assuming, of course, that there would even be grounds for the annulment. Magnus could not think lower of Alicia and might refrain from intervening out of spite.”
“Evidently, she has not thought that far ahead. I have no real idea what is going through her mind. These are the actions of a desperate woman. And it’s not like the truth matters anyway.”
“The accusation alone would be enough to ruin us all.” Philip looked out the windows overlooking the garden, a dark cloud forming on the horizon. His head was spinning. “I am grateful but surprised that you chose not to believe her.”
“I don’t know what she expected.” George threw his hands up in defeat, storming over to the side table for a glass of punch. “She made no mention of you fathering this child until you and Anna were married. And that’s to say nothing of the fact that, despite my very real anger toward you, I know you would never stoop so low as to conduct an affair with my cousin behind my back. Not of this nature anyway. It is an obvious lie.”
They were silent for a moment. Philip’s mind whirred, trying to conceive a decent plan to thwart Alicia. What could be done against a woman who had nothing more to lose? She would take everyone down with her and watch them burn.
“Anna is my priority,” he said, not realizing he had spoken aloud. He yielded when George looked up at him. “Neither of us asked to be on the receiving end of Alicia’s wickedness, but my actions were the catalyst for this marriage. I will not allow Anna to suffer. Whatever must be done to stop Alicia, I will do it so long as time is on our side.”
A hopeful expression swept over George’s freckled face. “Those aren’t the words of a begrudging husband. You genuinely care for her, don’t you?”
More than she can ever know.
At that moment, Philip felt more than heard someone appear in the doorway. He turned and found Anna standing there, a hand pressed to her chest. Her face was pale, and she looked as drained as he felt.
His blood turned to ice in his veins as he realized what she must have heard.
“Anna,” George gasped, frozen in shock. “What did you?—”
“I heard everything,” she confessed, blanching further. The little quiver in her lip almost undid Philip. “About Alicia and the baby, about what she plans to do…”
“Why are you not in the dining room?” he asked, wishing she had been anywhere but there.
“I wanted to speak with you in private.” She flinched as though in pain. “But that can wait now, can’t it? It’s hard to believe any of this is true. I loved Alicia, and I thought she loved me.”
“Love is not the all-powerful force we hope it to be,” George said, crossing the room to take her hands in his own. “Alicia’s fear and panic have changed her, Anna. But I still have hope she can be redeemed.”
“You are welcome to try, but you will be acting alone.” Anna detached herself from her cousin and walked toward Philip. “Clearing your name is all that matters to me now.”
A strange warm feeling swept over Philip.
Anna was his light in the dark. She was stronger than he had known, more devoted than she had led him to believe. It wasn’t just their marriage binding them, but something more.
“For now,” she continued through a shaky breath, “we must attend the dinner party, or else the guests will grow suspicious. I take it neither of you has a plan? Then I’ll start thinking about what we can do, and we’ll discuss things in the morning. Time is on our side. Alicia is a singer. She loves dramatic suspense. She is waiting for the right moment to lift the curtain. And we must stop her before she can…”
* * *
Rain fell in rivulets down the windows of the room Philip occupied. Anna stood at the door as lightning illuminated the darkened space in bursts. The sounds of the storm had concealed her movements that night—leaving her chambers, slipping past the rooms of sleeping guests, and navigating her way through the manor until she came upon her husband.
