Married By Midnight(39)
“I am sure your mother would be pleased to hear that. She’s missed you.”
Garrett met the doctor’s steady gaze and found himself growing more curious about this man by the minute. “How long have you known my mother?”
“A long time.”
Garrett paused. “Are you married? Do you have children?”
He cleared his throat. “Sadly I was never fortunate enough to become a husband, which has been my own loss in this life, to be sure. Lady Anne is lovely,” he added. “You are a very lucky man.”
Garrett thanked the doctor for his assistance, then excused himself from his company—for after talking to Dr. Thomas and again, sensing something disconcertingly familiar in him, Garrett had a question of the utmost importance to ask his mother.
* * *
“I agree he is an excellent physician,” Adelaide said as she poured Garrett a cup of tea. “Much better than the one who came before him. That useless man refused to recognize that anything was wrong. He said only what your father wanted him to say.”
“I’m not surprised,” Garrett replied. “Father was always a very intimidating man.” He leaned forward and set the cup and saucer down on the table. “There is another reason I am here, however. I have a question about Dr. Thomas.”
Without meeting his gaze, Adelaide stirred her own tea and set the tiny spoon down in the saucer with a delicate clink.
“How long have you known him?” Garrett asked.
She rose from her chair and walked to the window where she briefly looked out, then turned to face Garrett. “A long time.”
Somehow he could sense she knew what he had come here to ask, and that a secret was about to unfold itself.
“What do you want to know, exactly?” she asked.
“Everything. I want to know why Charlotte and I are...” He paused and took a breath. “I want to know what happened all those years ago. Most of all, I want to know if my suspicions are correct.”
Adelaide cleared her throat. “Tell me Garrett. What are your suspicions?”
He went to join her at the window. “When I saw Dr. Thomas walk toward me in the courtyard, it reminded me of Charlotte who ran out to meet me as I arrived home. Some expressions... His eyes are so like hers. And mine.
“Mother.” Garrett paused and looked directly into her eyes. “Is the man who is caring for your husband at this very moment my real father? Or am I the second person in this house to go mad this Christmas?”
Chapter Twelve
Anne turned to look at her reflection in the cheval glass and glanced uneasily at Charlotte. “It’s beautiful, but are you sure you do not mind?”
Charlotte smiled, but there was moisture in her eyes as she fastened the pearl buttons at the back of the gown, a gown designed for her own wedding day. Charlotte had confessed to Anne the night before that her fiancé—the great love of her life—had died tragically before they were married.
“I am sure,” she replied. “Look, it fits you perfectly, and someone needs to wear it so it doesn’t simply collect dust for the next dozen years.”
“Perhaps you might wish to wear it yourself one day?” Anne suggested.
Charlotte shook her head somberly. “No. If I ever marry, I will want a different dress.”
While Charlotte worked on the buttons, Anne continued to study her reflection and felt strangely as if she were watching herself move through a dream. One month ago she would never have believed she would be fitted for a wedding gown today.
It was all a charade, of course, and very soon she would begin a new life that did not involve Garrett at all.
“You look stunning,” Charlotte said as she fastened the last button. “Now you need jewelry... Pearls, I think. Yes, that’s what this needs.” She crossed to her dressing table and withdrew a blue velvet box from the bottom drawer. “These will do perfectly.” She returned to close the clasp around Anne’s neck.
Anne couldn’t find words to describe her emotions. Everything was so perfect. Now. “You are too kind, Charlotte. Honestly...”
Charlotte grinned conspiratorially. “Mark my words, he will fall over backwards when he sees you in the chapel. He won’t want to leave. He’ll be yours forever.”
Anne gathered the heavy silk skirt in her hands and turned away from the cheval glass to face Charlotte. “That is very romantic, but you mustn’t say such things. You know the situation.” She picked up the train and walked to the chair to sit down.
“I do, but I also know a perfect match when I see one, and I truly believe you and my brother are destined to be together. Why else would all this be happening?”