Chapter Twenty
That night, Opal held Landon as he made love to her. She had worried that he wouldn’t want to make love to her after she told him everything she was imagining. Yes, he had assured her he still loved her, and he was still affectionate with her. When she grew tired, he held her in his arms while she took a nap, and when she woke up, he had kissed her and suggested they get out of the townhouse for a while.
Once he changed clothes, she summoned Miss Kesner. He insisted on staying nearby while Miss Kesner helped her dress and style her hair. He hadn’t lingered right by her. He had chosen to stay in the small room off the side of her bedchamber, and since he left the door open, he was able to hear and see everything that happened. She didn’t know if she was going to imagine anything, but to her relief, she perceived nothing unusual.
Afterwards, they went for a stroll through Hyde Park and then visited the menagerie. He did all of this to take her mind off of her worries, she knew, and she thought it was sweet of him to do that. But the fact that he took her to bed shortly after dinner and made love to her meant everything to her. He still desired her as a lady. He still thought of her as his wife. And it made her feel normal.
Because he was treating her the same way he had since they married, she had no doubt he would let her be a mother to their child…at least as much as she was able to be one. If her condition worsened, she would be limited in how much she would be able to do, but she would have a role in her child’s life, and that made her happy.
It wasn’t until she thought she might not get to have a role in her child’s life that she realized how important it was she do everything she could to be a good mother. Which proved she wasn’t going to be like her mother. She was going to be like Iris and Virginia. And she would have Landon to help her, just in case she needed it.
It might require them to spend the rest of their lives in the country, which was something he had assured her he would do if that was what she wanted. First, though, he wanted their trip to the country to be a short reprieve, adding that he was reluctant to part her from her family and Ava since they were important to her. So they had agreed that in a few days, they would spend a month in the country to see if the situation would improve.
He had more optimism than she did in that regard. She couldn’t see how things would ever get better, but he seemed to think there was a good chance of it. She didn’t have the heart to warn him that he shouldn’t get his hopes up.
The next morning, Landon stayed nearby again while Miss Kesner helped her get ready for the day. If Miss Kesner thought it was odd, she didn’t say anything. She was as polite as usual and had paid Opal the same compliments she often did.
After she left, Landon went over to Opal while she was still sitting at the vanity. “Did you hear any knocking on my door, or did it open?” he asked.
“No.”
“Hmm…”
“Hmm…what?”
“Nothing happened again. Nothing happened yethterday or today the entire time I wath with you.”
“Maybe it’s because I feel safe when you’re around.”
“No. I don’t agree. After everything you told me, you thould have imagined thomething. It happened a lot before, didn’t it?”
As much as she’d like to believe she was getting better, she couldn’t. She didn’t dare. Doing so would only get her hopes up, and she didn’t want to be disappointed. “It’s because you’re here,” she told him. “Everything is better for me when you’re nearby.”
“Did you imagine anything when you were with your family or with Ava?” he asked.
She thought over his question. “No. Everything has happened in this townhouse, but that doesn’t mean anything. I could be distracted when I’m with other people.”
“Then why did it happen when you were with the maid and Mith Kethner?”
She frowned and studied him. “You don’t think my lady’s maid and the house maid have something to do this with this, do you?”
“I do.”
“I don’t know, Landon. That’s horrible to think.”
“Horrible but likely.”
Her stomach tensed. “I hate thinking something like that about anyone, especially people who are under our own roof.”
“I don’t like it, either, but we have to conthider it.”
Maybe. As much as she hated to consider it, it would mean she wasn’t really losing her mind. And that would be a good thing. A very good thing. But…but… “Why would they do that?” she asked. “And how does that explain the gentleman who came into this room? Neither the maid nor Miss Kesner could disguise themselves well enough to look like Byron.”
“I don’t know. But I know we can explain it once we catch them.”
Catch them? She rose to her feet as he went to his bedchamber. Following him, she watched him as he searched through the entire bedchamber. “What are you doing?”
“I’m making thure no one ith hiding before I leave.”
“Leave? Where are you going?”
He checked under the bed and then went to the small room. “I’m going to watch them.”
She didn’t like the sound of this. “Where will I be while you’re doing that?”
He locked the door of his bedchamber that led to the hallway and then returned to her. “You’ll be in your bedchamber.”
She swallowed. “Alone?”
“Hopefully.”
He hurried into her bedchamber, and she followed him. “But I don’t want to be alone.”
“You’re better off alone than with thomeone here playing a trick on you.” He stopped searching her bedchamber and glanced her way. “Unleth you want to go out for a while.”
She debated the option. She could go visit someone, but she didn’t know if she could act like everything was fine when it wasn’t. Iris and Ava were especially good at knowing when something was bothering her. They would ask her what was wrong, and though she’d tell them she was fine, they would see right through her lie and demand she tell them.
She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling isolated from the rest of the world. She’d grown up feeling this way, and it was something she hoped she’d never experience again.
“Do you want to vithit your family or Ava?” Landon asked.
“No,” she finally replied. “I’d rather stay here.”
With a nod, he resumed his search through her bedchamber. She went to her vanity and sat in front of it. Why couldn’t she have a normal life? All she’d wanted when she went to London was to be like every other lady. They never imagined things that weren’t there. Nor did they have a husband who suspected some of the staff would try to make them think they were.
She just couldn’t believe anyone could do such a thing. Miss Kesner and the maid had nothing to gain from it, beyond amusement, and she knew Miss Kesner wasn’t the type who had a sense of humor about anything. The lady was as reserved and bland as she’d been the day Opal had met her.
“I can relieve Miss Kesner of employment here,” Opal told Landon while he searched her wardrobe. “I don’t care much for her anyway.”
He closed her wardrobe and turned to her. “That won’t take care of the maid or the gentleman who appeared to you ath your dead brother.”
Well, that was true. It would only take care of a part of the problem. With a heavy sigh, she faced the mirror above her vanity. She didn’t look quite so tired today, but she could tell the strain of the situation was taking its toll on her. She still had circles under her eyes, and her face seemed a little more pale than usual.
Just a short time ago, she was basking in the thrill of new love. Her cheeks had been rosy. Her eyes had sparkled. She had trouble sitting still in her excitement. And now she seemed just as dull as Miss Kesner. No. She shouldn’t think of Miss Kesner like that. It was rude.
Her gaze went to the book still resting on her vanity. In all the turmoil of the day before, she hadn’t bothered putting it somewhere else. She picked it up and opened it. At the time she selected it, she’d been looking forward to reading it. She didn’t know if she could enjoy this now. With everything weighing on her mind, it was hard to escape into a book.
She turned a few pages and a piece of parchment fell out of it. Frowning, she picked it up from the floor and opened it. The familiar scrawl of Byron’s handwriting stared back at her. It was the exact same missive she’d imagined yesterday.
The words hadn’t changed at all. Why did you leave me behind at the estate? I’m lonely without you. She took a deep breath, doing everything possible to hold back her tears. Landon was in the room with her. No one else was. So she was going to imagine things when he was around.
“What are you reading?” Landon asked, coming over to her.
She looked up at him. “You mean the book?”
“No. The parchment.”
Not sure that she understood him, she set the book back on the vanity and held up the missive. “This parchment?”
He nodded and took it from her.
“You can see that?” she asked, bewildered.
“I can. I can touch it, too.” His eyebrows furrowed. “‘Why did you leave me behind at the ethtate?’” Landon read from it. “‘I’m lonely without you.’”
She stood up so she could read it again. Yes, those were still the words. They hadn’t changed. Not even when he’d read them. “I thought I imagined this missive.”
“I don’t think you’re imagining anything,” he replied. “Not the inkwell and bookth moving around. Not the knocking at the door or the fact that it opened. Not the paintingth. Not the gentleman who came in here yethterday. There really are people who want you to think you’re imagining all of it.”
“You mean the maid and Miss Kesner?”
He nodded again. “And more. We need to find out who ith involved and why.”
She barely had time to register the implications of all he was saying. She really wasn’t losing her mind? She had really seen and heard everything? Miss Kesner and the maid really were part of a conspiracy to make her think she was losing her mind? What had she ever done to either one of them to make them hate her so much that they would do such a thing?
“I think the paintingth of the graveyard and ghotht might be in the attic,” Landon said, bringing her attention back to him. “Do you want to go with me to find out?”
“Yes.” If they were there, she definitely wanted to see them, especially if he saw them, too.
He folded the parchment and slipped it into his pocket. Then he reached for her hand and squeezed it. “We’ll find out the truth.”
She couldn’t help but be surprised by his confidence. When she’d met him, he’d been so timid. She’d even had to look for him when he hid right after the wedding and again on their wedding night. But now, he was showing her a side to him she hadn’t known existed. This time, she was the one who felt afraid, and he was the one offering her comfort and support.
It was such a contrast to the way she was used to things being between them, and it was one she liked. It was nice to know that when it really mattered, he was willing and able to take the lead and do what was necessary to help her.
He led her into the hall and up the stairs that would take them to the attic. Their footsteps were quiet along the floorboards as they climbed the stairs. She glanced behind her, just to make sure no one saw them. No one did.
Once they reached the attic, he whispered, “I think we’re alone.”
If that was the case, why was he whispering?
It was on the tip of her tongue to ask, but then he started searching through the mass of objects in the attic. She followed him. She could venture off and help him with his search, but she was afraid if she left his side she’d find out that she really had been imagining all those things after all. But he had seen the missive. Not only had he seen it, but he’d read it word for word, just as she saw it.
She tried not to get her hopes up that he would find the paintings, too, though by the way her hand squeezed around his, she knew all of her hopes hinged on it. If she wasn’t losing her mind, if this really all had been some elaborate scheme to make her think she was, then it would be a relief, even if it still hurt to think some of the staff would do something so awful to her.
He let go of her hand when they came to a large item the size of a painting that was covered with a sheet. Under the sheet was a chair. He set the sheet back down and walked past a taller item. She didn’t think the object was short enough to be the two paintings, but she had to make sure. Curious, she lifted the sheet and saw they were the crates of books he had the butler bring up here from the den.
When she noticed Landon had moved to another section of the attic, she hurried to join him. Even if it was daytime and he was in the same room with her, she still experienced a slight shiver at having to be up in this room. No one lived here. It contained old objects Lady Chadwick didn’t want to crowd up the townhouse with. Most had belonged to Lord Chadwick. The wardrobe and several trunks contained his clothes.
They had searched through half of the small space when Landon noticed something wedged between one of the trunks and a wall. He moved the trunk as far out as the bassinet next to it would allow and pulled out two paintings.
Opal gasped when she saw the familiar graveyard and the ghost. “Those are the ones I saw in the den!”
“I thought you weren’t imagining them.” His gaze met hers, and he smiled. “Do you feel better now that you know they’re real?”
“I do,” she admitted, “but it’s a shame that Miss Kesner and the maid are trying to make me think I’m losing my mind.”
His smile faltered. “I know. We’ll deal with them for it. I don’t know how I’ll find out why they’re doing it, but I will.”
“Landon?” she asked as he pushed the trunk back against the wall.
Tucking the paintings under his arm, he looked at her. “What?”
“Thank you for believing in me when I didn’t believe in myself.”
He drew her to his side with his free arm and kissed her. “You believed in me, too. I doubt any other lady would want to be with me.”
“I know it’s selfish on my part, but I’m glad they don’t. I don’t need the competition.”
His smile returned, and he kissed her again, this one longer than the one before. “I’d much rather be with you.” He caressed her cheek. “You are far lovelier than any other lady in London.”
She returned his smile, and after a moment, he took her hand and led her out of the attic.