Connie Mason Read Free Page B

smiled.
    “Edwina said you would live, and she was right.”
    “Who are you, sir?” Falcon asked.
    “I am Edmond, Earl of Mildenhall.”
    “Forgive me for not rising, my lord. Your daughter tells me I have been the recipient of your hospitality for several days.”
    The old man’s eyebrows lifted. “Ah, yes, my
daughter
Mariah. ’Tis a sad thing to be widowed so young.”
    Mariah shot her husband a warning look. “Edmond—”
    Edmond held up his hand. “Please, Mariah, I wish to speak to the young man. What is your name, sir?”
    “I was hoping someone here could tell me,” Falcon answered.
    “Can you not remember?”
    “Nay. I feel as if I should be somewhere but cannot recall where. Do you know me? Can you tell me my name?”
    Edmond shook his head. “I have never seen you before, so ’tis safe to say you are not from these parts. Do not worry, lad, you are welcome at Mildenhall while you regain your memory. Besides, Edwina tells me it will be weeks before you are able to travel. I pray you will accept our hospitality while your mind and body heal. It would be remiss of me to send you away without a memory.”
    “Thank you, my lord,” Falcon replied in a voice made hollow with despair. Not knowing his name or origins was a humbling experience.
    “Forgive me for cutting my visit short, but as you cansee, I am not a well man.” Edmond held out his hand to Mariah. “Come, daughter, I would have a word with you in my chamber.”
    Mariah kept her silence until Edmond was settled in his bed and the servants dismissed.
    “Whatever were you thinking?” she demanded, rounding on him. “You deliberately lied to . . . to . . . Oh, I don’t even know what to call him.”
    “Call him a miracle sent by God to save us, to save you. That young man is a maiden’s dream.”
    “I am not a maiden. I am a wife. Your wife.”
    Edmond shook his head. “I have never been a true husband to you. Let me die in peace. Give me an heir to save Mildenhall and carry on my name and title.”
    “Do not push me into this, Edmond, I beg you. If I did what you asked, I could have a daughter, and then where would I be?”
    “That young man I just saw will give you a son.”
    “How do you know that?”
    “Some believe Edwina is a witch. I do not believe in witches, but I do believe she can see things others cannot. She knows how desperately I need an heir, and told me the nameless man in the bed will give you a son.”
    “No one but God can determine that,” Mariah insisted.
    “You know Edwina’s predictions have proven true in the past. Why are you being so obstinate about this?”
    “Because what you suggest is a sin.”
    Edmond closed his eyes. “Leave me,” he said wearily. “I will die soon and cannot bear the thought of Osgood forcing you from your home or into an intolerable marriage with his son.”
    Mariah hesitated a moment before taking her leave. Insteadof returning to the sickroom, she went to the chapel to pray for guidance. She had never disobeyed her husband in all the years of their marriage, but what he wanted her to do went against God’s law.
    The chapel was a peaceful place this time of day. Mariah knelt on the wooden kneeler, folded her hands and began to pray. To her dismay, her mind kept wandering to the man with no memory, the man whose golden eyes were filled with confusion and pain. Little by little his face had returned to normal, revealing a ruggedly handsome visage that would turn any woman’s head.
    His body proclaimed him a fighting man. Was he a knight? Was someone he loved even now looking for him? Did he have a wife? A betrothed? She had to admit he was magnificently put together, and wondered what it would be like to have a man like that in her bed. Looking at him set off all kinds of wicked thoughts inside her head. She stirred restlessly, her body making her aware of feelings that were strangely arousing. Strange because she’d never had them before.
    She prayed harder.
    “You