Lady Amelia's Secret Lover Read Free

Still…“Blast it all, Harry, I’m afraid. What if it’s too late? Worse.” He met his brother’s gaze. “What if she’s realized I am not the same man she fell in love with?”
    “Don’t be absurd. You’re precisely the same man she fell in love with. You haven’t changed a bit.”
    “Haven’t I?” The idea hadn’t occurred to him before now, but he had changed. Oh, not in his ambition or the goals he had set for his life—those would never change—but in other, less obvious ways. Now that he thought about it, comfort and contentment had taken the place of desire and excitement. And had done so without his notice. Yet another unpleasant realization. An annoying voice in the back of his mind noted that perhaps he should have had these revelations before now and they should be given further attention. But at a later time. Now there were more pressing matters to attend to. He shook his head. “That’s not what I meant. What I meant was that she might have discovered that I…that you—”
    “I merely lent my assistance, my expertise, as it were, to my only brother when he needed it most.”
    “When I was trying to win her hand you took my place.”
    “Only because you needed my help. If I recall, your feelings for Amelia had reduced you to little more than a blithering idiot.”
    “It wasn’t that bad.” Although in truth it had been nearly that bad. Even from the vantage point of six years, Robert still had no idea what Amelia had done to him. Certainly she was the only woman he had ever fallen in love with, and he had known from the moment he’d met her that she was the one for him. That certainty perhaps—the realization of her importance to his very existence—was what had indeed sapped his confidence and made him, at least in the beginning, if not actually a blithering idiot, thensomething very much like one. If it hadn’t been for his brother smoothing the way for him, saying all the words Robert couldn’t quite get out, Robert wasn’t sure he would have won her hand or her heart. After all, he hadn’t been the only man interested in Amelia Bannister.
    “Besides, I only impersonated you a mere four times.” Harry shrugged. “Hardly worth mentioning.”
    “Four?” Robert frowned. “I only recall three.”
    “Four, three, it scarcely matters now. It was six years ago.”
    “Even so—”
    “Furthermore, it has been my experience…” Harry glanced at his brother. “And for the sake of argument I suggest you agree that I am far better acquainted with the dissatisfactions of married women than you are.”
    The muscles of Robert’s jaw tightened with impatience. Normally his brother’s amorous adventures were, at best, amusing, and, at worst, a source of exasperation and potential scandal. At this particular moment and given the personal nature of the situation at hand, Harry’s expertise was every bit as annoying as it was necessary. “Go on.”
    “As I was saying, it’s been my experience that women who discover they have married the wrong man do not need six years to reach that conclusion,” Harry said firmly.
    “Then the fault lies with me.”
    Amusement curved the corners of his brother’s mouth. “Probably.”
    “What am I going to do?” An awful, helpless ache seemed to have taken up permanent residence within him. The sort of pain one surely felt when struck bythe realization that loss was imminent and there was nothing to be done about it.
    “Oh no.” Harry shook his head, and Robert had the distinct impression his brother would have backed away from him if he’d been standing. “While I admit to a certain skill in the handling of dissatisfied wives, I have no idea how to—”
    “Come now, surely you of all people—”
    “Pay attention to her,” Harry said abruptly. “Show her how much you care about her.”
    “She already knows that.” Robert tried and failed to hide the defensive note in his voice.
    “If she does, she’s forgotten. It’s no doubt