Page 14 of Duke with a Deception
“I can have fish elsewhere if I choose,” King said smoothly. “If my wife doesn’t like fish, we shan’t have fish.”
A soft warmth spread through her. Perhaps he was making amends for forgetting that small detail.
“That is most considerate of you,” she murmured, taking a sip of her replenished wine.
“It is the least I can do after being remiss in my recollections,” he countered. “I consider myself an abject failure for approving theSaumon à la Mornay. I shall endeavor to offer penance for my husbandly sins.”
Verity smiled. Once again, he had injected levity into his words. He was being gallant yet lighthearted, his undeniable charm melting any lingering hesitation over her fragmented memory. His ability to smooth over ruffled feathers and make the best of every situation was one of the qualities she admired about him most. It hadn’t worked in the case of his friendship with her brother, but she still held out hope that Everett would relent in time.
She didn’t like being the cause of the rift between them, particularly when the other members of their circle had been quick to offer their felicitations on Verity and King’s nuptials. King remained as close as ever to Brandon, Whitby, Camden, and Richford. It was only her brother who insisted upon being stubborn.
The next course was laid before them, fowl in a decadent sauce with truffles. She forked up a bite and couldn’t contain her enthusiasm.
King grinned in her direction. “I trust this course meets your approval. Your delight is almost kittenish.”
She cast an arch look in her new husband’s direction. “I’m no kitten.”
Blatant admiration shone in his expression, his eyes blazing with intensity. “Of that I am more than aware, angel. You’re more like a forceful lioness, prepared to take a bite out of anyone who should dare to defy you.”
She had a sudden recollection then of him making a flippant comment to her about biting.
“Come now, Lady Verity,” he coaxed her. “I don’t bite.”
She placed her hand on his proffered arm. “Very well.”
“Unless I’m asked to in very polite fashion,” he added, a note of wickedness in his voice.
As quickly as the memory came to her, it vanished. She searched her mind for the rest of it, the beginning and the end, but met with failure. She had the vaguest inclination that they had been in the alcove overlooking the ballroom at her brother’s town house. But what had they been doing there? Was it her imagination, or had there been a hint of sadness in the air?
Had King given her his handkerchief then?
“Is something amiss?” Her husband’s voice reached her, jolting her from the murky mists of her mind.
She blinked. “Not at all. Why do you ask?”
“Your countenance went quite grim just now.” His gaze searched hers, seeking answers she didn’t have to give him.
Verity shook her head, wishing she weren’t plagued by odd bits and pieces of memory and reveries. “I thought I was remembering something, but I don’t think I was. Sometimes, it is difficult to discern what is real and what is merely my imagination or a dream I once had.”
“So, youhavebeen remembering, then?” he asked, his voice cautious.
“Yes. No. I don’t think so.” She shook her head again, mostly because she was confused. “That is to say, I am not certain. Sometimes, it feels as if a memory is so near that I can reach out and touch it, and other times, everything feels as if it is as distant and far away as the moon.”
King’s brow furrowed. “Has the physician suggested such a thing is common in these circumstances?”
Sadness crept over her. “I fear that I am only one of two such cases he has seen.”
“Pray, forgive me for speaking of it. I didn’t wish to dampen our wedding dinner.”
How compassionate and caring he was. Verity knew King would make her an excellent husband. She was so fortunate to have fallen in love with such a wonderful man. She did not doubt that in time Everett would come to realize what she already knew—that the Duke of Kingham was a perfect match for her in all ways.
“Nothing could dampen today, my love, for I am the happiest I have ever been,” she reassured King, determined not to spoil the day with what she couldn’t change. “Now, let us enjoy the feast your chef has prepared.”
The hour was latewhen King finally made his way to his bedchamber for the evening. There was good reason for his tardiness. First, he had long been a creature of the night. He preferred the darkness, the stillness, and the quiet to the bustle and brightness of the day. But there was another, far more sinister reason beyond that.
He had a pressing problem.
It seemed as if Verity was beginning to experience memories that had once been trapped and unreachable within her mind. And if she continued to remember more, and if her memories became clearer, it was entirely possible she would remember her dead betrothed. She would realize she was in love with Lord Leopold and not with King. That everything they shared was a lie she’d told herself, a deception he had helped to encourage and sustain.
