Behind the Mask (39 page)

“What an excellent idea,” she said and disappeared into the kitchen.

When Cameron had been outside nearly an hour, Abbi noticed that the late afternoon sun would soon be setting. She wanted everything to be perfect when he came in, and suddenly she felt pressed for time. With dinner under control, she rushed up the stairs to get the tablecloth and candlesticks out of the trunk.

Abbi gasped and held her breath as she found herself staring at something that looked so completely out of place that she momentarily questioned her sanity. It took her a minute to consciously accept that in her rush she had opened the wrong trunk. Then her heart beat quickly, knowing that Cameron had not wanted her to see this. She told herself to close the lid and ignore her mistake, but she felt compelled to touch the fine red fabric. She had touched fabric like this before. Lifting the coat into her hands, she knew she was looking at a near replica to the uniform that Lance Dukerk wore.

Abbi sat down on the landing, feeling a little weak. What did this mean? And why was Cameron so determined to keep her from knowing about it? Well, she
did
know, and she wasn’t going to hide the fact from him. But when she heard the door open below, a deep dread knotted her stomach. He started up the stairs, then stopped when he saw her, the fine red and black coat spread across her lap.

Cameron gripped the stair railing tightly and felt the blood drain from his face. A thousand fears that had pounded through his head since the day he’d first seen Abbi became too close to ignore. When he finally found his voice, it betrayed all too well what he was feeling. “What are you doing?” he growled, but she didn’t seem affected by his anger.

“I was in a hurry, and I opened the wrong trunk by mistake.”

Cameron stared at her a long moment, inwardly groping for a way to handle this and still keep her protected. If she knew too much, then . . . he couldn’t think of that. He
couldn’t
. Too weak to even stand, he turned methodically and sat down on the top stair, his back to her. He pressed his head into his hands and forced himself to take a deep breath.

Abbi’s voice came gently. “This is a uniform of the Duke’s Guard, Cameron.”

“You think I don’t know what it is?”

“You were an officer of the Guard?” she asked, as if the idea were incredulous.

Cameron remained with his back turned. He said nothing.

Abbi added, “Do you want me to put this back and pretend that I didn’t see it?”

“Yes,” he snapped over his shoulder. Then his voice softened and his shoulders slumped. “No. I mean . . . I don’t know, Abbi. I’m just scared.”

“Scared? Is there something frightening about my knowing that you once served in the Duke’s Guard?”

Cameron turned to look at her. Perhaps he was making more of this than necessary. It was a simple explanation, and she was willing to accept it. Finding his uniform didn’t mean she had to know everything. While he was thinking of a way to smooth this over and let it drop, she said, “There is more to Gwendolyn’s death than simply your being accused of murder.”

“Yes,” he stated, “and I’m not going to answer any more questions.”

“I’ll only ask one more.”

“I’m listening.”

“Why, Cameron? Why is it so important that I’m left ignorant? Wouldn’t it be easier for you to face whatever you have to face if we could . . . talk about it and—”

“No!” he snarled in a voice she’d not heard in many weeks. And it frightened her. “Don’t you understand, Abbi?” He knelt on the step and took her shoulders into his hands.

“Not completely, no.”

“Do you know what they do to people who are guilty of treason?”

Abbi sucked in her breath, barely letting it out enough to mutter, “Treason?”

“Yes, treason! After they keep you locked in some hole of a cell for heaven knows how long, they put you in front of a firing squad. Man, woman, child. That animal who rules Horstberg doesn’t care.”

“But . . . what does that have to do with . . .”

“Abbi!” Cameron nearly shook her. “Listen to me carefully. It is the last I am going to say. With the position I held, and knowledge I had, and elements surrounding my wife’s death that I will
not
discuss with you, I pose a threat to Nikolaus du Woernig.”

Abbi could hardly breathe.
Nikolaus du Woernig?
Cameron knew something that was a
threat
to the ruler of Horstberg? She had to ask, “Does he
know
that?”

“He thinks I’m dead,” Cameron said, but Abbi caught the inference. If Nikolaus found out that Cameron was alive, the most powerful man in Horstberg would consider Cameron’s knowledge a threat.

“I did nothing wrong, Abbi. I swear it. I was framed. But if His Grace believes I am guilty, with the power he has, then . . .” Cameron stopped, realizing he’d said too much. Taking a deep breath, he finished. “Under the circumstances, harboring and aiding an exiled criminal is treason. And that’s exactly what you’re doing.”

Abbi’s breathing sharpened as the implication sank deeper. Cameron sat down again on the stairs and sighed. “When you leave here,” he said, “the enormous task of proving my innocence will have just begun. I don’t know how long it will take. I don’t know if it’s possible for us to even be together at all until I can be completely certain that I’ve been exonerated of the charges. If you are questioned, you will have nothing to say. You don’t know who I am, or anything about me.”

“Except that I am your wife.”

Cameron’s expression filled with compassion as he took Abbi’s hand. “Yes, a woman with no name. I don’t deserve to have you trust me the way you do.”

“I love you, Cameron. When you do get your name back, I will proudly bear that name, whatever it may be.”

Cameron kissed her hand. “One day I will tell you my name, Abbi. And perhaps by then I will be able to understand why I have trouble even saying it aloud.”

Abbi wondered what he meant, but she couldn’t help recalling what he’d said about his father. She considered the possibility that his reluctance to tell her his name was as much for emotional reasons as it was for her protection. Did he have trouble claiming his father’s name for reasons he wasn’t ready to talk about? She considered asking but he walked back down the stairs, saying over his shoulder, “Please put it back, Abbi.”

Abbi did as he asked, laying the coat gently over the boots and breeches that had been hidden beneath it. Nothing more was said about her discovery, and their evening of celebration went well. But Abbi found herself speculating over what might have happened to Cameron. It felt completely natural to imagine him having a military career. It suited his personality, and what little he’d told her of his life. If he had been an officer of the Guard, and he had found incriminating evidence against the duke, that would explain the circumstances. Of course, there could be a hundred different possibilities. And it really didn’t matter what had happened, so long as he could prove himself innocent and find a life again. Abbi concentrated instead on imagining Cameron wearing the uniform she had found. As little as she cared for Lance Dukerk, she couldn’t deny that she had admired the way he looked in the uniform he wore. Imagining the man she loved dressed that way made her heart flutter, and she tried to envision how it might be one day for him to wear his uniform again without shame or fear. That was a day she longed for.

Georg hurried up the stairs in search of Elsa and peered into Abbi’s room through the partially open door. He often found his wife there, tidying things that didn’t need tidying. He was surprised instead to find Lance Dukerk idly fondling a set of jade hair combs on Abbi’s dresser. The captain looked up to see Georg in the doorway, clearly embarrassed.

“Forgive me for startling you,” Georg said. “I was just looking for Elsa, and—”

“Ramona said it was all right,” Lance said a bit sheepishly, “to come here, and . . . I can’t seem to stay away.”

By
here
Georg knew he meant Abbi’s room. Lance spent a great deal of time at the house, visiting with his stepmother and sometimes even staying the night. Georg felt certain the captain would be wise to seek out a more entertaining social life, but now he had to wonder if his time spent in the house was more out of pining over Abbi than being drawn to his stepmother’s company.

Attempting to ease his discomfort, Georg said gently, “Nothing feels right without her here.”

“No, it certainly doesn’t,” Lance said, touching Abbi’s belongings with a tenderness that defied what Georg knew this man was capable of as Captain of the Guard.

Georg wished he could tell Lance what he knew. He settled for saying, “I’m still holding onto the hope that she’ll come back.”

Lance let out a humorless chuckle. “I find myself hoping the same, but it’s not very likely now, is it.”

“Miracles do happen,” Georg said. Noting the lovesick expression on Lance’s face, he wondered over the depth of this man’s feelings for Abbi. When she
did
come back, would something evolve between them? Although Georg and Lance had not always agreed, Georg knew he was a good man—one of the best, in truth. He’d always had a social reticence that was somewhat contradictory to the man known by the officers he led. Georg suspected that Abbi had not yet seen the depth of character in this man, but he couldn’t help thinking they would make a fine match.

When nothing more was said, Georg added, “I’ll leave you alone then. Take your time and—”

“Georg?” Lance said, stopping him before he could leave.

“Yes, Captain.”

Lance looked subtly nervous, and Georg wondered what might be on his mind. “There’s something I’ve always wanted to say . . . should have said a long time ago . . . but the opportunity never presented itself.”

“Why now?” Georg asked.

Lance looked around Abbi’s room and sighed loudly. “Matters of life and death . . . bring up memories of the same, I suppose.”

Georg leaned his shoulder in the doorway. “Yes, they certainly do.”

“I, uh . . .” he cleared his throat, “I just wanted to say that . . . given the time we all spent together growing up, I know that Cameron’s death must have been devastating for you.”

Georg took a deep breath. Lance could never know how devastating, but not because Cameron had been mortally lost. It was so much more horrid and complicated than that. The grief had been unspeakable—and so solitary. He simply said, “As Gwen’s was for you.”

Lance cleared his throat again and turned the other way. “Yes, well . . . the whole thing was . . . difficult for all of us. We all grew up together.”

“Yes,” Georg chuckled with nostalgia, “a strange group of friends; such an odd mixture. And Gwen was always in the middle of everything, ordering the rest of us around.”

Lance chuckled as well. “She had a way of doing that.”

“Nothing was ever the same once she and Cameron were married.”

“No, it certainly wasn’t. I don’t know what went wrong, but . . . it shouldn’t have come to this. Who would have dreamed . . . all those years ago . . . that two tragic deaths would . . .” He didn’t finish. “And now Abbi is . . .” He didn’t finish that sentence either. He cleared his throat once again and added, “I just wanted to say that . . . in spite of what Cameron may or may not have done, I know that losing him was hardest for you. And I’m sorry for your loss. That’s all . . . for what it may be worth.”

“It’s worth a great deal, actually. Thank you. And I’m sorry for your loss, as well. I guess that gives us something in common, in spite of how our lives have changed.”

“Yes,” Lance chuckled dryly, “and now we’ve both lost Abbi.”

“I’m not going to consider her lost until the mountain snow has melted enough to have proof.”

Lance met his eyes. “That’s a day I dread with my whole heart.”

“You must believe in miracles, Captain. Things are not always as they appear.” He smiled and left the room, wishing that he could trust the good captain enough to share what he knew. Lance would surely be ecstatic to realize that Abbi was alive, but not necessarily pleased to know that Cameron was too. As long as Lance believed that Cameron had killed Gwen—which Georg knew that he did—there would be no trusting him, period. But with any luck, one day Captain Dukerk would know the truth, along with the rest of the country. That was a day that Georg looked forward to with his whole heart.