Behind the Mask (73 page)

“Perhaps it would be if Nikolaus had any morals whatsoever.”

“Perhaps,” he said, then he kissed Abbi’s hand in a way that had become familiar. “What do you think, Abbi? Would you still want to be my wife if I didn’t wear this uniform?” A teasing sparkle in his eyes kept the question from cutting too deeply into the reality of their relationship.

Abbi quickly found a way to answer his question honestly. “I hold no account for position or title, Lance. I never have. I agreed to marry you because I know you’re the kind of man who would respect me and take good care of me.”

“I would certainly do my best,” he said, showing a wan smile.

“Although, you do look fine in the uniform. Even if you resign, I’d hang on to it if I were you.”

Lance laughed and kissed her hand. “Good advice, my dear. I’ll have to think that through.”

Cameron couldn’t help being pleased when Georg once again manipulated some degree of normalcy into his life. Since Ramona and Salina would be out late again, socializing with their ladies’ club after the opera, Georg made certain the servants had all gone to bed, and then he invited Cameron into the kitchen where they chatted with Marta and Elsa. Cameron enjoyed observing Georg and Elsa together. He envied their freedom, but not their love. He understood the kind of love they shared because it was the same love he and Abbi shared, and he was grateful for the chance he had to know what true love meant.

While the women were busy with something on the other side of the room, Cameron and Georg talked quietly of their plans for the next few days.

“As I see it,” Georg said, “our only real problem is finding out for certain when His Grace is leaving the country.”

“How do we find that out?” Cameron asked. “He’s not sharing information with anyone who wants to help
me.”

“I don’t know,” Georg said. “I guess we just keep praying. Everything is set to get Gerhard Friday night. If all goes well, he’ll be at the wedding.” Georg smiled. “Imagine how Abbi will feel to realize she doesn’t have to be given away by me, after all.”

Cameron smiled at the idea. “I’m counting down the hours, myself.”

“Here’s a sample of the wedding cake,” Elsa announced, setting a plate in front of each of the men.

“Ooh, how lucky can a man be?” Cameron asked.

“Lucky enough to get a glass of milk to go with it,” Marta said, setting down two tall glasses.

“You’re an angel, Marta,” Cameron said. “I wonder why you didn’t adopt me when my own mother died.”

Marta just laughed and kissed Georg and Cameron each with a loud smooch. “I’m going to bed, boys. You mind yourselves now, and—”

“Shhh,” Georg said and they all became quiet. “A carriage. Just a minute.” He left the room then came back to say, “It’s Abbi. The captain should be kissing her at the door any moment now.”

“Oh, thank you very much, Georg,” Cameron snarled.

Marta laughed and left for the night. Elsa sat down next to Georg to eat her own piece of cake. A few minutes later Abbi appeared in the kitchen doorway. “Marta told me I needed to go to the kitchen,” she said, “but I didn’t expect such a pleasant sight.”

“Abbi!” Cameron stood and opened his arms. “You look absolutely incredible,” he said just before he embraced her. “I’m jealous,” he whispered more quietly.

“As you should be,” she said with something severe in her eyes that left him uneasy. But she moved away and greeted Georg with a kiss on the cheek. “Hello, Elsa,” she said as she sat down. Elsa waved, since her mouth was full.

“How did it go?” Georg asked.

Abbi pondered her answer for a long moment while she looked hard at Georg then Cameron, feeling inexplicably angry. She wasn’t certain who to be angry with. She just felt angry. She wanted to scream at both of them for putting her—and Lance—into this horrible mess. While she knew they were only doing the best that they could—or so they had told her—she hated everything about this situation and felt like screaming. Instead she settled for a nonchalant answer and managed a cool voice. “Opera is terribly boring, but it was enjoyable nevertheless. We sat in the same box with the duke and his sisters,” she said and Cameron’s brows went up. She laughed and added, “You really hate my associating with royalty, don’t you.”

“What makes you say that?” he asked dryly.

“You always get that . . . look on your face when they come up.”

Cameron glanced away, wondering how much he revealed of his emotions that he wasn’t aware of. “It’s just a little . . . disconcerting, that’s all,” Cameron said. “You’re interacting with some pretty important people.” He looked into her eyes. “I hope that when this is over, you will accept me for who and what I am.”

Abbi deepened her gaze on him. “Do you really need to ask that?”

Cameron swallowed hard. “No. Forgive me. I’ll just be glad when this is all behind us.”

“No more than I will be, I can assure you.” Abbi realized how curt her words must have sounded when she saw mild alarm in Cameron’s eyes.

“So,” Georg changed the subject, “how are the duke and his sisters this evening?”

“Magda and Lena are doing well,” Abbi said while Cameron stared at the floor. “Nikolaus is as despicable as ever, but he’s leaving the country tonight, so we can all breathe a little easier.” Cameron and Georg exchanged a surprised glance, then they laughed.

“Did I say something funny?” she asked.

“No.” Cameron leaned over the table to kiss her, his somber mood completely absent. “You said exactly what we needed to hear.” He leaned back and put his hands behind his head. “Maybe we’ll actually be able to pull this off, after all.”

“Maybe,” Abbi said, “but I wouldn’t get too comfortable, if I were you.”

Cameron took in one more piece of evidence that for all her attempts to be gracious, Abbi was in a foul mood. He wondered what else had happened this evening that might have set her off.

“What are you eating?” Abbi asked, as if nothing in the world was wrong.

“Wedding cake samples,” Cameron announced, putting a bite of cake into her mouth.

Abbi made a sound of pleasure. “That’s really good. Who’s getting married?”

“It’s hard to keep track,” Elsa said. “Do you want a piece for yourself?”

“No, thank you. I’ll just eat this one.” She took another bite of Cameron’s.

“I’d like another piece, thank you,” Cameron said.

“Oh, Miss Abbi,” Elsa said on her way out the door, once she’d given him one more piece of cake. “You wanted to look at those things again before I cleaned them up. Since it’s so late, perhaps we should—”

“Oh, of course,” Abbi said, coming to her feet. “I’ll be up in a few minutes.” She was actually grateful for a chance to say what needed to be said in order to clear the air—and Georg needed to hear it too.

Elsa left the room and Cameron saw Abbi’s countenance darken immediately. He was about to ask what was bothering her when Georg said, his tone teasing, “So, Abbi, did the captain give you a good-night kiss?”

Abbi didn’t feel at all amused, and felt no motivation to keep the bite out of her voice as she said, “Actually,
I
kissed
him
—and I rather enjoyed it.” She couldn’t help being pleased by Cameron’s stunned expression. “I believe he did, as well. Small compensation, I’d say, for putting the man in such a hideous position. While he’s risking his life to save mine, a kiss or two seems a small price to pay.”

“Risking his
life?”
Cameron countered.

Abbi leaned toward him, her eyes filled with fire. “Yes, my love, risking his life. Consider how well you have tutored me on the importance of my ignorance on certain matters for the sake of my protection, then consider what might happen if Nikolaus du Woernig got even a clue of what his own captain knows that he’s not reporting. And why is he not reporting it? I’m certain the matter is complicated at best, but the main point is shockingly clear. He is caught between his duty and his conscience because he loves
me.
He’s trying to protect
me.
And if he goes before a firing squad for that, I will
never
be able to live with it. I would say that a kiss is a small price to pay, indeed.”

Cameron knew the anger he felt was likely out of line, but he made no effort to hold it back as he retorted, “I’m grateful for what he’s doing to keep you safe, Abbi, but you are
my
wife, and—”

“When I actually know what my name is, I might be able to remember that fact for more than a moment. As it is, it seems more evident that I am engaged to the Captain of the Guard, and I’m cheating on
him
because some other man—a man I know nothing about—is sleeping in my bed.”

“With any luck,” Cameron snapped, “by the end of the week the captain will be sleeping in your bed and your troubles will be over.”

Abbi didn’t hesitate a moment before she slapped him, wondering even as she did how she could be driven to such cruelty and feel no regret. “How dare you even
think
something like that, when I have given
everything
for you—even my integrity. This is
your
child growing inside of me, Cameron, and if you don’t do everything in your power to stand by me to see it born and raised, I will
never
be able to live with
that!
”

Cameron watched her leave the room while he touched his face where the sting was still settling in. He closed his eyes against the memory of her words hammering through his mind, then opened them when he heard Georg slide his chair back and stand up. He felt doubly humiliated to realize Georg had witnessed such an abhorrent exchange. Then Georg just had to add insult to injury as he muttered, “You deserved that. If anything gets you killed before the end of the week, it will be your own arrogance.”

Hoping to save face even a little, Cameron retorted, “You once told me I needed an edge of arrogance to accomplish what needs to be done.”

“If you can’t tell the difference between politics and your marriage, you’ve got a serious problem.” He headed for the door. “On the chance that she’ll let you sleep in her bed, I’ll see you in the morning. Otherwise, the sofa at my house is tolerable.”

Cameron had no idea how long he sat there, while every shred of anger and jealousy corroded, leaving nothing in their place but fear and regret. “What have I done?” he muttered into the empty room, unable to even comprehend how it had come to this. Then he realized that it didn’t matter what he’d done or how it had happened. He had no choice but to move forward and do everything in his power to rectify it. And whether or not he survived, he had to be certain that Abbi remained safe, at all costs.

Elsa helped Abbi out of her evening gown and into the full petticoats and wedding gown so that she could try the veils again, seeing how they went together. She was grateful that Elsa didn’t question her sour mood, especially seeing how talking about it hadn’t gone well in the kitchen.

Abbi focused on the task and narrowed the decision down a little, but she still had trouble making a final decision. Elsa helped Abbi out of the dress and laid it over the bed again just as Abbi said, “I know it’s late and you must be tired, but I think I’m hungry. Would you mind just getting me a little something? And I’ll clean this stuff up enough to last until morning.”

“Don’t you worry about me,” Elsa said. “I had a nap while you were at the opera.”

Elsa left and Abbi perused the veils once more. Her back and legs ached from such a long day, but that seemed insignificant to the ache in her heart. The conversations of the evening rumbled together inside of her as she plopped into a chair, still wearing her full petticoats, unable to find the strength to even move. Glancing around the room, she realized there were only two days between now and Saturday. She wondered when Cameron was going to make himself public. She had daydreams of him appearing in the drawing room, just as he had last night. Then he would introduce himself to everyone and announce that he intended to marry her. Abbi wondered how her aunts would react to this man intruding upon their plans. And she couldn’t even ponder how all of this would affect Lance. Her anger of earlier melted into the fear of wondering if people she cared for would come through this alive, and sorrow in knowing that no matter what happened, their lives would never be the same. With that thought she slept.