Ah, but how do you know? Perhaps Im quite usual, and you simply dont remember.
Her smile turned into a laugh.
At that moment, Megan swept into the room, carrying a stack of clothes, followed by a maid with an even larger armful of dresses, which she laid across the bed before leaving the room.
Look, Megan said cheerfully. Prudence found some things in Olivias room as well as Annas. Theyre not as simple as many I wear.
I like your dress, Sabrina told the woman, meaning it. The lack of ruffles and bows let the elegant lines of the bodice and skirt shine.
Its useful. People tend not to take a woman in lace seriously. Megan turned to Alex. Time for you to leave, my boy.
Oh. He looked startled, then embarrassed, his eyes flickering to the pile of white chemises and petticoats in his sister-in-laws hands. He cleared his throat. Yes, of course. He started toward the door, then turned back. Sabrina...Id like to look at some of those items in your pockets again if I may.
Of course. Sabrina slipped off the jacket and held it out to him. It was a relief to get rid of the encumbrance, but it felt somehow even odder to be standing here clad in trousers and a shirt, with only the vest over it. Her womanly figure was much more obvious without the concealing jacket.
Alexs eyes swept down her in a swift, encompassing look, confirming her opinion and making her flush with a heat that was only partially from embarrassment. She turned aside and found Megan watching her speculatively.
As soon as Alex closed the door behind him, Sabrina said, You distrust me.
Megan laid the clothes in her arms out on the bed and turned to her. The Morelands are a very friendly and open family. They believe in the basic goodness of people.
But you dont, Sabrina ventured.
I wasnt born a Moreland. Im a hardheaded Irish girl from the Bronx. She came closer, and her brown eyes were no longer warm. I wont let you hurt them. If you try to, I will make you pay. Ask anyoneMegan Mulcahey never gives up til she finds out the truth.
I hope you do find the truth about me, Sabrina told her evenly, looking the other woman in the eyes. My story sounds mad, I know. I probably wouldnt believe it, either, if it hadnt happened to me. But its the truth. I have no idea who I am or why I came to London or where I belong. It scares me to death. I want to know who I am. Almost anything would be better than living in this void, even if it means finding out Im a terrible person.
Do you think you are? A terrible person, I mean.
I dont know. I dont feel as if I am, but I suppose one wouldnt. People usually think theyre right, dont they?
Generally, in my experience. Megan gave a little half smile and stepped back, her manner, if not warm, at least open-minded. Come on, Ill help you try on these clothes while you tell me all this again. First, why do you think you might be a terrible person?
Look at my face. Something dreadful happened.
You could have been the victim.
Or someone could have been angry at me for a very good reason. Or I could have attacked someone and they fought me off. Any number of things, and theyre all just speculation. But it doesnt denote a peaceful, ordinary life, does it? Sabrina had shed her waistcoat as she talked and now started on the buttons of her shirt. Why do men button their shirts up on the wrong side?
Its a wonder, isnt it? Megan sat down on the stool in front of the vanity table.
And then there are these clothes. Dressing up as a man isnt ones first thought, is it? If I was merely traveling, I would go as myself, surely. And why do I not have luggage?
To me, it speaks of a hasty flight from someplace or someonein all probability, whatever caused the damage to your face, Megan agreed.
Exactly. What ordinary young lady would do that?
One who was frightened. And clever.
Im certainly frightened. Not as much now. AlexMr. Moreland, I mean, or I guess its Lord Alexander Morelandhes very...calming, isnt he?
Thats not the adjective usually used for one of the twins, but yes, I would say hes steady. It would take a good deal to alarm him.
I think it would take a good deal to alarm any of you. His mother didnt turn a hair at my showing up like thisalthough she did take me for a loose woman!
Megan chuckled. That sounds like the duchess. She hired me even though she suspected I wasnt really a tutor. The Morelands are warmhearted, but it would be a mistake to think they arent smart, as well.
You mean you worked for them...under false pretenses?
She nodded. I passed myself off as a tutor for the twins. I had to get in, you see, because I was investigating my brothers death. I thought Theo had killed him.
Your husband? Sabrina stopped in the middle of stepping into a dress and stared at her.
Well, he wasnt my husband at the time. And it didnt take me long to realize that he couldnt have done it.
I must say, it seems to me youve little room to talk about deceiving the Morelands, Sabrina said with some heat.
But you can see why Im suspicious. Here, let me help you with the buttons. Megan came over and fastened the dress up the back. This is one of Annas. Its a lovely color on you. She looked into the mirror over Sabrinas shoulder. Ive nothing against you, Sabrina. In fact, I like you. Youre forthright. And, heaven help me, Im inclined to think youre telling the truth. But that wont stop me from digging for information, and what I discover may not please you.
I know. But I dont want to live in this limbo forever. Sabrina thought of the wedding ring, and something cold coiled inside her. I must find out.
Chapter Four
SABRINAS JACKET OVER his arm, Alex left the house, walking through the gardens and back into the almost sylvan piece of land beyond. A high stone wall blocked off the noise of the city streets, rendering it peaceful and quiet. Alex had discovered long ago that his reading of an object was far easier outside, away from the clutter that filled most buildings.
He sat down on a stone bench and took out Sabrinas possessions, laying them on the bench beside him. Closing his eyes, he held the cloth in both hands, trying to empty his mind of everything but the rustle of the leaves in the trees around him, the chirps of birds.
There was very little of Sabrina in this jacket. Very little of anything really, other than a vague masculinity and perhaps a sense of anger? No, too mild for that, more resentment perhaps. That told him nothing. He folded the jacket and laid it aside, then picked up the objects one by one.
The money pouch, like the jacket, held only a trace of Sabrina. There was that same masculine feel, along with a mingling of different feelings. That would be common for money, passing through the hands of many people, as it did. But what was interesting was the strong sense of another male presence besides the one from the jacket.
He had never really noticed this ability to pinpoint the presence of one person or another, just as he had not realized he could separate a feminine presence from a male one. Was it something new or had it always been there beneath the surface, something hed ignored? He was inclined to think it was the latter.