Read Online The Countess by Lynsay Sands - Free Book Online

how much simpler life would be had her husband just had the good graces to stay dead . . . If he was her husband.

Chapter Four
    I f you glare at her any harder she’s like to burst into flames.”
    Richard glanced to the side at that comment from Daniel and scowled. “She is avoiding me by dancing with seemingly every man in the room.”
    “Not every man,” Daniel said with amusement, and then proved he was aware of what had been going on by adding, “Just Langley and his chums. Langley is apparently a longtime family friend. No doubt he has enlisted his friends and associates to keep her away from you.”
    “Why? I am her husband,” Richard pointed out dryly, and then added, “Or at least I am as far as they know.”
    “That’s apparently why,” he explained wryly. “According to her sisters, I should be ashamed of claiming you as friend as you have treated her horribly.”
    Richard raised his eyebrows and Daniel nodded.
    “Apparently the best thing you have done for her was to drop dead. Both sisters bemoan your unexpected resurrection.”
    “Hmmm.” Richard peered back to his “wife.” The music had ended and her present partner was leading her off the floor. He could see her tensing as she neared the edge of the dance floor and then she suddenly relaxed, a smile curving her lips as Langley stepped up to claim her for another dance. Apparently, he had run out of friends and was risking raised eyebrows by dancing with her for a second time. Gaze narrowing, Richard asked, “A family friend, huh?”
    “Like a brother according to Suzette.”
    Richard grunted and turned his attention back to his wife and Langley. The man was holding her at a respectable distance, but his protectiveness of her was obvious in the way he peered down at her and the gentleness of his hold. Like a brother or not, Langley was far too proprietary with another man’s wife. “Did you find out anything else?”
    “You mean other than the fact that your brother apparently collapsed in his office this morning and is most likely dead?” Daniel asked dryly. “I should think that would be enough to concern you at the moment. If he is dead it complicates things somewhat.”
    Richard managed to drag his attention away from “his wife” again as he considered the ramifications. He’d been rather looking forward to confronting his brother, forcing a confession from him and plowing a fist into his face. Actually, he’d planned to beat the man senseless for all he’d put him through, but that would be out of the question if he was dead.
    “There may be some difficulty proving who you are if he’s dead,” Daniel pointed out, drawing a sharp look from Richard.
    “What do you mean?”
    “Well, this last year everyone has thought it was George who died in the townhouse fire. The man now apparently lying packed in ice in your room has been pretending to be you all that time. There will definitely be some confusion. They might think you are George, survived the fire, and are merely trying to claim to be Richard to ensure you inherit all without the necessity of waiting for his will to be validated. Or they might even decide you are merely your father’s byblow, fortunate enough to look like the twins, and greedily trying to claim their wealth and title now they are both dead. After all, George was supposedly buried over a year ago.”
    Richard grimaced. The man buried in the family vault was one of the criminals who had been sent to kill him. The man had been about his height and size. Found on his bed and charred to a cinder, no one had been able to tell any different. They’d all just assumed it was him, but Richard knew different and removing the vermin from the family vault was only one of many things he wanted to do once installed safely back in his rightful place. If he managed to get there, he thought grimly.
    “We shall have to prove your identity . . . somehow,” Daniel said in a tone that suggested he was concerned