Free Someone to Love by Jude Deveraux Page A

half the trimming of the other woman’s dress and Jace liked it better.
    “Do you think so?” Ann asked. “But do you think Danny will like it when I wear it on our wedding day?”
    “I think Danny Longstreet would like it better if it were red-and-black–striped taffeta and had purple fringe along the skirt.”
    Ann smiled. “Probably. Mr. Longstreet said that once I’m his daughter I can go to London to shop. Can you imagine, Catherine? London!”
    “Something that father of yours would never allow,” Catherine said, then her face brightened. “You will stay with me in London, won’t you? The children are clamoring for the latest chapter in your story.”
    “Of course I’ll stay with you, dear Catherine. And I’ll be your alibi for the time you spend with your latest…What is his name?”
    “He’s my lover and you very well know his name. Sergei. Oh, Ann, you should see him. Gorgeous doesn’t begin to describe him. And that Russian temper of his!”
    “How does your husband like him?”
    “I have no idea. Peregrine has an actress for a mistress.”
    Ann shook her head. “I thought you loved your husband.”
    “I do. Very much. In fact, I think our last child might be his.”
    Ann laughed. “You are incorrigible.”
    “Me? Here you are marrying a man who is one generation away from being the housekeeper’s son, but I am incorrigible?”
    “As you well know, my dear cousin, our family are but three generations out of the factories. It was your face and your waistline that caught you an earl for a husband, not your ancestry.”
    “Yes, but now that I’ve caught him, it reflects on you. You could have better than Hugh Longstreet’s son. It’s this old house the man wants and he’s marrying his son to you just to get it. Your father has used you to get what he wants. Are you sure you won’t change your mind about marrying him?”
    “Absolutely certain.” Ann put her wedding dress on the ottoman and started toward the wardrobe. “I didn’t show you my going-away outfit. It has a cashmere jacket.”
    “I’d love to see it. I—Ann! What’s wrong?”
    Ann had opened the door to the wardrobe and there Jace was, standing inside. When he knew she was about to open the door, he’d tried to hide but he couldn’t move back—which would have made him go through the wall—and for some reason his body wouldn’t go sideways to hide behind the other door.
    He felt bad about the terrified look on Ann’s face, but he couldn’t do anything about it. Unlike she did in the garden, he couldn’t seem to disappear at will. He smiled at her and even gave a little wave, but that only frightened her more. Her skin was so pale he feared she’d pass out.
    Raising her arm, Ann pointed at the wardrobe and Catherine went to it. She saw nothing unusual. She tossed the clothes out and picked up boxes and threw them out.
    As Catherine bent down to look inside the deep wardrobe, Jace had the unsettling experience of her head going through his chest. When she tossed out a hatbox, it went through his legs. He couldn’t take his eyes off what Catherine was doing, but after a while he began to see the humor in it all. He looked up at Ann to share it with her, but she was about to fall to the floor in fear.
    Jace yelled at Catherine to see to Ann, but his voice made no sound. He pounded on the wardrobe wall, but that made no sound either.
    When Ann’s body hit the floor, Catherine looked back. Ann looked at Jace again, her eyes fluttered, then she went limp. The second she lost consciousness, Jace awoke to find himself on the bed.
    For several minutes he lay there, blinking up at the ceiling, disoriented, not knowing where he was. Gradually, the barren room came into focus. It was the same room as in his dream, but nothing else was the same. Her—Ann’s—wallpaper above the paneling had been cream with little sprigs of wildflowers tied with blue ribbons. The bed had been mahogany, narrow but tall. The