The Wicked Game (A Wicked Game Novel) Read online

  But she didn’t even have time to call out to be chosen. The mysterious woman Angela had spotted locked eyes with her and Angela suddenly felt as if she was naked in front of the crowd. The gypsy woman whispered something to the man and now he was looking at Angela as well.

  “You madam. What is your name?”

  Angela felt completely vulnerable but was able to mutter her official title.

  “And Mrs. Andrew Wilson, may I be as bold as to ask your own given name?”

  She told him, “Angela.”

  The man spoke to the crowd now. “Angela, what a beautiful name is it not? A gift from God perhaps?”

  While the crowd murmured agreement Angela went stiff. She knew the story of her naming well enough, what a coincidence that he should say this…wasn’t it? But before Angela had a chance to ponder the question further the man had taken her by the hand and pulled her up on the make-shift stage with him. The gypsy woman walked up to her and slowly circled around Angela as her eyes trailed from top to bottom.

  “Today is a special day for you.” The woman’s voice was smooth and her accent made it almost sound as if she was singing.

  Angela was unsure what to say. “Oh umm…It is?”

  The woman raised her hands in the air with the grace of a dancer. “Why of course. Today is the seventh of June!”

  “Oh!” Angela gasped. “Why today is my birthday!”

  The crowd cheered in approval but the woman eyed Angela knowingly.

  “And it is my wedding anniversary…”

  The crowd was going wild around her but Angela was shocked. Had it really already been a year? How had the time passed by so quickly? Angela smiled to herself. Well for one, Andrew held true to his promise and they spent much of the first weeks and months of their marriage secluded inside of their room. Time passed very quickly when they were together in that way. And then after that? Well they still spent a large amount of time in that way but it was probably the control they had over their own lives that passed the time so quickly now.

  They had done quite well for themselves in the time that they had lived in Beldon. Andrew had gained a respectable reputation as a jack-of-all-trades and was constantly being called upon to fix this or that. Even Angela had gained notoriety for her talents. She had taken a small job in a dress shop (not because she had to but simply because she could!) and it wasn’t long before everyone in town was craving her designs.

  Yes, life was very good.

  Angela turned her attention back to the gypsy woman. She had been impressed that the woman had known about today when even Angela herself had forgotten but that didn’t really mean anything. The gypsy’s vague statement that today was special could have meant something to anyone in the crowd. Angela wanted to see if she would know anything else.

  The woman took Angela by the hand and slowly began to trace its lines. “I see that you have lived more than one life. You were someone important once.” Another vague statement.

  Angela managed to say, “I am important now.”

  The woman raised her eyebrow. “Important to society. But you are no longer.” And with that the woman turned her eyes back to Angela’s palm.

  The statements were still vague but they were suspiciously accurate. Angela could feel her hands begin to sweat.

  The gypsy woman looked up from Angela’s hand now with a gleam in her eyes. “This is very interesting. You shall soon be important again. Even more than you were before. Those who rejected you will flock to you… but you still will not be happy. Not yet anyway. Not until…”

  But then, out of the corner of her eye, Angela saw something shocking and unexpected. In the midst of the crowd was a beautiful blonde haired woman. A woman Angela knew better than she knew herself.

  “Mary? MARY?” Angela screamed. But by the time she had turned her head the woman was no longer there.

  Am I seeing things?

  The gypsy woman gave a knowing glance and Angela took off running through the crowd.

  ***

  She tried hiking up her skirts but it just wasn’t possible for her to run any faster. The crowd had multiplied since the gypsies began the show and there was just no free room to get through. Angela let out a yell of frustration and a few people turned to look at her. She didn’t care. She had to get to Mary. She had to find out why she was here; why she had run away.

  So Angela did something that no lady should ever consider; she pushed, she shoved, she knocked over dainty women and unsuspecting men. People were pointing at her now and yelling in disgust but she just blocked it out and plowed right on. Of course not everyone was easy to charge through and on the third time she fell, she scraped both elbows and knees.

  She moved quickly back to her feet and began to jump up and down to look over the masses and try to find Mary. And then she saw it, that brilliant flash of golden hair. It was her! It just had to be her and Angela was off again.

  “Mary? Mary!!!” she yelled but the woman did not turn around.

  Angela was gaining ground on the woman now and was almost within arm’s reach. Just a bit more. And then she yelled, “Mary,” one more time before reaching out and grabbing the blonde by her right shoulder. The woman spun around and gave Angela a horrified look before running away herself. It was not Mary. Not even close. Angela was baffled.

  She had seen Mary! She was absolutely sure of it, so where was she now? Angela sighed and put her head in her hands. She was sure, wasn’t she? No, it couldn’t have been Mary. Mary wouldn’t have run away.

  Angela was baffled but more than that she was upset. She could feel tears coming on and even after the spectacle she had just created, she was not prepared to show such vulnerable emotion in public. She had to get home now. With one hand wiping her eyes and another holding up her skirts Angela took off around the corner towards home, ran into a broad chested man, and fell to the ground…again.

  She was in no mood for this now and so she pulled herself to her feet fully prepared to slap the man across the face. She drew back her arm but then threw it to her own mouth. It was Andrew.

  “Angela?” He gave her a concerned look as he placed his hand on her shoulder. “What’s wrong? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost!”

  “Well I have!” She paused for a moment and then reconsidered. “Well I suppose it couldn’t be a ghost if the person isn’t dead…” She paused again. “What if this was a sign? What if something happened to her? Oh Andrew!”

  She was crying now and she threw her arms around her husband’s shoulders and sobbed. “Umm, who are we talking about?”

  She pulled back. “Why Mary of course!”

  “You saw Mary? Are you sure it was her?”

  “Well I thought so, but then it wasn’t her… But I was so sure! I must be losing my mind!”

  Andrew shook his head. “No. You just miss her. It’s been a long time after all.”

  “I do miss her,” Angela muttered but nothing more.

  Andrew pulled her in close to him and squeezed her tightly. “Come now, let’s get you home.” And the couple walked away together.

  From a nearby but hidden corner, a beautiful blonde haired woman watched them leave.

  Chapter Thirteen

  And so they lay down in bed and began to talk; about nothing, about anything, and about everything in between. Angela confessed that when she was little she went into the kitchen and ate half a plate of expensive sweets reserved for her mother’s birthday. Andrew confessed that he had done the same to Lady Dillard. Then Angela confessed that she used to sneak out of the house late at night just to be alone; but of course, Andrew had done that as well. Though they had both known it deep down all along, they were beginning to realize just how much they were alike. They had very different upbringings of course, but when you got down to the things that really mattered, it had all been the same; neither of them had owned their destiny. Now they both did.

  Since they were being so honest in this moment, Andrew turned on his side to face
his wife and make a confession. He stroked her face gently.

  “Do you remember our first kiss?”

  “Of course I do!” She blushed and then added, “It was wonderful.”

  A smirk spread across his face. “Oh you remember do you? Remind me. I forget.”

  Angela smiled and looked down. She finally lifted her eyes to meet his and, with a smile on her face, responded, “Well it was the night we got caught. I had just come back from my birthday party. I was angry. I was out of my mind! And then I ran into you…”

  Andrew shook his head and softly placed his forefinger on his wife’s lips. He moved in close to her, and then closer still until he was mere inches from her.

  “Are you absolutely sure?”

  A look of surprise came over her face. “Why yes! I would remember.” She flashed him a coy look. “There is no way I could forget it.”

  Andrew laughed. “I’d hope not… But you did.”

  Angela sat up and connected her eyes with his. “What are you talking about?”

  “Well,” he was very pleased that he knew this special piece of information. “Our first kiss was the night you got sloshed with Mary… And it was wonderful.”

  “What? WHAT? We kissed that night? But I was drunk! Why…” Angela paused. She should have gotten angry but she didn’t. Instead she bit her bottom lip and batted her lashes.

  “Did you take advantage of me?”

  Andrew laughed. “Of course not. It was quite the opposite actually. You begged me to do it”

  Angela’s hands flew to her mouth and she gasped wickedly. “Never!”

  “Oh yes. You begged me, berated me…called me a coward.”

  Angela looked down shyly remembering what she had said on their wedding night.

  “Why don’t I show you what happened? Maybe then you will remember…” Andrew leaned into her and was about to join his lips with hers when she pulled away. A thought had just occurred to her.

  Angela lay down on her side and propped herself up on her elbow. She walked her fingers naughtily down Andrew’s arm and bit her lip again.

  “Andrew?”

  “Yes?”

  She paused momentarily. “Do you remember what you did to, ummm, for me the night we were caught?”

  Andrew gave her a wicked look, the likes of which she had never seen. “Would you like me to do it again?”

  His wife giggled. “Of course! But not right now…What I was actually wondering is if it would feel just as good if I did it for you…”

  Now the look on Andrew’s face had grown absolutely devilish. “I know it would…”

  But the look on Andrew’s face did not have the reaction he had hoped for. Instead of swooning over his naughty past life, Angela’s demeanor hardened and she sat up and put her hands on her hips.

  “And exactly how do you know that?”

  Andrew was taken aback. He had not expected this reaction from her and so he did not know what to say.

  “Well, I…Angela… I have never made any misrepresentations about my past experiences with women…”

  She scoffed. “I know that you idiot!”

  Now Andrew was sitting up too. “Then what the hell is the problem?”

  She turned towards him, now with a devilish look of her own. “We both know that I am not your first woman…But I would be pleased if you pretend I am.”

  He was not quite sure what she was getting at. “Angela, I’m—”

  Suddenly she pushed him back flat on the bed and gave him one last look before her mouth met its mark.

  “Lay down you fool! And act surprised!”

  ***

  Not surprisingly, Andrew fell asleep soon after Angela was done. She smiled to herself, overjoyed that she possessed such power. It really was an invigorating feeling to know that she was capable of literally incapacitating a full grown man! She giggled softly to herself as she remembered the look of pleasure on his face as he found his end. She had done that. She alone.

  When had she gained such control? When had she become so confident and self assured? She really couldn’t pin it down to one single moment… and she didn’t care. The when didn’t matter to her; all that mattered was that it was true.

  She smiled to herself again, then rolled onto her side and snuggled up behind Andrew. It was unusually chilly for a summer night and she wrapped herself around his body to absorb his warmth. She sighed with content and lightly kissed the back of his neck. And then she heard him say something; something barely audible, something frightening.

  “I love you,” he murmured, or at least that was what it sounded like.

  Angela sucked in her breath sharply and carefully pulled away from him. No, he couldn’t have said that. Dear God in Heaven, please don’t let that be what he said! He couldn’t love her. She couldn’t let him love her because she would never return the feeling. The wall around her heart stood strong as ever, stronger even, and his words were nothing more than arrows against its stone. It wouldn’t fall, it wouldn’t break, it wouldn’t even crack, and so if Andrew loved her, he would be stuck on the outside alone and hurt. No she didn’t love him, she never would but she didn’t want to see him hurt. What was she going to do?

  And then it dawned on her. Perhaps that hadn’t been what he said. Yes, he had been talking softly. She must have misunderstood. She must have. I love you. I love you. What else could he have said? She closed her eyes tightly and thought desperately. But her mind was filled with images of what she had just done for him and the joy on his face. He had loved it.

  Yes! That was it! He hasn’t said, “I love you,” he had said, “I loved it.”

  Of course that had to be it. Of course.

  And she fell asleep repeating those words in her head.

  ***

  From the moment Andrew had met, or rather seen Angela, he had been drawn to her. At first he considered it as no more than infatuation over her beauty, and she was very beautiful! Her auburn hair and soft, sensual curves filled his mind at all moments of the day and night, even now, after so much time had passed. Then when he had saved her from the Duke he had added protectiveness to those feelings and it had been hard for him to stay away from her no matter how much he had tried. But then somewhere along the line his feelings had changed and grown deeper. Despite the fact that their backgrounds were so different, the things that mattered the most were the same. It was as if they were one person, one kindred spirit, and understood each other better than anyone else ever had or ever could.

  So even though he had been scared to feel it, and even though he had been scared to let himself be so vulnerable, here he was, in bed with his wife, feeling more elated than he ever had thought possible. What was this feeling that was pooling inside of him? What was this feeling that made him feel as if he was actually floating in the clouds?

  She snuggled up next to him and wrapped her arms around his body as she always did to absorb his warmth. And then before he realized what was happening, the words flowed smoothly from his mouth.

  “I love you.”

  I love you.

  Oh my God. He loved his wife! He loved Angela! But he wasn’t shocked, he wasn’t surprised; somehow, deep down he had always known it. When he’d first seen her, when he’d saved her, when he’d touched her the night they were caught, when he’d married her, deep down he had known it.

  He loved his wife but he had no idea how she felt about him. Sure she was attracted to him physically but on the emotional level he had no idea where he stood. Despite the fact that her upbringing had been technically “better” than his, when you looked at all the things that mattered the most, she came out looking worse. It was true that Andrew did not have a family to love him but he had been treated with respect and care despite the fact that he was a bond servant; and even though he was technically not free, he still felt peace within his mind. Angela was just the opposite. She had had a family to love her but she had been loved from something she was not; and even though she was technical
ly free, in her mind she was a prisoner.

  Though she had never talked about it to him specifically, Andrew could read her face and he knew that it had taken its toll on her. Despite her cheerful and outgoing demeanor, when Andrew looked into her eyes (and he did this quite often) he saw a stillness, a wall, built up inside of her and it absolutely broke his heart; especially now. For the past year he had tried everything he could think of to gain entry inside of her fortress but nothing had worked. The suffering she had faced must have been much worse than he could imagine, but now that he realized his true feelings for her, he was sure that he had an in. He loved her and in a way that no one else ever had or ever would. He loved her before he knew anything about her and he had married her to save her from certain despair. Everything he had done since he met her had been for her and her alone.

  For Angela. Just Angela.

  And then he felt her move quickly away from him. Had she heard what he said? Perhaps. He didn’t blame her if she was afraid of love. He understood the deep seeded prejudices she held towards it; but he would change her mind. Tomorrow he’d tell her how he felt and even though she was scared, she had no reason not to trust him. He had always been true to her in every way. He would always love her.

  And he fell asleep knowing that tomorrow his wife would love him.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The next morning the blazing sun woke her much earlier than she wanted. She groaned and rolled over trying to fall back asleep, but it was no use. No matter what happened she had to get up anyway. Late last night she had realized that she left her wicker basket in the market place when she ran after Mary’s ghost. Though she usually went to the market everyday anyway, it was absolutely necessary she went today or they would have nothing at all to eat. She was upset that she had left her basket and food in the market yesterday and would now have to buy a new basket as well as food, but as usual, she was looking forward to winding her way through the market and enjoying her alone time.

  Especially after what she thought she had heard last night.