Will Marsden is a man on the run from his memories and his past. Steward of Denton Manor was a good position until Captain Dearne, the owner, lost the manor on the turn of a card. When the feckless Dearne is dumped unconscious and near death on his doorstep, Will grudgingly accepts an enormous sum of money to care for him.<br><br>Dearne regains consciousness but has no memories of how he came to be in the bed of a dark-haired, angry, but gorgeous man or how he came to be so badly injured.<br><br>When nightmares drive Dearne into Will’s arms every night, the attraction between them explodes. As Dearne battles with lost memories, he is forced to accept the fact that someone in his family wants him dead, and Will is forced to confront his past head on. Will the revelations uncovered manage to tear them apart?

Memories

“Why the hell does it hurt so much to try and remember things?” he grumbled.


“I wonder if you should see a physician.”


Dearne shuddered. “He would only try to bleed me and I truly hate leeches.”


Will surprised him by reaching out and taking hold of his arm. He squeezed it reassuringly, but they were interrupted by the door opening, and the companion, Miss Rose returning. Dearne held his breath for a moment, but thankfully Will let go of his arm slowly, and quite unobtrusively rather than dropping it guiltily.


“Captain Dearne. We need to talk,” the companion said without preamble.


“Anything you have to say can be said in front of Mr. Marsden. He has had more than his fair share of our dirty laundry, a little more won’t harm.”


Miss Rose hesitated a moment and then squared her shoulders. “Very well.” She cleared her throat.


Dearne interrupted her. “Before we begin, should we all take a seat?”


Miss Rose hesitated again and then nodded. 14


Chapter 46