Secrets by Brenda Joyce Page A

didn’t want Miramar. Miramar belonged to James, who wasn’t yet cold in his grave. But…the very idea of losing Miramar was abhorrent, sickening, frightening. And he didn’t like the idea of Edward marrying Elizabeth any better.
    â€œWhat in hell is so hard about marrying a pretty little lady like that in order to get what you’ve always wanted anyway?” Rick asked.
    â€œThat’s not true,” Slade said tersely. But if he dared be honest, he would admit that it was true. Deep inside, he had always wanted what he could not have. Now, an impossible dream was within reach. But only because his brother was dead.
    He turned on his booted heel. At the door he paused, his expression hard. “I’ll think about it. Give me some time.”
    Rick was equally grim. “We don’t have time.”

Chapter 4
    T he doctor was a thin, wiry man of indeterminate age. Regina sat obediently in a chair while he probed and prodded her head. She did not have much confidence in him and she worried her hands in her lap. His eyes were bleary and bloodshot, and she smelled a strong mouthwash on his breath, as well as the whiskey which he couldn’t disguise. Regina kept her expression impassive, but her heart was fluttering anxiously. Even though this man seemed thoroughly disreputable, he was a doctor. Rick Delanza, who was waiting outside her door, had brought him to her. And she was afraid of his diagnosis. For although it was a new day, although she had gone through all of her trunks, her memory was as blank as it had been yesterday when Slade had found her. In fact, she hadn’t experienced another moment of recollection as she had with the gunshot.
    â€œGot a nice-sized bump on the back of your head.” The doctor smiled at her. He had a kind smile. “It hurt you any?”
    â€œI’ve had a headache since yesterday afternoon.”
    â€œYou got a knock on the noggin for sure, but you don’t seem to have a concussion. Still, you should take it easy until your memory comes back.”
    â€œSo it will come back?” She could not imagine living in such a mental abyss for very much longer.
    â€œProbably.” He saw her dismay and patted her back. “There, there, don’t fret. That won’t help. Truth is, I’ve never had a case of amnesia before. It’s pretty rare. Still, most folks recover, given time.”
    Most folks recover, given time . Not for the first time since she had regained consciousness yesterday and realized that she had lost her memory, Regina faced the possibility that she might never regain her faculties, that she might never know herself. The notion was shattering.
    Rick knocked upon the door impatiently. “You through, Doc?”
    â€œC’mon in, Rick.” The doctor began packing up his black bag slowly, in no hurry at all.
    Rick walked in, radiating the kind of energy she had witnessed in Slade, but with a difference. In Slade, it was almost explosive, in the father it was merely vital. Again she wondered where Slade was. She had not seen him since he had left her at her hotel room yesterday afternoon. She had thought about him too often. She was disappointed he was not with his father.
    Rick smiled at her but focused on the doctor. “Well?”
    Regina did not listen as the doctor told Rick what he had already told her. She got up and walked over to the mirror, staring at the stranger she saw there, the stranger who was herself.
    Regina had bathed using a pitcher of water on the bureau and the washbasin beneath. She had dressed in one of her suits, a smart navy jacket and skirt with a cream-colored blouse and a string of pearls which had been among her things. This morning she thought that she looked more than wealthy and attractive, she looked regal and elegant. It was an observation, devoid of any vanity or conceit. It was still disturbing to look at herself. Whenever she did so, the lack of familiarity caused