The Memory of All That Read Online Free

She rose from the chair and picked up the tray that bridged Marnie’s lap. “I’ll just take this back to the kitchen now.” She stopped in the doorway and turned around. “I’ll check back on you, Miss Marnie, and get you settled for the night before I go home.” She left, casting a glance at the stern-faced man who now stood by the bed.
    “So, you don’t remember anything before you appeared at the front door. Is that right?”
    Marnie drew the soft white duvet around her neck, as if to protect herself from the question laden with sarcasm.
    “Yes.”
    He sat down in the chair beside the bed.
    “That’s a dilly of a story, Marnie, even for you. Every time I think I couldn’t be surprised by another thing you do or story you tell, you come up with something to top the last escapade.” He crossed his legs and frowned. “Do you honestly think this is going to get you out of trouble?”
    “I don’t remember what I did. The first thing I remember is standing in the park, but from the way that woman spoke to me, threatening me with jail, and now your tone of voice, I must have done something horrible.”
    He snickered humorlessly. “You might say that.”
    “Well, whatever it was, I’m sorry.”
    “Sorry won’t get it this time, Marnie.”
    “I might not remember my past, but I know myself, somehow. And I know I would never do anything horrible. I just wouldn’t.”
    “So, you’re remaking yourself? Just like that? You don’t remember, so now you’re a good girl?”
    Marnie was trembling from the effort to be civil to this odious man. How dare he tell me I’m not a good person?
    “I am. I know it.”
    “Well, you sure could have fooled me and everyone around you.”
    “Alice seems to like me. She speaks kindly to me.”
    “She’s known you since you were a little girl. Perhaps she has better memories of you than the rest of us do.”
    He shoved the chair back and strode toward the door.
    “Doctor Means said it’s better if you remember on your own who you are and what you’ve done. So, I’m not going to give you any clues to your past. You’ll slip up soon, and the game will be over.”
    He paused at the door to give her one final look, and she took the opportunity to ask him the question that had been plaguing her since she first saw him.
    “Please tell me one thing. Are you David?”
    He stared, unspeaking, and then nodded.
    “Who are you to me? Are you my employer?”
    His smile was bitter as he answered, “Surely you haven’t forgotten that, my dear, after you tried so hard to catch me. I’m your husband.”

Chapter 5
    Marnie was stunned. So many questions swirled around in her brain she hardly knew which one to concentrate on first. David was her husband. Somehow that wasn’t a complete shock. She remembered the tingle she felt when she first heard his voice. Her body evidently hadn’t forgotten him, even if her brain had. Something deep within her woke up and paid attention when he spoke.
    Were we ever in love? I can’t imagine being married to someone I don’t love and who doesn’t love me in return. But then, I don’t remember being married to anyone, much less this David person. Did his voice once whisper into my ear as we made love? Was that deep tone once kind and gentle, laughing and teasing instead of disbelieving and harsh?
    It wasn’t a memory, exactly, that was tugging at her mind. It was more like an awareness that David held some sort of an emotional pull over her. It wasn’t much, but it was something to build on as she tried to retrieve her missing memories. She hoped these feelings meant her memory was coming back. She needed to learn why her husband was so angry with her.
    She closed her eyes and recalled his face. Square and handsome, with blue eyes and dark brown hair, he had seemed worried, angry, or bitterly sarcastic each time she saw him. Surely that isn’t how he’s always looked. He must have looked at me lovingly once, before all this