The Duke’s Twin Lust by Lorena Owen

Chapter Twenty-Two

The moment the words left Amelia’s lips, she wished she could take them back.

She did not know exactly why she had decided that now was the time to come clean, but now that she had, she felt terror gripping her heart. This was far from what Lady Gillingham had expected of her, and she did not know whether she could trust Rebecca.

She watched as Rebecca’s face sagged with disbelief. Amelia wondered what she was thinking. Perhaps she thought Lady Gillingham was insane.

And, as expected, Rebecca burst into laughter.

“Your japes have really transformed, Christiana,” Rebecca said.

A part of Amelia wanted more than anything to join Rebecca in her laughter and move on to other topics, but she also knew she was sick of lying. She did not want to do it any longer.

And so she said, “I mean it, Rebecca.”

Rebecca smiled. “But that is quite impossible.”

Amelia hesitated. Now that she had begun to tell the truth, she supposed she could go all the way. And so, taking a deep breath, she launched into her story. “Lady Gillingham and I met at the inn where I work. She took an interest in me immediately—for obvious reasons, I should think—and asked that I take her place as the Duchess of Roxburghe. She threatened to have me framed as a thief if I didn’t follow her instructions. I had no choice.”

Rebecca was staring at her as if dumbfounded. She let out a chuckle of disbelief. “That can’t be right,” she said. “You look exactly like Christiana.”

Amelia nodded. “I know. And my appearance has cost me a lot more than I bargained for.”

Rebecca let out a sigh. “I don’t believe this,” she said under her breath. “If you and Lady Gillingham did exchange places, someone would have realised. I would have realised.”

Amelia stared at her, saying nothing.

And then, finally, Rebecca let out a gasp. “You have been different over the past few days. I just realised… you apologised, and you have been a lot nicer to my brother since your accident. When did you—?”

“There was no accident,” Amelia said, staring at her feet. “Lady Gillingham planned that. We decided it was the best way for me to infiltrate the manor without raising suspicion.”

Rebecca stared at Amelia. She looked as though she was not certain what to believe. Finally, she said, “Who are you then?”

“My name is Amelia,” she said again. “I’m a commoner, and an orphan. I live and work at an inn some miles away from here.”

Rebecca sighed. “This is unbelievable,” she said.

“I’m sorry,” Amelia whispered. She knew how nice Ernest and Rebecca were, but she was not certain how Rebecca would treat this sort of news.

Rebecca was still staring at Amelia. Seconds passed between them, and Amelia could almost taste the molten fear creeping up her belly and into her mouth. Had she made a huge, terrible mistake?

As she watched Rebecca come to terms with her actual identity, Amelia started to realise everything that could have gone wrong with her admission. Rebecca could hightail it out of there and report everything she’d just said to Ernest, and whatever attraction Ernest felt for her would suddenly vanish when he realised she was an imposter. Perhaps he would even think Amelia had done something to his wife.

Amelia buried her face in her palms. For a moment, she wished she could go back in time and not tell Rebecca anything. Lady Gillingham had been right. Amelia should have known to keep this a secret.

When she looked back at Rebecca, she saw that Rebecca seemed to be grappling with the huge news. Finally, Rebecca said, “Amelia.”

“Yes,” Amelia said, her heart beating rather fast.

Rebecca sighed. “I should have known,” she said simply. “The real Lady Gillingham was the most unpleasant woman I’ve ever come across. Nothing, not even a near-death encounter, would quell her acerbic tongue.”

Amelia looked at Rebecca, barely daring to hope. “You’re not angry?” she asked.

Rebecca gazed at her. She looked like she was taking her measure. Amelia held her breath, worried she was missing whatever Rebecca was looking for. Finally, Rebecca said, “No, I’m not. This is frankly the strangest thing I have ever heard, and I cannot imagine why the both of you look so alike.”

“I can’t either,” Amelia said.

“Is it possible you might be related?” Rebecca asked.

Amelia shook her head immediately. “Lady Gillingham is highborn, and I am lowborn. I am also certain that my mother birthed me.”

“Ah,” Rebecca said. Before she could say any more, Michael ran up to them, holding up a white flower.

“I’ve seen this before!” he said excitedly. “What are they, roses?”

Amelia and Rebecca exchanged glances. Even with the seriousness of the situation, Amelia could not help but smile at Michael. “That’s a lily, Michael,” she said.

“Oh,” Michael said, looking extremely put-out. “I thought for sure this was a rose.”

Before any of them could say anything else, he ran back into the garden, whooping with glee.

“I’m sorry about deceiving you,” Amelia said in a small voice.

Rebecca gave a short laugh. “I consider myself the fool. The more I think about it, the more I realise how obvious the signs were. The real Lady Gillingham would never think of taking a child she didn’t know as a ward. She would never climb up a tree to rescue the child. And she would surely not spend her time trying to be nice to the child.”

Rebecca sighed and turned to Amelia. “I fear that in my blind hatred for my brother’s wife, I must have overlooked what was right in front of me.”

Amelia did not know how to feel about that. She was slightly relieved that Rebecca was not angry or turning away in disgust, but she still knew that it would spell trouble for everyone involved if Rebecca were to tell the duke.

“I liked you better as Lady Gillingham,” Rebecca said musingly. “You are a good duchess, good for my brother, good for Michael. I don’t know where Christiana is, but I hope she plans on staying there forever.”

Amelia stared at Rebecca in surprise. “I’m a commoner,” she said. “Why would you want me with your brother?”

Rebecca shrugged. “Nobleman, commoner, it’s all the same. We are all just people. Michael is a common boy, and you decided to adopt him with your power as Lady Gillingham. Tell me, in what way does he differ from me?”

Amelia felt her relief grow. She had convinced herself that the mere thought of a commoner being wed to Rebecca’s brother would send Rebecca into a storm. But now, she realised that was Lady Gillingham’s way, not Rebecca’s.

But would it be Ernest’s?

Amelia felt her heart drop at the thought. The duke was pleasant enough to commoners, but would he want one in his bed? Amelia could not say. She did not think Rebecca was going to reveal her secret, but she knew it was possible the duke would find out one way or another. And when he did, she thought, what would happen to her?

“I mean it,” Rebecca said, cutting through her thoughts. “I do not want Christiana anywhere near this manor.”

Amelia turned to look at Rebecca. She looked defiant, but Amelia could tell how much Lady Gillingham’s words had hurt her.

“I’m sorry,” Amelia said. She felt a little better now as she apologised, knowing that she did not need to bear the guilt for Lady Gillingham’s words anymore. But still, she knew what she was a part of was even worse than Lady Gillingham’s tongue.

Rebecca turned to her, a small smile on her face. “You know what?” she said. “I wish you were the real Lady Gillingham. I would do anything to replace you with her.”

Rebecca’s earnestness warmed Amelia’s heart. Still, she knew Rebecca’s approval was only a piece of the puzzle. And so she said, “Perhaps it’s better if I just leave before Lady Gillingham’s return.”

Rebecca turned her horrorstruck face to Amelia. “No,” she said in a whisper. “You can’t leave. What would Michael do? What would my brother do?”

Amelia squinted at Rebecca. “Your brother?”

Rebecca nodded. “I have truly never seen him happier than he is when he is with you.”

Amelia felt another blush creeping up her cheeks. “He doesn’t even know who I am,” she muttered.

“And I am certain his feelings will grow even further when he realises who you are,” Rebecca said.

Amelia shook her head. “I don’t think so,” she said. “I’m a commoner, Rebecca. Whatever her faults, Lady Gillingham is a highborn lady. I don’t belong here, with all of this. This is Lady Gillingham’s place.”

Rebecca sighed. Putting a hand on Amelia’s arm, she said, “You are a better Lady Gillingham than Christiana herself. You don’t have to leave just yet.”

Amelia stared at Rebecca’s hopeful face. She did not want to disappoint Rebecca, but she did not think she had any other choice.

However, Rebecca did not seem to want to give up. “I am the only person who knows about this,” she said. “I won’t tell anyone else, I swear on my soul. And in the meantime, we can come up with a way to tell Ernest together.”

Amelia felt her stomach pool with fear. “I do not think I will ever have the courage to do that,” she said.

“You can,” Rebecca contended. “Even if you don’t believe me, I have seen the way he looks at you. Learning you are a commoner would not do anything to change that, I know.” Rebecca paused, squinting at Amelia. “And I have seen the way you look at him. You have feelings for him, do you not?”

Amelia hesitated. It felt more than a little scandalous, admitting to having feelings for a duke. And not just any duke, but a duke who was already wed to someone who was suited to his station. But Amelia knew that, even though she hated to admit it, she did have feelings for Ernest.

It was the hardest thing in the world to not like Ernest. He was quite honestly the best man Amelia had ever known. He was exactly the kind of man she used to daydream about, and it was more than a little difficult to ignore her growing feelings for him. Even if the situation was less than optimal, Amelia could not stop her heart from fluttering a little whenever she heard his name, could not stop herself from looking around for him whenever she stepped into a room.

Ernest was slowly and surely settling himself into her life, into her heart, and Amelia did not know if she could stop it.

And what was more, she did not know if she wanted to.

Rebecca appeared to have seen the struggle on Amelia’s face. Taking her hand, she said softly, “It is okay to have feelings for my brother, Amelia. He’s a good, honest man, and you are quite like him. I have never seen a couple better suited than the both of you.”

Amelia sighed. She did not know about that. Though Rebecca was intent on ignoring her primary concern, Amelia knew that they were very few stories of highborn men, much less dukes, getting married to commoners. She’d just heard a story of how Lady Gillingham herself could not wed her one true love because he was a commoner.

The last thing Amelia wanted to hope for was a happy ending with Ernest.

Even if Ernest did care about her, there was also the question of Lady Gillingham. Lady Gillingham was Ernest’s lawfully wedded wife, and as unpleasant as she might be, she was a highborn lady. That meant she would always be considered a far more suitable bride for Ernest than Amelia would.

At that moment, Michael came charging back, holding a bouquet of pink flowers.

“I got stung,” he announced, and for some reason, he seemed highly pleased by the news.

Amelia and Rebecca hurried over to his side, examining the wound. He seemed to have been stung by a wasp.

“We need to get him to the manor,” Rebecca said, taking Michael’s hand.

“I’m fine,” Michael said crossly, pulling his hand away from Rebecca. “Truly.” Looking at Amelia, he said, “Race you to the manor?” and in a blur, he was gone.

“There’s the reason you absolutely cannot leave at this point,” Rebecca said silently. “Your feelings for my brother aside, you’re one of the few people Michael actually trusts.”

Amelia sighed. “But what if Ernest learns that I am not really Lady Gillingham?” Ernest was not likely to take the news lightly, no matter what Rebecca thought.

“Ernest will not hear of anything but by our mouths.” Rebecca said. “And I will not say anything. I promise.”

Amelia turned to look at her. Rebecca was not only taking the news in stride, but was actively helping her. Amelia had never known a highborn lady that would do that, and for a commoner no less.

“Thank you,” she told Rebecca quietly.

“Do you still plan on leaving?” Rebecca asked, eyes full of anticipation.

Amelia shook her head slowly. She couldn’t leave Michael alone. It would hurt him now to learn that the woman who had promised to stay by him was leaving after only a short while. And more than that, it seemed like Rebecca needed her too. Rebecca seemed much better for having a friend, and Amelia could not deprive her of that when she’d only just found one.

Also, Lady Gillingham would be more than furious to learn Amelia had left her role. Amelia started to wonder what Lady Gillingham would think about what she had done. Amelia had not only completely changed everyone’s perception of Lady Gillingham, but had also managed to befriend both Ernest and Rebecca. In addition, she had gotten Lady Gillingham a ward.

Amelia knew that in Lady Gillingham’s perspective, she had made a complete mess of things. But, Amelia did not quite feel any sympathy for the woman. In fact, she felt slighty amused at imagining Lady Gillingham’s horror when she came back and saw what everyone thought of her.

But, with Amelia’s amusement came a pang. Sooner or later, she would have to leave so Lady Gillingham could take her rightful place. It did not matter that Rebecca now knew who she was. Even Rebecca could not stop Christiana from being the rightful Lady Gillingham. No one could.

And this hurt Amelia more than she could say. In the time she’d spent here, she had begun to get used to the manor. It was like having a family again, especially now that Rebecca was firmly on her side. Amelia did not know what she would do when she had to give it up.

As the thoughts came flooding past her mind, Amelia felt her certainty grow. She could not leave. Apart from all the other various reasons she had to stay, she did not think she could leave Ernest. It would tear her apart to be away from him, especially before she had to.

Rebecca gave her a broad smile. “Thank you,” she said, gripping her arm tightly.

“But,” Amelia said. “I need your help, Rebecca. With everything. And that includes learning how to throw a ball.”