The Duke’s Twin Lust by Lorena Owen

Chapter Four

Tomorrow was the day Amelia was to take Lady Gillingham’s place.

Amelia could not sleep throughout the night. She was as nervous as she’d ever been. Bright-eyed and awake, she tossed and turned on the shaky bed that had been hers for the past few years.

But how did Lady Gillingham expect Amelia, an ordinary commoner, to fool her lord husband and all her servants? Even with Lady Gillingham’s tutelage over the past few days, Amelia had not learned everything there was to know about etiquette. She had no idea what forks to use at supper and the proper way to address a duke. She had no idea what to do as a duchess, and, Amelia swallowed as she pondered, if she would be expected to perform her marital responsibilities with Lady Gillingham’s husband.

This plan was bilge, Amelia knew. Even though they had been at it for three days, she knew she had little to no chance of fooling Lady Gillingham’s household. There was no way—absolutely no way—she would succeed at this.

What if things went wrong? What if Lord Gillingham saw through the deceit and lies? Amelia’s would be hanged for sure.

She thought of running away from the inn, but decided against it almost immediately. Running away meant trouble for the innkeeper and his wife, and they’d always been kind to her. I’d rather they don’t get embroiled in this mess, she said to herself. Plus, she didn’t know anybody in London and could be harassed by ne’er do wells or worse, be killed.

Another source of worry was the duchess’s threats. Lady Gillingham could still blackmail her, as it was her word against the word of a servant girl, which meant the hangman’s noose for Amelia. Amelia knew it would be foolhardy to double-cross someone like Lady Gillingham.

Of all people to bear a semblance to, it had to be a spoilt lady-blackmailer, Amelia thought.

Amelia had to admit there was a tiny part of her that was curious about the events that were unfolding. How would it be to live in an estate, to have all her needs attended to? A part of her wanted to know.

But even the benefits of living in a grand manor and having servants at her beck and call were nothing if she was going to have to pretend to be someone else. Amelia could not take that chance.

Her resolve to get out of the mess created by Lady Gillingham hardened. She had to find a way out of this, one way or another. There was no way she was going to spend months pretending to be the duchess.

Amelia turned to the other side and tried to get to sleep. However, try as she might, she could not sleep. All she could think about was what would happen if she got caught.

Well, she mused, at least the last days of her life would be somewhat interesting.

Amelia sighed. There was no use worrying about anything, anyway. She couldn’t prevent the future.

With that last consoling thought, Amelia finally fell asleep.

* * *

Amelia was woken up by a banging on her door.

Groggily, she sat up and rubbed her eyes. For a moment, she quite forgot what day it was, and for a few blissful seconds she forgot about Lady Gillingham. But it all came flooding back seconds later, and Amelia felt her heart fill with trepidation.

The banging on the door persisted, and she stood up and opened the door.

It was Mary.

“Her Grace requests you meet with her in her chambers right now,” Mary said. “She says you don’t need to pack up any of your personal effects. You will use hers from now on.”

Amelia’s heart started to beat rather painfully. She couldn’t believe this was happening.

She followed Mary out of her room and up the stairs to Lady Gillingham’s room. Lady Gillingham was seated on the armchair, an embroidered handkerchief in hand.

“How are you, Amelia?” the duchess said, smiling gracefully.

Amelia nodded, her throat tight. She couldn’t have spoken if she wanted to.

“Are you ready to be me?” Lady Gillingham asked, her eyes twinkling.

How could Amelia even begin to answer the question? She had no idea.

“First, we have to dress you,” Lady Gillingham said.

Mary came forward, pushing Amelia onto a stool. She opened a large trunk beside the bed and started to pull out some gowns. Amelia held her breath. They were the most beautiful gowns she had ever seen.

“The red one, I think,” Lady Gillingham said.

Mary pulled out a red embroidered gown made of thick velvet material. Amelia felt her heart seize as she looked at the gown. She had never—never—thought she would wear such a gown.

Amelia shrugged off her clothes. Mary dressed Amelia, tightening the drawstrings of her petticoats and donning the gown over them and then fitting it to Amelia’s body. While Amelia looked exactly like Lady Gillingham, she was slightly thinner than the duchess, and the dress needed a little more adjustments.

“That’s better,” Lady Gillingham said.

Amelia turned, hoping to catch a glimpse of herself in the mirror. But Mary was already ushering her onto the stool once more and untangling the knots in her hair with a hairbrush.

“Better down than up, I should think,” Lady Gillingham said.

Mary continued to attack Amelia’s hair. Amelia felt her hair starting to detangle and flow down her back, scratching her neck. Mary started to attempt a hairstyle on Amelia’s hair, and Amelia sat with bated breath, wondering how she looked.

Finally, Mary stepped away from Amelia.

“You could almost pass as me,” the duchess said. “Now, some powder and a pair of gloves to mask those hands.”

Mary produced a pair of white silk gloves. Amelia pulled them on. They were the softest things she had ever worn. She kept her face still as Mary powdered it and applied some colour to her lips. Finally, Lady Gillingham gave an approving nod.

Amelia turned to look at herself in the mirror and she felt her heart miss a beat.

She looked beautiful. Amelia had never considered herself beautiful in the past, but she had to admit she had never looked better. She looked… highborn, much more like a duchess than a servant girl. Looking at the mirror, Amelia wondered what her parents would say if they had lived long enough to see her looking like this, wearing a highborn lady’s gown, on her way to impersonate a duchess. Her mother would have probably burst into tears of joy, while her father would drone on about how he always thought Amelia was highborn at heart.

Amelia did not want to think about her parents just now. Her parents had been poor, but they’d had dignity. She was not sure they would approve of what she was doing now. She turned away from the mirror and looked at Lady Gillingham. With the dress and the gloves, Amelia saw that she bore even more of a resemblance to the duchess than she had initially thought. They could pass as twins, that was for sure.

The only reason anyone would suspect Amelia was not Lady Gillingham would be her etiquette.

Amelia felt her heart contract with fear. How was she going to fool a league of servants and Lady Gillingham’s family? She looked at Mary, who was surveying her with approval. Would Mary be good enough in tutoring Amelia in how to act like the real Lady Gillingham?

Lady Gillingham stood up and made her way over to Amelia. “Very good, Amelia. Now, remember all that you’ve learned over the past few days. It would not do to forget anything. Every single detail is important.”

Amelia nodded. “But, Your Grace,” she said.

“Yes, Amelia?”

“I still don’t know if I can do… this. I mean, I can’t fool your entire family.”

Lady Gillingham gave a comprehending smile. “I assure you that you can, Amelia. No one will be expecting you. If you make a mistake or do something wrong, they will simply assume I’m ill. No one knows about you, you see. And I’m certain you’ll get better with each day.”

Amelia swallowed. Lady Gillingham showing patience and understanding was a rare occurrence, and Amelia did not want to push her luck, but she still had so many doubts.

“My lady, I don’t think this is wise,” she said.

Lady Gillingham’s eyes flashed. “I didn’t request your opinion, Amelia,” she said. “You will do as you’re told, or suffer the consequences.”

Amelia gave a tight nod. She knew what those consequences were.

“Now, give her a cloak,” Lady Gillingham said. “I don’t want anyone at the inn recognising you when we step out.”

Amelia took the grey cloak Mary handed her and wrapped it around herself. Lady Gillingham took a cloak too, made of green velvet, and wore it. She pulled the hood over her head.

“Let’s go, then,” she said.

They made their way out of the room and downstairs to the inn’s stables. There were several horses in the stables, and Lady Gillingham made her way over to two white horses tied to one end of the stables.

“We used a coach on our way over here, but I’ll give you two horses,” she said. “I expect you to tell my husband all about how we got robbed by highway bandits and the horses were the only things we were lucky to get away with. My lord husband is a smart man, and would suspect something out of the ordinary if you let him. So, be careful.”

Amelia felt a twinge of fear.

“You have to make sure my lord husband does not grow suspicious of you. He would be the hardest person to fool in that estate. He has to believe you are me. Understood?”

“Yes, Your Grace,” Amelia said. “How do I make him believe that, Your Grace?” Amelia asked.

“By acting exactly as I would act,” the duchess said. “My husband knows well enough that I am not overly interested in him or our marriage. I keep my distance from him. He would expect you to be the same. You must be courteous but keep your distance. He would naturally become suspicious if I suddenly become a warm, bubbly person.”

Amelia nodded. She had to remember that. She did not want to give the game away by being herself.

“Also, do not run around helping servants or speaking to them too kindly,” Lady Gillingham said. “I wouldn’t do that.”

Amelia stared at her. Lady Gillingham was really a dreadful person.

“I won’t,” Amelia said.

“Not to worry, Your Grace,” Mary interjected. “I’ll make sure Amelia behaves exactly as you would.”

Lady Gillingham gave a curt little nod. “Of course,” she said. “Have a safe trip.”

With that, she departed.

Amelia climbed up awkwardly on her horse and waited for Mary to do the same. She had rarely been on a horse in the past, and still had trouble riding one. She nudged the animal. Thankfully, it started to trot out of the stables, following on the heels of Mary’s.

“You seem to have a lot on your mind,” Mary said, as their horses headed towards the open fields that linked the inn to London.

Amelia nodded. She was still worried about being discovered, but there was a lot more she couldn’t figure out.

“Why does Lady Gillingham want this?” she asked. There was no one better to ask than Lady Gillingham’s personal maid.

Mary gave a wan smile. “As she said, Lady Gillingham is not much interested in ruling over an estate. She craves a different life. Meeting you at the inn must have been a dream come true for her,” Mary said.

Amelia nodded. She could not imagine why a highborn lady would want anything but that life, but it seemed Lady Gillingham’s life was more complicated than she knew.

“Does she not like the duke?” Amelia asked.

“Well, His Grace is a good man,” Mary said.

Amelia could not help but notice that Mary had not answered her question. “But?” she prodded.

Mary sighed before she continued. “It was an arranged marriage,” she finally said. “The duchess did not want to marry the duke any more than you wanted this. She wanted someone else.”

Amelia felt her curiosity rise. “Who?” she asked.

“He was lowborn,” Mary said simply. “The duchess’s parents would not hear of him as a suitor. The last thing they wanted was for their daughter to be associated with some lowborn scum, as they called him. The duchess wept for days. She was in love, you see.”

“Who was he?” Amelia asked.

“He was a stable boy at the duchess’s father’s estate,” Mary said. Amelia felt a slight surprise. She had thought Lady Gillingham too snobbish to ever be interested in anyone below her station.

“What happened to him?” Amelia asked. “Did he love the duchess as well?”

Mary nodded. “They were completely and utterly in love. But when the duchess’s father found out, he had the boy sent away. He was afraid that their passion would cloud their judgement and a mere stable boy would take his daughter’s virtue. It was the last thing he wanted. And so he arranged for the marriage with the duke.”

“And Lady Gillingham wants nothing to do with the duke,” Amelia said, finally understanding a little about her doppelganger.

“I’m afraid Lady Gillingham cannot feel what she felt for the stable boy for the duke. The duke is a good man, and a noble one, but Lady Gillingham cannot reciprocate his love.”

Amelia felt her heart go out to Lady Gillingham. Even after everything the woman had done to her, she could not stop herself from feeling sorry for her. The woman had had the love of her life snatched out from her hands because of his station. It was no wonder she sought to escape her life. Being trapped at an estate with a man you could not bring yourself to love, no matter how hard you tried, had to be a kind of hell on its own.

“Is there any hope of her reuniting with the stable boy?” Amelia asked.

Mary shook her head. “Last I heard, he’s happily married now.”

Amelia felt her heart twinge with pity. His love was lost to Lady Gillingham forever, and Lady Gillingham must not have taken it well when she’d heard.

“I didn’t know about any of this,” Amelia said.

Mary nodded. “No one knows, not even the duke. He thinks the duchess is difficult, yes, but he has no idea about what she has faced.”

Amelia sighed. Lady Gillingham was quite a pain, yes, but she had also gone through some trying times.

They rode for what seemed like hours, over green plains and lands, past men tilling the soil and women tending to children and babies. Finally, when Amelia was certain she could not ride any longer, Mary said, “We’re close to the estate.”

Amelia’s head shot up. They were approaching a large grey manor situated upon an even larger hill.

“Welcome to the Roxburghe estate,” Mary said.

Amelia felt her heart miss a beat. They were here.