Page 4 of The Replacement Duchess

Diana once more cursed the fact that she couldn’t say no to her sister, and with a sigh allowed her to put it on her. She looked at herself in the mirror, only to gasp at her reflection. It had been her aunt’s dress, but it was as though it had been made for her.

“This fits… all too well,” she breathed.

“Then it is settled! This is the one that you shall wear. How wonderful, we both have incredible dresses, and nobody shall be any the wiser that they are not new.”

They would assume it to be the case, of course, but at least it would be speculation and nothing more. There would be much speculation about the two of them, but one look at herself in her aunt’s blue gown and she knew that she would be able to hold herself together through it. If Aunt Roberta could leave her life behind for two years to raise two girls as if they were her own, even if one of them was determined to be difficult, then Dianacould manage a ball. She would not enjoy it, and she would never wish to attend a second, but she would get through it and that was all that mattered.

“Now for the hardest part,” she sighed.

“Dazzling theton?”

“No.” She laughed sadly. “Finding a way to get Father there.”

“Surely he will not drink tomorrow? He must know how important it is that we make a good impression.”

“The man has never cared for the impression he gives, you know that.”

“No, I know. I thought that maybe with all of the pressure for us to marry, though, he might be different.”

“He might,” Diana replied, though she was not at all convinced of it.

“And if he does not,” Samantha said softly. “What do we do then?”

“I will fix it.”

There was a confidence in Diana’s voice that she did not feel, but she had to make her sister believe her. She would find a way tomake Samantha happy no matter what, even if it meant crossing oceans for her.

“Or…” Samantha laughed sadly. “We could live out the rest of our days as spinsters. I do not think it would be too terrible, you know.”

“Yes, you do.”

“On the contrary! It would allow me to spend my time doing things I’d rather do, like reading or traveling.”

“You cannot travel, you know that.”

“No, but a girl can dream, can she not?”

“Samantha,” Diana asked shakily, “you do wish to marry, do you not?”

“In all honesty, Sister,” Samantha replied carefully, “no.”

“What?”

“I know, I know. It is what you have wanted for me all of my life, but the truth is… I do not want to be a wife, or a mother. I cannot think of a worse fate for myself than being some gentleman’s lady. I want to have a life in the real world, and be responsible for myself.”

“You do not want that. I know that it might sound inviting, but it is not half as wonderful as you might think. It would be incredibly difficult.”

“And you have prepared me for that. Let us not forget that you were the one that made me so accomplished. You made me more than that, though. You made me determined. I could do it, I know that I could.”

“I love that you are a dreamer,” Diana said gently, taking her sister’s hands in her own, “and perhaps one day that shall be possible, but for now you must be reasonable. A husband and children and a home.”

She watched her sister’s face fall, and she couldn’t stand it, but she knew that she was doing the right thing. Samantha would not have to miss anything like she had, and she had already done all that she could to ensure that. They had come too far to fail now, and it would not happen.

“You are disappointed now,” Diana said gently, “and perhaps you are even angry with me now, and that is perfectly alright. One day, you will be in your drawing room and one of your little ones will come stumbling in and crawl into your arms, and you will feel as though everything was worth it, and you will find such happiness.”

“Do you truly think so?”

“Of course I do. There is nothing in the world that I am more certain of.”

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