Page 51 of The Replacement Duchess

She left him sitting there. Her only thought at that moment was the Duke and how much she wished to see him, to be comforted by him, but she soon thought of her sister and how she would give her the news.

All those years they had thought that it had been the two of them, but there was a third out there that they would never meet, and Samantha deserved to know.

The rest of the day passed with Samantha in tears, saying the same few things over and over into Diana’s shoulder.

“Why didn’t he tell us?”

“Can we find him?”

“Am I ever going to be enough for someone?”

And each time, Diana tried to soothe her, but it was futile. Diana had not, in truth, been too surprised by her father’s revelation, and she was shocked that her sister seemed to have been.

“He is cruel,” Samantha whispered that night, “but I never thought that he could do that. I never would have imagined, even for a second, that he was capable of doing all of this.”

“You can come to stay with the Duke and me,” Diana reminded her.

“I shall give you your honeymoon, at least.” Samantha nodded. “It is to be a magical time, I have heard. You deserve that after all of this.”

“If you are sure.”

“Di, why are you not upset about all of this? You have not shed a single tear.”

“Because it will not change matters. My priority right now is you, and ensuring that I am leaving you in the best possible conditions that I can. Otherwise, I do not know what I shall do when I am away.”

“I hope that you let the Duke care for you. I believe he wants to.”

“I believe I would like that very much, should he do so, although I cannot say that I can believe in such flights of fancy.”

“Are you really going to leave, as Father asked?”

“Of course, I am not. The wedding is in a week, and so he shall tolerate my presence from now until then. I do not care what he thinks of my being here—it is as I said to him, he is welcome to abandon us once more.”

“I wish that he would.”

Soon after, Diana left a sleeping Samantha and went to her own bedchambers. She wished that she could fall asleep as easily as her sister had, but she could not. There were so many thoughts in her mind, each one refusing to leave her be. There was no mention of a name; she could not find her brother herself, and she would simply have to hope that he came to find her.

If she even wished for him to find her, that was.

The sleepless nights continued until her wedding day. She had not seen her husband-to-be since he had told her about her father, which meant that she was incapable of telling him the truth of the matter. She couldn’t help but consider it a good thing, as it may well have enraged him fully. Yet, in spite of how much she scolded herself for being so selfish, she wanted his support, his comfort. She needed kindness, and her helplessness was bringing her to her knees.

As Samantha buttoned her corset for her, she felt it. The butterflies. She knew that sensation, as well as the fluttering in her chest. It had been a feeling that she had when she thought of the Duke, and each time she had pushed such things aside, for they were not feelings she wanted to have. She was to marry her friend and nothing more. Everything had been difficult enough without such things to complicate matters further.

“Are you ready?” Samantha asked. “Because you certainly look the part. You are a vision, Sister.”

“Thank you, Samantha, but no. I do not think I will ever be ready for this.”

“Then it is just as well that we are going now, rather than later. We can have this part done with, and then the two of you can focus on each other. That will be easier, don’t you agree?”

“I hope so because this has been an awful lot to handle.”

“And I have not exactly helped matters.”

“Sister, I could not have gotten through this without you. How could you have possibly not helped?”

“With my refusal to marry. I should have played the part I was supposed to, and then you would not have had to concern yourself with me.”

“It is an honor to care for you. I do not care what that man says. You are a treasure, and I will never think any differently of you.”

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