Imposter Bride
Page 32
Sophie stared at the far wall, too stunned to say anything more. For nineteen years she had been robbed of her birthright, just as Ian had been. It was truly astounding.
Lady Auliffe sighed again and lightly stroked Sophie’s shoulder. “You see, Sophie, it is I who must beg forgiveness of you. I should have known better than to trust the words of that vile woman. I should have sailed to Santo Domingo and taken you away long ago. But it was all so complicated. And Katherine’s mother hated me with a passion.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Sophie murmured. “I truly don’t know what to say—”
“That’s why I rushed to Scotland when I learned you were to elope with Edward Metcalf. I just couldn’t let you go through with it. By the time you left London, I had established who you were for certain and was waiting for the legal documents to be drafted before I told you about your real identity. When I got here, however, it was too late. You had already jumped.”
“Lord God in heaven!” Agnes exclaimed, collapsing onto the settee and violently fanning herself.
“I’m not an orphan from the streets?” Sophie murmured in awe.
“Hardly, my dear. And should you have any doubts about your bloodline—” Lady Auliffe reached for the small box that Puckett had retrieved for her. She opened it to reveal a framed painting of a young woman. “—Look at this.”
Sophie glanced down at the painting, shocked to see her own face looking up at her.
“That was me when I was your age,” Lady Auliffe remarked. “Amazing, is it not, the likeness?”
“I’m not an imposter—” Sophie continued, feeling as if she were in a dream.
“You never were an imposter, Sophie. You were always the heiress everyone thought you were. You are rich beyond measure.”
Mary held out her arms, and Sophie fell into them, truly embraced for the first time by a member of her very own family. She thought her heart would explode with joy.
“Good God!” Ian exclaimed, throwing off his lap robe. “Does that mean Sophie could have any man in the British Empire?”
“And beyond. Now that her betrothal is off.” Lady Auliffe turned to him and arched an eyebrow. “Men will be flocking to her like pigeons to buttered bread.”
“What if she never gets back to London?”
“What are you saying, young man?”
“What if she’s carried off by a Scottish savage?”
Sophie blushed and turned his way, leaving the link of her grandmother’s arm. “Meaning you?”
“Of course I mean me.”
“You’re in no shape to carry off anyone!”
“I’ll find the strength, lass.”
Sophie raised a brow much as her grandmother had done and gazed at him, tapping the scroll of paper on her left shoulder, while his dark eyes took her prisoner, as they had captured her from the very first. She didn’t doubt for a moment that Ian Ramsay would find the strength to carry her off. He was an amazing man. A very good man. And she wanted no one else but him.
“Then come and get me,” she teased, knowing he was still as weak as a baby.
Ian got to his feet, his gaze locked with hers, and began to walk across the floor to her, his lean legs never faltering even though she was certain it took every shred of his strength to travel such a distance. Before he’d gone halfway across the carpet, she could stand no more of his heroics and scurried to meet him in the center of the room.
“Ian Ramsay!” she chided, “What do you think you’re doing? I was only teasing.”
“But I am not.” He took her hands, and she felt herself melting. “See? I am entirely capable of carrying you off.”
“You don’t have to prove anything to me,” she murmured.
“Yes I do. For the rest of my life. That I love you, Sophie.” He drew her hands to his lips and kissed her fingertips. “As sure as I am standing here, I love you.”
She looked up at him, her eyes brimming with love.
“Will you marry me, lass?”
“I will.” Her eyes swam with tears as she saw him bending down. Somewhere in the distance, she heard a patter of applause, but it was soon blotted out by the thunder in her ears as she embraced the man she loved with all her heart.
They had both come a long, long way since the day he’d discovered her in his coach. They’d found each other as well as recovered their pasts. And now they could make a future together, free and clear of the old ways and the old hurts. Starting today they could both live whole, true lives at last—imposters no longer.
Other Books by Patricia Simpson
Whisper of Midnight
The Legacy
Raven in Amber
Lord of Forever
The Haunting of Brier Rose
The Night Orchid
Lord of the Nile (Purrfect Love Anthology)
The Lost Goddess
Mystic Moon
Just Before Midnight
Jade
The Dark Lord
The Dark Horse
Spellbound
The Last Oracle
Visit Patricia Simpson’s Website
www.patriciasimpson.com
Note: This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Imposter Bride
Copyright 2013 Patricia Simpson
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.
EAN 978-0-9840412-3-7
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Epilogue