by Bree Verity
Diana sighed under her breath. She could not expose Fenella's story for the lie it was without giving away the real story, and she knew that it would sound as if she was fabricating a fairy tale, even though it was the truth. Fenella's story was watertight. And Diana fumed, knowing that she was standing right there, smug in the knowledge that Diana could not call her out as a liar.
"Fine," she said at last. "We had a fight. But I am not returning there. I am going home."
Fenella swiftly looked up from her nails, her eyes narrowed.
"Yes, I shall not marry Simon. I shall go home and throw myself into being a spinster."
Chastity Maude took Diana's chin in her hand. "That is not a life for one such as you, child," she said softly and to Diana's surprise, tears sprang to her eyes.
"You are so full of life and love and warmth... Forgive your young man. Marry. Have lovely children. You deserve such a thing."
Diana's tears fell down her satiny cheeks like diamonds. "I deserve no such thing," she choked. "We both must just be overcome with old memories. Simon only thinks he wants me."
"What a foolish thing to say. Of course he thinks he wants you. And in the thinking of it, he will do it."
"But I pushed him away."
"He has come back."
Diana threw herself into Chastity Maude's arms. "You are a good friend," she sobbed.
"There, there. Of course I am. And all you needed to hear was the truth from a different source."
They heard the front door open and Simon's footsteps as he rushed up the stairs. He glanced over the scene before him in the bed chamber and, noticing Diana's tears, asked, "What is going on in here?"
"None of your business," Chastity Maude said smartly. "Just some girl talk, that is all. Do you have the carriage?"
"Of course."
"Well, in that case you should spirit this girl away and marry her immediately."
"Marry her?"
"Are you hard of hearing?"
Fenella cleared her throat. "I think we should be going," she said, a little too loudly. Diana agreed. She could not look Simon squarely in the eye. Marriage? To him? It was preposterous, given their history. No, once she had been restored to her own body, and the house party was over, she would likely not see Simon again for another seven years. Or more.
The thought almost had her weeping again.
She trudged out of the house and into the well-sprung carriage, turning at the last moment to say to her hostess, "I cannot thank you enough for your hospitality, Chastity Maude."
"It was my pleasure," the woman said warmly. "Feel free to visit if you are ever in this area again, won't you?"
Simon and Fenella got into the carriage as well and the door closed on Chastity Maude's beaming face.
As soon as the carriage started moving, Diana turned on Fenella. "What on earth did you tell her?" she said.
"Well I had to tell her something," Fenella replied. "So I told her you two were star-cross'd lovers and that I was the heroic aunt, bringing you back together after you'd had a row."
Simon's lip quirked upward.
"Do not encourage her," Diana warned him. "She's dragged you into this ridiculous charade as well."
"You have no idea," remarked Simon cryptically.
Not knowing what he meant, Diana turned back to Fenella. "So, what happens now?"
"We need to get into a position where you and Lachlan can change identities simultaneously."
"So, a room by ourselves?"
"Yes."
"But," said Simon, "that means spiriting Diana back into the house in the guise of Annie."
"Yes."
"Even though she has been dismissed in disgrace."
"Yes."
"And just exactly how do we do that?"
Fenella frowned and drummed her fingers on her thigh, before her face brightened. "We could use a glamor." Her expression dropped again. "But I am dreadful at them."
"What is a glamor?" Despite her irritation with her fairy godmother, Diana was intrigued.
"It is a short-term memory block," replied Fenella. "But I would have to cast it over everyone in the house, and frankly, I'm not sure I have the capacity."
"I suppose we meet that obstacle when we arrive at it," Simon replied cautiously. "But for now," he turned to Diana, crossing his arms over his chest. "I wish to know how you came to be in the company of a prostitute, of all things."
Diana shrugged. "She was on the mail coach. We got talking."
"You did not know she was a prostitute?"
"I did eventually, but by the time I found out, it seemed almost irrelevant. As if the person was more important than the profession."
"That is quite a liberal way of thinking."
Diana couldn't tell if Simon was berating or congratulating her. "I had not considered myself to be a liberal thinker," she replied. "After all, despite everything, her soul will still probably be consigned to hell. But as a person on the earth, she was kind and generous." She thought of Agnes, the other passenger she had spoken to. "She was significantly kinder and more generous than the other passengers. I suppose I made my judgment of her on that, instead of her profession."
Simon smiled. "In my work," he started, "it is imperative to see the person rather than the profession. I see people from all walks of life, in varying stages of diseases and poverty, and who have had to do many things they did not want to just to survive. Yet I find it increasingly common for those of us who enjoy the comfortable life to assume that everyone in poverty is there due to their own idleness or wickedness."
"If you have a go, you'll get a go," murmured Fenella. Simon frowned. "Where did that come from?"
"Oh," replied Fenella airily, "I heard a politician say it once."
"This is more the other way though - if you do not have a go, you will not get a go. As if working hard in a job that pays next to nothing, and behaving in a Christian manner will put food on their tables."
Simon was passionate about the subject, and the drive back to Edenburgh Manor went surprisingly quickly as the three of them discussed measures that could be taken to relieve the suffering of the poor and hurt. Diana was surprised how invested she found herself in the conversation, relating much back to Chastity Maude's description of her young life, and finding her admiration for Simon swelling as he told them of the work he did to relieve the suffering of the worst affected. It seemed no time at all when they arrived back at the manor, but the sun had disappeared behind the horizon, and the cold winter's night was upon them as they clopped up the driveway of the manor.
"We should probably go around the back," commented Diana. "It would definitely not do for me to come sauntering through the front door."
"Definitely," agreed Simon, and the carriage swept around the side of the building, coming to rest before the kitchen door.
"So," said Diana to Fenella. "How are we going to do this?"
Fenella scanned the house. "Lachlan is in the dining room, along with just about everyone else," she said. "We'll have to wait until dinner is finished before we can do anything."
"We cannot wait out here," Simon replied. "We shall catch our death of cold."
So, they all got out of the carriage - Simon paying the driver well to get himself and his carriage back to London - and stood before the kitchen door. Fenella rapped sharply on it.
To Diana's dismay, it was opened by Mrs. Fletcher.
"Well? What do you want?"
She did not seem to notice Diana (or at least Annie) standing there. But she did notice Simon.
"Doctor Moore," she said, her tone unpleasant. "How is it that you find yourself asking for entrance at the kitchen door?"
Fenella muttered some words in a foreign language under her breath.
To Diana's surprise, Mrs. Fletcher threw the door open and shuffled them all into the warm kitchen. From there, they walked unhindered to Diana's bed chamber.
Once they reached it, Fenella let out a sigh of relief.
&nb
sp; "Thankfully I only had to glamor Mrs. Fletcher," she said, puffing as if she had run across an open field. "Rianna only knows what might have happened if I had to add to it."
"So now we just wait here?" Diana asked.
Fenella turned to Simon. "I think it would be best, Doctor Moore, if you made a late entrance to dinner. You can say that you were unable to find Annie, if anyone asks, however I suspect nobody will."
Simon nodded. "I think you might be right," he said and, with a kiss on Diana's still cold hand, he disappeared out of the chamber.
Diana exhaled and sat on the bed. "I am so anxious to return to myself," she said. "I shall never complain about my hair or my figure or my complexion ever again."
Just as Fenella went to answer, the door quickly opened and closed, and a figure entered the room. He startled when he saw the two women, then focused in on Diana.
"You!"
Captain Littleton had a pistol in his hand.
Chapter Twenty-Five.
"What on earth are you doing here?" Diana asked, astonished.
"I might ask the same, girl," he said, bringing the weapon up and priming it with an audible click. It now pointed directly at Diana. "I thought we had gotten rid of you."
"Well, Lady Diana saw through your wicked scheme," Diana replied with bravado. "She brought me back and will tonight make everything clear."
"Everything?"
"Everything."
"Well in that case, my visit here is very well timed," he said, his oily tone sending a shiver down Diana's back. "Nobody will listen to Lady Diana when she is ruined."
"Ruined?"
"Of course. How else do you suppose I should get her to marry me?"
"But... but you are... not interested in women!"
Captain Littleton chuckled unpleasantly. "That is the beauty of it, girl. I need not do anything, except be caught in her chambers with her. Her father will insist on our marriage. Then, she will turn a blind eye to my dealings, or see the back of my hand on a regular basis."
"You are a monster," Diana declared, only to have Captain Littleton charge up to her and slap her, sending her sprawling on the floor.
"I am no such thing," he spat. "I am merely a man whose life cannot be understood by the small minded, spineless rabble."
"But why involve Lady Diana? Nobody is stopping you from living the life you choose. You know as well as I that the proclivities of a man of connections and fortune will be overlooked."
"And therein lies the rub." Captain Littleton lifted the pistol again. "My fortune has, unfortunately, been squandered."
Diana scowled up at Captain Littleton. "So, you need Lady Diana for her money."
"Correct."
"And you need to secure the marriage before word of your preferences gets out."
"The sooner the better."
Diana realized that she could not see Fenella and, further, that Captain Littleton had not remarked on her at all. She hoped that Fenella had slipped away, that she was right at that moment getting help. Captain Littleton had the look of a man driven to an unpleasant duty but who was prepared to see it through to the end - no matter what that end might be. She picked herself up off the floor and sat on her bed.
"And what exactly do you plan for me?"
Captain Littleton sniffed. "I have to admit, you are of concern. I cannot shoot you; that would draw the attention of the entire household. Yet I cannot have you in the room here, for that would mean I was not alone with Lady Diana, and she would not be ruined. So, there is really only one thing I can do."
He rushed at Diana, and the last thing she felt was the handle of the pistol connecting with her head, a sharp, piercing pain, and then blackness closing in around her vision.
* * *
"Diana. Where are you?"
Diana groaned and opened her eyes, to be met with blackness. For a terrible moment, she thought she had been blinded, then a tiny chink of light met her eyes and her body flooded with relief.
Then the tiny chink of light became a strong beam, and her head felt as if it was going to crack. She groaned, shrinking back into the shadow.
"Thank the gods you are alright."
Through squinting eyes Diana saw Fenella reach out toward her, pulling her to her feet. She groaned again. "I think I'm going to throw up," she whispered, before doing so spectacularly. Her headache increased, and the darkness around her eyes intensified.
A sharp slap across the cheek brought her around, and she gasped, bringing a hand to her face. "What did you do that for?" she groaned.
"You were going to pass out again," Fenella said. "And we have to hurry."
"I cannot." Diana's legs buckled underneath her, and she sat heavily, right beside the puddle of vile-smelling vomit.
"You can." Fenella pulled her back to her feet. "I need you."
"What for?" Fenella's voice seemed very far away, and Diana was aware that she was stumbling forward.
"So we can trap Captain Littleton."
Diana blinked. "I do not comprehend."
Fenella sighed. "Captain Littleton knocked you out, a little over three hours ago."
"Three hours?"
"Yes. And he's been cloistered with Lady Diana in her bedroom for about an hour and a half."
Diana remembered. Captain Littleton was going to ruin her so he could get to her fortune. Her fuzzy mind cleared a little.
"So, how do we trap him?"
"Easy." Fenella turned back to Diana with a grin. "We change Lachlan back."
Diana's frown caused her headache to increase, and Fenella's grin dropped away as she explained.
"Because then Captain Littleton will have been in Lady Diana's room with another gentleman - Lachlan - who will swear they were amorously engaged."
"Lachlan will? But has he no care for his own reputation?"
Fenella guffawed. "We don't have the same kinds of rules and regulations on Byd Tal'm as you do on Earth. His reputation will be just fine. Besides, nobody here even knows who he is, apart from you and Doctor Moore."
"Simon? How does Simon know?"
"Simon knows everything."
It was not a satisfactory answer to Diana, but at that moment they arrived just outside Lady Diana's bedchamber and there was no more time for discussion.
Fenella smiled and it sent a little shiver down Diana's back. "Are you ready to scream for all you're worth?" she asked.
Diana was really not certain that she was, but she nodded and closed her eyes, preparing for whatever unpleasant sensations the change back to her own self would cause.
The next thing she knew, she heard Fenella rap hard on the door, there was a startled yell from inside her own chambers, and the door being unlocked from the inside. As soon as she saw Captain Littleton, she screamed, the sound reverberating around in her head, making her swoon again.
She fell to her knees, the blood pounding in her head. Vaguely, she realized she was wearing her own nightgown. She felt around on her scalp and found a wound - her fingers coming away sticky with blood.
Captain Littleton tried to escape, but it took only moments for people to come streaming toward Lady Diana's chambers from every direction.
"Put the pistol down, Littleton," Diana heard Lord Edenburgh say in a controlled voice. "Let us see to the Lady Diana."
She heard the weapon hit the ground, and her lady's maid, Lily rushed to her side. "Oh, my lady, what have they done to you?" she said, but Diana pushed her away.
"No," she said, her voice surprisingly strong. "I want Maisie."
She was relieved to hear the familiar (and very slightly smug) voice of the little housemaid say, "I'm right here, my lady. Come along, let us get you patched up and into bed. Thank you, Doctor."
Diana felt herself lifted in a pair of strong arms, and she opened her eyes to look into the concerned hazel ones of Simon. She lifted one heavy hand to touch his beard. "I am alright," she said hoping to banish the worry from his brow.
"I think not," he murmured. "You
r head is bleeding and from what I can tell you have a concussion. Did he try to shoot you?"
"No, he hit me with the handle."
She smiled slightly as she saw Simon's jaw tighten.
"He will pay for that," he promised quietly.
She closed her eyes again, and the next hour was a blur as she was cleaned and patched and kept awake despite her yearning desire to sleep.
"Tell us again what happened, my lady," urged Maisie.
"He found me in the bedroom waiting," Diana said dreamily. "So, he knocked me out and waited for Lachlan. Only it was not Lachlan it was Lady Diana. And he was going to ruin me. But Fenella... she... she... "
"Diana." Simon's voice was close and sharp. "Stay awake."
"I cannot," she complained. "My head hurts."
"I know," he said, and she felt his kiss against her forehead. "I know, my love. But you must stay awake for a little while yet." To her irritation, he opened one of her eyes and shined a bright light in it.
"Stop it," she said, trying to bat his hand away. "It makes my head hurt more."
"You are a very bad patient," he joked, checking the other eye. "It is a good sign."
She opened her eyes in a squint, and saw the darkened room, lit by just a single candle and the fire in the grate. Maisie was seated on a squat stool beside her bed, and Simon stood alongside her. She could not help the smile from crossing her face. Then she remembered something else.
"Fenella," she said, struggling to sit up. "Where is she? Who am I?" She looked down at her clothes, but they did not give anything away. "Quick, Maisie, bring me a glass."
Immediately Maisie handed her a gilded mirror, and, to her relief, Diana found she was looking at her own blonde haired, blue eyed reflection. Admittedly, she looked less than well, her face white and her eyes ringed with black, but it was her.
She sighed and settled back on the pillows.
"It's me," she said.