“You created something that shouldn’t have happened, Alice.”
“I know. That’s why I ran. I couldn’t accept a proposal that wasn’t meant for me. You know that, surely?”
Chapter 9
The Truth
“I do know and I understand why,” Middlesex said grimly. “But that doesn’t mean I like it.”
“I know.”
Middlesex sighed and glanced towards the street. “You need to tell Hampshire about this.”
“No!” Alice shook her head. “I can’t. He’ll be upset with me.”
“Come off it, Alice. Of course he will be. But he will prefer that you told him the truth. I don’t think he’d like it if it came from me.”
He was right. Hampshire was one of those people who wouldn’t appreciate hearing the truth from someone else. He wouldn’t be happy if Middlesex told him—most likely he wouldn’t believe him, either—and he certainly wouldn’t want to hear it from Clara. Alice knew her aunt wouldn’t be kind.
This had to be done by her. Harriet wasn’t going to like it, but Alice was fed up with dealing with her sister’s histrionics. She straightened up and faced the marquis who still didn’t look happy. “Would you do me a favour, my lord?”
“It depends on what the favour is.”
“If you can, see if you can get Hampshire to come to my uncle’s home tomorrow morning after breakfast. I’ll explain it to him then.”
Middlesex nodded. “I’ll do my best.”
“Thank you.”
Middlesex grunted and headed towards the street. Then he stopped and turned back. “I don’t approve of what you’ve done, Miss Green, but this is the right thing to do.”
Alice wasn’t sure about that. She simply nodded and ran in the other direction. Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough. And Alice wasn’t looking forward to it.
***
Hampshire had no idea why he had even agreed to this. Middlesex had urged him to see Harriet and listen to what she had to say, but Hampshire didn’t want anything to do with her. He was quite happy for Harriet to disappear into the world and never see him again.
Why did she have to torment him like this?
But Middlesex had begged him to go and there seemed to be some sort of urgency with this. That had Hampshire confused. Before, his friend had told him to forget Harriet, that she was ever in his life. Now he was expecting him to listen to her and make up his own mind.
What spell had Harriet put on him?
Hampshire arrived at the Baron Gatesby’s house shortly after breakfast would have concluded. The butler was surprised to see him there but didn’t question him as Hampshire was ushered into the morning room. Harriet was there with Lady Gatesby, both of them doing some sewing by the open window. Harriet looked up when Hampshire was announced. The sewing fell from her hands and she shot to her feet.
“Your Grace.”
Hampshire stared at her. Then Harriet realized that she hadn’t greeted him properly and curtsied. Hampshire returned it with a sharp nod.
“Miss Green.” He looked at Lady Gatesby, who was looking at him with a frown. “May I have a few moments in private with your niece, Lady Gatesby?”
“Of course.”
Lady Gatesby folded her sewing onto the couch and stood. Giving Harriet one last look, she curtsied to Hampshire and left the room. Hampshire turned back to Harriet, who looked to be trembling. She looked a mess. Her face was pale, and she looked like she hadn’t eaten in a while. There were dark circles under her eyes. Harriet looked like she was going to collapse at any moment.
For someone who was meant to be planning a wedding, she didn’t look happy about it.
“The marquis told me that you had something to tell me,” he prompted. “I deserve an explanation.”
Harriet nodded. She looked miserable. She began to pace. “I don’t know where to start.”
“How about at the beginning?” Hampshire folded his arms and glared at her. “What was your intention with regard to me? Lead me along until you found a better prospect? You can’t get any better than a duke unless you go for the prince regent.”
“That’s what I said to Harriet.”
Now Hampshire was confused. What had she just said? “Harriet? What do you mean, you said that to Harriet?”
Harriet stopped and turned, letting out a long, heavy sigh. “Harriet’s my sister.”
Hampshire was thrown. This wasn’t Harriet? Harriet wasn’t even here? Then he remembered their conversations and realization dawned. “You’re Alice.”
Alice Green, the elusive wallflower of a sister. The sister Harriet had declared was close to her, and they shared everything. It looked like they shared more than secrets, they shared men as well.
“I’m afraid so.” Alice rubbed her hands over her face. “Harriet double-booked herself that night you arranged to take her to the theatre. She preferred the earl but didn’t want to cut her losses. I think she wanted someone to fall back on in case it didn’t work out with Lancaster. So she roped me in to take her place. You’d never met me, and she said you wouldn’t know the difference.” Harriet—Alice—shrugged. “And you didn’t.”
Hampshire was stunned. He hadn’t been expecting this at all. Now he understood why Alice was looking so pale, guilt was eating her up. “So you impersonated your sister while she allowed her affections to go elsewhere? Why would you help her like that?”
“Because she’s my sister. And I thought I was helping out for just the one night. I genuinely love the theatre and none of my immediate family like going.” Alice bit her lip, her eyes brimming with tears. “But then you invited me to your country estate and… I knew it was going to get messy.”
It had gotten more than messy. Everything had gone wrong. Now Hampshire understood why Alice had turned him down. He had honestly believed he was proposing to Harriet Green, not her sister. “When were…” He sighed, trying not to let his frustration show. “When were you going to tell me?”
“I don’t know.” Alice looked fluster. “It was just meant to be one night, not…” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she opened her eyes and looked at him. Hampshire saw a tear trickle down her cheek. “Forgive me, Your Grace. I didn’t want to mislead you. I don’t think it was Harriet’s intention, either. It was… she didn’t think.”
“No. She didn’t.” Hampshire could barely contain the growl. He couldn’t believe he had been conned by two sisters. It didn’t matter if one wasn’t compliant, they had duped him. “And you didn’t think, either. However, I thank you for telling me the truth, Miss Green. Thank you for making a fool out of me.” Unable to stay there much longer, Hampshire went towards the door. He heard Alice hurrying after him.
“Your Grace….”
She nearly reached him when Hampshire turned, holding up a hand to ward her off. Alice stopped and kept out of reach. She looked like she was about to burst into tears. A part of Hampshire wanted to hold her and forgive her right then, tell her it was going to be fine. But he couldn’t. It was still too raw. “It’s best that you don’t contact me for more explanations. I have a lot to think about.”
Alice’s bottom lip was quivering. She bit it and nodded, lowering her head. “I understand.”
Hampshire grunted and left. He was aware of Alice crying in the room as he crossed the foyer, but he didn’t stop. If he did, he wouldn’t be able to leave.
***
“You spoke to her, then?” Middlesex asked.
Hampshire nodded, staring at the flames. “I did. She told me everything.”
They were in the snug at the hotel they were staying at. As soon as he had gotten back, Hampshire ordered a whisky from the bar and proceeded to get slowly drunk. Everything Alice had told him was like he had been hit over the head. Hampshire couldn’t believe someone would be that unfeeling that she would make her sister do her bidding. She was clearly not thinking about his feelings when she was panicking over being double-booked. She had only thought about he
rself.
Hampshire didn’t know what to think anymore.
Middlesex had found him shortly before dusk. Neither of them felt in the mood to go to the ball at their aunt’s home, so they sat in front of the burning fire, getting nicely drunk and trying to mull over what they knew.
Hampshire frowned at his friend. “How did you figure out it was Alice and not Harriet?”
“I didn’t,” Middlesex grunted. “I confronted her in Guildford the day before, and she blurted it out to me.”
So she hadn’t said anything unless pushed. Hampshire wondered if Alice would have said anything at all. “She played a really good game.” He grumbled, staring at his half-full glass.
“Alice or Harriet?”
“Harriet. I think Alice was merely a pawn in her sister’s game. Much like I was.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe I was duped.”
After several hours drinking, Hampshire had come to the conclusion that Alice wasn’t completely complicit in her sister’s actions. From the way she had looked, she was genuinely remorseful of what happened. It had taken a while, but Hampshire had come down from his anger towards her and could admit that he would be able to forgive her for what she did.
Even then, he was still upset about being duped by her.
Chapter 10
The Second Proposal
“I don’t think that was Alice’s intention,” Middlesex assured him.
“I know that now. But at the time…” Hampshire shook his head. “I don’t know what to think.”
Middlesex grunted and downed his glass, barely holding back a belch. “You want to know what I think?”
“Not really, but you’re going to tell me, regardless.”
“You love her.”
Hampshire was confused. “Harriet?”
“No, Alice.” Middlesex rolled his eyes. “You love her and it’s eating you up inside, because she lied to you.”
Hampshire paused. Did he love Alice? He hadn’t given it a thought. All he had thought about was that he hated Harriet for lying to him.
But Alice had been the one to lie to him. And he had taken it worse than he had anticipated. Alice had lied to him about who she really was. Hampshire was nursing a broken heart, but he hadn’t thought about how deep his feelings for her had gone.
Had he really fallen for her deeper than he expected?
“How can I love a lie, though?” Hampshire protested.
Middlesex snorted. “You may not have noticed, Hampshire, but Alice put some of her own person through. You picked up on that. Harriet wouldn’t have acted in the ways Alice did. I know it, and I’ve met the real Harriet Green. Alice did a good job of pretending to be her sister, but she did let her own self appear at times when she was relaxed. You did that to her. The parts you mentioned to me that you liked? That was Alice, not Harriet.”
“Really?”
“I know Harriet, remember? She wouldn’t have been like that around a man.” Middlesex pointed his glass at his friend. “And if you let yourself look more closely, Alice loves you, too.”
“How could you possibly know that?”
“If she didn’t, she would’ve accepted your proposal and carried on the charade even when confronted. She cared about you enough to run the other way when that happened. And did you see the way she looked? It’s been eating her up inside.”
Alice loved him? Hampshire hadn’t even considered her feelings. He had thought she was the same as her sister. Had she really loved him enough to turn away when she was given everything on a silver platter?
“Hey.” Middlesex nudged Hampshire’s leg with his foot. “Give it a few days and think how you feel then. But my advice would be to make sure Alice doesn’t disappear like Harriet did.”
***
Alice was angry. Laying out the truth to Hampshire hadn’t made her feel better as she had hoped it would. She just felt worse. And that made her furious.
There had been a brief moment when Alice could have had everything. She could have married Hampshire, become his duchess, and given him children. She would have been happy—there was a glimpse of happiness there. But her sister had gotten in the way. Harriet had made Alice lie to the man she had fallen in love with, made sure there was no chance of them even being in the same room anymore.
The Duke of Hampshire hated her now. And Alice felt as though her heart had been split in two.
A day after Hampshire had walked out, Alice decided she had better go home. Knowing he was close by didn’t sit well with her, and Alice didn’t want to run into anymore of his friends. Her aunt and uncle had understood and even travelled back to Alice’s home, giving her company.
But being back home didn’t make it any better. Harriet was in the midst of wedding planning and that was all she would talk about. Alice hated to hear it, but she plastered on a smile and did her best to help when it was needed. But she outright refused to be involved beyond preparing. She didn’t want to be Harriet’s bridesmaid or anywhere in the ceremony. Her parents had tried to get her to change her mind but Alice wasn’t budging.
She knew it wasn’t right, and it wasn’t fair to Harriet, but Alice wasn’t in the mood to pander to her sister anymore. Harriet had ruined a potentially good life for her, and now Alice was destined to be alone. That wasn’t what she wanted. Harriet had made sure Alice had no marriage prospects in the process of getting her own.
So when Harriet tried to corner her in the gardens while Alice took a walk to clear her head, Alice turned around and walked away. She wasn’t going to talk to her sister at all, not when she was itching to hit her.
But Harriet wouldn’t take a hint. She hurried after her sister. “Alice, please talk to me.”
“No, I won’t, Harriet.” Alice dodged around her sister as Harriet tried to block her way. “Leave me alone.”
Harriet huffed and grabbed Alice’s arm. “When are you going to forgive me for what I did?”
Alice couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You’re expecting me to forgive you when you’ve not apologized for what you’ve done?” She was almost shouting, seeing Harriet falter. Alice never shouted. “You’ve never apologized to me for putting me through this heartache. I did as you wanted me to, and I ended up more broken than before.”
“How is that my fault?”
“Because you made me do it!”
“I didn’t make you do anything. You helped me out because you loved me.”
“The first time, yes, and I should’ve said no after that. You shouldn’t have put me in this situation.” Alice slapped Harriet’s hand away and pushed her sister in the chest. “I don’t want to see you, Harriet. You’ll be lucky if I come to the wedding at all.”
“But you have to be there!” Harriet protested. “You’re my sister!”
“No, I don’t have to be there,” Alice said coldly. “And if I’m your sister, you wouldn’t have got me into this mess without helping me get out of it.” She stormed away. “Go away.”
But Harriet wouldn’t leave her alone. Alice ended up practically running back to the house, planning to go up to her room and locking the door. Maybe it was a bad idea to come home.
She would be able to breathe more easily once Harriet was married and had left.
Alice darted onto the terrace. She wasn’t looking where she was going and didn’t have time to stop before she ran into someone taller and harder than her. Arms went around her to stop her from falling. Alice looked up, expecting to see her father or one of the servants. She wasn’t expecting to see a raven-haired, dark-skinned man giving her a half-smile.
“Your Grace!” Alice leapt out of his arms and stared at him. “What are you doing here?”
Hampshire looked different. He looked thinner than before. He had also shaved, leaving his jaw clean. Alice didn’t think he could look any more handsome.
“I came to speak to you, Miss Alice.” Then he glanced over her shoulder and his eyes hardened. “Miss Harriet.”
Alice turned. Har
riet had appeared, stopping short when she saw Hampshire. She bobbed a curtsy, looking down at the floor. “Your Grace.”
“I hope the Earl of Lancaster knows that he’s marrying a handful.” Hampshire raised his eyebrows. “And that you’re not planning on substituting yourself with your sister at any point when you get bored.”
Harriet’s face went bright red. She fumbled over her words before she backed away. “I… I’ve got to… need to go…”
And then she was gone around the side of the house. Alice bit back a smile at seeing her sister squirm and turned back to Hampshire. She was not expecting this at all. “What are you doing here? I thought you made it clear that you didn’t want to contact me again.”
Hampshire winced. He pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose and sighed. “I was a little harsh last week.”
“I don’t blame you for that. I was a fool for letting Harriet talk me into it in the first place.” Alice swallowed. “And I feel bad for what I did to you. Truly. If you want to have nothing to do with me, I’ll understand. You don’t need to tell me.”
She started to move past him into the house but Hampshire caught her arm. He didn’t hurt her, merely stopped her and gently turned Alice to face him.
Then he stepped close, his hands sliding down to take her hands. His hands felt very warm compared to hers.
“I need to tell you something, Alice. In spite of everything, a sister did manage to get my attention. Whether that was her intention or not. And that sister has had me done up in knots ever since.”
Alice was confused. What was he saying? “Where is this going?”
Hampshire smiled. Then he raised her hands to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. Alice bit back a gasp. “You tried to be Harriet. But the real you came through. I fell in love with that person.”
Alice felt like she was on a cloud. Hampshire was kissing her, albeit on her hands. Then she realized what he had said and her mouth fell open. “Did you just say you’re in love with me?”
Regency Romances for the Ages Page 86