“Does it matter?” he found himself asking, feeling as though his throat was tightening.
“It does,” she replied, her voice little more than a whisper.
“Why?” He turned towards her.
“No, you cannot turn this around. You need to answer me first.” Charlotte’s eyes looked at him accusation in them. “These words, everything you have written on this paper. Is it sincere? Was any of it true? Or was it just some cruel part of this ruse?”
There was a pleading almost desperate look in Charlotte’s face. He opened his mouth to reply, but before he could say a word, the door burst open, and several people entered the drawing room.
“Oh good, you are both already here!” Frederick smiled at Dominic and Charlotte. “That will save me the trouble of finding you both for the next event.”
“The next event?” Dominic asked stupidly, his eyes still locked on Charlotte’s.
“Yes, we are going to play a game of impersonation,” the Dowager Duchess announced as she swept into the room. “And I cannot wait to see what you all come up with.”
Dominic glanced back at Charlotte who shook her head. She mouthed, “later” and turned away from him.
“Now, the rules of the game are simple,” the Dowager Duchess explained, looking around the room. “Each of you will pick someone and impersonate them and their mannerisms. You are not allowed to speak, but you may use props and gestures.”
“Is grunting allowed?” someone asked.
“Yes, though I hardly know what you expect to convey through such behaviour.” The Dowager Duchess frowned. “You will have five minutes to act out as many people for the others to guess as you can, and the person who has the most people guess correct will win.”
“Who would like to go first?” The Dowager Duchess narrowed her eyes at the assembled crowd.
“I will,” Lady Andrea said, and she made her way towards the front of the room.
“Well done, you can have seven points for being brave enough to be the first,” the Dowager Duchess said, taking a seat in one of the more plush arm chairs.
“Thank you, Your Grace.” Lady Andrea inclined her head towards the Duchess.
“Your time starts now.” The Dowager Duchess gestured for Lady Andrea to begin.
Lady Andrea nodded, and then she looked at Dominic and Charlotte and smiled. Dominic felt an odd sense of unease spread through him.
Lady Andrea began to swagger across the stage in an uncanny imitation of Frederick’s walk.
“That looks almost exactly like me.” Frederick murmured beside him. “How closely has she been watching me?”
“Frederick!” someone called out, and Lady Andrea nodded excitedly.
“That is one point,” called Dominic’s grandmother.
Lady Andrea began to draw the shape of a square in front of her and started to act as though she were painting. Dominic frowned.
“A painter?” someone called. “Someone who likes painting!”
“Margaret?” another person ventured, but Lady Andrea shook her head.
A moment later, she made a wild gesture, as though someone had bumped into her and knocked her off her seat. The crowd laughed as Lady Andrea began to mime shouting, making several rude gestures.
“Callum! It is Callum after Lady Gertrude knocked into him the other day.” Someone said.
“That is another point to Lady Andrea,” the Dowager Duchess announced.
Lady Andrea smiled again, and then she began to stroke the ring finger of her left hand.
“Marriage? Someone who is married?” Frederick called out.
