“We believe,” Isobel started carefully, “That the motive may be related to your marriage. Marrying the Duke of Norwich is a significant event – one that brings considerable prestige to our family. Someone may resent that, or wishes to prevent the union for reasons of their own.”
Valerie shook her head slowly. “But everyone has been so kind about the engagement. So supportive. I cannot imagine any of our guests harboring such... such malice.”
“People are very good at hiding their true intentions,” Richard said darkly. “Especially when those intentions are sinister.”
Valerie was quiet for a long moment, seemingly assimilating everything she had been told. Her face had gone impossiblypaler, and Isobel worried that perhaps they had told her too much, too soon.
“Valerie,” she said softly, calling her sister’s attention to her, “You must rest. You have only just woken, and your body needs time to recover –”
“No,” Valerie interrupted, her voice gaining strength. “No, I need to help. If someone is trying to hurt me, if they have put you in danger by forcing you to pretend to be me, then I need to be involved in finding them.”
“Absolutely not,” Isobel told her firmly. “You are still weak, and you need to regain your strength. Besides, if the culprit learns about you and I – your slumber and my efforts to impersonate you, they may panic and try something even more drastic.”
“But you are in danger!” Valerie protested. “You are risking your life for me, for a sister you have only just met. I cannot allow –”
“You have no choice in the matter,” Isobel stated, her tone leaving no argument. “I am doing this, Valerie. Not just for you, but for all of us. For Cecil and Nora, who deserve to grow up without the shadow of this hanging over them. For our family, such as it is.”
She squeezed her sister's hand, realizing that she had grown awfully fond of holding Valerie’s hand. She couldn’t help but wonder what they would have been like as children, consistently taking strolls together, unwilling to be apart for even a moment.“And because you are my twin. My blood. And I will not stand by and allow someone to hurt you without consequences.”
Valerie's eyes filled with tears again. “But what if something happens to you? What if they hurt you instead?”
“They will not,” Isobel shook her head with more confidence than she felt. “As the youngest among the family that raised me, I spent a lot of time with my brother, Graham, who was only a few years older than I was. Because I was around him quite often, I picked up a remarkable myriad of skills and talents. He taught me how to defend myself, how to fight if necessary. I am not as helpless as I may appear.”
“I do not doubt in my mind that you are not,” Richard said, and there was something in his voice – amusement mixed with something darker, something heated – that made Isobel's pulse quicken despite herself.
She hated that he could do that. Hated that even now, knowing he intended to marry another woman, knowing there was no future for whatever this was between them, her body still responded to him so viscerally. So easily.
She needed to forget about him. Needed to accept that he was never going to be hers and move on with her life.
But God, it was so difficult when he looked at her like that. When his gaze held hers with such intensity that she felt it like a physical touch.
“Nevertheless,” Valerie said, breaking the moment, “Please, Isobel. Be careful. I do not want to lose you now that I have only just found you.”
“I will be careful,” Isobel promised. “And this will all be over soon. You will marry Adrian, and we will both be safe, and you and I will have all the time in the world to get to know each other properly.”
Valerie nodded, though she still looked worried. “Will you come see me again? Before the wedding?”
“Of course,” Isobel assured her. “As often as I can without raising suspicion.”
“And you will tell me everything? About your life in Scotland, about our siblings, about – about everything?”
Isobel smiled, genuine warmth flooding her chest. “Everything. I promise.”
They talked for a few more minutes, Valerie asking questions about Isobel's childhood, about the family that had raised her, about Scotland itself. Isobel answered as best she could, painting pictures with her words of the weather, the songs, of a father who had chosen her because she had the same color of eyes as he did. A mother who had loved her unconditionally and siblings who had cherished her despite the lack of blood ties.
And Valerie listened all the while as Isobel talked and talked, her expression wistful and sad and happy all at once, as though she were mourning the childhood they should have shared while simultaneously rejoicing in the sister she had finally found.
Eventually, though, Valerie's eyelids began to droop, exhaustion claiming her despite her best efforts to stay awake.
“Rest now,” Isobel urged, tucking the blankets more securely around her sister. “We will return soon, I promise.”
“Be safe,” Valerie murmured, already half–asleep. “Please, Isobel. Be safe.”
“I will,” Isobel whispered, pressing a kiss to her sister's forehead. “I promise.”
She and Richard left the attic quietly, careful not to disturb Valerie's rest. Once they were in the hallway with the door closed behind them, Isobel felt the weight of everything that had just happened crash down on her.
Valerie was awake. Her sister – her twin – was alive and conscious and would recover. She would go on to marry the love of her life, and this nightmare would come to an end.
