“I’m sorry, but it is true,” she replied. “I will admit that she looked the part of a gentleman, but I would recognize my sister anywhere.”
Olivia pressed a hand to her forehead as though warding off a headache. “Did you know she was pretending to be a man?”
“Heavens, no,” Theodosia said. “I hardly see Lucinda, and we are not close. But I knew instantly when I saw her last night… despite the disguise.”
Olivia sank back onto the bed, shaking her head. “This is madness. Am I truly that gullible? How could I not have seen it?”
Theodosia stepped closer, her voice filled with remorse. “Lucinda admitted she married you for your dowry.”
“I thought you said your family had a profitable estate,” Olivia said.
“We do,” Theodosia replied. “But Lucinda receives only a small allowance, and I never quite understood how she managed. Now I know.”
Olivia stared at her, her expression a storm of disbelief and hurt. “Are you absolutely certain?”
“I am,” Theodosia responded. “I tried to tell Richard last night, but he wouldn’t let me speak. He was furious that I let her escape.”
“Did you?” Olivia asked, her voice strained.
“I tried to stop her,” Theodosia said, emotion cracking through her words. “I begged her to stay and confess, but she panicked and climbed out the window. I never imagined my sister could be so heartless.”
Olivia buried her face in her hands. “I’m ruined. Once thetonhears I married a woman, I’ll be a laughingstock.”
Theodosia placed a hand on her shoulder. “Perhaps, but at least you can have the marriage annulled. You could reclaim your dowry.”
“And what if Lucinda’s already spent it?” Olivia asked bitterly.
Theodosia didn’t answer. She couldn’t.
Olivia rose and began to pace the room. “Blast it, it all makes sense now. It was why Luke was so distant. Why he—she—never touched me. How easily she vanished without a trace.”
“I swear to you,” Theodosia said, “if I had known, I would have told you everything.”
“I believe you,” Olivia murmured, pausing in her steps. “But you still can’t leave.”
Theodosia offered a wan smile. “I must. Richard despises me now. He made that perfectly clear.”
“Then we’ll convince him otherwise. Together.”
“I don’t think he wants to be convinced. He’s already made his judgment.”
Olivia’s expression hardened. “My brother is a fool.”
“I’m not going to disagree,” Theodosia said with a small, sad laugh. “I hope to be on the mail coach by this afternoon. It is best if I leave, and quickly.”
“Best for whom?”
“Your brother thinks the worst of me. You should have heard the way he turned on me last night.”
Glancing towards the open wardrobe, Olivia asked, “You’re not taking your new gowns?”
Theodosia shook her head. “No. I don’t want reminders of this place. Or of him.”
Olivia’s voice dropped. “But what if there’s still hope?”
Theodosia turned away, her throat tightening so painfully it felt as though she could scarcely breathe. “There is no hope,” she responded, “at least not where Richard and I are concerned.”
“You care for him,” Olivia said, a statement rather than a question.
