Page 3 of Katherine the Vixen

That night, Katherine, who had by then convinced herself that everyone had forgotten about her, was summoned to the solar. She found the bride alone, in all her finery, pacing the room. In her shimmering blue gown and delicate veil, Lady Malpas appeared like a royal princess rather than a mere knight’s daughter. Her face, however, was distorted by anguish. What had happened? Shouldn’t she be at the banquet with the guests instead of talking to a scullion?

Unsure what to do, Katherine gave a small curtsy.

“You will take my place in bed tonight,” the lady said without preamble. She had not even looked at her once.

Take her place.

Katherine blinked. Had she somehow misheard? She must have, for she’d thought that the newly wedded bride had just told her that she would have to take her place in the marital bed tonight. It could not be.

“My lady?” she said, utterly at a loss.

“You are going to replace me in the wedding bed later this evening,” Lady Malpas repeated, as if there was nothing extraordinary in the demand she was making of her. “Since you and I are of a height and of similar appearance, the Welshman will never suspect a thing. The two of us only met today. In the dark, he will not see anything suspicious.”

“I-I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

“Don’t be obtuse. Why do you think I accepted to take you on without question, a poor blacksmith’s daughter?”

“I thought it was because, unlike others, I was willing to come to Wales,” Katherine mumbled.

A grating laugh answered her. “Indeed, it is not surprising that my people did not wish to accompany me. No one in their right mind would want to come to this land of savages. Thank God for Lady Helen’s loyalty. But no, I took you on because I could not believe my luck when I saw you that day. It was as if you had been sent as an answer to my prayers. A woman who looked just like me. It was too good to be true. I could not let you go.”

I happened to be in need of someone like you. We could be sisters.

Katherine now understood the reason behind her ladyship’s unusual comments and unexpected eagerness. She had thought that this naïve little villager could play her role in her wedding bed… That also explained why she’d had her sent to the kitchen immediately upon their arrival, where no one, especially not the groom, would ever see her and remark on the resemblance between them.

“But, my lady, if I lie in your bed when his lordship comes, then he will bed me.”

“Yes, of course, he will, that is the whole point! Why else do you think I am asking you to lie in finery such as you have never seen before? Because I want you to have a good night’s sleep?” Lady Malpas’s beautiful face was distorted by contempt. “You will let the Welshman bed you without comment and when he is done, we will swap places again. He will never know what happened.”

All this was said as if Katerine could not voice any objection, as if she were no more than a commodity to be used at her mistress’ disposal. Lady Malpas assumed that she would not raise any objection, but she most certainly did. Her whole being rebelled at the idea of being used as a sacrificial lamb, of allowing a man she had never even met make love to her. It would be painful, degrading, dishonest.

Impossible.

“I cannot do this.”

“Are you telling me that you are not a virgin?”

Lady Malpas sounded aghast at the possibility and no wonder. She could not risk her husband asking uncomfortable questions that would lead to the deception being exposed.

Katherine thought hard. This was her chance. By claiming that she was not untouched she might get out of the whole nightmare.

She quickly saw that lying would not solve a thing, however. Not only would she lose her employ if she did, but she was sure Lady Malpas would suggest she cut herself to leave some blood on the sheets. The woman had gone too far to change her mind now. There would be no time to find someone else to replace her before tonight and she seemed panicked by the idea of bedding her husband herself.

“I am a maid,” Katherine said, reddening at this very personal admission. “But I cannot do what⁠—”

“Oh, you can! You can and you will!” Lady Malpas snarled. In her fury she became almost ugly, nothing like the beautiful, well-mannered woman who had spoken to her back at Allerby. “Tell me, why did you agree to come to this God-forsaken land?”

Katherine recoiled before such venom, but she stood her ground.

“I came to Wales because my family needs the money I will provide, and I did not know what the position really entailed. But now that I do, I regret to say that I cannot give you satisfaction.”

A silence followed her declaration. Then, very slowly, Lady Malpas walked over to her. A sinister grin was floating on her lips, a grin that sent shivers down Katherine’s spine.

“Your family is relying on you for their survival, are they? Then know this. Your father has been arrested on my orders.”

“He’s—What?”

“No need to cry out. It’s just a precaution, and I swear he will not be harmed. Do as I command tonight, let my husband bed you, and the money you are owed will be forwarded in the morning, along with the order to release your father.” A snort. “I am not an unfair woman and, after all, the man has done nothing wrong.”