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CHAPTER ONE
THEA STRUGGLED IN the near darkness to tear free of the wedding dress she’d been forced to wear. The cursed laces of its bodice trussed her as tight as a chicken ready for roasting. She fumbled with the tangled bow at the small of her back, then stopped to steady her trembling fingers. Her breaths blew sharp and fast, and the cloying scent of citrus blossom from her bridal bouquet threatened to overwhelm her. No time for clumsiness. Tonight was about speed and execution. Because this plan—her only plan—allowed no room for failure.
‘It’s never going to work.’
Thea faced the quavering voice. Sheathed in soft cream silk, her best friend huddled in a shadowy corner. The brim of an oversized hat swooped across her face.
‘We’ve been over this, Elena. It will.’
It has to.
There were no second chances. Outside, the hungry crowd and her husband waited. The man now entitled to all of her. Thea shuddered. He wouldn’t get her mind, her body or her soul. This was her moment to escape. Tonight she’d break free and show them all.
‘How do I look?’
Elena moved into what dim light shone through a lavishly curtained window from the dreary alleyway beyond. She smoothed her hands over the front of the dress, which swirled barely above her knees. Demure. Perfect. The dress Thea should be changing into now.
‘Like more of a bride than I feel. Nobody will realise.’
Till it was too late. Till she was gone.
Everyone said she and Elena could pass as sisters, or as each other. And they regularly did—with laughable ease. Allowing Thea a shred of freedom otherwise denied her.
Now all the years of planning her escape were over.
She walked to her friend and held her in a tight hug. Elena’s body quaked in the embrace.
‘Thank you. For this. For everything,’ Thea said.
Elena returned the hug, then pushed away, wiping at her eyes. ‘Let’s get you out of that wedding dress and away from here.’
Thea turned and flinched as Elena’s frantic hands fought the laces which bound her.
‘Can we put on some lights?’ Elena whispered. ‘I can’t see to do this quickly.’
‘What if someone walks in? Like this, it’s hard to tell who’s who. Now, remember what I said?’
Elena laughed. There was nothing cheerful about the sound. ‘Skirt the edges of the room. Keep the hat brim down. If anyone tries to talk to me pretend to cry and hide my face in a handkerchief like I’m overwrought by the sheer joy of this blessed marriage. Easy.’
One final pull and the bodice fell free. But Thea wasn’t quite free yet. Her friend started on the laces of the corset.
‘No time!’ She wriggled away to search for the rest of her clothes. ‘And it will work. We’ve told everyone about the hat and dress I’m wearing to leave here. People will be looking out for that, not for me.’
No one saw her. Sure, they saw her clothes, her jewels. Evidence of her father’s money when he decided to show her off like some prize pony. That’s why she and Elena were interchangeable. People were told about a sensational dress and hat and that was all they’d see—not the person wearing it.
Because to her father’s friends she was nobody. A shadow who could slip away. And when somebody finally did notice, it would be too late.
‘But Christo...’
