Deceiving the Duke of Kerrington (Ladies of Deception) Read online

  She shifted in the window seat of her bedroom overlooking the streets below and harrumphed, if only she could figure out how to meet with Soren the following afternoon. It just wasn’t proper for a lady of her class to be seen with a gentleman alone in public and the thought of having her maid tag along was out of the question. Something inside of her was telling her that this man was different than the other men she had met and if she was going to see him again, she preferred to have some privacy.

  Just then Hope entered her room, “It’s time to begin getting you ready for the Everston ball tonight. Do you prefer the lavender gown or the periwinkle one milady?” When she got no response from her mistress, Hope glanced to where Noelle was sitting and was shocked to see her intently gazing at her, an odd look on her face.

  “Milady, are you not feeling well?”

  Noelle shook her head dispelling her intent gaze, “On the contrary, I’ve just been thinking.”

  Some instinct inside of Hope told her exactly what her mistress had been thinking about, “You’re thinking about that American gentleman aren’t you?”

  She slid off the window seat and came to stand directly in front of Hope, closer than either one of them was usually comfortable with. “Oh Hope, I’ve been thinking about his offer to meet me tomorrow at Gunter’s. I just have to see him once more.” Then abruptly changing directions she said, “I’ve just suddenly realized how much you resemble me. Isn’t that odd?” Her voice was suspicious.

  “I hardly think so milady, flattering as that may be.” Hope’s hand went self consciously up to her hair and the tight bun she had always worn at the base of her neck. Her mother Matilde had always gone to great lengths to ensure that Hope didn’t appear attractive in the least, claiming if she appeared even slightly beautiful she’d only attract unwanted advances from the master of the house or other servants, finding herself in the kind of trouble she didn’t need. She even made her take the extra precaution of wearing spectacles to disguise any beauty she may have though she didn’t need the things to see. She knew she couldn’t look even similar to Lady Noelle who just so happened to be an exceptionally handsome lady, with hair the shade of honey and striking eyes the unique shade of light amber. More than one man had fallen in love with her based on her looks alone. Surely she mustn’t be feeling well if she thought that Hope’s plain features held any resemblance to her own.

  “I think you may be getting ill milady, why don’t you lie down for a spell and see if this episode passes.”

  “Oh nonsense, have you looked at yourself in the glass recently? You even have the same odd colored eyes as mine.”

  Of course Hope hadn’t noticed, she couldn’t remember the last time she had looked in a looking glass. She purposely tried to avoid mirrors, having been told she should avoid vanity at all costs. Besides, she knew she was nothing fancy and didn’t want to depress herself further by having that truth confirmed to her each time she caught her reflection staring back at her.

  Noelle grasped Hope’s shoulders and spun her towards the looking glass hanging above a small desk, “Take a look for yourself. And take those dratted spectacles off so you can actually see your eyes.” Hope stood in front of the desk, her eyes focused on the toes of her serviceable brown shoes. She felt apprehensive about looking in the mirror, not sure what her mistress was trying to accomplish. Before she had time to decide what she should do, Noelle had reached over and pulled her thick framed spectacles off of her face, nudging her closer towards the glass.

  “Come on, look.” She urged her. Slowly Hope’s gaze ascended till she was staring at herself in the looking glass, seeing her reflection for the first time in years. She let out an audible gasp as one hand flew up to touch her cheek then her lips as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing was real. She leaned in to take a closer look at her eyes and jumped back with shock. They were the exact same shade as Lady Noelle’s. She had never been so shocked in all of her life. She slowly turned her astonished expression on Noelle who was smiling as if she had just been granted a prize.

  “See what I mean? I suspect if we let your hair out of that severe style and refashioned it into something a bit more becoming and applied a touch of rouge to your cheeks you could pass as me.” Before Hope had a chance to object, Noelle was reaching for the pins holding the bun in place and gently tugged them out, causing Hope’s hair to cascade in thick waves down her back, nearly reaching her waist.

  “This isn’t a good idea milady. I’m not sure what you are trying to accomplish but I think we best be getting you ready for the ball and quit this nonsense.” Hope tried her best to put an authoritative tone to her voice, “And I think it would be best if you put all thoughts of this American man from your head.” She quickly rewound her hair into the ever present bun, pinning it tightly into place.

  “Oh but I can’t. He’s the most handsome, intriguing man I have ever met. I’ve never felt so attracted to a man in all my years, and you and I both know I’ve met plenty. Please just hear me out, I have a plan.”

  “You know it wouldn’t be seemly for you to meet with a gentleman alone in public. You’re father would never allow it and I will not be party to that meeting because I do not approve. You know nothing of the man or his morals.”

  “Of course father wouldn’t approve,” she decided to gloss over the fact that Hope herself didn’t approve as well, “But it wouldn’t be unseemly for you to go out by yourself in the afternoon. No one would suspect anything if you left for an afternoon visit to go see your mother.”

  Hope shook her head back and forth slowly, confused. “You know I have no desire to speak to that American again, I told you I wouldn’t be party to this.”

  Noelle laughed heartily, “Don’t be obtuse. Of course I’m not suggesting you go meet him. How would that solve anything?” Hope didn’t know, for she had been wondering the same thing. “I was actually thinking that if I posed as you I could easily slip from the house to meet him. No one would suspect a thing, it’s brilliant!”

  “But what if your father comes looking for you or someone comes calling and you are nowhere to be found? How then would I explain your absence?”

  “That’s why you would have to pretend to be me. You could borrow one of my dresses and style your hair as you do mine and no one would ever know.” She clapped her hands together excitedly, “It’s the perfect solution, rather brilliant actually.”

  Hope felt a knot of dread forming in the pit of her stomach. She could not even pretend to feel a modicum of the excitement that Noelle was exhibiting at the preposterous scheme. There was no way that she, a lowly servant, could ever pass herself off as a real lady, even if there was an uncanny resemblance between her and her mistress. No, it wouldn’t work and Noelle was a fool to think otherwise. Hope would simply have to refuse.

  Before she could offer her objections Noelle was speaking once more, “Oh Hope, you have to do this for me. I think I’ll just die if I don’t get to see Soren once more.” She flung herself dramatically across her large tethered bed. Hope rolled her eyes. She was used to her mistress’s dramatics but this was even more exaggerated than what she was accustomed to.

  “I’m almost positive you wouldn’t die milady. Now put this nonsense from your mind and let’s get you into your dress.” She went to the dressing room and pulled the lavender gown from the closet, “I think this will do perfectly, I prefer it to the periwinkle one.” She set about laying out the dress, hoping that Noelle would abandon her idea and let her begin her preparations for tonight’s ball. Just as Hope had turned to retrieve the purple satin slippers that went so well with the lavender dress, Noelle had come up behind her and put a hand on her shoulders, forcing her to turn and face her.

  “You can’t tell me no,” It was a statement but though she said it with more pleading than command, Hope knew that it was true. If she valued her position as lady’s maid, and she did, she knew that she couldn’t very well tell her mistress no, regardless of how horrible the idea w
as. She felt the fight go out of her as her shoulders went limp, her arms falling dejectedly to her side.

  “Yes milady, anything you say.”

  Noelle squealed, “You mean it? Really, you’d do that for me?”

  “I don’t see as how I have a choice.” Hope was shocked when Noelle pulled her into her arms, bestowing upon her a fierce hug.

  “Everything will go perfectly, you’ll see.”

  Chapter 3

  Hope had hardly slept a wink all night, thoroughly dreading the plan her and Lady Noelle were putting into action the following day. She went through every possible worst case scenario in her head—of her being discovered posing as her mistress and the consequences that would entail. She thought of the possibility of Noelle being abducted by the American she was so enthralled with, thinking that he may very well turn out to be a completely unsavory character. Thought after horrible thought ran through her head all night long, each one more ghastly than the last.

  She had never been so relieved to pull herself out of bed and begin preparing for Noelle’s morning toilette. She hoped with everything in her that after a good night’s sleep her mistress would have come to her senses and realize how foolish her plan was. She walked into Noelle’s room, richly decorated in purple and gold, the decorations as dramatic as the lady who inhabited the room. She carried a tray containing warm chocolate over to where Noelle was propped up against multiple plush pillows in her bed.

  “Good morning milady, how’d you sleep?”

  “Oh I hardly slept at all, I was so excited. I simply cannot wait to put our plan into motion.”

  Inwardly Hope groaned, disappointed to see that Noelle was just as eager today to carry out her foolish plan as she had been yesterday. Hope worked to get Noelle’s clothes ready for the morning. She retrieved a fresh shift and stays along with an ivory muslin morning dress. The whole time she was dressing Noelle and coiffing her hair she couldn’t help but think that she would be preparing herself in the same manner in only a matter of hours. The thought was very unsettling. Noelle however didn’t appear unsettled in the least. She chattered excitedly all morning about anything and everything. Truth be told, Hope hardly paid attention to a word she was saying, so worrisome were her own loud thoughts.

  When the time finally came for both girls to begin their transformations into one another, Hope thought she would be physically ill. Noelle on the other hand couldn’t have been more excited. To her it was all a big adventure and she failed to see the risk in the precarious plan. Noelle insisted that she be made up first and helped Hope her slip into one of her gray high necked gowns. It was plain and drab compared to what Noelle was accustomed to and Hope cringed at her appearance. She hadn’t realized how frumpy her serviceable gowns made her appear until she saw Noelle in one of them and it bothered her immensely to see her mistress appearing so common. Next she pinned her hair up into a braided knot at the back of her head and finished the look off by handing her the pair of spectacles which she slid naturally onto her face completing the ensemble.

  Hope could only stare at her in horror, what had she done to her mistress? Noelle however was having too much fun, as if she was simply playing a childish game of dress up. She went to her closet and grabbed a cerulean day dress and corset then instructed Hope to strip down to her chemise, which she did slowly. Although she was used to seeing Noelle in various forms of undress, she herself never undressed before another living being and she found herself overwhelmingly modest.

  Sensing her discomfort Noelle stood with her hands akimbo, one foot tapping beneath her skirt impatiently, “Hope Hillburn, if you don’t hurry it up we’ll never pull this charade off.” She didn’t realize that what she had meant as a threat was actually the very thing Hope could only wish for.

  Growing impatient, Noelle huffed over and began assisting her in removing her clothing. Once she was standing in only her chemise, Noelle began fastening the corset around her slender frame. Hope’s figure was slightly more slender than Noelle’s, probably due to the lack of rich foods in her diet, but with the aid of the corset they were able to shape her form to appear even more slender in places and voluptuous in others. It was the first time in Hope’s life that she had ever worn a corset and she wasn’t sure she liked its restrictive feel. Next she helped Hope slip into silk stockings, fastening them to the garters she wore before slipping a petticoat over her head. By the time the empire waist day dress was in place Hope felt like a completely different person. She had never been dressed in such finery and was amazed at how much better properly fitted clothing felt on her body.

  Noelle hadn’t a clue as to how to do Hope’s hair since she had never had to bother dressing her own in the whole of her life. Luckily Hope was an expert in how to do her mistress’s hair and was able to quickly pile her own thick hair on top of her head and using the aid of a hot iron she curled a few stray wisps on the sides of her face into loose ringlets. Noelle quickly applied some rouge to her cheeks and then blackened her lashes, finishing the look off with some rose lip salve. By the time Hope was allowed to look in the mirror she couldn’t believe how she had been able to completely be transformed into Lady Noelle. The likeness was uncanny, but even she felt an unfamiliar surge of confidence course through her as she viewed the resemblance with her own eyes. The girls turned to one another and began giggling. Hope didn’t know what was odder, seeing herself dressed up as a fine lady or seeing her mistress dressed down as a common servant.

  Glancing at the clock sitting on the mantle, Noelle began spouting off last minute instructions although they had gone over every last detail numerous times. “Now remember to try to keep as inconspicuous as possible. I suggest you go to the library and spend your time reading. Father rarely ventures into the library, especially in the afternoon. I think that’ll afford you the most amount of privacy. Hopefully Devon will just be out riding or doing whatever it is he does.” Hope had failed to consider the possibility of a run in with Noelle’s older brother and sincerely hoped she wouldn’t see him. The act she was playing would run considerably smoother if she didn’t have to encounter anyone. “I will come find you there as soon as I return and we can quickly switch back into our own roles.”

  The only part of the charade Hope had been looking forward to was the part where she got to read in the library. She was an avid reader when she had the time, even harboring a secret habit of writing her own stories for entertainment and having access to the library for her own pleasure was like a dream come true. If only she wouldn’t be fretting the whole time that the entire situation would turn out poorly.

  Noelle leaned in for a final hug and Hope couldn’t resist giving her own last minute advice. “Be sure to exit and return through the servants entrance. If you come to the front door you will raise suspicion.” Noelle nodded her understanding, “And most importantly, be careful. Don’t do anything rash, I would never forgive myself if something were to happen to you.”

  “Oh you worry too much. But I will be careful, I promise.” With that she quickly exited the room.

  Hope watched her retreating figure, wishing she could just stay holed up in the bedroom until she came back but knew that would only draw suspicion, for Noelle rarely stayed in her chambers unless she was sick. And if her father thought she had taken ill he very well might come to check on her. No, it would be safer to go to the library and spend her time fretting there. She quickly headed to the room that she had longed to explore for ages. She had been in the library many times with Noelle and even occasionally read to her from her favorite books but this would be the first time she would be able to browse the shelves for herself, in search of books that would interest her and not just the volumes of poetry that Noelle always insisted she read.

  Hope had been lucky that her mother had insisted that she learn to read and write, a luxury amongst so many of the lower class. Not only had it come in handy when securing her position as lady’s maid but it also proved to be her salvation. She spent many hours,
while Noelle was at balls and her chores had been completed, taking her ink and quill and creating fanciful stories from her imagination, stories of fantasy lands and curious adventures—fairies, giants and other whimsical creatures her mind would conjure up dotted her tales. It was her release from the doldrums of everyday life. She had never shared any of her stories with another living soul, not even her mother.

  She walked back and forth along the broad walls lined from floor to ceiling with shelf after shelf of books, wishing she could find some sort of fantastical tale that would transport her to another world but knowing she wouldn’t find any such thing. The Earl of Brattondale was much too formal and rigid to allow anything so trivial into his library. She finally settled on Lord Byron’s Hours of Idleness though she had read from it numerous times and wasn’t a particular fan of his writing, though Noelle favored him.

  No sooner had she sat down on the settee and had carefully arranged her skirts to cover her feet properly when the door flung open and in walked Devon. She hadn’t had much contact with Noelle’s older brother, Lord Brattondale’s heir, but had always thought he seemed like a likeable enough fellow. He was tall and handsome with thick blonde hair that was multiple shades lighter than hers and Noelle’s. He had brown eyes and a kind face that she knew many servant girls found exceptionally handsome. He startled her by walking over and plopping his lanky frame right next to her on the small settee, making her feel overwhelmed by his nearness.

  He stretched his long breeches clad legs out in front of him before speaking, “Hello sister,” he reached over and grabbed the book she was holding from her hand, inspecting the cover before handing it back. “Byron again? Please tell me you aren’t still harboring a silly fancy for that pompous…”

  “Of course not!” Hope cut him off before he offended her ears with his language. She knew that she was blushing, feeling awkward pretending to be his sister when in truth she felt completely uncomfortable in his presence. She hadn’t any idea how Noelle would react to his presence or what she would even discuss with him. She decided to keep him talking about himself in hopes that he would avoid asking her anything that she might not be able to answer properly.