3
“Damian, my love, you must tell them the truth. Tell them where you have been.” Clara tugged shyly at his
sleeve.
“Clara and I have indeed spent the last month in the south. We only returned today.”
His words sealed my fate.
“Lady Seraphina,” Clara said, her voice filled with false pity. “I know you adore my Damian, but you canno hire a stand–in while he is away! To have this… imposter… play the part of your loving fiancé for all to see..
why would you do this to yourself? Damian doesn’t love you. You must let him go.”
The crowd erupted. It was all too scandalous to believe. Damian said nothing, merely tightening his grip or Clara’s hand in tacit agreement.
I stared at him, my heart a cold, dead weight. He had caused this entire mess, yet he was content to let al the blame fall on me. Was there truly not an ounce of affection for me in his heart?
“How dare you spread such lies! Do you seek to ruin my lady’s name?” Elspeth’s eyes were red with fury.
“Insolence!” Damian roared. “You are but a servant! Seize her!” Guards surged forward and restrained Elspe
- th.
“Let her go!” I commanded. “Clara, you may slander me, but House Ashton is not so easily trifled with!”
Clara flinched, which only made Damian’s expression soften toward her and harden toward me. “Seraphina, he said, his voice now like ice, “you claim you did not find a substitute. Where is your proof?”
He smiled, a smirk of absolute victory. A knot of dread tightened in my stomach. Could it be that the man…
“I knew it,” someone in the crowd jeered. “She was always trailing after him like a stray dog. Lord Damia was never more than civil to her. It was strange how he suddenly seemed so besotted.”
“Look at them! Lord Damian and Lady Clara, they are the perfect match. A true love story!”
“And that substitute… so intimate with her… could she have been cuckolding the lord before they were ever wed? No wonder he refuses to marry her!”
The tide of public opinion turned, drowning me in a sea of accusation. But I could no longer hear them. The hour was growing late. The King had decreed this marriage. I had to see it through.
“You know full well what you have done,” I said, my teeth clenched. “But I will marry into House Thorne today
“What I know is that the lady of House Ashton has no shame! You used my absence to parade a fraud before
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“Forgive me, this is your wedding day. I have been thoughtless…” She turned to go, then collapsed as if he strength had given out.
“Clara!” Damian caught her, scooping her into his arms. He turned to me, his voice dripping with disappoint
ment.
“Seraphina, Clara is innocent in this. How could you allow these rumors to spread? A lady’s honor is paramo
unt. Do you mean to destroy her?”
Watching him clutch her so tightly, my eyes began to sting. Did he ever once consider what would becom of my honor if I had begged my father to rescind a royal decree?
I remained silent, but my handmaiden, Elspeth, could not. “My lord, you go too far!” she cried. “When did you ever send word to cancel this union? Why, just three days ago, you were at Ashton Manor, telling my lady t
prepare herself with a joyful heart!”
The crowd murmured in agreement.
‘It’s true! For the past month, the young lord has been visiting every jeweler in the city, buying every piece that would suit Lady Seraphina!”
‘And the pastry shop on the West Street she loves so much! Lord Damian has been there before dawn ever morning, just so she could have them fresh from the oven!”
‘He took her boating on the river just last week! The love in his eyes was plain for all to see!”
‘My lord, this is your wedding day! Put aside this quarrel, change into your finery, and wed your bride!”
The chorus of voices made Damian’s face flush with anger. But in his arms, Clara, with a sly, secret smile, le
out a small gasp.
Oh! But… for the past month, Damian has been with me, taking the air in the southern provinces. How could
he possibly have been in the capital?”
Her voice was not loud, but it silenced the entire square,
The whispers began anew.
I saw the young lord riding back into the city from the country this morning. Why would he be traveling sc close to his own wedding?”
‘But the man in the capital was Lord Damian. We all saw him.”
‘Wait… are you an imposter?”
Amid the rising suspicion, Damian sneered and produced the heavy signet ring of his house. “Open your eyes and see what this is!”
Elspeth gasped in disbelief. “Impossible! There must be some mistake! My lord, you were with my lady every day for the past month!”
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My nails, I realized, had dug so deeply into my palms they had drawn blood. My marriage to House Thorne was decreed by the King himself. Would Damian truly admit to using a double, an automaton, in his place? It
would not only be a mortal insult to my family, but a slap in the face to the King.
3
“Damian, my love, you must tell them the truth. Tell them where you have been.” Clara tugged shyly at his
sleeve.
“Clara and I have indeed spent the last month in the south. We only returned today.”
His words sealed my fate.
“Lady Seraphina,” Clara said, her voice filled with false pity. “I know you adore my Damian, but you cannot hire a stand–in while he is away! To have this… imposter… play the part of your loving fiancé for all to see.. why would you do this to yourself? Damian doesn’t love you. You must let him go.”
The crowd erupted. It was all too scandalous to believe. Damian said nothing, merely tightening his grip or
Clara’s hand in tacit agreement.
I stared at him, my heart a cold, dead weight. He had caused this entire mess, yet he was content to let al the blame fall on me. Was there truly not an ounce of affection for me in his heart?
“How dare you spread such lies! Do you seek to ruin my lady’s name?” Elspeth’s eyes were red with fury.
“Insolence!” Damian roared. “You are but a servant! Seize her!” Guards surged forward and restrained Elspe
- th.
“Let her go!” I commanded. “Clara, you may slander me, but House Ashton is not so easily trifled with!”
Clara flinched, which only made Damian’s expression soften toward her and harden toward me. “Seraphina, he said, his voice now like ice, “you claim you did not find a substitute. Where is your proof?”
He smiled, a smirk of absolute victory. A knot of dread tightened in my stomach. Could it be that the man…
“I knew it,” someone in the crowd jeered. “She was always trailing after him like a stray dog. Lord Damiar was never more than civil to her. It was strange how he suddenly seemed so besotted.”
“Look at them! Lord Damian and Lady Clara, they are the perfect match. A true love story!”
“And that substitute… so intimate with her… could she have been cuckolding the lord before they were ever wed? No wonder he refuses to marry her!”
The tide of public opinion turned, drowning me in a sea of accusation. But I could no longer hear them. The hour was growing late. The King had decreed this marriage. I had to see it through.
“You know full well what you have done,” I said, my teeth clenched. “But I will marry into House Thorne today
“What I know is that the lady of House Ashton has no shame! You used my absence to parade a fraud before
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the court, ignored my command to cancel this farce, and now you have the gall to force your way into m family! If it weren’t for you, would Clara have ever fled to the south in sorrow? Come. We will go to my paren ts at once, and you will tell them you will not be wedding a Thorne today. The matter will be discussed at
later date.”
He reached for my arm, but I recoiled. Through the shimmering veil, I saw that the embroidered handkerchi ef I had spent a dozen nights crafting was gone from his belt. In its place was a simple, woven lover’s knot.
And on Clara’s wrist was a matching one.
