Duchess in Disguise (The Dukes of Sin #10)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

“We are nearly there, Miss.”

At the coachman’s voice, Isobel Lennox felt some of the anxiety she had managed to ward off earlier return with vengeance. She tightened her grip on the edges of her cloak as she continued to observe the surroundings of the area as they drew closer to her destination.

She wished she could have seen it in the light, wanting to know more about the lands that surrounded Gramfield estate, wondering if they bore sights she had missed in her absence.

But due to the sudden demand for her presence in the letter she had received from the inhabitants, she arrived rather late in the night and could not see much more than dark shapes of foliage.

Isobel wished she could have brought one of her siblings along for the trip, but they did not even know that she had left Scotland.

Additionally, she had gone on to emphasize that she could handle certain tasks by herself, but still…

it would have been nice to have some support as she faced someone she had hoped but never imagined would contact her.

The carriage came to a stop, and all of Isobel’s thoughts halted as well. She realized that in a few moments, her life would change irreversibly, and she would receive answers she had sought after all of her life.

However, instead of joy or excitement, only uncertainty lay within her.

The door to the carriage fell open, and she immediately noticed a man standing in the path that led to the house.

“Miss Lennox, welcome to the Gramfield estate. I am Ronald Wittley, the valet.”

“Good evening,” Isobel greeted cautiously, accepting the offered hand as she climbed out of the carriage.

“Right this way,” Mr Wittley prompted, gesturing ahead of himself as he began to walk towards the house. “Do not worry about your things, they shall be retrieved in a moment.”

Isobel spared the carriage a glance before she followed him, urging herself to look as brave as possible, no matter how she felt.

Inside the home, she lifted her hands to the hood of her cloak to push it back, but was stopped quickly.

“Forgive me, Miss, but due to the unique nature of… this matter, Lord Gramfield asks that you keep your cloak and hood on. Just until you enter the Baron’s study.” The valet told her.

It was an odd request, but not a difficult one to honor, so she nodded and dropped her hands, continuing to trail behind him as he walked on.

Isobel itched to look around, to take a proper look at the walls that she might have known – perhaps in another life – disconcerted by how unfamiliar they were, her mind wandering until the valet beckoned her attention to him once more.

“We have arrived,” he told her, lifting a closed fist to knock against the door before them slightly.

A deep voice called from the other side. “Enter.”

Mr Wittley shifted his gaze to Isobel as he hand curled around the doorknob, waiting. Only when she nodded did he open the door and step in first.

“Lord Gramfield, Miss Lennox has arrived.”

Isobel walked into the study, her gaze falling on a man who was pacing around by the fireplace. She couldn’t help but stare as she stepped closer, taking in every single detail that she could see.

As she had imagined this situation a million times, she often questioned what would happen when she met this man. She wondered how he would greet her, what she would say, if it would be obvious, the connection they shared.

But as she faced him now, her mind was strangely void of questions.

There was no doubt about it, though, if he truly was who she assumed he was.

Her father.

“Ah, so it seems,” Gregory Wightman, the Baron of Gramfield, smiled widely. “Come, my darling. Come to me.”

Slowly, Isobel walked towards him, staring blankly as he opened his arms out wide and waited for her to embrace him. When she did not, he laughed it off and gestured to one of the chairs before him.

“Please, sit. That will be all, Ronald.”

The valet left as Isobel settled down in the chair, watching as Gregory sat in the other chair opposite hers, his excitement making her feel a tad sour.

“My God, you look just like her, your sister. We’ve all been so excited to meet with you — your siblings have barely slept a wink in anticipation.” He said, his gaze flitting all over her face.

It was a strange idea, thinking of people she had never met before as her siblings, even more so that they would be so eager to meet her.

“I see. I imagine they are curious, more than anything, to see the child that was discarded by the family now hale and hearty.” She nodded curtly.

“A-And your journey? I imagine it was quite long and tiresome.” Gregory stated, still smiling.

“It was. But I have made the journey before with my parents and siblings, so I know what to expect.”

Gregory nodded, glancing around the room before he stated.

“That is good. I am glad to see you here, in perfect health. That is important to me, and I was worried —”

Isobel was fed up now, frustrated by this feeble attempt at small talk so late after she had only just arrived from a journey that had taken so many hours.

There was no clear regard for her, for the lengths she had gone to honor his request to come as soon as she could, no real concern over her safety, seeing as she made the trip by herself.

“You’re not even going to ask,” she sighed tiredly, quickly realizing that the man before her was nothing like she had hoped he would be.

“You do not even care one bit about me — not enough to ask me how I am or how I have been, or even what my family is like. Though I am sure it must come as a bit of a surprise to you, doesn’t it?

To know that after you abandoned me when I was but a baby, I was picked up by a good and loving family who gave me everything I could ever need or want.

If my father, Fergus, had not found me and raised me, I probably would not have survived, but you don’t care about that.

Because you never cared to reach out all those years after that.

“That is not true,” Gregory sputtered. “I did not abandon you because I desired to do so. I had no choice. Our family did not have the resources to raise two daughters at that time. I had to do what I believed was the right choice at that time. And it seems I was right! Whoever raised you seems as though he was capable of caring for ten children if he so desired.”

Anger flared up within Isobel, and no matter how she wished to restrain herself, the words came spilling out before she could stop herself.

“My father loved each and every one of his children, and he would not have traded any of us for the world, much less to ease the financial constraints upon the family. Not even when that seemed to be the only choice he had.”

Isobel had been quite young then, but she could faintly recall a time when Laird Fergus Lennox was in debt and the family was at risk of losing their home. The man he owed had requested the hand of one of Ferguson’s daughters, but he had refused to give any of them up to save the family.

Catherine had ended up offering herself to relieve the family’s burden, and the man they owed was now Isobel’s brother-in-law, who loved her sister with everything in him and adored her immensely.

It was clear that Fergus and Gregory had two different meanings for the word, family.

“Even if that had been the case, you had… my whole lifetime to find me. I hoped you would. But you did not. I thought it was because you did not know where I was, or you simply had forgotten about me. Yet all of a sudden, I received a letter that my sister is getting married, and I was prompted to join the wedding party immediately. I have done you a greater favor than you have ever considered doing for me by answering your summons, but now I believe you owe me an explanation. Why am I here?”

Gregory looked taken aback by her words, and she wondered if she had gone too far with her outburst. Her parents — the ones who raised her, Mary and Fergus Lennox — had always taught her to be as kind as possible to any and everyone she crossed paths with.

But this man… her father seemed unworthy of any of the good graces that had been instilled in her.

“Right,” Gregory cleared his throat. “I apologize for the short notice of things. The situation is quite dire, as I will explain to you in a moment, and we were left with no choice but to seek out your assistance.”

He was… apologizing for summoning her out of the blue, but not for leaving her when she was a baby and never looking back.

At that moment, Isobel realized that she never should have expected anything from this man, and she likely never should. All he was going to do was disappoint her.

“I see,” she nodded, tired and withdrawn, waiting to hear what was next.

Gregory’s mouth opened, but no words came out. He pursed his lips for a moment, then he exhaled.

“Your twin sister… Valerie is engaged. As I mentioned in the letter, she is to be married to the Duke of Norwich, Adrian Holbrook, and her wedding is in ten days. Currently, the estate is full of people who are here to celebrate her marriage.” He said carefully.

Her sister was truly getting married.

Isobel tried to smile at the thought, but a flash of pain pierced her heart as she wondered … why Valerie hadn’t invited her? Why did she not receive an official invitation to the festivities, but rather a hasty letter to join them as the celebrations were already underway?

Surely these were her sister’s happiest moments, and she would have loved to share them with her —

Isobel was trying to ward off the hurt she felt in her chest, but before she could get a hold of herself, Gregory continued.

“However, it seems that not all who are here have her best interest in mind, because she was poisoned earlier today.”

Isobel felt her heart slow its beating dangerously.

“P-Poisoned? How? How could such a thing have happened?” Isobel questioned, eyes wide.

Gregory shrugged, looking far too calm for a man whose child had been the victim of grave attempts to harm her.

“I do not know. Hardly anyone even knows what has happened because we managed to pull her aside shortly after she consumed the poison. Whatever it was, it rendered her unconscious, and we called a physician to examine her. He said that its potency is far too high to expect a swift recovery, and if she doesn’t recover in the next few days, it means the poison’s effects were too great. ”

Isobel’s hands were shaking at the thought of something happening to her sister. It was nothing more than a cruel twist of fate that she had come so close to meeting her twin, only to hear that Valerie was now fighting for her life.

A dangerous battle that she might not win.

“W-What happens now? Is there not a medicine or treatment that can be administered for her sake? To help her recover faster?” She tried, desperately hoping there was a potential solution for this dire problem.

Gregory looked grim for the first time in the brief moments of their meeting as he shook his head and told her quietly.

“All we can do now is wait.”