“The duchess,” he paused when her gaze returned to him, but only for a moment. “You have an uncanny resemblance.”
Her brows furrowed. “I . . . we do?”
“Yes,” Dare said. “The shape of your jaw is similar.” Though she had the same eyes as Heart, which had made the family’s ruse so believable all these years.
“Oh?” She looked uncomfortable. “I hadn’t noticed.”
Little liar. Little burden-keeper. This was indeed a secret that could shock the proverbial trousers off London. But most importantly, most frighteningly, it was a secret that could render her instantly and forever ruined. Was this why she was so bold in seizing moments? So brazen and fearless in her approach to life, in her flirtations with him?
It made sense.
“She is your mother.”
Chapter Thirteen
She is yourmother.
No.
She is your mother.
No.
She is your mother.
I don’t know.
Leonora thought she might be sick. All her life, or at least, since the age of fourteen, she’d known her life could change instantly if someone ever discovered those four words. Not the words themselves, exactly, but what they implied.
But no secret was eternal in this world. The time she’d had up to now, she’d hidden the truth behind layers upon layers of moments that no one could ever take from her.
What happened now?
There was never a time when Leonora believed she could hide it forever. Her family couldn’t hide it forever. They already hadn’t. She had learned the secret, after all.
That was how precarious a position a secret held. One person knowing could topple the whole thing.
You are illegitimate.
She’d understood all these years that she was an imposter. She didn’t belong with the title she had. But she hadn’t allowed it to bother her. She’d decided, no matter who she was or who she was not, she would live her life to the fullest while fully knowingat any moment any and all privilege could be taken away from her in a matter of a heartbeat.
That heartbeat had arrived with Dare’s words.
She stared at him. A droplet of rain fell on her cheek. The coolness of it startled her, but the sudden downpour of emotions was what made her shiver. She turned on her heel and strode in the direction of Mayfair. Her mind had drawn another blank. She wouldn’t deny it, even though she didn’t know the full truth of the matter yet. Whether the duchess was her real mother or not, she was still illegitimate.
And thatwasthe truth.
“Leonora. Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“Are you going to walk there alone? The skies have turned. There will be a downpour soon.”
Drat it. Soon? It had already started. One drop turned to two turned to three turned to a soft pelting of rain. She wanted to run, wanted to seek shelter, but that would mean stopping. And waiting.
“Leonora, wait.” Footsteps followed her down the street.
“No.” She wanted to escape. To escape him most especially. She’d flirted with him boldly. Unashamedly. She’d loved it. But that was before he knew the truth.
