Chapter 3.

A Contract is a Contract.

Papa had enough presence of mind not to shout at Felicity. The last thing we needed was for the servants to know more than they needed too. Servants' gossip was the biggest threat in houses such as ours. Although they were supposed to be trained to mind their own business, you never knew who might end up having a loose tongue and start telling too much to the wrong person.

When I came up to Felicity's room, I saw Letty standing by the doorway, making sure the other maids didn't sneak up and listen. I had to admire her devotion to the family. Another less mature maid might have called her friends to eavesdrop.

She gave me a small bow as I motioned for her to move. Pressing my ear to the door, I heard amma's angry voice.

"Have you any idea what your little escapade could have cost our family, Felicity? Think of your sisters! Think of Francesca. She is to be presented to society the day after tomorrow. If you caused her name to be dragged into your scandal it could affect her future marriage. How can you be so selfish?"

"Why can't I think of myself for once? Why does everything always have to be about the family? Why do I always have to put my younger sisters first?" Felicity shouted back.

"When have you ever thought about this family?" Papa snapped. "This whole engagement of yours was something you did for your own selfish pleasure. We told you not to rush into it,but you didn't listen and now you are trying to get out of it by threatening the viscount with blackmail!"

It took all my willpower to suppress my gasp. No wonder Papa had been so upset.

"If we hadn't caught you in time, not only would you have given Mr. Winthorpe a reason to sue you for breach of contract, he could have also taken you to court with the accusations of blackmail. It's a crime, Felicity, a CRIME!"

"Who is he to threaten to sue a duke's daughter? How dare he think himself so high and mighty to come after his superiors? I am not afraid of him. If he wants to ruin my reputation, so be it, I will ruin his as well and then we will be equal."

"God give me patience!" Papa burst out and I heard him thump his fist on the dressing table. "I am placing you under house arrest, Felicity. You will not leave this room until I allow it!"

The door handle turned and I ran down the corridor and hid behind the door of one of the rooms.

"You can't keep me locked up forever!" Felicity shouted. "You have to present me to society one day, and the day you do will be the last day the arrogant Viscount of Hester will have any sort of good reputation. If he won't let me go, I'll repay in kind!"

There was a hard slam.

"Felicity is not to be allowed out of this room, Letty," I heard Mamma order. "And you are the only one who can enter to bring her food and water. No other servants must come near this door. Is that understood."

"Yes, My Lady."

I waited until my parents had departed before coming out. As I passed by Felicity's door I could hear the shattering of ceramics. Apparently she was venting her anger on the poor pots again. I passed by Letty and we exchanged glances.

Who would have thought Felicity had it in her. It was true that she was a little vain and selfish, but she had never in her life thrown such a tantrum such as this. I wondered what sort of secret she knew about the viscount and if it was the reason she was adamant not to go through with the marriage.

I needed to find out the truth from Mamma and Papa. My own reputation and future was now at stake and I had to discover the details if I were to somehow preserve it.

I found Mamma and Papa in the parlor. Mamma was pacing back and forth, a habit she had when something had greatly vexed her. Even in her anger she was still refined and elegant, walking back and fort with her head high and keeping perfect posture. My mother was tall, regal and beautiful. Everything about her spoke of her noblity, or her prestige, of her status as the eldest daughter of an earl and the wife of a duke. I thought of how, back at home, she had been relatively calm when Felicity had refused to come out of her room. Her patience was all dried up, however, and she made no effort to hide it.

Papa, on the oppsite, was obviously tired of it all. He was seated in the large armchair, his greying head resting in one of his hands.

"What madness possessed her?" He questioned. "Why is she so determined not to go through with it? It's not like it's a bad match. He is the son of a family friend and he has money and property and from what I heard when I asked around, during the past year he settled all his father's debts and has still managed to live within his means. Isn't that a good quality for a young man to have? He has also never been seen in any place of illrepute. In fact, he's never been seen much at any ball or party, and on the rare chance that he does attent, he keeps to himself and never drinks much."

"This is what happens when we give our daughters too much freedom at too young an age!" Mamma said. "We have learned our lesson, but that does not solve the problem at hand."

I coughed a little to announce my presence. They both turned to face me.

"Papa, Mamma, what has happened? Is the viscoun determined to go through with this marriage? Is he really threatening to sue?"

"I visited him yesterday," Papa explained to me. "He was quite upset to hear that Felicity had suddenly changed her mind. They have been engaged for three years after all, and he had returned to England with two purposes – to settle his late father's affairs and to marry your sister. In the end he told me that a contract was a contract and if we would not keep our end of it he would sue."

"Why is he so determined to marry Felicity? He has never met her?"

Papa shrugged. "The fact of the matter is he is the offended party, and he will take action if necessary. I spoke with Felicity about it last night and explained the situation. And what does she do? She decides to meet with him today, unaccompanied and tell him that if he does not let her go, she will expose his secret to society. Thank goodness she revealed her plot to Letty, who is as loyal as they come. Letty first hurried to tell your Mamma, who stopped Felicity before she got very far. I was sent for once they had her safely back in the room."

Mamma let out a bitter laugh. "First she wants to meet him alone and then she wants to attempt to blackmail him. Surely we taught her better than that! Our family would know no end to the shame."

I leaned forward a little. "What's the secret?"

Papa and Mamma both laughed at my question.

"It's no secret, Francesca, that's the true tragedy of it all!" Mamma replied. "Everyone in society knows it. When James Winthrope was only two years old, his mother had an affair with another man and his father sued for, and was granted, divorce. She was sent away to live in disgrace while he married her second cousin. That second cousin was Jane Sillmer, my neighbor and good friend. She became the new Viscountess of Hester. It all happened so long ago that no one really speaks of it any more. The viscount is dead, as are both the ladies he was once married to. When James Winthorpe inherited his father's title people remembered the scandal and whispered about it here and there, but it has been a year now and so everyone has once again forgotten and turned to more interesting and recent events."

For some reason, as I listened to the story, I felt a little pity for the viscount. None of this was his fault, but he would always be guilty by association. To have his own mother commit adultery with another man and then to be divorced by his father, it was a shame many would not have been able to bear.

Speaking of shame, if Felicity really did go through with all she intended, our family would really be in shame. I took a good look at my distraught parents. Papa was known to be a man of high morals and a deep sense of responsibility. For as long as I could remember he would go to London every year for the season and staunchly support Mr. William Wilberforce as he presented his bill to end the slave trade. He advocated for reform and he continually spoke for social justice. Before becoming a duke he had been a captain, then a colonel, and finally a general in the Royal Army. He was a decorated war hero who, to this day, was highly spoken of by the men of his former regiment.

Mamma was a true heroine, perhaps more than Papa. She had married him when he had been merely a younger son with no title or inheritance. She had traveled with him and his regiment, giving up the comforts of a cozy home to stay by her husband's side and endured every hardship together with him. She had borne six sets of twins one after the other, and still managed to keep her health and appearance. As the Duchess, she managed her household, raised the children, and supported her husband in all his political endeavors.

All of society was waiting for the day when the renowned and respected Duke and Duchess of Winchestim would present their daughters to the Royal Court. Daughters who now had to live up to the high standard set by their parents.

It wasn't fair to them to have all that hard work thrown away by a silly daughter. It wasn't fair to my other sisters. Felicity's reckless behavior could affect us all. People would gossip about how the Duke knew nothing of raising proper daughters. They could say if one apple was bad, that must mean the entire crop was rotten.

Being the daughter of a duke was both a blessing and a curse.

I stood up and took a deep breath. "Papa, is it so important to him that he marry Felicity?"

"Isn't that what I have been telling you all this time?"

"No, what I mean, does it have to be Felicity exactly? What if he were to marry me instead?"

Poor Papa and Mamma's jaws dropped at my question.

"Marry you?"

"Yes. After all, Felicity and I are twins, isn't one just as good as the other. He has never met Felicity so it can't be much different if he marries her sister instead of her. It's the same family, the same dowry, the same everything really."

"I don't know," Mamma slowly said. "Jane did boast quite a bit that the Duke's eldest daughter was going to be her stepson's bride."

"But in a way I am the eldest daughter. Or at least we can say so. Felicity and I have never been to London, we've been tucked away at Knightsbridge our entire life. No one knows who is the elder twin and who is the younger."

My parents exchanged glances. "I suppose that could be a solution," Papa said at last. "But Francesca, are you sure you want to rush into marriage in such a manner?"

I shrugged. "You yourself said that it is a good match. I am to marry sooner or later, so it might as well be sooner. Better a good marriage with a man who is a family friend then to have my reputation dragged through the mud by association. Felicity was right when she said we can't keep her locked up forever. Write the viscount, Papa, see if he will agree to a substitute bride."