Deceiving the Duke of Kerrington

Chapter Eight

The ride back to Mayfair was a complete blur to Hope. She barely remembered talking to Geoffrey as she returned Tabitha to the mews before sneaking silently back into the house and to her room. Her body and mind were exhausted, and as she slid into bed, the last thing she remembered thinking about before falling into a fitful slumber, was how curious it had been that her mother had never questioned her about how much she truly resembled Lady Noelle. Matilde had just accepted that the plan would work, having never laid eyes on Lady Noelle for herself—odd.

When Hope finally awoke, she felt as if she had never gone to bed at all. She had tossed and turned and fretted the whole night, never allowing her mind to shut down fully to allow her body peaceful sleep. She got ready for the day unhurriedly, dreading the moment she would see Lady Noelle and tell her that she had agreed to go along with her plan. She knew that Noelle would be ecstatic, but she herself could only feel apprehension and dread.

When she heard the tinkling of the brass bell, it was with great trepidation that she entered Noelle's bedchamber. Noelle was sitting propped up in her bed, looking as if she had just awoken refreshed from a long nights slumber. Hope was irritated that she could sleep at such a time as this and did nothing to mask that irritation.

"Good morning, Milady, what can I do for you?" she spoke through ground teeth.

Noelle yawned and stretched, her dainty hands reaching high above her head. "Oh don't be silly, Hope, you know exactly what you can do for me. Have you finally come to your senses and decided to do as I proposed?"

Though she knew that it was highly unlikely that Noelle would change her mind, her heart still plummeted in her chest at the affirmation. She clenched her jaw tightly for a few long seconds before finally answering, "Yes, Milady."

Noelle sprung from her bed, "Really? Look at me, Hope." She grabbed Hope's shoulders and shook her. "You are going to be so happy. We both are." Hope highly doubted she would, but she wasn't about to argue with her mistress. It was futile.

"Oh, we have so much to do before I leave, and not nearly enough time to do it all in. I have to teach you all there is to know about being a lady so that you can assume your new role gracefully."

Hope wasn't optimistic about anything going gracefully but she didn't say so. She felt unusually grumpy and knew that the lack of sleep contributed greatly to her mood, for she was rarely ever out of sorts.

"Let's start by getting you all dressed up as if you were attending a ball, so I can see how you look at me once more." Noelle moved to her closet and began shuffling through the surfeit of ball gowns. It was odd for Hope to see her doing something that she usually did for her, and as she moved to assist her, she stopped herself, figuring she better get used to it, if she were going to assume her role permanently.

Noelle strode back to where Hope was standing holding a bronze gown in her arms, "Hurry and strip down so we can get you dressed. Isn't this fun?" Hope ignored her and began undressing. Moments later she was ensconced once more into the rigid corset, and Noelle was soon slipping the gown over her head. The bronze color of the dress served to draw even more attention to the unusual amber shade of her eyes and was much finer than the day dress she had worn last time she had posed as Noelle. Next, Noelle instructed her to pin her hair up elaborately, while she herself insisted on dressing once more in Hope's garb.

"Though I plan on staying in the privacy of these chambers all day while I train you to become a lady, I would rather be safe in case somebody decides to come looking for either one of us." It made sense, so Hope didn't argue.

Once Hope had her hair dressed, Noelle came over to sit at the vanity to help apply the rouge and lip salve and to darken her lashes for her. When the primping was complete, Noelle hummed in appreciation. "It's peculiar how much you resemble me. Don't you find it a little unnerving?"