Camilla’s heart sank. The pain from her head moved to her chest, making it hard to breathe. Kat was the sick one, not her.
Tears stung her eyes, but she blinked them away. She wouldn’t give Captain Wilkes the satisfaction of seeing her this way.
Thundering hooves neared the stable and made her heart spring to life again.Please let it be Malcolm.
Wilkes grabbed his pistol and ran to the window. His shoulders relaxed and he sighed. “Your sister is finally here.” He tucked the pistol back in his belt before hurrying out to meet Kat.
Through the opened doors of the stable, Camilla spied her sister dismounting. Kat ran to her lover, throwing her arms around him. Their mouths met in a hungry, slobbery kiss. Camilla squeezed her eyes to cut off their hideous display.
Kat’s shrill laughter made Camilla snap her eyes open. The woman stalking toward her wasn’t the pathetically ill wastrel she had talked to in the asylum, although malice still lingered in Kat’s eyes. Camilla’s heart sank further.
Kat crouched to her level and snickered. “My dear, foolish sister. You fell right into my trap.”
“Why are you doing this?” Camilla whispered. “Why did you lie to me about being sick, and then fake your own death?”
Kat shrugged. “Because I wanted everything to go my way. Malcolm is a rich man, but I didn’t want him to be my husband. When I saw the chance to marry, I took it, but with the intent of making a better life for myself.” She glanced over her shoulder at Wilkes. “And now, the captain has offered me that better life.”
“By pretending to die?”
“Of course. I couldn’t have pulled any of this off otherwise.”
“But Kat, eventually the truth will come out.”
“Not if I can help it.”
“What about those people who love you? What about me, your own sister?”
Kat laughed eerily, sending ripples of fear up Camilla’s spine.
“Oh, my poor, pathetic sister. You still have your head in the clouds.” She leaned in closer. “When are you going to start thinking about yourself?” She pushed her finger into Camilla’s chest. “No one is going to get you where you want to be in life. You cannot rely on anybody but you.”
“I don’t think the way you do, Kat. The reason I came here in the first place was foryou,” Camilla explained. “I planned to avenge your death and get your husband to pay your hospital and funeral debts.” A sob tore from her throat. “You are the only family I have.”
Kat frowned and cupped the side of Camilla’s face. “Not to worry. I will take care of you.”
Camilla scrunched her forehead. “You will?”
“Yes. The asylum for the mentally insane in Preston is still looking for you.”
Fear pierced through Camilla like ice. Kat was actually going to commit her own twin.
*
Malcolm squinted againstthe sunlight pouring upon his face through the window. Every muscle in his body screamed in pain—even his eyelids ached. An intense throbbing began in his skull. He jerked his head up from his desk and sat straight. Cursing, he rubbed his eyes as he tried to remember what had caused him to sleep in his study instead of going upstairs to joinhis wife in their bed. He stretched his stiff neck and rolled his achy shoulders.
The pitter-patter of small feet echoed outside his study mere seconds before the door flung open. James, still wearing his nightshirt, came running toward him. Malcolm stood and stepped toward his son.
“Papa,” James sobbed, his eyes puffy and red. “Mama is gone.”
Malcolm blinked to clear his tired vision. Kneeling, he took hold of his son’s shaky hands. “James, what are you talking about?”
The boy’s bottom lip quivered, and his eyes filled with tears. “Mama is gone.”
Malcolm patted his son’s tousled hair. “Perhaps Mama just went riding this morning.”
“No, she is gone.”
A deeper pounding vibrated through Malcolm’s head, and he squeezed his eyes closed. “I’m certain she will return momentarily.”
