The Substitute Bride | Ch 1-4 preview

2. The nuptials

Scarcely able to breathe from nerves, Lily tried to gather her courage as Betsy helped adjust the heavy lace veil over her face. Her own hand trembled as she fixed by pinning it with a pearl hair ornament, a wedding gift from her cousin.

"I can't take that, it must be valuable. Aunt Maud will notice it's missing," Lily protested.

"She won't. She'll think I wore it, remember?"

They stood back to review the finished ensemble. Lily felt like a white ghost and was sure her face was even paler than her gown.

"You look lovely," Betsy told her. "The gown fits you perfectly, it suits your figure much better than mine." She could afford to be generous now that her younger cousin was relieving her of this terrible fate.

Lily's head was in such a spin that she barely gave a thought to how the gown looked or felt. But with the veil to disguise her face, they might just get away with this. It wouldn't deceive anyone who saw the two cousins side by side, but were the servants to glimpse Lily by herself they might be satisfied that she was Betsy.

"What will you do?" Lily asked Betsy. "They'll expect you to attend me."

"I'll stay quietly up here. You can mention to John that I - that Lily - is unwell and wishes to be undisturbed. He's so hard of hearing that he won't recognise it's the wrong voice behind the veil."

John was Sir Robert's steward, an aged retainer who had managed the other servants and household for many years. He was a kindly old fellow, assiduous in his duties, and Lily hated to deceive him.

But needs must. Feeling very alone, she made her way down the staircase and crossed towards the chapel. The house was cold and draughty: fewer fires were lit when Sir Robert and Lady Maud were away.

John met her and bowed. "Miss Elizabeth." He had always seemed the least censorious of Betsy's dishonour, his eyes saddened rather than scandalised when she had returned home in disgrace. He had known her since infancy: were it not for the uncrossable boundaries between family and servant, he might nearly have been a kindly great-uncle.

He had shown kindness to Lily too when she had first arrived there, grieving her father and missing her home, and assailed with constant, pointed reminders of her uncle's charity in taking her.

"Your cousin is not with you?"

Lily mumbled the untruth about a severe headache. It was unsettlng to be lying about herself.

John paused for a moment. His white hair had grown sparse but he still stood upright and kept his black uniform as impeccably smart as possible. "It's not my place, Miss Elizabeth, but..."

He seemed to waver and then straightened, extending his arm. "I can't have you walk up there alone. Let them say what they will."

It was the most defiant he had ever been, but this was the last time he would probably ever see his young mistress. Lily felt a pang of guilt that it was he wrong young woman that he offered to escort.

Gratefully she took his arm and they stepped together into the chill of the chapel. The altar at the far end glowed softly with candles. There were no flowers.

Lily kept her head bowed, hardly daring to look up. She had suddenly realised that she might have to lift the veil up at some point and what then? John would doubltess see, what would he do?

For now she had to brazen it out.

It was only a small chapel but the walk up the aisle seemed the longest ever. Reaching the altar Lily looked up to see a tall, dark figure there.