She felt as though the beautifully meticulous room swiveled uncontrollably as she stared in disbelief at the tiny, blond woman regarding her through a set of dark, soft eyes, eyes that amazingly mirrored her own.
"How can this be?" Ginelle breathed inaudibly, her mind struggling with incredulity and awe.
The woman addressed the two men in the room, "Gentlemen, if you would give us a moment alone?" her voice was sweet like a melody without a single strand of white-blond askew, and her layers of skirts secure of any wrinkles. She was perfectly intact; magnificently impeccable.
The men nodded and quietly left the room. The woman motioned to a white sofa with a small, gloved hand. "Please, sit down." She suggested, offering a warm smile.
Ginelle did so, not once taking her eyes off the woman as she crossed the room, her skirts swaying mildly against the heavy carpet. "Mother?" the word escaped on its own accord.
There was a quick glimmer of pain in the woman's eyes and a slight quivering of her lower lip as she said, "If only it were so."
Ginelle frowned, suddenly puzzled. "You are not Anne?"
The woman shook her head.
Ginelle's frown deepened. "You are not my mother? How is that so when you resemble her perfectly...when you resemble me?"
The woman lifted her head and smiled faintly, "I resemble her so because I am her sister, her twin Amelia."
Ginelle exhaled sharply, stunned. "That cannot be. I was never told of you, of any relatives for that matter." She shook her head as she gathered abruptly to her feet, pacing aimlessly back and forth. "This just cannot be. If you are who you say you are, then that means you are my Aunt?"
Amelia nodded.
"Why was I never told of you? Why didn't you come for me?" she demanded, suddenly hurt that she spent nearly her entire childhood as an orphan.
Amelia stood than, clasping her gloved hands in front of her as she said painfully. "Your mother made me promise not to intervene."
"I do not understand."
"My sister was forced into a marriage she deemed incompatible. Lord Sterling was a relentless man with plans and my sister was a free spirit, incapable of being subservient. Your mother confided only in me and when I learned of her pregnancy, I begged my sister to flee, for her safety and your own."
"Why?" Ginelle urged despite having met Sterling herself.
Amelia's dark eyes met hers from across the room. "Lord Sterling was incapable of producing an heir and once your mother could no longer conceal her pregnancy, he would know that the babe she carried was not his, therefore revealing her infidelity."
"Would he have harmed her?" Ginelle asked.
"He was not a violent man." Amelia said, "But he was a man accustomed to getting his way, his reputation was essential and your mother was uncertain of how he would react once he learned of her pregnancy."
"And so she fled, with my father?"
Amelia nodded, smiling gently. "Your mother told me, it just made sense to run away with him, because she loved him."
Ginelle was saddened by the thought, knowing how her father had suffered a disquieting grief after her mother had died. "What happened afterward?" she asked.
Amelia cleared her throat, "Anne and Ross attempted a life together but 'twas difficult, after all, she was a married woman, the wife of a Baron, she couldn't go far without Lord Sterling trailing behind, he refused to let her go, I truly believed he loved her despite all she had done but his thirst for vengeance was far more overpowering than his love."
She paused a moment, reliving those memories as she relayed them quietly. "I was away in Paris when I learned of your mother's death." Her disheartened words affected Ginelle deeply, realizing just how painful it must have been for her.
"Even then you did not look for me?"
"When I asked of you, I was told you had died along with your mother. I was so devastated that it had taken me a very long time to come to terms with your deaths."
"Who told you of my supposed death?"
"Sterling."
Ginelle understood than. "Only too lure you away from me?"
Amelia nodded, "Precisely."
"When did you learn the truth?"
"When I returned from Paris, I visited Cambridge to collect your mother's belongings, among her remaining items, there was one particular piece missing, her locket."
Instinctively, Ginelle reached up and touched the precious trinket beneath her cloak. "You wanted her locket?"
She nodded and said as she reached up and withdrew an identical gold locket from around her neck. "She and I had the same locket given to us at birth by our mother; on the inside are tiny portraits of the other sister."
Ginelle gasped, "You mean the picture within mine is not my mother?"
She nodded, "You carry the locket with my portrait."
"And you have hers?"
She nodded and gently unclasped the locket, revealing her sister's photo. "I returned for her locket, to have it for keepsake but when I found it missing I was surprised by this. From the day she ran Anne had always feared for your fate. She told me once that she would pass her locket to you so that I would find you if ever something became of her. I questioned your death and knew that if you were truly alive, the locket would identify you."
She paused, meeting Ginelle's attentive stare. "Eventually I was informed of your father's murder. I had an inside source relaying information, including Sterling's initial plan to find you and use you to alleviate his revenge against your parents. I feared for your safety and knew not of your whereabouts until my son, Edric came to London and heard of your debut. He came to London in search of you; I kept away, fearing that if Sterling or a man he had hired would recognize me. I did not want to chance them finding you, so I stayed hidden."
Ginelle gasped, remembering the night she had first met Edric. "He was at the banquet."
Amelia nodded, "At my bidding."
"He came to Ashford?"
"I urged him to bring you to me. I was afraid for your safety. I was worried that Sterling and his man were getting close to finding you."
"How did you meet Dorian?" she wondered suddenly.
"Monsieur Dorian came to us." She smiled, "He sought Edric to seek you. Once Lord Sterling learned of his acquaintance with us, he released you, fearing we would reveal his crimes. My son is a very powerful man, very familiar with King George and Lord Sterling holds his title above all else, he would not risk anything to jeopardize that."
Amelia paused as she stared down into her gloved palms. "I cannot make amends for abandoning you. I wish for nothing more than for us to be family again."
"I am sorry if I seemed averse. This is all so very shocking to me but I do not fault you for any of it, you were misinformed, led to believe I was dead." Ginelle quickly assured. "You did not abandon me, you have searched for me all this time." She smiled as a surge of tears rushed to the brim of her eyes. "I would like very much for us to get to know each other."
Amelia nodded and the two women stood and tightly embraced. As Ginelle pulled away, Amelia reached up and gently removed her locket. She took Ginelle's hand and placed it in her palm. "Oh I couldn't possibly-"
Amelia shook her head as her fingers closed around Ginelle's. "You are her daughter. She would want you to have it." She smiled and slowly dropped her hand.
As she and Dorian left Amelia's home, she cradled the locket around her neck, the tiny portrait within, that of her mother.
**********
The ride back to Ashford was silent and the carriage carried an uncanny quiet. Ginelle was distinctively aware of Dorian's fixed stare but continued peering out the window in a desperate attempt to avoid him altogether.
"Are you well?" he asked suddenly, jolting her to awareness.
She nodded and proceeded to look out the window.
There was a pause. "Are you tired?" she sensed a sudden note of agitation in his voice.
She shook her head not once turning away from the window.
"Than tell me-" he growled, "-what outside that window has captivated your attention so?"
She bit down on her lower lip, resisting the impulses rushing up from her throat.
"Are you not pleased?" he asked, finally drawing her eyes towards him.
Ginelle frowned, "Pleased?"
He was perplexed by her response, "What troubles you?" his blue eyes studied her intensely. "Are you overwhelmed by the suddenness of all this?"
She was the happiest she had ever been but her happiness was overshadowed by lingering doubts.
"Do you plan to send me away?" she asked suddenly, unable to contain her emotions any longer.
He frowned, clearly taken aback. "What are you talking about?"
"Is that not why you took me to see my Aunt? Do you plan to force me from Ashford once the babe is born?"
His face darkened considerably as he leaned towards her, confounded. "Damn it woman, what are you saying?"
Ginelle felt a rush of tears as a fleeting thought of uncertainty brushed her mind. Was she wrong? "Is that not why you introduced us?"
His black brows knitted together with frustration and adamant confusion. "She is your family, Ginelle." He fell silent a moment as his blue eyes accessed her expression.
"Why would you think I would send you away?" When she did not answer, he reached out and took her hands in his own. "I thought you would be overjoyed to know you had family?" he asked, deeply puzzled by her reaction.
She gently pulled her hands from his and when she peered at him he was baffled to see tears. "I couldn't be happier." She shook her head as if to shake her mind of mindless notions and attempted a smile that didn't match the sadden gleam in her brown eyes. "I am overwhelmed by all this." She added but Dorian wasn't convinced, he sensed something deeply troubling her but she refrained from saying and his thoughts immediately shifted to other matters.
Victoria.
Did she know?
She couldn't possibly. He had been cautious all along.
He settled back into the seat, his eyes locked heavily on Ginelle as he continued to watch her. She was not telling him everything but he feared he already knew her thoughts and for that, he fell silent and they continued onward to Ashford.
The next morning Ginelle awoke to an empty bed, the space next to her clearly untouched. She felt a maddening rush of tears but refused to acknowledge the pain surrounding her heart.
The sun barely peaked the horizon and he was absent, gone to cater to his mistress. She shoved the blankets away, disgusted and enraged that he would continue to treat her so mindlessly, foolishly proclaiming his love when he secretly sought his mistress' company.
She had to know if what Ellison had seen was true. Did Dorian secretly meet with his mistress, knowing what Victoria had done to her? Did he love her?
She was driven by anger and pain, torn between disbelief and uncertainty as to what to believe. She had to find out the truth and unravel this mystery herself.
With that in mind, she dressed quickly, careful to not wake the servants as she slipped quietly through the manor. She knew once she reached town that the house would fully be aware of her absence.
With Henry's reluctant assistance, he aided her into a carriage and started towards town. Ginelle pondered her mind for places Dorian would go and could think of none other than the Eastern Harbor.
She was a bit apprehensive of going to that particular part of town, after her last encounter she feared going alone despite Pierino's certain death. She tried convincing herself that no harm would come to her so as long as she remained close to Henry whom vowed very tenaciously that she would not leave his sight.
When the carriage finally rolled into town, she was startled to find it bustling with inhabitants. She reached up and gripped her mother's locket, slightly comforted by the tiny trinket as her unease heightened.
She hadn't been aware that the carriage had stopped until Henry appeared at her side, a cold draft hitting her face uncomfortably. "We're here, Miss." He extended a hand to her and he helped her down. "Now you stay by my side or milord would surely have my head for this." His eyes moved warily around the crowd as he stood protectively at her side.
Ginelle took a few steps away from the carriage, old Henry following diligently close as her eyes flowed along the crowd. After several moments of surveying and finding nothing she started to turn away, but a flash of red in her peripheral caught her attention across the street.
She felt a sharp intake of breath at the sight that greeted her. For a moment she wanted to dislodge the image, to contemplate any other reason for Dorian being there, his arm supporting the satin-gloved hand resting lovingly in the crook of his arm, and the warm smile curling his sensual lips as he peered affectionately down at the red-haired woman clinging to his side.
She hadn't realized she had swayed on her feet until Henry steadied her. "Miss, are you alright?"
His words faded into the unknown, nothing was forefront but the couple moving along the street towards the docks. She was outraged but the heaviness on her heart overcame all the powering feelings and emotions coursing through her.
Dorian had lied to her!
The woman at his side was none other than Victoria Petroff.
*********