The Fraudulent Duchess | ONC 2022

Chapter Ten | The Truth

     The following morning, I was in my bedroom packing my belongings. I planned to leave that evening. I had not told Lady Gwendoline my plan; I spent the previous night writing letters. One for her, and one for Lord Winton. They both explained what happened with the Duke of Bedford, why I felt the need to leave and thanked them for their kindness. In Lady Gwendoline's letter, I added a part about how much I admired her attitude and that I would miss working for her. With the money from the Dowager Duchess, I did not have to go back into service. But if I did, I knew that I would never have employers as kind as Lord Winton and Lady Gwendoline.
I was sad to leave the Winton Estate. I had worked there for three years, and it was the best household that I had worked for. The rest of the staff had been friendly, Lord Winton was a fair employer, and Lady Gwendoline was the most interesting mistress ever. She was possibly the most interesting person I had ever met. Apart from the Dowager Duchess.
I was unsure what the next chapter of my life would hold for me. Perhaps I could work in a shop and find some rooms to rent. The hours would be better than a life in service, and I would be able to have a life outside of work. Since I had been in service since I was a girl, I never had a life apart from work.

A knock at the door pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked up as the door opened and the Dowager Duchess of Kimberly slipped in, shutting the door behind her.
"Your Grace!" I exclaimed, forgetting that she thought I was the Duke's wife. "I mean...I was..."
"You do not have to pretend any longer, dear," she said with a kind smile.
"I beg your pardon?"
"You might be Cecil's wife, but you are not the daughter of a baron."
My heart dropped; someone discovered our secret. It was bad enough that someone discovered my deceit, but the Duchess found out, the scariest person I knew.
"Your Grace..." I began.
"Susan, please, let me be the one to start," she interjected.
"Of course, Your Grace."
"I have known since the beginning, or well, nearly since the beginning. After the supper that we had."
"Was my acting so bad, Your Grace?"
"Not at all. Well-bred women have acted worse than you. No, one of my servants recognized you, and I heard it from my lady's maid. At first, I was not sure if it was true or not, after all, my servant thought you looked familiar. There was no guarantee. However, it caused me to have suspicions. Then when the Viscountess of Taywards told me how nervous you seemed at her ball, I felt as if my suspicions were confirmed. Even if it was your first ball as a married lady, debutantes go to balls."
"I am so sorry for lying to you, Your Grace."
"It is not your fault, I am sure. It was Cecil's idea, correct? He assumed I would be a snob about him marrying a maid?"
Her question caught me off guard. I could lie to her and tell her that the Duke and I were married. However, I was tired of lying. Especially after turning down the Duke's proposal. I was about to embark on a new journey. I was not sure if I would be able to live with the guilt of knowing that I lied to the Duchess' face again and took off with her money. Although I was scared about what she might do to the Duke if I told her the truth.
I did not know what to do. I could ease my own conscious and tell her the truth, but land the Duke in trouble. Or I could continue to lie, protect the Duke, and let him clean up the mess. Instead, I began to weep. I felt too nervous; the Duchess scared me and I did not know how to answer.
"My dear, whatever is the matter?" The Duchess exclaimed. "There is no reason to cry, I am not cross with you."
"But you ought to be, Your Grace," I sobbed.
"Why is that? Because you said that you were the daughter of a baron?"
"No," I replied, no longer able to hold it in after her last question. "Because not only am I not the daughter of a baron, but I am not married to His Grace!"

I sank onto my bed, no longer caring that it was impolite to do in front of a duchess. I buried my head in my hands and continued to weep. I felt the bed sag beneath me, and then an arm wrapped around my shoulders.
"There, there, it is all right, dear," she whispered.
The Duchess' kindness made me cry harder. I did not deserve her pity, I did not deserve her kindness. I lied to her face, and the Duke and I stole her money. However, I eventually used up all of my tears and began to wipe the remaining ones away. I looked over and saw the Duchess staring at me with concern.
"Now, perhaps you can explain to me what is going on?" The Duchess requested.
I nodded, took a deep breath, and finally revealed the truth to her. I did not leave any details out, I could no longer hold any secrets in me. I explained how I overheard the conversation between the Duke and Lord Winton. I retold the deal that the Duke offered to me after he realized that I knew his estate was in trouble. I briefly talked about my training with Lady Gwendoline, as that was less important to the story. She already knew about the dinner and most parts of the ball. Although I added how out of place I felt, so I started to regret the plan. I recounted yesterday's events and how the amount of money shocked me and then the Duke proposed to me. I concluded by saying that I rejected him, and I planned to leave the area for good.
I thought that the Duchess would scream, storm out of the room, or even slap me for the deceit. However, when I finished telling the story, her expression had not changed. She was still concerned.
"My great-nephew is rather foolish. Foolish and brilliant," the Duchess muttered.
"I am so sorry for deceiving you, Your Grace," I replied. "I saw how upset His Grace was at the prospect of losing his home, that I wanted to help him."
"Of course, I understand, Susan. That was incredibly kind of you."
"You are not angry with me?"
"Not at you. And I am irritated with Cecil, but I am not angry."
"But we lied to you."
The Duchess let out a sigh, "It might be hard to explain. But Cecil has never taken care of the estate. He was young when his father died. And he did not pay attention to the accounts. I assumed that he would finally take responsibility as he got older, but he did not. In a way, Cecil concocting this plan is the closest that he has managed to being responsible. It was a foolish plan, but he put thought into it. So it is brilliant at the same time."
"He did work hard on planning it, Your Grace," I nodded.
"And I say that he is foolish because he went through all this trouble when he could have come to me. I might seem intimidating, but I care about my great-nephew and my family's estate. If he came to me and explained the situation, I would have helped him out financially."
"Oh. So, he could have spared all of us quite a bit of trouble."
"Cecil can be dramatic when he wants to be. And he is a proud man; he does not like to ask for help. The fact that he asked you for help shows his growth. Perhaps this is the start of a new journey for him."
"Speaking of a new journey," I said, pulling the envelope out of my wallet. "Now that you know the truth, I want to return the money to you. It is not right that I keep it."
The Duchess shook her head and pushed the envelope back towards me.
"Keep it," she ordered.
"But..." I started.
"Susan, you do not realize how much respect I have for you. You risked your reputation to help Cecil. You turned down a proposal from a duke because you wish to follow your heart and marry for love. Marrying Cecil would ensure you a comfortable future, but you turned him down because you do not wish to be in a loveless marriage."
"And I do not wish to continue lying to people, Your Grace."
"Either way, it is admirable. You are turning down the life of a duchess. A real one this time."
I could not help but giggle. Perhaps the Duke's way of making jokes was hereditary.
"I wanted to give that money to Cecil's wife so that she has some independence," the Duchess reminded. "So I want you to keep it so that you can move on and live independently."
"Are you sure, Your Grace?" I replied, shocked at her generosity.
"Of course, I am. And here..."
The Duchess fished out her wallet and handed me a few more banknotes. I tried to refuse them, but she gave me a harsh enough glare that made me rethink starting an argument.
"Thank you, Your Grace," I gasped, as I slid the money into the envelope. "I do not know what to say."
"Then do not say anything," she smiled. "Just promise me that you shall continue to be a strong, independent woman. We need more girls like you in the world."
"I promise, Your Grace."
"Good."
The Duchess rose to her feet, and I followed suit.
"I do not know if we shall meet again, Susan," the Duchess informed. "But it has been nice getting to know you, and your story. I wish you every bit of luck and happiness in the world."
"Thank you, Your Grace," I replied. "For everything."
"Good luck, dear."
"Thank you, Your Grace."
"Well, I best get going. I think I shall swing by the Bedford Estate and have a chat with Cecil. Goodbye, Duchess."
"Goodbye, Your Grace," I smiled.
I bobbed a curtsy as the Dowager Duchess of Kimberly left the room.

I took a deep breath as I digested the interaction I just had then resumed packing, with a smile on my face. I was sad to leave the Winton Estate. But I was ready for my next adventure.