The Contract Duchess, a Regency Romance: Key To My Heart Book 1

Chapter 17- Angela

It was dark in the room when she awoke, her eyes puffy and her mouth dry. She attempted to shift to reach for her bell, only to discover that she could barely twitch her hand, let alone force her arm to lift from the coverlet. It appeared that her anguish had stripped her energy to a degree she had not experienced since her pneumonia. The screech of frustration she released came out as no more than a whimper to her ears, and she despaired of any assistance before morning.

In the dim light from the embers in her fireplace, a shadow separated itself from the others near the wall and approached her slowly. She slid from frustration to fear with breathtaking speed, but could not even cower before the stranger in her bedchamber. The voice that emerged from the darkness chilled her still further with its ominous and unfamiliar tone.

"I had heard that your condition often leaves you bedbound, and here I am able to witness it for myself. How fortunate for me, and how fitting for you. Such a pity that you have been left here, abandoned and helpless as an orphan babe." The voice let out a cackle that would make a crone jump. "How ironic that I can now end your misery and my own in one swift motion, leaving my beloved free to marry me without legal hassles that might prevent his taking his title, as he ought."

The figure was nearly to the bed now, and Angela saw the glitter of a blade as the stranger raised a hand high overhead. I cannot let my life end this way! I need to get some time for someone to hear, to come and find this madwoman in my room! Her panicked brain swirled about, grasping for what she could do in her current state.

"Wait!" she cried out, her voice just a whisper in the shadowy room. "Please, who are you, and why are you here? What is your grievance against me, and who is your beloved? I do not know you, and I fear you may have mistaken me for someone else."

To her surprise, the figure stopped and her hand lowered slightly. Then the laughter of the mystery person filled the room, loud enough to echo slightly. When she calmed, she spoke again in the menacing tone as before, with an occasional arrogant lilt of one that has knowledge denied to others. "Of course you wouldn't know me. You hardly ever leave this house. You hadn't seen Derrick in years, certainly not recently enough to know that he was promised to someone else before that blasted will."

Angie's mouth gapped. Derrick had never mentioned an engagement to someone else. In fact, just a few days ago he had remarked about how he was sure that he had cared for her since they were children, as he had never even considered courting anyone in the intervening years, despite enjoying many balls each Season. Her mind raced, trying to determine who was lying to her, Derrick or this strange invader. If she could wager, it would be an easy choice.

"You are correct, Miss. My condition is such that I only rarely leave the house. I regret that we have never met before, but I am confused as to your presence in my bedchamber. Why would you not come and visit me in the daytime? Our parlor is a lovely room, I'm told, and a much more appropriate place to air grievances. Shall we move there?"

As she had hoped, her clearly impossible suggestion of moving to the parlor was greeted with more cackling laughter. "I may not know much of your condition, but it is clear to me that you cannot move even a few inches, let alone rise from your bed to get to your parlor. As for my presence here, I wished to be alone and unannounced for my plan to succeed. I must remove all impediments to my becoming the duchess I was meant to be, and that includes ending your life."

Heart pounding at this admission of intent, Angie forced herself to stay calm. She was beginning to suspect that Derrick's earlier note may have been written under duress, if indeed he had written it with his own hand. If she lived to do so, she would retrieve the letter and examine the handwriting more carefully. She had been too distressed by its contents to examine it closely, an omission that she greatly regretted now.