Capture My Heart

Chapter Fifteen

"We found Adeline," Samuel began, "only not under the circumstances we were expecting."

"What do you mean?"

"Adeline is not married - she was a beggar on the streets of Lorcheston."

"What?" Suzanna exclaimed.

"There is more. Caden, her brother, was the one who sent her away. He kidnapped her."

"What?" she exclaimed again

"It is the truth. He forced her into a carriage one night and sent her to Lorcheston."

Suzanna could not help but shudder. "He sounds as awful as Wilson."

"Suzanna," Samuel said seriously. He stopped walking and turned to face her. Suzanna stared up at him, her heart pounding anxiously. Samuel raised his hands and rested them lightly on her shoulders. "There is much we were wrong about."

"How much?"

Just what had the Duke lied about?

"Wilson and Caden are twins. Wilson is only older than Caden by a few minutes."

The news was not particularly mind-blowing for Suzanna. She failed to see how it changed much - it was just another one of Wilson's lies.

Samuel observed her, seeming to realise she had not seen the relevance. "They are identical twins."

Now Suzanna raised her eyebrows. "I did not know of this."

"Neither did I," Samuel said, quickly squeezing her shoulders. "You must understand, Adeline swore that Wilson was not aggressive or violent. His brother, however, was typically more devious."

In a split second, everything aligned and made sense to Suzanna.

"No," she gasped. "You believe the Duke is actually Caden?"

Samuel nodded vigorously. "How many times had we thought that the Duke seemed different than previous encounters with him?"

"Too many," Suzanna murmured.

"Wilson was never married. Caden, however, was. He slipped up when he mentioned you 'turning out like his other wife'. When we asked Adeline if Wilson had ever been married she said no, but Caden had. That's when we realised what had happened."

"What happened to his wife? Where is she?"

Samuel dropped his hands away from her and grimaced. Immediately Suzanna knew she did not want the answer.

Tears choked up in her and she covered her mouth. Her heart grieved for the wife of Caden and the fate she had met.

"I'm sorry, Princess," Samuel said quietly.

"How could he?" Suzanna grieved.

"Evil always finds a way," he replied softly. She did not answer, too horrified and broken-hearted. Samuel stood silently, letting Suzanna process the news.

"What else did you find out?" she asked, trying to push away the flood of sadness.

"Not much. Adeline has not been in contact with her brothers for a long time."

"Surely my father would have known that they were identical twins, I wish he had told me."

"It is not his fault if he did not think the information was necessary. Perhaps he simply forgot about the similarities," Samuel offered. "Caden is not known to attend many societal events, it is probably rare for people to see the brother's together. And if it is not well known that Caden is dangerous, why would anyone feel the importance of telling us? It is not your father's fault, he did not know the betrothal would create danger."