Be My Lady

n i n e

Back to Monday, Victoria was still in the marketplace. The sky went covered with thick grey clouds and the gale was colder than before. People are walking around the market. Street children played games and merchants sold any porcelain and silver products. Victoria strode across the street, wandering. A young boy dashed towards the store, his feet kicked into the pool of mud. The dirt sprinkles on her skirt and she moaned. Victoria shook her head and continued walking.

A drop of water lands on her nose. Then another droplets came until when she looked at the sky, rain bursted into the atmosphere. She's now wet. Victoria could sense that her body started to shiver. She wrapped her arms around herself. Her dress was fully wet and dull. She could see everyone running under the rain. Victoria's feet was dipped into the brown water. A carriage came faster as the horse gallops towards her. She didn't notice and was hit by its feet. Sharp pain was on the left side of her waist. She groaned even more. "The heck why they hit me like this?"

She kneeled down to the ground as her knees were splashed with mud. The carriage didn't tend to move away. A man came out with the coachman. He's somewhere at sixties. His eyes were filled with concern as he saw Victoria lying on the mud. He send his guards to lift her up and take her to the carriage. Before the last blink of her eye, what she saw was the metal wheel of the carriage.

∞

A ting sounds from nearby. Victoria was awaken from her deep sleep. Her stomach ached a bit and she saw her torso wrapped with white lining. She was lying on a simple single bed. She jolted when the door bursts open, revealing a short young lady with black dress and dirty white apron. Her head was tied with a maidservant bonnet.

"Hello... How are you?" She asked, bringing a tray of crackers and a glass of cow's milk. She places the tray on the table beside Victoria. Victoria's eyes blinked and were still droppy.

"I'm good but my stomach hurts."

"You're hungry, miss." She sat on the single couch nearby. "You have to take a rest from being attacked by my Master's horse."

Victoria's eyes glued on her. She took a cracker and ate it. "It's definitely delicious... Mmm" she shoved the remaining part of the cracker and swallowed. "Where are we?" She asked with confusion. The lady in front of her widened her eyes and spoke.

"I forgot! We're in the Knights Palace."

"So who's that guy helping me out—"

"Oh it's Lord Barrimore Knight." She answered. "And I'm Abigail, his junior nurse."

"I'm Victoria Ann." Victoria introduced herself. Her red locks fell over her face. She ran her hand over it and slipped her hair on her shoulder. Abigail came towards her, reaching out her hands on Victoria's cheeks and pinched them.

"You looked like my lord's daughter, Veronica. Red hair, lot's of freckles and green eyes!" She exclaimed. Giggled with delight, she compliments. "You're beautiful!"

Victoria went flushed. Her mind was spiralling with the words from Lexander. Beautiful. Beautiful girl...
"That's what we call dopleganger*."

"Eh what's that?"

Geesh... We're in early nineteenth century! She forgot that she's not in the modern Era. My goodness, Victoria!
"That's called as uhm like... Twinning?"

"Identical?

"Yes! You're right!" She points out and scratched her head. "Does she have a sister?"

Abigail held the glass of milk and gave it to her. "She had a sister and was suffering from yellow fever." 

"Then bedridden." She continues, sitting beside her on the couch. She huffed and sighed, looking at Victoria with her light brown eyes. "The Dowager had a plan for her."

Not after she said, the door bursts open again and a man who wore the butler's attire. "Miss Abigail, Sir Barrimore has called you to bring that girl."

"She's not a girl!" She snapped at the butler. "Jude, she's a woman!" Abigail got  up and helped Victoria to stand firmly. Victoria wobbled and held Abigail's arms.  "Sorry."

"That's okay, it's normal to be annoyed with someone." Victoria smiled sheepishly. They went through the corridor of servant's court. Walls were never been painted and greyish. There are many servants dashing across, back and forth. As the two of them stepped into the Hall, a man who saved Victoria was waiting with Jude beside him. Lord Barrimore Knight.

Barrimore wore green Victorian suit with a bowler hat. He stood tall, taller than her brother Kevin. His eyes were bluish green, like a dazzling jewels. "Pardon me for my horse—"

"It's alright, sir." Victoria forgives him while holding the white cloth. The hall was magnificent with engraved gold and crafted decors. Family painting was held on the wall. There is Sir Barrimore, his wife and two daughters and of course, the Dowager Lalia Knight.

"You can be my daughter's lady-in-waiting maiden." His lips tugged into a smile. They heard some footsteps coming. As he turned around, a woman ran towards Sir Barrimore. She had red curly hair and pale freckled face yet she's beautiful. She looks like Victoria.

"This is my daughter, Veronica Annaliza." Her father introduces his daughter to Victoria. When Veronica glances at Victoria, her eyes bulged in surprise and walked towards her.

"I'm Victoria Ann."

"Daddy!" She called. "She looked like me!"

"I don't think so... Veronica, I need to get rest for a while." Sir Barrimore tapped his daughter's shoulder and went to the huge staircase.

Victoria expected that Veronica would swooshed her out but her aura was strongly  sanguine. Veronica grabbed her hand and went to her bedchamber. "This is my bedroom." Veron shows Vic her bedroom. Awe was on her lips as she gazed around the bedroom. The walls were decorated with minimal flowers in a combination of peach and pale pink. There's a queen-size bed, a closet and the life-size window.

"Wow."

Veronica closed the door after Victoria stepped inside. "I have an idea." Veron quickly opened the closet and grabbed a green silk dress and tossed it on the bed. "Victoria."

"Yes."

"I need you to act like me." She places her hands on her waist. Veronica bit her lower lip and stared at her. "Please..."

"Why?" Act like her! No way! She haven't seen the Dowager and she even didn't know her. Vic saw pity in her eyes as she plead.

"I was been arranged for marriage with the Duke of Italy." She sat on the bed and sighed. Her red locks fell gently on her back. "I choose to love freely but—"

Veron's eyes shed tears as she was trying to control them. "I don't know how it feels like when you married him for your sister's sake."

Sister's sake, what?

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* Doppelganger. = This word was been officially used in 1851. (Merriam Webster Dictionary.)