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Impossible. “Tavish killed Sorcha. Cut her up and mailed Callen the pieces.”
“Nay. While I lived with Callen as myself, one of my maids fed me the potion. I woke up as her, and she woke up in Callen's arms.” Bitterness seeped from her pores. “She’d fallen in love with him, you see. But the joke was on her. Tavish abducted my body with her in it. She died in agony before I could switch back.”
I reeled as I filled in the blanks. “And you kept quiet to avoid execution.” Something I, too, had done. Flattening a hand to my belly, I asked, “If what you’re saying is true, why are you telling me now?”
Her smile made a new appearance. “You aren’t a bad person. I’ve actually enjoyed getting to know you. And I’m appreciative of your kindness to my daughter. I just, I want you to understand why I did what I did. Why I’m doing what I’m doing.”
I gulped. Did she intend to kill me? “Where have you been since it all went down?” I asked, trying to buy time while arranging the jigsaw puzzle of information and events scrambling my brain.
“Here.” She stroked her hand over the hilt of a blade hanging at her side. “At first, I tried to seduce Callen. He fired me. To get back in, I was forced to make an exchange with Mackenzie. She died in the other maid’s body soon after.”
Mackenzie. Of course. So many things became clear. The maid’s concern for her boss’s little girl. Her willingness to speak with me when no one else would. Except, “Howdid you lure Isobel back to Scotland?” A trip she’d made without telling me.
“Isobel never left Scotland.”
I shook my head. “You’re lying. I saw pictures of her with my mother.”
“Aye, you did.” She gave me a get-with-the-program look. “You saw doctored photos, just as Callen did.”
No. No! “If you were Sorcha, you would’ve switched with Isobel before she switched with me. Or you would have switched with me.” I would’ve become Mackenzie, the trapped servant. She’d had plenty of opportunities to do it, but never had.
“You think I wished to bear his wrath?” Her dark eyes gleamed with a hint of madness. “Nay, I allowed you to burn through the worst of his hatred. And just in case you haven’t put all the pieces of my big reveal together, I’ll be taking over, now that he’s happy with his bride, whether I like you or not.”
How weird it was seeing myself resemble an evil villainess in a cartoon. “I assure you, he’s far from happy at the moment.”
“Oh. That.” She waved a dismissive hand. “His mood is about to take a drastic turn for the better.”
“Why?” I demanded.
She ignored me. “While you were busy wedding Callen, I was busy hiding Isobel. She believed she and Tavish had cooked up a plan to drain Callen of his money. This morning, I took over your body, she got trapped in Mackenzie’s, and Tavish killed her,” she explained, withdrawing a ring from her pocket and slipping the band over her index finger. A thin spike protruded from the center.
That sharp spike would have worried me, ifher wordshadn’t echoed inside my head. I was the one who’d wed Callen. Me, Elizabeth Darcy. We were married.
Astonishment caught me up in a whirlwind. I should have known. The timing tracked. The dreams. But I’d resisted the truth, not yet ready to face the complications. Now…
Comprehending I was the one who’d spoken vows to him, that he’d spoken vows to me…this changed everything.
Sorcha clocked my reaction and cooed, “Don’t think you get to keephim. Just be glad we texted your matchmaking momma pictures of your adventures, keeping her up to date on your romance with Tavish. She’s worried you’re about to throw away your career for a passing fancy, but I’ve almost got her convinced you’re living your best life.”
I ground my teeth. Hello, mole. “You are working with Tavish, even though he cut up your original body.”
“I am.” She stroked the hilt of the blade again. “But don’t worry. He’ll be suffering a tragic end soon enough.”
Was I supposed to suffer my own tragic end after we switched? Tension coiled around me, blocking every other emotion.Keep her talking.Think!“Does Gavina know you’re alive?”How could these two be related?
“Don’t be silly. You’ve met her. Do you truly believe she’s capable of keeping a secret?” Sorcha looked me over. Deciding where to strike?
I held out my hands to ward her off. “Why are you doing this? You don’t love Callen.” She couldn’t.
She took a step closer. “I birthed his only child, yet he refused to wed me. No matter who I’ve been, he’s never seen me. Never chosen me. He longed for onlyher. The fated one. No, I don’t love him. Not anymore. But Iwillhave the life I’m due. While he’s lived in luxury, I’ve toiled, allbut forgotten. That changes today. I will be queen, a mother to my daughter, and finally seize control of my life.”
Control? That’s what this was about? “So you’ll switch places with me and toss me in a grave with Isobel and Mackenzie.” I laughed without humor. “Callen will know you aren’t me. He still won’t want you, and he’ll never trust you. Not after you sent him those photos.”
“This has been your problem from the beginning,” she said, as if she felt sorry for me. “You’ve never seen the big picture. Soon, he’ll realize those pictures were doctored and come running, eager to apologize.”
Dang. Impressive move. “Let me guess. You’ll live the life of your dreams.”
“Exactly,” she answered, unrepentant. “I’ll help my adoring husband conquer our enemy, then I’ll conquer my adoring husband, and no one will ever again take what’s mine.”
