Chapter 4

• Amelia could still see her hazel eyes behind those of the green-eyed appealingly beautiful stranger, as if she was trapped inside. A terrified numbness settled over her. She was two people at once. But that was impossible, there had to be a logical explanation behind all this. She was dreaming! Yes, that was it, she'd never really awoken and left the bed. The disappearance of Alicia and Noah was also a dream. But as she continued to look at the glass, her own eyes faded and there were only those of her new self- wide, clear, and expressive.
• Was this real? She raised her hand to touch her face and felt it. She suddenly knew the identity of this new self! Her name was Katherine, Duchess Barnard. More than that, she was married to Duke Dane Barnard, one of Regency England's most feared gentlemen, and she'd gone back in time to perhaps the 1800s or something?
• But Sir Dane never loved Katherine for he already had a woman in his heart. He despised Katherine for she was the reason why he wasn't with the woman he loved. The woman he loved was from a rank lower than Katherine's so he had no choice but to make Katherine his bride-to-be. It was nothing but an arranged marriage.
• History revealed that their marriage was an arranged match, pure and simple, he should never have gone through it for he felt nothing for her. The real Katherine was deeply and irrevocably in love with Dane Barnard but he certainly did not feel the same. To him she would never be anything more than his wife that he took to oblige his father's long-standing friendship with her father. She was a property he never wanted. A self-centred and mendacious woman, she was nothing like the woman he would always love.
• Katherine committed suicide on her wedding night, at least that was what everyone thought even her but what she couldn't understand was how could all this happen to a modern New Yoker?
• Amelia's glance went to the table where a wedding ring shone in the glow of the candle. For an illusion, the flame seemed very real. She felt that if she reached out, she would feel its heat. And yet she was sure it was a dream.
• She suddenly felt dizzy from the potent mixture of knowledge and confusion swirling through her. She knew much about Katherine, but was aware she hadn't completely taken on this new self. Inside she was Amelia Smith, the second daughter of Sandra and David Smith. That was why she was sure it was all a dream. She must have read all this in one of the historical romances she couldn't get enough of, or maybe seen it in an old movie, and now her subconscious was recalling it in this weird dream.
• Well, whatever it was, it all felt strange that it was creeping the hell out of her for it was so real. She needed to get a grip on herself. The real Katherine must have been dead by now considering the wedding ring on the table.
• To her astonishment, a voice interrupted her thoughts. " Your grace? " A young woman asked with uncertainty. She was twenty-seven or twenty-eight and petite. Her clothes were poor, a white apron and a hairband or cap of some sort. She was probably a maid.
• Amelia just stared at her, not certain of what to say or how to react. Was she referring to her as Your Grace?
• " You have finally woken up! I knew you would wake up. Thank goodness! I was so scared something bad might've happened when the physician said he didn't feel any pulse. Are you okay? " Her voice was very English. She looked relieved as she said those words which made Amelia wonder what might have happened to Katherine for she never read any of this part in the history book.
• Who was this woman? Was she Katherine's maid?
• She knew she was waiting for her to respond, but she didn't know what to say. In a situation as incredible as this, the cat had more than gotten her tongue!
• Her silence perplexed the woman. " Did you hear me, Your Grace? "
• " Yes. I did. " Her voice was no longer modern Now York, but British and reserved. What the hell. It was her voice.
• " I would go and inform His Grace that you're awake. "
• " N..no, wait. What happened to me? "
• Amelia was curious as to what happened to Katherine, but referring to herself as Katherine made her feel weird.
• The woman was stunned, but replied with a bow. " Show me mercy, Your Grace. It was all my fault. I shouldn't have left your side. The guards found you in the lake and rescued you. "
• " The physician checked your pulse but you had none. Everyone thought you were dead because you didn't wake up for a whole day. "
• Amelia raised a brow. " And I woke up now? " The woman nodded her head.
• Katherine committed suicide by drowning which means…?
• " What year is this? " She blurted out the question and the woman raised her head to look at her in confusion.
• " Two years after Napoleon Bonaparte's defeat at Waterloo. "
• Amelia's jaw dropped. That was a long time ago!
• " 1817? " Amelia muttered. " What is your name? " she asked, curious.
• " I'm Abigail Walker, Your Grace. " Abigail replied even if the questions her master was asking her came as a shock to her. Is it possible that her master had lost her memories due to the fall in the lake?
• "Her surname is Walker? As in, Noah Walker's great grandmother. What the hell! " Amelia thought. There was a slight resemblance between the woman and Noah.