Today's Wednesday Wonders features
Substitute Bride
by Margery Scott
Book Description:
He married the wrong twin!
Six years after Cole Berringer goes west to build a new life, he writes to his childhood sweetheart, Sarah Main, and proposes marriage. But instead of the woman he left behind, her twin sister, Elizabeth, arrives in Colorado to take her place.
Elizabeth Main has loved Cole for years, but has always known she isn’t the woman he loves, so when her twin refuses his marriage proposal, she grabs at the chance to make her dreams come true.
As the weeks go by, Cole and Elizabeth grow closer, and Elizabeth is convinced it’s only a matter of time until Cole returns her love.
But then, Sarah arrives …
Six years after Cole Berringer goes west to build a new life, he writes to his childhood sweetheart, Sarah Main, and proposes marriage. But instead of the woman he left behind, her twin sister, Elizabeth, arrives in Colorado to take her place.
Elizabeth Main has loved Cole for years, but has always known she isn’t the woman he loves, so when her twin refuses his marriage proposal, she grabs at the chance to make her dreams come true.
As the weeks go by, Cole and Elizabeth grow closer, and Elizabeth is convinced it’s only a matter of time until Cole returns her love.
But then, Sarah arrives …
Excerpt:
“Eighty-seven,
eighty-eight …” Elizabeth stifled a yawn as she sat at her dressing table later
that night and ran the mother-of-pearl hairbrush through her long blonde hair.
Suddenly, the door
burst open. Sarah hurried in and let out a distressed sigh as she flopped down
on the bed, her frilly chemise and pantaloons flapping.
Elizabeth turned
from the mirror to face her sister. “What’s wrong? Is Aunt Meg trying to marry
you off to old Lucius Grant again?”
Sarah grimaced and
gave an exaggerated shudder. “I don’t understand why Aunt Meg is so insistent I
marry him. Why not you? It’s not as if he’d even know the difference.”
“I don’t
understand it either, but I admit I’m glad I’m not the target of her
matchmaking at the moment. After her attempts to marry me off to Edgar
Whittington, only to discover he has a wife and children tucked away in the
country …”
“That was
unfortunate for him, but providential for you,” Sara put in.
“It was, and since
then, Aunt Meg has allowed me time to recover from my broken heart.” Elizabeth
began to laugh, and within seconds, she and Sarah were lost in fit of giggles.
When they finally
composed themselves, Sarah gave Elizabeth a stern look. “The problem is that
since you’ve escaped her clutches for now, she’s turned her attention to
marrying me off. I’m almost tempted to marry Cole just to avoid Aunt Meg’s matchmaking.”
Elizabeth’s throat
tightened. Surely Sarah wasn’t serious. She’d made it very clear earlier that
she’d rather wither away as a spinster than live in the Colorado wilderness.
“But even marriage to that fuddy-duddy
couldn’t convince me to go to Colorado. Cole has been out in the sun too long
if he thinks I’d ever consider his proposal,” Sarah said, running her braid
through her fingers.
“But you were
sweethearts,” Elizabeth said, as if she needed to remind Sarah of her
relationship with Cole. “You must have loved him.”
Sarah waved away
Elizabeth’s comment. “He loved me, and I must admit I was flattered by his
attention. He was very handsome, after all. But love? Heavens, no. Can you
imagine being married to a man like Cole? And worse, living on a ranch in the
middle of nowhere?”
Yes, Elizabeth
thought, her mind wandering. She’d imagined just that for years. Well, not the
ranch part, but she had fantasized about being married to Cole and living with
him in Colorado every night after she said her prayers.
Now, she could add
a ranch into her imaginings along with space, fresh air, land. Working beside
him on his ranch, raising his children, building a life together. Her heartbeat
quickened at the thought. If only Cole had loved her instead of Sarah. If only
the letter had been addressed to her …
“I’m going to
bed,” she announced, slamming the brush on the silver tray on the dressing
table.
Bounding up, she
crossed the room, slipped out of her silk wrapper and draped it across the foot
of the bed. Sliding under the sheets, she turned her back on her sister lest
she see in her eyes the longing for something she’d never have. “Please turn
down the lamp before you leave,” she muttered as she pulled the blanket over
her shoulders and closed her eyes.
Hours later,
Elizabeth’s eyes sprang open. The house was silent, the fire had died, and
faint moonlight filtered through the curtains at the window.
An idea had
germinated somewhere in her subconscious as she slept. She and Sarah were
twins. They’d spent many hours giggling about how they’d fooled not only their
parents, but the servants, their tutors, their friends.
Why not Cole?
Could she fool him, too? Her heart skittered inside her chest. It was a
dangerous plan, one that could ruin her reputation and leave her homeless. Yet,
excitement gnawed at her at the thought of becoming Cole’s wife.
Sarah didn’t love Cole, so Elizabeth’s actions wouldn’t hurt her. Sarah
would never leave Summerton. So why couldn’t she take Sarah’s place and make
her own dreams come true?
There was no doubt
in her mind that what she was considering was wrong. Yet if it made Cole happy
to think she was the woman he loved, and she was married to the man she’d
dreamed of for years, how could it really hurt anyone?
She’d loved Cole
since the day she’d discovered the difference between boys and girls, and her
prayers that he’d somehow discover he loved her, too, had gone unanswered. Now,
this opportunity had presented itself, an opportunity to make her dreams come
true.
Yes, it was
deceitful, and she was sure her plan was a sin, but the temptation was too
strong to resist.
She would go to
Colorado. She would become Sarah. And she would marry the man she’d always
loved.
About Margery Scott:
Margery
is the author of more than twenty romance novels, novellas and short stories.
She lives on a lake in Canada with her husband, and spends as much time as
possible travelling in search of the perfect setting for her next book. When
she’s not writing, you can usually find her wielding a pair of knitting needles
or a pool cue.
Connect with Margery
Scott:
Purchase Links:
Amazon
| iBooks
| Nook | Amazon Author Page
