Deceived Read Online Free PDF Page A

St. Timothy Plantation. What will he have lost by our little ruse?” She smiled at her stepbrother. “I am so glad you agree with me, George.”
    â€œI do not know if I agree with you at all,” the young man answered her, “but I do know that once you have set your mind to something, Aurora, you will not change it easily, if at all. I think you are being foolish, because I believe you to be frightened of this sudden shift in your life. Papa wanted you to have this marriage, but if you will not have it, then I can do nothing more than attempt to see the family is not endangered by your foolish action. The duke shall have a Charlotte Kimberly to wed even if it is not the correct Charlotte Kimberly.”
    â€œPapa would be very proud of you, George,” Aurora told him. “He always said he wished he were your natural father instead of just your stepfather. He loved you and Cally every bit as much as he loved me. That is why he legally adopted you and gave you his name as well as that of your own dead father. I wish he had left you St. Timothy instead of leaving it to me. Then nothing would have ever changed.”
    George reached out and took Aurora’s hand in his. “I might bear Papa’s name, little sister, but I am not of his blood. It was blood that made his decision for him. As you have already said, he was proud of his family. I am well provided for, God knows, and he has requested in his will that the duke continue my tenure as manager and overseer of St. Timothy. I am good at it, Aurora! There is no reason the duke will not honor Papa’s request, and as long as the plantation remains prosperous, he will have no cause for complaint, will he?”
    Calandra settled herself back down on the floor with her two siblings, resting her head on her brother’s shoulder. The trio had been together for almost their entire lifetime, and loved one another dearly. If Oralia and Robert Kimberly had worried that their children would not get on, it was a notion dismissed in the first few minutes of their meeting, when Aurora had struggled from her nanny’s arms and run down the dock to welcome her new stepmother and siblings to St. Timothy. It seemed to those watching that the child was greeting her natural mother, brother, and sister, who had been away but a time. There had never been any jealousy between any of them.
    â€œThen we are agreed,” Aurora said. “Cally will marry the duke, bringing with her the plantation as a dowry. I will have Cally’s portion from Papa, and my mother’s family home. And George will have what Papa left him, and remain as manager.”
    â€œYou are absolutely certain this is what you want?” George questioned her. “Once Cally has been introduced to the duke as his bride, there can be no going back, Aurora. You do understand that?”
    She nodded. “I want to marry a man who loves me, George, not a man who is obligated to marry me. I know there are some who would think me a fool for it, but I do not care. I will go to England with Cally and the duke and see if I can find a gentleman who will love me. If I do not, then I shall return to St. Timothy to my own home.”
    â€œVery well, then,” George Spencer-Kimberly said. “Then it is indeed agreed between us that this is the course of action we shall take. I hope that the duke never finds out our little ruse.”
    â€œWhat of Mama?” Cally said. “She says she will not cooperate.”
    â€œAurora is right,” George replied. “When the duke’s vessel sails into the harbor, Mama will have no choice but to go along with us. If she does not, she risks everything. I do not like making her unhappy, but if Aurora will not have her duke, then this is the best direction for us to take if we are to preserve the family.”
    The brother and his two sisters joined hands.
    â€œTogether,” said George.
    â€œForever,” said