Defiant Impostor Read Online Free PDF Page A

she, a waiting-maid, former beggar and
pickpocket, possibly act the part of a real lady?
    It was true that through her seven years of service to
Camille her speech and manners had become proper. She had been taught to read,
write, and do some arithmetic by Camille's staid governess, Mistress Plumb, yet
she lacked any musical talent whatsoever and was all thumbs at
needlework—besides hating it anyway!—two prerequisites for refined ladies of
quality.
    She hadn't been trained to be a "decoration for
society" like Camille, although they had used to play that they were both
grand ladies until Lady Redmayne had caught them and lectured Susanna severely
on her correct place in life. What was even worse, she knew absolutely nothing
about tobacco! How could she, a bloody waiting-maid, run a huge plantation? She
was a fool to have sworn to enact this insane masquerade! Surely she could have
been more forceful in persuading Camille that it was sheer folly to even think
such a plan could work—
    Susanna started at the sharp rap on the door and fairly
flew out of the chair.
    "Who—who is it?"
    "Captain's mate, Miss Cary. I've been goin' 'round
to the passengers to tell ye that we've sighted land. We should make Yorktown
by tomorrow mornin' if the winds hold up. God be praised, I'd say! A good
ev'ning to ye."
    Land, Susanna thought, pacing the cabin before retaking
her seat rather shakily. Soon her lifelong masquerade would begin. Could she
manage it?
    All she had to do was remember the fervent plea in
Camille's eyes to have her answer.
    "What the devil's the matter with you, Susanna
Jane?" she suddenly chided herself aloud, slamming the flat of her palm
down so hard upon a side table that her skin stung. "You've never been one
to shrink from anything life handed you! Why don't you just accept your good
fortune and do the name of Cary proud?"
    Aye, and so she would, Susanna vowed, feeling more like
her normal optimistic self than she had since Camille's death.
    Preserving Briarwood was the least she could do for a
dear friend who had played a part in rescuing her years ago from an abusive,
drunken father and a miserable life of prostitution. Why, she owed it to
Camille! What better way to thank her for the happiness she had known in
Fairford, the sense of belonging, the security and comfort, and most of all,
their friendship? Perhaps this new life would even help her distance herself
from her bitter childhood memories and the terrible nightmares that still
plagued her; nightmares that caused her to wake in a sweat, sometimes
screaming, her flesh on fire from a phantom lashing that seemed terrifyingly
real.
    Susanna shuddered and quickly shoved away her thoughts
of bad dreams, purposely reflecting instead on what lay ahead for her. She was
a quick learner and a good mimic. Surely if she watched other young ladies, she
would manage to discern the fine points of Virginia's social behavior.
    Suddenly Susanna felt a nervous flutter in her stomach
as she recalled the reason Camille's father had summoned her home to Briarwood.
    James Cary's last letter had said it was time his
daughter found a husband, and he had even mentioned that he had someone in
mind, although he hadn't given a name, writing instead that they would discuss
it when Camille arrived in Virginia in the fall. Oh, dear, that meant she was now to be wed! Susanna thought.
And he wouldn't be the skilled tradesman of her long-held dreams, either. Not
anymore. Not for an heiress, and a very rich one at that.
    Lady Redmayne had thoroughly coached Camille on the
criteria for finding a suitable husband once she was in Virginia, stringent
rules which Susanna knew she must now adopt. She could still hear the
baroness's dignified recital as if it had been directed straight at her.
    "An heiress like yourself, Camille, must marry
into both money and position. Marrying for love is a luxury only the poor can
afford. That is not to say, of course, you will forego your share of happiness.
You