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“Since when has it mattered what I have wanted? You talk about how much you sacrificed to give me a better life, yet you never once asked if it was what I wanted, and you certainly never listened when I told you that it wasn’t. Frankly, what you did was for yourself so that you could feel accomplished in something, and you would do far better if you simply admitted that to yourself.”

Diana stepped away from her sister.

“I have only ever done what I thought was right,” she whispered. “I have given my all to make sure that somehow you were given more chances than I ever was. You can call that what you wish, but it was not simply so that I could claim your triumphs as myown, and it was not so that I could feel accomplished. It was out of love for you, and hope that you would at least have the life that I never saw for myself. If you want to see that as this great, horrible, selfish thing, then so be it.”

They looked at each other for a moment. This had been their first argument in all of their lives, and Diana hated it, but she also could not help but wonder just how long Samantha had been feeling this way.

“I am a terrible sister, aren’t I?” Samantha whispered suddenly, and it was as though she was a little girl once more. “You saved me from a marriage that I did not want, gave your life to help me, and now I am calling you selfish. I am evil.”

“You are not evil, you are simply confused,” Diana replied, laughing shakily. “I do not like having this dispute with you any more than you do, you know.”

“Then we should stop.” Samantha nodded. “Because this is awful. I am not even angry with you, just angry that—that for all of my supposed intellect, I do not know what to do with myself.”

“Flee to a monastery, it appears.”

Samantha laughed and then sighed, sinking into a chair.

“It has not been my brightest moment, I must admit. It is only that men have ruined my life, thus far, and so I thought that atleast in a nunnery, I would be with women and be able to not see a man again.”

“That is not exactly how that works.” Diana laughed. “Regardless, I may not agree with it, but if you wish to do this and you truly believe that you have no other choice, then I shall simply have to live with it. It is your life, and so it is time that you make your own decisions.”

Samantha was silent for a moment, and then she began to laugh, truly and heartedly.

“Do you know, it is only now that you have said that that I realize that I do not want this at all, I simply wanted to do something that nobody else would like.”

“Well, I certainly do not like it.”

“Nor do I. You are right, it is time for me to make my own decisions, but I cannot do that alone. I cannot act based on my emotions and nothing more, not when it means I might lose you.”

“Even with everything that you feel about me?”

“None of that is your fault.”

“We were not given much of a chance, were we?”

“No, but it could always be worse.”

“Yes, we could be the man that is soon to arrive with our father under the belief that he has some grand inheritance or other.”

Both sisters laughed, and then Samantha jumped up and embraced Diana tightly.

“I love you, Diana,” she whispered. “Please do not ever let that be put into question.”

“It never shall,” Diana promised. “Now, we ought to rest so that we can return home tomorrow.”

“Yes, that would be for the best. I do hope that the Duke is not concerned about our disappearance.”

“Believe me,” a voice said from the shadows, “he shan’t be.”

CHAPTER 27

Diana thought she knew what it was like to be frightened.

She had tried in vain since the fire all those years ago to forget how she had felt, but it had never been possible. She thought that, with time, that may prove to be a good thing, as she would know how to act the next time something caused her to feel afraid. She was wrong.

“Di!” Samantha yelped.

As Diana turned to her sister, she saw her being dragged away. Samantha clung to the door frame, but she was no match for whoever had grabbed her. She was gone before Diana had time to move.