Page 30 of To Wed an Heiress
“Some.”
The breakfast tray on the nightstand was barely touched.
“I should send a message to Lennox that we need some more of his tincture,” Mercy said.
Ruthie closed her eyes again and leaned her head back. “That would be nice.”
“Perhaps Mrs. West has something for pain. Is it your arm?”
“I’m sore all over, Miss Mercy.”
“I’m going to find you something and then I’ll come back.”
Ruthie only tried to manage a smile again.
Mercy found her way down to the kitchen, thanks to two friendly maids she encountered along the way. Each of them greeted her with a smile and answered her question with a beautiful lilting accent. She wanted to engage all of them in further conversation just to hear them talk.
She peeked into the housekeeper’s office, found it empty, and went to the small dining room attached to the kitchen.
Two women sat there.
Mercy blinked, but it was no use. There were two Mrs. Wests sitting in front of her, both of them with brown hair, their blue eyes watching her with an expression of puckish humor.
“We’re twins,” both women said together.
She nodded, having come to that conclusion.
“We’ve met before,” the one on the right said. “Mrs. West.”
“She’s Jean,” said the woman on the left. “I’m Irene.”
Even now she could barely see any differences between the two women. Their smiles were identical. They had the same strong faces, the same square jaw and prominent noses.
“How does anyone tell you apart?” she asked.
Both women smiled at the same moment.
“I don’t work here,” Irene said. “Only Jean does. I work at Duddingston Castle, but I’ve come today because of you.”
“Me?”
The other woman nodded before pulling the letter out of her dress pocket. Mercy walked forward and took the letter.
“Lennox wanted me to give it to you,” Irene said.
Both women looked at her expectantly, so she opened the letter in front of them, read it, folded it back up, and placed it in her own pocket.
Instead of talking about the letter’s contents, she said, “Does the family own a donkey?”
The twins looked at each other and then back at her.
“I don’t believe so,” Mrs. West said. “What would you be wanting a donkey for, miss?”
She explained Ruthie’s belief in folk remedies and added, “She’s in pain this morning.”
“We’ve no donkeys, but we do have some medicine she could take. Would you like some of that?”
“I would. Thank you.”
