"Many actresses and actors have that ability, and they can turn it off when they choose to," he said, unimpressed. His eyes narrowed. "When Lady Graham introduced us, you recognized me, though you tried to conceal your reaction."
"That wasn't recognition, but alarm," she said tartly. "You were glaring at me as if I were a cockroach."
"Surely not a cockroach," he said with an involuntary smile.
"Your expression was enough to terrify any innocent female." She went to stand by the fire, her head bowed. "I don't know what is between you and Kristine, and frankly, I don't want to know. My only desire is to be left in peace."
"I'm still not convinced that you have a sister." He folded his arms and leaned against the wall, regarding her thoughtfully. "Since my experience is that you are a fluent liar, I'll need stronger evidence than your unsupported word."
She raised her head and gave him an icy glance. "I can't see why the burden of proof should be on me. I was minding my own business when you assaulted me."
Good God, what if she really was an innocent stranger who had never seen him before? An appalling thought. "If you're telling the truth about having a twin sister, I'll owe you a groveling apology."
A hint of smile showed in her eyes, as if the prospect pleased her. "Prepare yourself to be humbled, Lord Strathmore, because Kristine is as real as you are."
As she became more relaxed, Kathryn paradoxically seemed both more and less like the woman he knew. She had the familiar quicksilver intelligence, yet it was coupled with a cool reserve that was new to him. Of course, an actress could simulate that.
He was more likely to get information by being conciliatory instead of accusing. "I know it's an impertinence on my part, Lady Kathryn, but would you be willing to explain why you and your sister are leading such different lives?"
At the implication that he had accepted her story, she relaxed even more and took a seat by the fire. "It's really quite simple. My father was the fourth Earl of Markland. The Traverses have never had any distinction apart from charm, wildness, and a tendency to produce identical twins. The family seat, Langdale Court, was in Westmoreland."
He took the chair opposite her. "Was?"
She sighed. "My father inherited a load of debts and promptly piled on a mountain of his own. The house was falling about our ears when we were growing up. My mother died when we were ten, and after that we ran wild. If some of the ladies in the neighborhood hadn't taken an interest in us, we would have been complete heathens. Papa managed to hold off the bailiffs when he was alive, but after his death five years ago, the estate went to auction, the title went to a second cousin in America, and Kristine and I were left penniless."
"Your father was so irresponsible that he made no provisions for your future?"
"Thinking about the future was not in his nature," she said dryly. "I suppose he thought that eventually he would dower us with the winnings from some card game, but he never got around to it. My mother was a vicar's daughter who was disowned after eloping with my father, so there was no help from her side of the family either. Kristine and I were in the position of any other young ladies of good birth and no fortune."
"Which is not a good position at all."
"Precisely. One can marry, find work, or become a poor relation existing on charity."
"Marriage would seem the logical choice. You are both very attractive young women."
"It takes a great deal of beauty to overcome the lack of a dowry," she said cynically. "And there were… other reasons."
He wondered what they might be, but refused to let himself get sidetracked. "Is that when you came to live with Lady Jane?"
She nodded. "Fortunately, Aunt Jane had inherited a modest independence from her grandmother, enough to maintain an establishment here in London. I was happy to accept when she offered us a home, since I don't think I would make a very good governess, and I certainly wasn't qualified to do anything else."
When she fell silent, he prodded, "What about Kristine?"
She gazed into the dancing flames. "My sister is ten minutes older than I, and she inherited both of our shares of the Travers charm and wildness. She's too headstrong, too independent to settle for a quiet life with a blue stocking aunt. She had always loved acting and performing, and she often organized plays and concerts. So she decided to throw propriety to the winds and try for a career in the theater."
"And so the two of you become classic examples of good twin, wicked twin."
Missing the irony in his tone, she said sharply, "Kristine is not evil, simply braver than most. She would never take the coward's way out."
Was that how Kathryn saw her own life-as the coward's way out? "The theater may not be evil," he said mildly, "but it is an unusual choice for a gently bred girl. Her reputation would be destroyed."
"Kristine said what use is a reputation when it comes to putting food on the table? If she was going to be poor, she might as well enjoy herself. She chose to use a stage name to avoid embarrassing the family, not that there is much family left to embarrass. It took her several years, but as you know, she's now doing very well."
"Do you keep in close touch with her?"
Expression troubled, Kathryn turned her gaze back to the fire. "Though Aunt Jane has radical political views, her personal moral standards are of the highest. She strongly disapproved of Kristine's decision and forebade her the house. That made it… difficult for me to see my sister."
"In other words, you had to choose between your twin and having a roof over your head," Lucien guessed. "Difficult."
"Not at all. Kristine effectively made the decision for both of us, just as she always made decisions in the past."
The pain in her voice cut too close to the bone for Lucien's comfort. "Surely she misses you as much as you miss her."
Kathryn's face shuttered. "That is neither here nor there, Lord Strathmore. You wanted to know why my sister and I lead very different lives, and now you do. I'll thank you not to spread the information. Jane would not like it to be public knowledge that Cassie James is really a black sheep Travers."
"Your aunt sounds like a bit of a tyrant."
"She has been very good to me," Kathryn said with even greater coldness. "I will not countenance criticism of her."
He admired her loyalty and hoped it was rewarded in kind. Despite her prickliness, there was a vulnerability about Kathryn that made him want to protect her-even though he was still not convinced that she wasn't a bald-faced liar.
"Though actresses can happen in even the best-regulated families, I understand why Lady Jane would rather not advertise the connection. However, since you are identical twins, trying to conceal the relationship seems like an exercise in futility."
She shrugged. "Not really. While we are generally considered attractive, we have no single, distinctive feature like red hair or unusual height. When Kristine performs, she wears costumes and cosmetics so that she scarcely looks like herself, much less like me. Since my circle of acquaintance is small, there are few people in a position to notice the resemblance. No one has made the connection yet."
He smiled. "I take your point, but you do yourself and your sister less than justice. Though your features may not be flamboyant, the total effect is… memorable." His gaze went to the heavy coil of hair at her nape. If loosened, it would fall past her waist. "For example, your hair might be dismissed as merely brown, but it is still lovely. Thick, shiny, and shimmering with gold highlights."
She touched her head self-consciously, then stopped in midgesture. "I should have thought of it sooner-our hair is the one obvious difference between my sister and me. Mine has never been cut, but Kristine shortened hers to make it easier to wear wigs." A triumphant gleam showed in her eyes. "Even the cleverest of actresses couldn't grow this much hair in the interval since you last saw my sister, Lord Strathmore. Does that finally convince you that we are two different women?"