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Queen Of Masks
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00:06¡Gracias!
00:31Clara actually did it.
00:37It didn't go the way she planned.
00:39He didn't touch her.
00:40Come someone!
00:42Beat her hard!
00:43By morning, the blood had soaked through her clothes.
00:46Her screaming had carried through the entire house.
00:49I thought about that.
00:51No, I... I can't.
00:53She didn't get angry.
00:53She just smiled and reached out to stroke my hair.
00:57Vera, I remember your mother's been unwell for a long time.
01:00She needs those medications every day just to stay stable.
01:03What do you think would happen if I asked mother to cut her off?
01:06You've always been such a good girl.
01:07Just help me with this one thing.
01:09Your mother will be taken care of.
01:10I promise.
01:13She brought me to Calloway Manor.
01:15My sister introduced me smoothly.
01:17This is my younger sister, Vera.
01:18She's been missing me, so I had her come stay for a while.
01:24Once you've given me a child, I'll find you a good match.
01:27You remember my cousin David?
01:28He's been married twice, but he's comfortable.
01:30You're not exactly a prize, Vera.
01:33Marrying him would be a step up.
01:35Over the next two days, she had me study her.
01:38Mimicking her mannerisms was manageable.
01:40Her voice was harder.
01:42I practiced for hours and still didn't quite have it.
01:46One evening, she slapped me across the face and screamed at me to pitch my voice higher, more like hers.
01:51When I still didn't get it right, she had me kneel outside.
01:56Vera, think hard out there.
01:58If you can't get it right by morning, I'm stopping your mother's medication.
02:06It was the first time I'd been close enough to really see his face.
02:09He was exactly as beautiful as everyone said in a way that felt almost unfair.
02:21He was wearing almost nothing under his coat.
02:23I'm so sorry.
02:23I pulled out my handkerchief and started blotting at his chest.
02:26Why were you kneeling out here?
02:28Did she punish you for something?
02:30I made a mistake.
02:32She wanted me to think it over.
02:34You don't need to explain what happened.
02:36Just go inside.
02:37If she asks, tell her it was my idea.
02:42Put that on.
02:43Don't get sick.
02:46I'll have it cleaned and returned to you.
02:48Don't bother.
02:50Keep it or throw it out.
02:52Either's fine.
02:55She gave me a book that afternoon.
02:57It's a book that teaches people how to make love.
03:00She sat across from me looking completely unbothered.
03:03Don't be shy.
03:05Study it.
03:05You'll need it.
03:07When he came back, she set a proper dinner.
03:09They ate together, the two of them, while I was dressed to look like her and taken quietly upstairs to
03:15wait in his room.
03:16She told me she'd put something in his drink.
03:22I put something in his drink.
03:23He wouldn't be able to resist.
03:27What happened after that was up to you.
03:29I gripped the edge of the covers and waited.
03:32After about half an hour, the door finally opened.
03:37I could smell the alcohol before he crossed the threshold.
03:40He wasn't walking straight.
03:41I stood and moved to steady him.
03:44I checked the mirror beforehand.
03:46In this situation, even I couldn't tell the difference between myself and my sisters.
03:51Why are you in my room?
03:54I pitched my voice high and thin, the way she drilled me.
04:00I missed you.
04:01He didn't respond, just kept watching.
04:04I gathered every nerve I had, reached out, and touched his belt.
04:09He inhaled sharply when I pressed my palms to his back.
04:13I pressed closer, buried my face in his chest.
04:16I rose up on my toes and tried to reach his mouth.
04:19I had, it turned out, no idea what I was doing.
04:23The book had been theoretical.
04:24The reality of it was different in every way.
04:43He picked me up like I weighed nothing and put me down on the bed.
04:49Who are you?
04:51My heart stopped.
04:52I ran through everything I'd done.
04:54The room was dark.
04:55There was no way he should know.
04:57Who else would I be?
04:59It's me.
05:00It's Rachel.
05:01He released my jaw.
05:03He let me kiss him.
05:12His voice had gone soft.
05:14Did I hurt you?
05:16I stared back at him and my mind drifted strangely to the first time I had seen him.
05:21It had been a formal occasion and all of us girls had been lined up to greet him.
05:26He'd gone past without stopping, beautiful and remote.
05:29The kind of man our stepmother had made very clear it was not for the likes of me or my
05:34other half sisters.
05:35I didn't sleep that night.
05:37When the birds finally started outside, that was my sister's signal.
05:40I got out as fast as I could.
05:42She looked me over.
05:44That's a strong dose.
05:45Wouldn't have worked on him otherwise.
05:47She told me to stay on my back for an hour, pillow under my hips.
05:50This will help me get pregnant faster.
05:59It was strange, I knew, but my neck was covered in marks he'd left the night before.
06:04You see how he doesn't even look at you now?
06:07He only touched you because he thought you were me.
06:09Don't forget that.
06:11I slipped away to one of the unused sitting rooms to apply some ointment to my shoulder.
06:16I'd taken off half my dress when the door swung open.
06:19He hadn't expected anyone to be there.
06:21I watched him go still for just a moment.
06:24I'm sorry.
06:27That evening, my sister sent me back to his room.
06:31I arrived and he looked at me for a moment, then said very quietly,
06:37You should go get some rest.
06:39I have paperwork.
06:40It'll go late.
06:45I should have left.
06:46But his room was warm.
06:47My room had nothing.
06:48It was cold.
06:50He wasn't here.
06:51I'd just sit at the small table for a few minutes, get some warmth back into my hands.
07:04Sleeping at a table? Aren't you cold?
07:13Sleep. You're exhausted.
07:15But I didn't sleep.
07:16I remembered what I was here for.
07:20If you're not tired, we don't have to sleep yet.
07:23After that, I stayed every night.
07:42It had been about a week and a half.
07:44You can go, Vera.
07:45I'll take it from here.
07:50My sister and I looked at each other.
07:52If he saw us together, every lie would collapse at once.
07:55Don't make a sound.
07:57The door had barely shut when he walked in.
08:00The latch didn't catch all the way.
08:02I could just make out the room.
08:06I closed my eyes.
08:07Then I heard his voice.
08:09I'm tired. Go to bed.
08:13Rachel.
08:14Go to your room.
08:20Figure it out yourself.
08:23I waited for him to fall asleep.
08:25He didn't.
08:26He turned over twice and gave up.
08:27Then he stood, crossed to the wardrobe, and started opening doors.
08:40I waited for him to haul me out by arm.
08:43Instead, he lifted me out of the wardrobe and into his arms.
08:48I told you to go to bed. Why'd you come back?
08:50He thought I was my sister.
08:55I thought you were tired.
08:56Not anymore.
09:06My sister didn't know what had happened that night.
09:08Every year, around the holidays, they hosted a gathering in the garden.
09:12This year, my sister managed the whole event.
09:15Invitations had gone out to everyone in the county.
09:22My sister, for her part, was performing, and called me her most obedient little sister, and said she'd do her
09:29best to find me an equally excellent match someday.
09:32I drifted away from the gathering and found a quiet bench near the water.
09:35A neighbor's son found me there.
09:37We'd studied with the same tutor as children.
09:39He was chatty and warm, and didn't stop for 20 minutes.
09:42The whole time, I had the strange and persistent sensation of being watched.
09:47Not gently, something hot about it, and a little impatient.
09:53Nick recognized him and greeted him.
09:55Ethan gave a small nod.
09:57Then, he reached across and took the cloth parcel out of Nick's hands.
10:01Good of you to bring these for me.
10:02I'll take them.
10:03Thank you.
10:05I've been meaning to speak to you.
10:07I'll be back early tonight.
10:09I didn't know what he was signaling.
10:11Presumably, a message for my sister.
10:13That night, I arrived an hour early.
10:26I was crying before I knew it.
10:29I asked him to stop.
10:30He wiped my cheek with his thumb.
10:32Look at you.
10:34So sad.
10:36Do you love me?
10:40Yes.
10:42He touched my mouth carefully.
10:45I've been assigned to a six-week oversight trip.
10:48I leave next week.
10:50Wait for me.
10:52When I come back, we do this the right way.
10:55Out in the open.
10:57I was half asleep.
10:58He was warm.
10:58I nodded without quite registering what I was agreeing to.
11:05My period arrived the next morning.
11:07My sister yanked open my collar.
11:09She looked at everything visible below it.
11:13What exactly are you doing there, Vera?
11:16Six weeks and nothing?
11:18The doctor who'd examined me before any of this began had said I was healthy.
11:23Capable of conceiving.
11:24He gave her a tonic regimen and said two months of consistent treatment should produce the desired result.
11:32In the meantime, she started treating me well.
11:35My room was heated properly.
11:36I had a decent coat.
11:38My meals included actual meat.
11:42Then a letter arrived at our home.
11:44She read it.
11:45Looked at me for a long moment.
11:48You lucky thing.
11:52Congratulations.
11:53You're getting married.
11:55His name is Nick.
12:00I was sent home to prepare.
12:02The whole situation was absurd.
12:04Nick's grandmother had fallen seriously ill.
12:06Doctors had done everything they could and run out of options.
12:10The family had consulted a specialist in folk remedies and old traditions and he told them the only thing that
12:16might help was a wedding.
12:17Nick was the only eligible bachelor left in the family.
12:20He had one condition.
12:22He'd pick the girl himself.
12:24He picked me up.
12:24My father was thrilled to consent.
12:27My mother, who knew about my sister's arrangement, had no real power to object.
12:31The date was set for one month out.
12:34The dowry that had been assembled for me, which had been embarrassing, was suddenly multiplied.
12:38My mother's health supplies, which had been precarious, arrived in abundance.
12:43At night, lying alone in my old bed, I close my eyes and find myself back in a room with
12:48real warmth.
12:59The Callaway Air was back.
13:01The overnight trip finished early.
13:03So Ethan was here.
13:04I sat there thinking about what I'd call him the next time I saw him.
13:07He was still my half-sister's husband and Nick's distant uncle.
13:14In the narrow frame of my veil, I didn't see his face.
13:17The hall noise fell behind me.
13:18The bridal room was quiet.
13:20I sat at the edge of the bed and waited for Nick to come in and lift my veil.
13:25One hour passed.
13:26A maid appeared and said there had been a mix-up about which room and would I please follow her
13:30to a different one.
13:31I could tell something was moving under the bed in the new room.
13:35I couldn't look down to check.
13:36I was still wearing the veil.
13:44My mind went blank.
13:45I blinked.
13:46He was still there.
13:46I didn't move.
13:47And this was my wedding day.
13:49You promised you'd wait for me.
13:50I came back and you'd already married someone else.
13:54I hadn't promised him anything.
13:56Every word I'd said in that room had been said in my sister's voice, playing my sister's role.
14:01I'd never spoken to him as myself.
14:04You knew?
14:06Since when?
14:08The first night.
14:10I always knew.
14:19Where's Nick?
14:22In the room.
14:35Are you out of your mind?
14:37You tied me up in my own house?
14:39On my wedding night?
14:40And now you're going to sleep with my wife?
14:44He's not a good match.
14:46He has four women on the side and a reputation.
14:54That was before.
14:55I ended all of it when I decided to marry Vera.
15:01I meant it.
15:02It was a strange scene.
15:03Nick was the groom.
15:05He was also zip-tied on the floor.
15:07Ethan was sitting beside me with one hand settled on my waist like it belonged there.
15:11I actually like her.
15:12I know I wasn't perfect before, but I wanted to do this right.
15:19Reformed?
15:20Sure.
15:20At least I can marry her properly.
15:23You're already married!
15:25To her sister!
15:27You're her brother-in-law!
15:32I'm filing for divorce.
15:34You can't.
15:36You can't just undo a favor you asked for.
15:39I was assigned to that oversight trip.
15:42I volunteered for it specifically so I could use the outcome as leverage.
15:46I asked for one thing in return.
15:49Permission to divorce and remarry.
15:55Why go through any of it?
15:58A few nights together and you decided to blow up your entire life?
16:02It wasn't a few nights.
16:04It was the moment before that.
16:06You were kneeling in the snow holding bowl of ice water and you looked up at me and I couldn't
16:09stop thinking about it.
16:12He told me the rest of it.
16:16When my sister had first approached him, he'd been about to be matched with a judge's daughter.
16:21Powerful family.
16:23The daughter herself was difficult, spoiled, the kind of person who treated every room like it existed for her benefit.
16:28My sister had offered him a clean arrangement.
16:30She'd stay out of his life.
16:32He'd give her the title and the stability she needed.
16:36She was a reasonable option.
16:38So I agreed.
16:39That explained why my sister had been so desperate for a child.
16:42Without one, the arrangement had no long-term security for her.
16:47So why me?
16:49That first night I wanted to stop it.
16:51But you kept holding on to me.
16:53And I couldn't.
16:54The second time I sent you away, I went to the study, came back and found you asleep at my
16:58table and something in me just stopped working correctly.
17:05I didn't expose you because I didn't want you to leave.
17:07And eventually I could see that you felt something.
17:09The way you looked at me when you thought I wasn't watching.
17:11The way you'd look away the second I took-
17:12You'd kiss me when I was asleep.
17:14You cut a piece of my hair and kept it in your pocket.
17:20You mended my shoe in the middle of the night.
17:24Vera, you're not subtle.
17:26He had pulled me into his lap at some point without me noticing.
17:29His chin was resting on my shoulder.
17:31I went south so I could come back and do this correctly.
17:33I didn't expect you to be someone else's wife by the time I landed.
17:37You were supposed to wait.
17:44I'm not as simple as I look.
17:47My sister had tried to break me a long time ago.
17:51One winter, she'd heard from a servant that soaking a girl in ice water during her cycle could make her
17:55permanently infertible.
17:56This girl is very beautiful.
17:58She decided to test it on me because a guest had said I was pretty.
18:02I'd been in that water for close to an hour before our grandmother found me.
18:07I spent a year adding something to my sister's tea.
18:13By the time she asked me to take her place in her husband's bed, she'd already lost the ability to
18:18carry a child.
18:19I hadn't planned for her to use me as a solution to a problem I'd already created.
18:24My mother's illness was manageable.
18:26She'd been performing fragility for years the same way I performed compliance.
18:29It was protective coloring.
18:30But my marriage was something my sister's mother actually controlled.
18:34The night I kneel in the snow, I made sure I fell in the right direction.
18:40Testing whether he'd catch me.
18:42Whether his hands would linger.
18:47I never intended to actually pass like my sister in the dark.
18:51I intended for him to figure it out.
18:58I made sure he saw the birthmark at my waist.
19:01My sister doesn't have one.
19:07I went to the side room I knew he passed through every afternoon and I made sure he saw the
19:11marks on my shoulders.
19:14I calculated everything.
19:18I hadn't calculated Nick.
19:25Nick couldn't give me what I needed.
19:27It wasn't about his history.
19:29It was about trajectory.
19:36He had two older brothers.
19:38No real foothold in his own family.
19:40I had spent my entire life studying, planning, building a mind sharp enough to do something with.
19:45In a world that gave women one door.
19:47The door of marriage.
19:50I wasn't going to walk through it carelessly.
19:52I needed someone who could give me room.
19:54Position.
19:55Actual leverage in the world.
20:06Nick could give me affection.
20:09Ethan could give me everything else.
20:11So when Ethan stood in my bridal room with his hand on my waist and told me to divorce Nick
20:15and marry him instead.
20:16I cried.
20:18The divorces went through.
20:22I still don't know exactly what Ethan offered Nick's family.
20:25Whatever it was, it worked.
20:27Nick's grandmother recovered, which apparently validated the whole exercise.
20:32His family tried to find him a new partner immediately.
20:34But he refused.
20:35He went back to his old life.
20:37The parties.
20:38The company.
20:38The lack of commitment.
20:40He told anyone who asked that he'd tried love once.
20:43It had guttered him and he saw no reason to repeat the experiment.
20:46That wasn't my fault.
20:49The blame landed where it landed.
20:52And it landed on him.
20:54As for me, I was the victim in every version of the story that circulated.
20:57A young woman caught in the middle of something powerful men had decided.
21:00No agency.
21:01No choice.
21:03Very sad.
21:09Which suited me perfectly.
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