The city was louder than Iris remembered. After being secluded in the countryside for a while, she had forgotten what it was like to be surrounded by so much noise. It almost hurt her brain to be back among it all. How did people live like this, and why would they want to? It had actually woken her up, it was such a loud place.

As Iris stared out the window, the tall buildings and the sheer number of people took her aback. She did not think that she could ever come back here and feel comfortable, which shocked her since she’d spent a lot longer living nearer to the city than in the countryside.

All she really wanted was to be back in the peace and quiet of the Oakley household. She couldn’t wait to get back there... if she made it back, of course. Iris still knew that there was a chance she wouldn’t. There was no point in planning for that because she would rather imagine that things would turn out as she wanted them too. Iris hoped that a positive outlook would help her to go far.

Iris had never been to Elizabeth’s home after she married, so she had no idea what to expect. Her sister had described the tall, red bricked building to her, but Iris knew that it was going to be different to see it for real. She stared out the window and waited for it to appear...

Once Iris’s eye set upon a building that pierced the skyline with it’s pointed rooftops. The gorgeous red bricks were beautiful, as were the balconies that jutted out proudly. The home was just as lovely as Elizabeth had described, it was just a shame that she was not happy there.

Ewan came to greet Iris on the road by her carriage, and as she stepped down to join him, he held out his hand to help her. Iris automatically took the help as it assisted her descent in a more dignified way, but as soon as their skin connected, Iris realized that it was the first time that they’d touched since the ball at her household. Feeling his hand simply made her feel all those wonderful sensations once more, and judging by the bright expression on Ewan’s face, he could feel it too.

Iris stumbled, just a little bit, and she almost fell into Ewan’s arms. Luckily she managed to regain her footing at the very last second which saved them both. If Ewan had embraced her, and their lips found themselves near to one another, Iris might have lost complete control of herself. She may have allowed him to kiss her.

“Will you be alright from here?” Ewan asked her softly. “Do you need any help from me?”

“I will be fine.” Iris’s voice was breathy as she replied. “Thank you very much.”

“I will return for you once my business is complete to see how things are with you. Would you like me to meet you here, or at your home?”

“Here will be fine,” Iris replied a little too quickly. “Thank you.”

She knew that it was suspicious and that Ewan was likely to question her increasingly thin theory, but in the end, it turned out that she had braced herself for nothing. Either Ewan was very distracted by his business, or he trusted her much too readily. Either way, he asked her nothing. He simply took Iris at her word.

“Right, of course.” Ewan stepped backwards, leaving Iris cold and feeling alone. “I shall see you soon then.”

“Yes, I look forward to seeing you again.”

Iris watched as Ewan stepped back into his carriage and he drove away from her before she twisted her body around to face the music. Before taking those brave steps to her sister’s front door, she sucked in a few deep, calming breaths just to steady her nerves.

Then she moved.

It wasn’t easy, Iris had to really force one foot in front of the other, but she just about made it down the garden path. Her heart raced and her fingers trembled, but she would see Elizabeth as soon as she knocked on that door which helped her to continue moving.

Knock, knock.

While she waited for someone to answer the door, Iris shifted her body weight from foot to foot while the nerves threatened to consume her. Now she was thinking that maybe she should have planned out exactly how she was going to present this plan because going in unprepared left her with the possibility of messing things up completely.

After only a few moments, the door opened a crack, and Iris found herself looking into a very dark pair of eyes.

“Good afternoon, the Steward household, how may I help you?”

“I need to speak with the lady of the house,” Iris told the butler. “Is she available, please?”

“Who, may I ask, is calling for her?”

Iris was not sure what to say. If she told the truth, she risked letting far too many people in on the secret, but if she didn’t, there was a chance that Elizabeth might not see her. This was Iris’s only chance, she needed to be let in.

“I am her sister.”

There, that was clear enough without being too specific. She could be either Olivia or Iris, there was no telling. It was unlikely that Olivia visited often, so the butler probably did not know what she looked like.

“I am sorry; I did not know.” The butler opened the door wider and he stepped aside to let her in. “Please, come inside and wait in the reception area. I will call Mrs. Steward to come and speak with you.”

As Iris stepped inside, she marvelled at how modern and classy Elizabeth had her home. When they were children she had often commented that their parents kept their home stuck in the dark ages, so this shouldn’t have been a surprise, but strangely it was. Iris guessed that she always thought every home was like her own, but that was because she spent so much time indoors.

She strolled around the reception area and took it all in, while she waited for Elizabeth to come for her. There were plenty of comfortable-looking seats that she could have waited in, but she was much too wired to rest. Plus, Iris had been sitting in the carriage for hours, it felt really good to stretch her legs.

“Iris?” Elizabeth’s voice boomed down the stairs, making Iris jump. “Is it really you? I cannot believe that you are here.” She raced rapidly down the stairs to embrace her sister. “Oh my goodness, it has been such a long time. I have so many things that I want to ask you. Everything has changed so much and I cannot believe how little I know about you now.”

Iris allowed her eyes to slide shut as she fell into her sister’s arms. She breathed in deeply to inhale Elizabeth’s familiar, floral scent, which instantly transported her back to a simpler time.

“I know,” she murmured into her sister’s hair. “I have so much that I need to talk with you about, but it needs to be in private. Is there any room in the house where we will not be overheard?”

Elizabeth had been worried about Iris already, so this statement sent her into a tailspin. She pulled back sharply and stared into her sister’s eyes.

“What is going on?” she demanded. “Is something wrong? Is it... what has been happening?”

She did not like the idea of Iris being married to the Duke, it had shocked her to learn that it had happened so quickly, but since it was a stipulation in their father's will, Elizabeth knew there was no getting away from it. She had been waiting for the right time to visit Iris, so she was glad that she’d come to her first. It meant they could sort whatever they needed to, without her horrible husband around.

“Is there something I can do? Tell me, Iris, whatever you need, I will help you.”

“You do not need to worry,” Iris replied with a smile. “Things are not bad, I just need to discuss things in private.”

"My husband is at work," Elizabeth replied thoughtfully. "And if we go into the drawing-room I can tell the staff to bring us some tea, after which they will leave us alone." She took in Iris's worried expression and her terror amped up to another level. “You do not need to worry, Iris, the staff here can be trusted.”

“Tea sounds wonderful,” Iris finally relented. “Thank you very much.”

Iris followed Elizabeth through the house and she waited in silence while her sister made the arrangements for them to have some drinks. As she took her seat, Iris had to really think to remember what it was like to sit like a lady. Admittedly, she had grown lax recently, she had allowed herself to sit in the more casual way that the lowborn people did. It felt oddly stiff and uncomfortable to sit with her back so straight. So much so that as soon as Iris and Elizabeth had their drinks, she allowed herself to slump ever so slightly.

“So, please,” Elizabeth started curiously. “Tell me what has been happening with you, I have not seen you since father’s funeral and it seems a lot has changed for you.”

Iris’s mind whirred, she did not know how to start this next sentence. She certainly should have decided. "It probably is not what you think," she went with in the end. "Actually, I have a lot of stories to tell you, and I need you to listen without panicking”

To her credit, Elizabeth’s eyes did widen with surprise, but she didn’t say anything. She nodded silently, allowing Iris to continue. She could tell from the terrified expression her sister had something huge to tell her.

“Well, I have not exactly... been honest with everyone?”

“How do you mean?” Elizabeth jumped in without even meaning to. “Oh, sorry. Do not let me interrupt you, please carry on.”

“It all started as a game really, a way to help me get over my panic about marrying the Duke. It was Daisy’s idea, although I do not think she really meant it.” Iris was speaking at a million miles an hour, unable to stop herself. “It was never meant to get so far.”

“Please, take a breath,” Elizabeth smiled kindly. “Start from the beginning, I am not exactly following you.”

The beginning... okay, Iris could do that.

“Right.” She sucked in a deep breath of air. “Well, as you know I was terribly afraid of the idea of getting married to a man I did not know, a man who is rumoured to be cruel and mean. Daisy knew that, I cried to her a lot."

Elizabeth felt guilty, she wished that she could have been there more, but unfortunately she had her own life to live.

"She wanted to help me in any way that she could, which was when she suggested that we switch places so that she could put the Duke off the idea of wanting to marry me.”

“What?” Elizabeth gasped in a horrified shock. “But that is so dangerous...”

“I know.” Iris rested her hand over her sister’s. “Please, let me finish.” Elizabeth nodded and clamped her lips together. “Right, so we were not going to do it at first, I was going to put the Duke off me myself, but as it turned out I could not do it.”

“No, I cannot imagine you acting badly.” Elizabeth smiled.

"So, when our uncle came to our home, Daisy and I decided to try it out. She became me, and I became her.”

“You served Daisy?” Elizabeth felt incredulous. “And our uncle fell for it?”

“He does not know me. No one really knows me, I have been hidden from society for a very long time.”

“That is true... so, what happened?”

“Uncle fell for it. He did not even blink an eye, so we decided to keep it up. Uncle was busy arranging the ball, so Daisy became me and I, her. I did all her tasks, and she lived life as a lady. Then she was going to put the Duke off me at the ball.”

“So what happened? You are married to him, are you not?”

Iris’s heart pounded loudly, this was the part that she was most scared about saying. “Iris Warwick is married to the Duke.”

“Yes?” Elizabeth screwed up her face in confusion. “That is what I said, is it not?”

“No, you do not understand. Iris Warwick is married to the Duke.”

It took a few moments, but realisation finally washed over Elizabeth. Her mouth fell open in utter shock. “You mean; you are still switched?”

“Yes, we are.”

Iris held her breath and she waited. Elizabeth went through a range of emotions, they all flittered across her face until eventually, she settled on a stunned acceptance.

“So, Olivia knows? You are now working for her, or do you just live in your old room? I have not seen her since she moved back into the family home, so I have missed out on a lot.”

“No, Olivia does not know. You are the only one who knows. Well, aside from Daisy’s cousin. I took a handmaiden job in another household.”

“You are a maid? No, I cannot have that. I will speak to my husband and you can come and live here...”

“No, Elizabeth,” Iris giggled. “I appreciate it, but I am happy. I like my work and I feel more comfortable than I ever did as a lady. I adore the young lady that I work with, I am having a good time with her.”

“But you cannot be a maid...”

“Elizabeth, I cannot give it up, If I do, I risk exposing Daisy. I need to keep up the rouse.”

“Why did you come here then?” Elizabeth could not wrap her head around the idea that Iris did not want her help. Even though she could not always complete what she wanted to do, she always liked to try her best. “What can I do for you?”

“I wanted you to know,” Iris shrugged simply. “I did not like having this huge secret from everyone in my family, especially you. Plus, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that you will see ‘me’ eventually and you’ll realise that it is Daisy. Then everything will fall apart.”

"Right, of course, because when Olivia and I see our sister, it will not be you...” That was too much for Elizabeth to digest, this whole plan seemed insane. “I guess you did not think everything through when you concocted this scheme.”

“It was never supposed to go this far, I admit it spiralled out of control when Daisy confessed to me that she wanted to marry the Duke.”

“And you did not mind that?”

“Truly not, it saved me having to marry him, and now I work for Lord Oakley.”

Her true emotions when it came to Ewan must have shown across her face as she said his name because Elizabeth jumped on that immediately. "Do you have feelings for this Lord? Could you not marry him?"

“I do not think so,” Iris replied sadly. “Because he knows me only as Daisy, the lowborn girl.”

“But you are not lowborn...”

“But if I told him the truth, my reputation would be ruined, you and Olivia would be affected, as would Daisy. I think that she is happy now, at least I hope so. I have not spoken to her since.”

Elizabeth stared her sister up and down, still trying to process everything. None of it made much sense, but she could not deny that there was a newness to her sister. Iris looked shiny and joyful.

“Well, I do not think I like any of this,” she said cautiously. “But you do seem a lot happier now than I have ever seen you before.”

“Oh I am, I really am.” Iris clapped her hands together gleefully. "I really am, my life as it is, now suits me so much more than it did before. I guess that is why I am so worried that things might fall apart. I do not want to lose what I have now."

“I suppose I will need to speak with Olivia then, ensure that she understands what is happening.”

“Yes, please. I know it is a lot to ask of you, Elizabeth, but I would really appreciate it if you could help her to understand. You have always been much better at explaining things than me.” Iris paused, just for a second. “I would also like it if you make contact with Daisy, to see how she is doing. I would like to know that she is doing well.”

“Of course. It may also help her to learn that I know the truth. Maybe she has been just as worried as you. I will write to you as soon as I have news.”

Iris did not bother to comment that Daisy wasn't the one who worried in the way that Iris did. Elizabeth did not know her as well as Iris, she had spent much less time with her. "Thank you so much, Elizabeth. Just remember to address the letter to Daisy."

“So, you will be Daisy forever now?”

“I do not know.” Iris shrugged helplessly. “At the moment, I am just taking it a day at a time.”

“Wow.” Elizabeth fell back in her seat with a thoughtful look on her face. “So much has changed. Olivia and her children are back home, father is gone, Daisy is married to the Duke in place of you, and you are now a maid.”

“You are the only one who has things the same.”

“Actually, no.” Elizabeth gave her a cheeky smile. It seemed that she had some news of her own to share, which excited Iris. “I have some news of my own. I am actually about to have a baby.”