Duchess Read Free

hear the lyrics through all the music and the synthesizers.
    “That’s right, Bob. She rocketed to fame in a short amount of time, about a year and a half, but she remains a mystery. The rumor is that she’s another popular musician in disguise because she wanted to go with a different record label and didn’t want to break her contract.”
    “That is one rumor, Heather. Yet another rumor is that Duchess is really British royalty and has to keep her identity a secret so as not to bring shame to her family name.”
    “Yes, Bob. And to help us to shed light on these rumors is Mark Williams, audio expert. As I understand it, you often provide expert testimony about voice analysis in court?”
    “Yes, I most certainly do. I have helped with several cases as of late.”
    Katie cringed when she heard his British accent. There was no way he was going to think her accent was real.
    “And have you had a chance to listen to the voice clips we delivered to your office?”
    “Yes, I did, thank you. Though I must say, there really were not many audio clips to listen to.”
    “This is all part of the mystery, Mr. Williams. She doesn’t do many interviews except for over the phone, and even those are with a synthesized voice. But do you have some thoughts about her accent?”
    “Yes, I believe I do. Most Americans are a bit nasal when trying to speak with a British accent. It is a dead giveaway because Brits speak through their throats, emitting a softer tone.”
    “Does Duchess have a nasally sound?”
    Katie held her breath.
    “No, she does not .” Mr. Williams answer grimaced at the admission. “But that can be falsified. So can Received Pronunciation English, also known as ‘Queen’s English.’ Duchess appears to use this accent.”
    “What does that mean?”
    “Received Pronunciation was once considered the intonation of the highly educated and affluent, though over the years, this has changed. It used to be heard mostly in southern England, but now one can come across it in several regions, making it difficult to pinpoint a country of origin for the speaker. Meaning, based on her accent, that she could be from anywhere.”
    “Including America?”
    Katie’s mom was now standing next to her. She reached out for Katie’s hand and gave it a squeeze.
    “Yes, including America.”
    “Are you saying Duchess’s accent could be fake?”The anchorwoman smiled like she could already see herself winning journalist of the year.
    “It could be, but there are other factors to consider. For instance, when most Americans falsify an accent, they try to mimic the British sayings, but they tend to overemphasize them and use only the well-known terms. Many of their American terms slip into their speech reflexively. As far as I can tell from Duchess’s short interviews, she uses British vocabulary in a flawless manner. This leads me to say tentatively that her accent is most probably not false.”
    Katie let the air out of her lungs in one large sigh. The anchorwoman suddenly looked like she had eaten a sour gummy worm.
    “Probably? Could you be wrong?”
    “It would help if there was video footage of her. Body language is also a good way to tell a true Brit from an imposter, but just based on the voice analysis, Duchess is more than likely from England.”
    The news anchors continued to pepper the poor man with more questions, but Katie wasn’t watching anymore.
    “You did it, Katie!” She forgot she was holding the phone to her ear until Kyle’s voice boomed over the receiver.
    “What?” She couldn’t seem to grasp what had happened. She knew she’d worked hard on her accent. Having a friend from England had helped a lot as well, but fooling an expert? That had gone beyond her wildest dreams.
    “You did it! We dodged another bullet! Life with Duchess is never dull, I must say that. Katie, when you first came to me with this outrageous idea, I have to admit, I didn’t think it would amount to anything, but look at