Chapter Fourteen Hélène
Chapter Fourteen
Hélène
Thank heavens all royal residences were effectively the same, Hélène thought as she padded through the upstairs of Osborne House.
She’d never set foot here, but it was easy enough to find her way around; she’d located the hallway where all the younger guests were housed, scanning the placards on each door.
Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg—that was Ducky, the cousin May had tricked into acting like a fool around Eddy; Princess Maud of Wales; Prince Ernest of Hesse; and, ah, here was Princess Alix of Hesse.
Hélène moved past that door quickly, not wanting to overhear anything. She hoped Nicholas and Alix were enjoying their time alone. It was nice, thinking she’d helped them, since she didn’t seem able to help herself.
At least, until now.
Around the corner she found the room she was looking for, labeled Princess May of Teck. Hélène stepped inside, shutting the door behind her with a silent click.
She started with the most obvious places—the traveling chest at the foot of the bed, the space beneath the mattress—even running her hand around the lining of the trunk to check for hidden compartments or secret latches.
Nothing. Hélène moved to the wardrobe, systematically sorting through the dresses, the hatboxes, the shoes.
May’s clothes seemed much nicer than Hélène remembered.
Perhaps her parents had realized that May couldn’t catch a prince in her shabby, twice-turned dresses and had borrowed the funds for her new things.
Or perhaps May had gotten the money herself. She’d already blackmailed Hélène, after all. What if she’d gotten her hands on someone else’s secret, and was holding it over their head in exchange for cash?
Hélène wouldn’t put it past her. There seemed to be no line May wouldn’t cross in her quest to become queen.
When Hélène had exhausted every corner of the room, she sat back on her heels, the skirts of her violet gown rippling around her. She could still hear the noises of the party downstairs; the music was softer now, reflecting the lateness of the hour. She was running out of time.
Laurent’s letter had to be here. It was May’s greatest weapon against Hélène; why would she leave it in London, and risk losing it? May was far too clever to let it out of her sight. She would have brought the letter with her, wouldn’t she?
“Most people consider it rude to go through someone else’s belongings.”
Hélène stumbled to her feet and whipped around. May stood in the doorway, surveying the scene with pursed lips.
“Most people consider it rude to spread vicious rumors about someone,” Hélène countered.
May seemed to decide that this conversation had best not be overheard, because she walked into the room and shut the door behind her. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Do you deny that you ruined Alix’s chances with Eddy by telling everyone she suffered from fainting spells?”
Something flickered behind May’s eyes, but her mask of polite behavior didn’t slip. “If Alix has an affliction, I’m sorry to hear it.”
“What about Ducky?” Hélène exclaimed. “I heard you at the Earl of Stafford’s house, giving her terrible advice about Eddy. If that poor girl did a fraction of what you suggested, I’m sure Eddy went running in the other direction.”
May’s expression darkened. “You eavesdropped on me?”
“You blackmailed me!”
There was a heated pause. Hélène stared at May, who was breathing heavily, hands clenched into tight fists.
At least now they were fighting the way Hélène had always wanted to—in the open, with weapons drawn.
“I don’t like that word, blackmail,” May said at last, her voice tense. “You’re the one who slept with your family’s coachman. All I did was remind you of that fact. I could ruin you, yet I have shown great restraint in keeping your tawdry behavior a secret.”
Hélène drew herself up to her full height, grateful that she was tall, and stared down at May. “Give it to me.”
“Excuse me?” May spluttered.
Hélène strove for her most commanding, princess-like tone. “Give me the letter. After everything you’ve done, you owe me that much.”
“I don’t owe you anything!”
“I am going to marry Nicholas. Do you really want to get on my bad side? Or do you want to help me, and know that you have an ally in the next Tsarina of Russia?”
It hurt something deep inside Hélène, acting like Eddy meant nothing to her. Especially to May. But she needed to get Laurent’s letter back, and May would never surrender it if she harbored any suspicions about Hélène and Eddy.
May gave an incredulous little laugh. “You’re the worst sort of hypocrite! All your claims of loving Eddy, and now that you’ve lost him—through your own foolishness, I might add—you’ve moved on to his cousin!”
Hélène shrugged. “As if you wouldn’t go after Nicholas yourself if you thought you had a chance.”
“I would have more chance than you if he knew how promiscuous you’ve been!”
“That’s why I need the letter,” Hélène said evenly.
“You’re right, of course; you could show it to Nicholas’s family, and our negotiations would fall apart.
But if you do that, I swear that I’ll bring you down with me.
” She met May’s gaze. “I highly doubt that Her Majesty would be pleased to hear how cruelly you treated Alix and Ducky, two of her favorite granddaughters. Or how you bullied and intimidated me.”
Beneath her cool exterior, May flinched—slightly, but Hélène caught it. Good. She’d touched a nerve.
“You can’t prove anything,” May replied, but she sounded uncertain.
“I don’t need to. Don’t you know by now that the higher you climb, the more perilous it becomes? A mere hint of scandal would knock you forever out of reach of Eddy. As you helpfully reminded me in your note about Laurent, a future queen must be above reproach.”
May stared at Hélène for a long moment, then let out a breath. “Even if I had the letter, I wouldn’t give it to you.”
Footsteps sounded out in the hall, but neither young woman moved. If someone walked in on them, Hélène would pretend that they were best friends, exchanging hair ribbons and gossip. The thought was laughable.
“What do you mean, you don’t have the letter?” she asked quietly.
“It’s in safekeeping with someone else. And as long as you stay out of my way regarding Prince Eddy, it will stay hidden with her. The Romanovs will never hear of your indiscretions—at least not from me.”
Her, May had said. The letter was guarded by a woman. May’s mother, perhaps; but if it was with her mother, wouldn’t May have access to it?
“I know you won’t believe me, but I wish you good luck in your pursuit of Nicholas,” May went on.
“You are right: I would rather have a future tsarina as an ally than an enemy. Which is why you can trust that I won’t reveal your secret.
” She gave a venomous smile. “I’m sure I’ll call in that debt at some point. When I do, I’ll expect you to pay up.”
This whole plan had failed miserably. Even after searching through May’s things, even after a direct confrontation, all Hélène had learned was that the letter was elsewhere.
At least May believed she’d moved on to Nicholas. Hélène knew that if May suspected the truth, she would have circulated the letter at the party and let Hélène live with the cataclysmic fallout.
Still, time was running out. Hélène needed to get that letter back in her possession before Eddy started to believe this nonsense about her and Nicholas.
If he gave up on her and agreed to the world tour—or worse, began to entertain the idea of marrying someone else—
No, Hélène refused to think of that. She would find a way. Somehow.
The next morning, the first day of the races, Hélène emerged onto the Polar Star’s main deck and saw that Nicholas was already dressed.
Hélène’s parents were still below, probably drinking coffee and nursing their hangovers; they had returned with Vladimir in the early hours, all raucously singing what sounded like a Russian drinking song.
Nicholas nodded in greeting. “Hélène. I hope you slept well.” He paused, seeming awkward. “I wanted to…thank you, I mean. For helping last night.”
Hélène came to join him at the iron railing. “I’m glad at least one of us had a good night.” Normally, she might have attempted a shocking joke, like I trust you didn’t sleep well, but she didn’t have the heart.
Nicholas clearly saw her distress. “Are you all right?”
“It’s Eddy.” She stared down at the water below, the wind sending little ripples over its choppy surface. “Her Majesty told him that if he doesn’t announce an engagement soon, he will be sent on a three-year world tour.”
“She’s probably been talking to my father. That’s exactly the type of threat he would come up with,” Nicholas said. Hélène could tell that it wasn’t a joke.
She fought to keep her voice steady. “I just…I wish I knew what to do.”
Nicholas nodded slowly. “You said that it was more complicated than a quarrel. Did the queen refuse you permission to marry?”
“She gave us permission, actually. Last year, before I…” Before I ruined everything.
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I can’t explain.” Hélène’s voice caught. “All I can say is that there’s an obstacle, and I’m trying to solve it without telling Eddy because he would only make things worse. If he got involved, everything would fall apart, and then he and I would never be able to get married….”
Hélène was rambling. She realized, to her mortification, that tears were streaming down her cheeks.
“I’m sorry. I’m not usually this distraught,” she managed, sniffling.
“Of course you’re distraught. You’re hurting, and you can’t even be comforted by the person you love.” Nicholas hesitated. “I know I’m not Eddy, but you can always talk about these things with me.”
“Thank you,” Hélène replied, but for some reason she was crying harder.
Then Nicholas did something completely unexpected. He stepped forward and pulled her into a hug.
“It’s all right,” he murmured, cradling his arms around Hélène’s upper back, her hair. “Everything is going to be all right. Please, don’t cry.”
After a moment of shock, Hélène found herself relaxing into the hug.
There was something so reassuring about Nicholas.
His body felt so warm and steady against hers, so resolute.
Hélène guessed that he’d done this many times with his mother, or his sister Xenia, or perhaps even with Alix, though this embrace didn’t feel romantic in nature.
It felt calming. She sensed that she could offload all her problems on him and he wouldn’t be fazed; he would just help her think through them all, with logic and reason. As a friend.
Hélène’s head tipped onto Nicholas’s shoulder, and she let herself listen to his heartbeat. It was nice, simply being held like this. No one had wrapped their arms around her in weeks, not since she’d seen Amélie in Portugal.
“Sasha will be pleased to hear how close you two have become,” purred a voice to her left.
Hélène opened her eyes and stepped back, wiping at her cheeks in case they were still wet with tears. Nicholas’s uncle Vladimir stood near the entrance to the yacht’s salon, leaning against the doorframe.
“Uncle,” Nicholas said warningly.
Vladimir chuckled, waving away Nicholas’s concern. “Don’t worry, I doubt anyone saw you two together. And even if they did, what does it matter? You and Her Royal Highness are practically engaged,” he added, with a deferential nod in Hélène’s direction.
She realized with a bolt of surprise that Vladimir had drawn his own conclusions about her and Nicholas. He assumed their easy manner meant that they had held each other before, in a far more intimate setting.
For some people—people who weren’t as demonstrative with their emotions—that might be the case. Well, Vladimir didn’t know Hélène.
“Speaking of the engagement,” Hélène’s father cut in, “you must ask His Imperial Highness to reply to my last letter.”
Hélène whirled about to see her parents standing at the top of the staircase, watching the scene that had just transpired.
Philippe seemed to be bursting with glee, while Marie Isabelle was quietly studying Hélène.
She alone seemed to sense that her daughter was upset, that this was not the embrace of two lovers, but something else.
Hélène didn’t care what her father or Vladimir thought. What did it matter, when this farce of an engagement with Nicholas would be over soon anyway?
She had bigger problems. Like what she was going to do about Laurent’s letter.
As strange as it was to believe anything May claimed, Hélène sensed that May hadn’t been lying about the letter’s location. She really had given it to someone else. But whom?
Hélène needed to figure it out, and fast. Because if she didn’t get the letter back soon, she risked losing Eddy for good.