CHAPTER 41
Helena
The nearly audible grinding of Luther’s jaw almost made General Valentin’s assistance with her dismount worth it. But as the wagons lumbered past, she could feel her friends’ eyes on her. Her stomach turned. They thought she’d betrayed them.
And she couldn’t prove them wrong.
“Helena. This is certainly a surprise.” Aunt Chloe’s voice wrapped around Helena a moment before her arms did. “When Steffan sent word that you were missing, I never expected you to resurface like this.”
Helena could hear the careful note of inquiry in her aunt’s tone. “It wasn’t how I expected to return, either,” she truthfully replied. “I never intended to visit Laurier.”
“I, for one, am glad that she changed her mind,” General Valentin said as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “And that I was able to persuade her to make a home here instead of merely visiting.”
Helena’s smile turned brittle, but she kept her feelings buried. There was too much at stake.
Aunt Chloe’s eyebrows disappeared into the black hair artfully draped over her forehead. “I thought your council wished you to raise your family in Ralnor. Wasn’t that the purpose of their requirements?”
“I’m sure we can work something out,” General Valentin smoothly inserted. “After all, I will not be regent forever.”
“I am aware of that,” Aunt Chloe replied coolly. “I’m pleased to hear that you are as well. With all of your changes, I was beginning to fear that you planned to keep the throne instead of returning it to my nephew.”
Uncle Felix placed a calming hand on her shoulder.
“Peace, Chloe,” he said quietly. His calm presence had always stood in stark contrast to his brother’s blustery nature.
“You know my brother would step in if General Valentin’s intentions became less than honorable.
He will ensure that your brother’s son sits on the throne that was meant for him. ”
Helena noted with amusement that neither of them named the nephew to be crowned. A careless oversight on their part? Or a deliberate expression of support for the missing crown prince?
“If you’ll grab your things, we’ll take you home,” Uncle Felix continued, turning to Helena. “You must be weary after your travels.”
Staying with her aunt and uncle might be more comfortable, but she wouldn’t find what she needed in their townhouse.
She stepped back with a smile. “I am, but I would like to meet Aunt Chloe’s side of the family.
And it would please me to be nearer to—” She focused on the image of a guard shoving Tucker and Adrien into a dungeon cell, swallowed, and plowed ahead. “To my dear Valentin.”
Luther choked. “Your Highness. I am not sure your esteemed father—”
“I’m twenty-six, Luther,” she calmly replied, allowing his consternation to buoy her mood. “I don’t need my father’s approval to marry.”
“But the council—”
“The council will have to live with my decision.” Flipping the lid off her quiver, she gave him a sly smile as she fingered the arrows. “I should think they know by now that I’m difficult to corral.”
Aunt Chloe’s hand settled on her shoulder. “Helena, can you not at least visit our home?” Turning, Helena saw her aunt eyeing the quiver. “I would like to hear how you’ve fared the last few months.”
Feeling self-conscious, Helena lowered her hand. She hadn’t meant to copy Cap’s mannerism. While speaking of choosing for herself.
“A visit would be nice,” she agreed with a glowing smile. “It’s been a very long time since we had a chat.”
“More than thirteen years.” One side of Aunt Chloe’s mouth rose, casting a sad expression over her face.
Another nail pounded into the coffin of Helena’s old mental refrain. Aunt Chloe wanted her. Uncle Felix, too, if the way he dropped his eyes was any indication.
The memory of Cap expressing sorrow over her “kidnapping” nudged her.
He had seemed perfectly sincere while puzzling out her history, which he should have already known if he truly knew who she was.
But his face had been hidden for weeks. Maybe he’d adjusted to the pretense by the time she saw it.
Or maybe she was less skilled at reading people than she thought.
Or maybe…maybe the General was wrong.
“Perhaps I can accompany you,” General Valentin offered, joining them. He draped an arm across Helena’s shoulders again. “I would enjoy listening to stories from your youth.”
Luther’s face twisted into the expression he wore when Axel and Katy were flirting, but Helena ignored him. His presence was the whole reason for the fake relationship. Although the General could be less enthusiastic about it.
“But you’re so busy,” Aunt Chloe protested, something about the furrow between her eyes suggesting it wasn’t concern for the General that prompted her. “What with shaking the very branches at our nobles’ estates as you hunt for my nephew and lay traps for Le Capuchon.”
“I have hamstrung Le Capuchon,” the General replied smugly. “Those were his followers in the carts. I can finally focus my resources on bringing justice for your brother.”
“I would like nothing more,” Aunt Chloe replied with an arch to one eyebrow. “Yet as I have told you before, I do not believe you are searching in the correct direction if that is your goal.”
His eyes softened, and compassion tinged his smile. “I am well aware, Princess Chloe. Unfortunately, I know what I saw. I wish it were otherwise.”
“Perhaps we should head inside,” Uncle Felix inserted quietly. “It is not so warm today that a discussion in the courtyard is pleasant.”
“Yes, please,” Helena agreed, giving a dramatic shiver. “I am practically frozen from riding in this weather all day.”
She received odd looks from her aunt and uncle, but General Valentin only smiled fondly. Luther frowned, but he was probably annoyed that she took the General’s proffered arm.
“So how did you win this post, Luther?” Helena asked casually as they passed through the front doors. “Were you pining away without me?”
He turned earnest eyes on her. “You have no idea, Princess. Every scrap of light in my world disappeared along with you, and I cannot express how pleased I am to see you safe. It must be the favor of the heavens that I was chosen for Amitié.”
His eyes darted sideways to the General, and Helena withheld her sigh. This might be worse than letting him believe she was still unattached. Persistence is not a virtue in this case, Luther.
“What about my good friend Tobias?” she asked lightly. “Where did he end up?”
“Daraigh,” Luther replied after a short pause. He gave her a forced smile. “He insisted on taking his cat with him, if you believe it. Perhaps he hopes it will do his work for him.”
Helena’s brow furrowed. “A cat? I didn’t know he had a cat.”
“A new acquisition, I believe.” He shrugged carelessly.
“It’s a pretty thing, all black except for its brown feet and a white sunburst on its left shoulder.
But the man is clearly daft, because he treats it like a daughter.
I’ve only seen old women dote over a feline the way he does that pet of his. ”
The General stopped in front of a door, motioning for Helena to precede him through.
Inside sat older versions of the youngest two subjects of the General’s painting.
Next to Princess Daphne sat a young man with shoulder-length black hair tied back with a strip of leather, much like Tucker’s.
But this man was clearly a noble. Since his hand rested on Princess Daphne’s back, Helena assumed that this was Lord Raoul, the princess’s betrothed.
“It’s all here, Daphne!” Prince Cedric said excitedly, digging through a wooden crate at his feet. “Even the latest book, the one that isn’t supposed to be out for another two months.”
The princess’s face was cautiously optimistic. “But you said the publisher is slow with shipping between kingdoms. How could he already—”
“Perhaps he’s in Daraigh,” the prince said excitedly. “It’s not like your betrothal has been kept secret. Maybe Michael helped him arrange—”
He broke off when Helena stepped into their line of sight. Glancing behind her, he hurriedly slid the lid back into place.
Curious. Who in her party was he hiding the books from? And why?
“I must be rubbing off on you, Daphne dear,” the black-haired man said lightly. “It would appear we were late for welcoming our regent home.”
Princess Daphne elbowed him. “Mother was right; you are a bad influence. Perhaps I should call off the wedding before it’s too late.”
He gestured toward the crate. “But your brothers—”
“These are mine either way,” the prince grinned, patting the box lightly. “You just had to admit your feelings for each other. It doesn’t matter if you don’t follow through.”
Helena eyed the box curiously, the faint memory of a conversation with Tucker rising to the surface. Something about a wager between brothers and Prince Raphael having to pay in books.
Was that what they were hiding? A clue to their brother’s whereabouts?
Lord Raoul rose smoothly and crossed to Helena. Scooping up her hand, he bowed deeply. “We have not had the pleasure, my lady. Based on this unhappy fact and your illustrious company, may I assume that you are Princess Helena?”
She snorted. “I’d heard you were a flirt, but I didn’t expect you to behave so in front of your fiancée.”
Princess Daphne sighed, but Prince Cedric hid a smile behind his hand. Lord Raoul simply winked. “This isn’t flirting. It’s called charm. And good manners when meeting a princess.”
“That does sound like their argument,” Helena replied, amusement tugging at the corners of her mouth. “And whether it makes you unworthy of the princess.”
“I didn’t realize Rafe’s opinion was so popular,” Lord Raoul returned with a friendly grin. “And all the way in Ralnor, no less!”
“You’re notorious,” Princess Daphne said primly. But there was a mischievous spark in her eyes. “Even our neighbors are discussing your scoundrelly ways.”
“Actually, I’d never heard of you until I came to Amitié,” Helena laughed. Her grin turned sly, widening when he pressed one hand over his heart and grimaced. “I first heard of you with news of your betrothal. Jean-haut and—”
She broke off, glancing over her shoulder to watch General Valentin enter behind Luther and her aunt and uncle. She didn’t want him to know Cap was familiar with the royal family and Lord Raoul. It might narrow down the outlaw’s identity.
“Jean-haut?” Princess Daphne echoed, her lips parting. “Jean-haut was with Le Capuchon?”
“He was,” General Valentin sighed. He placed a light hand on Helena’s lower back, steering her toward a dark blue settee. “He was among the men and women that I captured.”
The princess slid forward a little. “Then he’s—”
“I’m afraid one of his compatriots helped him escape.” The General cut her off with another heavy sigh. “He has surely rejoined his master by now, but he won’t be able to cause as much harm. My men sealed his magic with some Castellian cuffs before we lost him.”
The princess seemed dismayed by this news.
Lord Raoul, who had been frowning at Helena and General Valentin, wrinkled his forehead and turned back to the Amitian royals.
“Jean-haut has magic? But he’s—” A strange look crossed his face as he blinked a few times.
“That would explain a few strange incidents from when we were children.”
“I was surprised to find him among the prisoners; I had been told he was still attending his duties as a forester.” The General shook his head sadly. “It is unfortunate that he convinced his friends to cover for him. Now I’ll have to discipline them as well.”
If not for Cap’s suspicion, Helena might have believed the sorrow was sincere.
She’d felt the draw to trust the man next to her.
And if Cap lied by pretending not to know Helena, he could have lied when he painted the General as untrustworthy.
After all, not only was the General hunting Cap, he was the sole witness against the prince that Cap wanted to crown.
Cap would want the Ralnoran princess to view General Valentin as the enemy.
But Marielle had promised to keep her secret. And Aunt Chloe had obscured her support for the crown prince.