Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
“Your brother is a strange man,” Helena said as she watched Silas run from the room as though the devil was chasing him.
Amelia giggled. “Surely, you had realized that already?”
“Hmm, perhaps I did. But I chalked it up to us being strangers rather than him being strange.”
Amelia laughed. “Well, now you know.”
Helena smiled at her, glad that Amelia was no longer pouting. “Why were you so annoyed at him?” she asked.
“He was being rude.”
Helena laughed. “You mean about my freckles?”
“Yes! How presumptuous of him.”
Helena grinned, a warmth in her chest at how annoyed Amelia was on her behalf. “Would you like to ride with me later? After you finish with your lessons?”
“I don’t have much to do today. We could go after breakfast.”
“All right, but first I have to speak to your brother.”
“That’s fine.” Amelia said with the widest grin Helena had seen on her face.
She shook her head at the adolescent.
You, my dear, are just as strange as your brother.
Helena got to her feet, nodding to the maids in thanks for breakfast, before making her way to Silas’s study. She knocked tentatively on the door, hoping she was not interrupting whatever urgent thing that he had to attend to.
“Who is it?” his voice snapped.
“It’s Helena,” she said with an internal grimace.
There was a period of silence, and she wondered if he planned to simply ignore her.
“Come in,” he said at last.
She tentatively opened the door, sticking her head inside. “I apologize for the interruption. But it is a matter of urgency that I speak to you.”
“Urgency? Close the door behind you.”
“Thank you,” she said with relief as she slipped into the room, closing the door firmly behind her.
She walked straight up to his desk, facing him directly as he stood on the other side.
“I have come to ask about my brother. Particularly what you mean to do about him. I feel strongly that he is in danger.”
“You have told me this already. What other assurances do you want from me?”
“I want to be able to go and see for myself. Perhaps I could rescue him from that house. If my uncle realizes I’ve left the convent, he will use him to bring me back. I am shocked that he hasn’t already. The more we wait, the more time we give him to fashion something diabolical.”
“Your uncle is not the devil, Lady Helena,” he said dryly. “He’s just a man. One whom we will catch, and then your brother will be safe.”
Helena let out a frustrated breath. “You cannot underestimate him. You have to let me go and—”
She stopped suddenly as he walked around the table. He came to a halt at her side as he looked her deep in the eye.
“You are not hearing me, Lady Helena. Your brother will be fine.”
“You’re not listening. My brother is in danger right now.”
“I am listening, and I am telling you that I have done something about it. Now, let me work.”
“How would you react if it were your sister instead?”
The Duke instantly stiffened. “The very same way I’m reacting now, which is to take measures to protect her and find the culprit.”
“The culprit is right there!” Helena flung her right hand out, towards the window, “living in the same house as my brother. And you are doing nothing but waiting for my uncle to make a move, and it’ll be too late!”
Silas’s face hardened. “I have marshaled every resource I have.” His eyes raked her frame from feet to head. “What is it you think you can do that I haven’t already?”
She took a step closer towards him, folding her arms under her bosom, her head going back so that she could meet his eyes. “I can get my brother out.”
“Oh really?” He bent lower so that they were face to face. “And how do you propose to do that? Do you think your uncle leaves your brother unguarded?”
Helena blinked up at him. They were so close that she could feel his breath ghosting her face when he spoke. She knew he was trying to intimidate her, and she couldn’t lie; she was intimidated. But she was also roused by him.
His shoulders were literally cutting off any light that came from the windows.
His eyes were piercing hers. She could see the anger and irritation in them.
She knew he could pick her up and fling her away if he wanted.
But as cowed as she was by his domineering presence, his immediacy, she was not afraid of him.
Not the way she was of Uncle James. Somehow she knew that the duke wouldn’t hurt her.
“I have thought about this. Every night I lie awake thinking, wondering what has become of my brother, if he ate, if he has a comfortable bed to sleep in, but above all, if he is safe. Every night since I left home,” she said quietly.
He gave a sigh, shaking his head. “Helena—” he began to say, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.
They both turned.
“Who is it?” Silas asked irritably.
“My Lord, you have a visitor. A certain Lord James Porter would like to speak with you,” Jeeves said from the other side of the door.
They both tensed. Silas turned to face her, his voice lowered. “You should leave. Out the veranda door.”
He indicated the huge glass doors that led outside from his study. Helena nodded once and ran to the doors, slipping out and closing them behind her.
She could see Silas watching her, and made as if to walk away, but she merely stopped as soon as she rounded the corner and was concealed by foliage.
Crouching down, she strained her ears trying to hear what was going on in the room.
“Lord James Porter, Your Grace,” Jeeves’s voice said.
“A pleasure to meet you, Highcliff,” her uncle’s arrogant voice came through loud and clear.
She could just see the look on Silas’s face at such unwarranted familiarity.
“What can I do for you, Lord James?” he asked coldly.
Helena shivered, instinctively taking a small step back.
She had heard Silas warn her before, yes.
But this… the way he spoke now, his voice icy and cutting, with an undercurrent that hinted at a man capable of doing far worse than just words.
It was the kind of voice that could silence a room, and she found herself suddenly aware of just how dangerous he could be.
“I am in search of someone,” her uncle answered. “My niece, Lady Helena Porter. She’s missing, you see. I was hoping, perhaps, that I would find her here.”
“And why have you come here?” Silas’s affected surprise was perfectly done.
Helena was impressed.
“Well, you did visit St. Margaret’s, the abbey where she’s staying at the moment, the same day that she escaped. I thought maybe she might have stowed away in your carriage.”
Silas huffed. “I was driving a phaeton. There was nowhere for anyone to stow away.”
“Then perhaps you gave her a lift?”
“There was nobody in my carriage, except myself, when I left the compound. The man at the gate can surely confirm that. I hope that satisfies you, my lord. Now, I would invite you to stay for tea, but I am afraid I have a lot of work waiting for me.”
“Apologies, Your Grace. I did not mean to offend. I was merely checking. I’m just concerned; the girl is a danger to herself and others.”
The lying cur, she hissed inwardly.
“Yes, the nuns who came looking for her were quick to tell me so. You can rest assured that nobody in my vicinity has been harmed, so I doubt she’s close by.”
“Yes, well I’m sure you know the anxiety of having someone under your care who simply will not do as you say, and just assumes that everything you do is to their detriment. It can be quite difficult.”
“If you say so. That has not been my experience.”
“You’re a lucky man. It’s not just Lady Helena I’m worried about.
You see, her brother, the Earl of Downfield, is quite beside himself.
He’s a young boy, only eleven years of age.
I fear he may worry himself sick. There has been so much tragedy in the family already. I would hate for there to be more.”
Helena tensed, wanting to run back into the room and beat her uncle until he told her that Charlie was all right.
“It sounds terribly tragic, indeed.” Silas’s voice sounded extremely bored. “I’m sorry I cannot help you. However, if you need some resources to keep searching, I can spare some coins towards your endeavor.”
Helena snorted soundlessly.
Oh, I’m sure Uncle would love to take him up on that.
“That is very generous of you, Your Grace. I shall certainly keep it in mind, but for now I need to find my niece.”
“Then it’s best you continued with your search, my lord.”
“Of course. Thank you for your time, Your Grace.” Uncle James’s words came clipped, each syllable deliberate, stripped of the usual oily lilt that made her skin crawl.
Helena knew that if he had not been speaking with a duke, he would have been a lot ruder. Uncle James liked to ingratiate himself, but he had no patience when his slimy charm did not work. She could hear his angry footsteps and then the slam of the door as he left.
As soon as he was gone, she leapt for the door, letting herself back in.
She clutched Silas by the arm, looking desperately into his eyes. “We have to go and get Charlie! Right now,” she whispered.
“Helena, what…” he looked towards the door.
“I was outside waiting for him to leave,” she said impatiently. “Never mind that, what are we going to do about Charlie?”
He stares back at her, looking nonplussed and speechless. “You were eavesdropping?” he asked incredulously.
“Of course I was. What did you expect?” she said. “Charlie—”
He put his hands on her shoulders, mostly to stop her agitated shifting from foot to foot. He bent down and looked into her eyes.
“You remember the Marquess of Richmont?”
“Of course, what has that to do with anything?”
“He’s keeping a close watch on your brother.
I promise you, nothing will happen to Charlie while I’m here.
And now that I’ve heard your uncle threaten you myself, we have something to hold on to when the time comes to confront him.
It may not be enough for a conviction yet, but it’s a start.
Stay steady. You’re not facing this alone anymore. I’ll see to that.”
Helena found, in spite of herself, that her heart had slowed and her breathing had evened. She stared up at him, a jumble of emotions twisting in her chest.
Words failed her. Gratitude swelled for his calm presence, for the quiet assurance in his voice. Yet underneath that, stormier feelings churned, an insistent curiosity about what might happen if he kissed her again.
Her lips tingled at the thought, and she realized she had imagined it more times than she cared to admit. She bit her lip, catching the way his eyes flicked down to her mouth.
He wants to kiss me too, she realized with a small, triumphant thrill.
But instead, he stepped back, releasing his hands from her shoulders.
“If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”
Helena blinked, momentarily unmoored by his sudden shift.
“Er…all right. I’ll leave you to it.” She forced a small, awkward smile before turning toward the door.
Nothing was resolved. Nothing was settled. Her uncle was still on her trail.
Yet, somehow, standing there with Silas so close, she felt safer than she had since her father’s death.