Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
“That wasn’t very kind of you.” Helena chided.
Amelia shrugged even as she grinned mischievously. “It seems you made good use of the time.”
Helena shook her head as she tut-tutted. “You should not make a habit of doing that. It’s not safe.”
Amelia frowned. “Silas would never hurt you.”
“There is more than one way to get hurt.” Helena said, still holding Silas’s jacket closed.
“What do you mean?” Amelia looked very concerned, then an excited smile took over her face. “And why are you wearing Silas’s coat?”
Helena shook her head. “Well, it’s quite chilly in here, and you locked us in without a flame in the fireplace. Your brother was kind enough to offer his coat.”
Amelia’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. “You wear it well. Almost like you were meant to.”
Helena’s cheeks warmed. “I—No. It’s nothing of the sort. It’s merely a coat. Practical, that’s all.” She smoothed the front, straightening her shoulders.
Amelia tilted her head, unconvinced, but decided to press a little. “Practical, of course.”
Helena shook her head, more forcefully this time. “Amelia, what you did was unacceptable.”
Amelia flinched. “But I—”
“I know about your good intentions, dear. But you can’t lock people in rooms,” Helena said firmly, her hands tightening slightly on the coat around her shoulders. “It’s reckless, and someone could get hurt.”
Amelia’s grin faltered, replaced by a hint of guilt. “I… I only meant it for fun. And to get you to spend time with him.”
Helena shook her head, exhaling slowly. “Intentions don’t excuse actions, Amelia. You must think of the consequences first.”
She nodded miserably, mouth turned down. “I’m sorry.”
“Apology accepted.” Helena softened just a fraction, letting her tone become gentler before turning around and clutching Amelia’s arms. “I understand what you’re trying to do. I really do, but—”
“I know, you can’t stay. Your family needs you.” Amelia sounded absolutely miserable.
Helena gave her a sad smile. “Come, let’s go have some tea. It’ll cheer us both up.”
She put her hand around Amelia and led her from the room. Then, she adjusted Silas’s coat around her shoulders once more, trying to shake off the warmth it brought her, even as her heart still felt oddly comforted by his lingering presence.
“What have you found?” Silas asked immediately as he closed the office door behind Benedict.
“What? No pleasantries? No thanks for rescuing you from a potentially fraught situation? If Helena had a proper guardian, you’d be planning your wedding as we speak, you know.”
“Can we get on with business?” he replied irritably, though he was still burning from Helena’s touch.
He was quite surprised that he was able to focus on anything at all.
“Right. Well, our friend James has turned out to be quite the shifty fellow. My men followed him two days ago to a gambling hell. They weren’t expecting much, of course, but it’s always good to be vigilant.”
“Go on,” Silas said impatiently.
“Well, he retired into a back room with a group of gentlemen that have been flagged as traitorous scum, but with not enough evidence to…” Benedict made a choking motion.
Silas nodded. “Were your men able to hear what they said?”
“One was able to masquerade as a waiter, bringing them drinks. There seemed to be some argument about money and meeting later in the month to discuss the pending issue since your brother’s been taken care of for a while now.”
Silas cocked an eyebrow, “They said this in front of your man?”
“Of course not. He left the door slightly ajar.”
Silas nodded once, impressed.
“What’s the next move, then?” Benedict asked.
“Obviously, we keep an eye on him and try to find out what this pending issue might be,” Silas answered.
“Of course. Anything else?”
“Well, judging from his general restlessness and overall display of nerves, I’d say our man is fairly desperate to finish whatever this scheme is. Which increases the chances of him making mistakes.”
“Good news, at last.”
“Yes, indeed. We’ll keep our fingers crossed.”
“Is there no way we can nudge him into acting?”
“Not without more information. I shall place a maid or two in the household. To keep an eye on the boy, and to see what they can find out.”
Benedict clapped him on the shoulder with a grin. “That’s a good plan, my friend.”
Silas nodded. “Thank you for the information.”
Benedict waved a dismissing hand. “Yes, I am a saint, I know. These people have caused a lot of grief, especially to that poor woman out there.”
Silas nodded grimly. “I know. We’ll make them pay.”
A couple of days later, Helena was in the sewing room mending a tear in her gown when she heard a kerfuffle outside the door. She put her mending down and got to her feet just as Amelia burst through the door.
“He’s here! Your dastardly uncle is here,” she said, panting.
Helena’s heart dropped. “Where is he?” she whispered, clutching the skirt of her gown so that her hands did not shake.
“He’s in the parlor with Silas. They are arguing.”
If it had been possible Helena’s heart would have sunk right down to her feet. She was moving before she could even think about it.
She snuck down the two flights of stairs in her slippers. Her only thought was to find out why Uncle James was here.
“God, please don’t let anything have happened to Charlie,” she mumbled to herself, before stopping outside the door.
To her surprise, she wasn’t alone there. Both the butler and the housekeeper were standing opposite the door, clearly eavesdropping.
She stared at them incredulously before joining them, as she listened to the raised voices from inside the room.
“I know you have her! I know she’s here! If you know what’s good for you, you will give her to me!” Uncle James’s distinct slimy tones came through the door, and Helena could tell that he was frustrated.
“Even if she were here, I am not a man who is inclined to do as he is told by his inferiors.” Silas’s voice was colder, devoid of emotion.
“You do not know who I am!” Uncle James hissed. “You think you and your sister are safe from me because you are a duke? Think again, Your Grace! Helena Porter is not your problem, and I insist you produce her forthwith!”
“And if I don’t?” There was a thread of amusement in Silas’s voice.
Helena was afraid that he was not taking Uncle James seriously. She knew full well that her uncle was capable of killing everyone in this household to get his way. He was a dangerous, dangerous man, and she had no intention of putting anyone else in danger on her behalf.
“I can make things quite difficult for you and your sister, Your Grace. Is she not about to come out? I could spread it around that you kidnapped Helena! The ton would certainly be curious about what a man like you would want with a hysterical woman in a convent! I wonder what suitors would think of your sister then!”
No. Not Amelia.
She couldn’t let him hurt the poor girl. Not when she’d shown her nothing but warmth.
Helena reached for the door handle and pushed it inwards. Mrs. Owen hissed a protest while Jeeves made a sound of dissent, but she was already stepping into the room.
“Here I am, Uncle James. What do you want?” She took a deep breath, seeking to calm her racing heart.
“Helena! What—” Silas began to say, his brow furrowing with anger.
“Aha! I knew it!” Uncle James said triumphantly at the same time.
“The nuns told me about how cold the Duke was to them. I knew you had been filling his head with lies right away. That’s all you are, silly girl, a liar!
So much so that even your family did not want to be with you!
I alone have taken pity on you! Your mother does not even want to hear your name, and your brother hates you for abandoning him. ”
Helena glared at him, her teeth grinding at his audacity.
“Is there no end to your manipulations? Is it not enough that you have separated me from my brother for all these years? Now you have to tell lies about me? Who is your audience?” She spread her hands around extravagantly, looking around the room. “There’s nobody here to perform for.”
He growled. “I see you have grown some thorns in the time you have been away. I’m not surprised the nuns were happy to see the back of you. Such a nuisance you must have been!”
“I’m happy to hear I caused those nuns some grief. Heaven knows they caused me enough. Was killing me their idea, or yours?”
“You little wretch!” he snarled, marching towards her.
The last time she had seen him, when she was ten and six, he had towered over her. But in the five years since she had grown, and now they were almost eye to eye. It was difficult for him to loom over her threateningly, though that did not stop him from trying.
She looked back at him, unafraid now that she was in the thick of it.
“I have heard enough of your vitriol in my life, uncle. Your words do not affect me as much as you think,” she scoffed.
He grabbed her arm. “I’ve had just about all that I can take from you,” he grumbled. “You’re coming with me.”
“Let. Her. Go.”
A voice thundered, and suddenly there was another hand over Uncle James’s arm prying his fingers off of her.
“How dare you come between us! After kidnapping the girl from the convent. You will be shunned from society once they hear of this!” her uncle howled.
“Is that so? What of when they hear of the murders you have committed, Lord James?”
“Nothing but lies perpetuated by a disgraced duke for his own ends,” James hissed. “Do not interfere in this matter, or I will bury you! It has nothing to do with you.”
“Oh, but it does,” Silas said calmly.
Helena gave him a disbelieving look. Surely he wasn’t about to betray his investigation on her behalf?
“How?” Uncle James asked.
“Lady Helena is under my protection. She was from the moment she stepped into my home. As you said yourself, it would not have been proper for her to be here, unsupervised, without good reason. As soon as she came here, we both knew where this was going—that she would take my name, and become my Duchess.”
Uncle James’s jaw dropped, as did Helena’s.
“I do not believe you,” Uncle James huffed.
Silas’s mouth twisted. “That is hardly my problem, now is it? You will need to unhand my betrothed this instant, and leave my home forever. If I find that you have tried to contact or harass her in any way, there will be consequences. And you will not like them.”
“You lie,” James persisted, looking in horror from Silas to Helena.
“Why would I lie to the likes of you?” Silas sneered. “I have no need to.” He pointed towards the door. “Now will you leave, or shall I throw you out myself?”
James seemed rooted to the spot, bug-eyed and gaping in disbelief. “You do not want her. She is more trouble than she’s worth. You’d do better to toss her in the gutter,” he said.
Silas took a step forward. “Leave. Now.”
Her uncle pursed his lips, his fists trembling in rage. Then, his cool, charming mask slipped back on.
“Very well. I shall take my leave. But you should know,” James turned to face her, his eyes teeming with venom, “that this isn’t over.”
“Get out of my house,” Silas took another step forward, his own hands clenched into tight fists, clearly ready to strike at any moment.
With a final glare, James stormed out of the parlor.
Helena let out a breath of relief. Then, she turned to look at Silas, who seemed completely unruffled by the day’s carryings on.
“What were you thinking?”
He quirked an eyebrow. “What was I thinking? What were you thinking, bursting in here like that?”
“I was afraid of what he might do!”
“And you thought that confronting him was the best way to deal with that?”
“He—he threatened to spread rumors that would affect your sister. I didn’t want her to suffer because of me.”
“I would have dealt with his threats on my own,” Silas said.
She shrugged. “Perhaps so. But I know my uncle. If he knew that I was here, he would not stop until he got me back. And if you thwarted him, only heaven knows what he might have resorted to.”
He shook his head slowly. “It is not your duty to protect my sister. It is mine.”
“My uncle would not have been in your home were it not for me, so I am sorry, Your Grace, but it is my duty.”
He sighed. “I suspect we shall not agree on this, so let us put it aside.”
“Yes, because now you’ve told him that we are to be married. Do you think he will keep such a thing to himself? Do you think he won’t want to confirm the veracity of that claim?”
“We will be married. It is the only way to truly protect you.”
She blinked. “And what of my brother?”
“Once we’re married, I can make a case for guardianship.”
That stopped Helena cold. She had many objections to make about this whole situation, but the thought that her brother might be safe at last… well, that was as tempting an offer as they came.
She let out a long breath. “I need a moment to process this.”
He nodded at her. “Naturally. I’ll see you later.”
And so, she marched out of the room, her mind swaying with this most sudden turn of events.