Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
“Silas!” Amelia burst into the room, her face shining with happiness. “You’re getting married?”
Silas knew his decision to marry Helena was impulsive. He also knew that there was no other decision he could have made, and not just because James Porter was trying to take her away.
Now, he felt as if he was teetering on the edge of a cliff. The slightest breeze could tip him over and send him hurtling into the sharp rocks below. But he was also intending to take a leap and dive into the deep waters below, with the hope that he would survive.
Silas frowned. “That was fast,” he said.
“So it’s true?”
“Yes, it’s true. Did Helena tell you?” He would not have thought she was eager to share the news.
Amelia waved a hand dismissively. “No, the entire household is whispering about it. But the important thing is, you’re marrying Helena! We shall be sisters forever!”
Silas barely refrained from rolling his eyes. Clearly his sister had different priorities than he did. “Yes, I shall be marrying Lady Helena.”
“Oh, this is the most exciting news! When? When is the wedding?” She skipped up and down, staring at him with shining eyes.
“Well, I have to acquire a license first, and then we’ll set a date.”
“When will you get the license?”
Silas sighed, putting down his glass. “I am going to today.”
He knew that they needed to expedite things before James Porter came up with some way to stop them.
“I shall just go and pay a call on the district magistrate,” he said as he passed her on his way out of the door.
“All right. I’ll… I’ll go and let Helena know!” Amelia said and skipped out of his study.
At least one person is excited about this wedding.
“I’ve sent a note the modiste.” Amelia burst into Helena’s chambers, buzzing with excitement. “And to the shoemaker as well, to make you a pair of lovely slippers for your wedding.” She did a little hop, clapping her hands. “Are you excited? I’m so excited! We’re going to be sisters!”
Helena shrugged. “Well… It’s all happening a bit too quickly. I hardly know what to feel.”
Amelia frowned. “But you are happy, are you not?” she asked anxiously.
“Happy?” Helena looked away. “I… I don’t know if happy is the word for it, dear. I just saw my uncle, whom I haven’t seen since he dropped me off at the abbey, I have no idea what will happen to my brother now… So… I don’t know if happy is the word I’d use at the moment.”
“Oh. Yes. That is right. Pardon me, I just…” the girl’s voice trailed off, and Helena instantly felt bad for unloading her whirlwind thoughts on the poor creature.
So, she pinned a smile on her face and took Amelia’s hand, pulling her along to the sewing room.
“Come, you were telling me about the modiste. Will she bring her own bolts of cloth? Will we match the colors of the coat of arms? Tell me what kind of wedding this is to be.”
Amelia’s face instantly lit up. “Well, Silas said it is to be fast, so we shall probably simply adjust what we have. My mother had some lovely formal gowns. You must be the same size as her, judging from her portrait. I’m sure we can get something beautiful for you to wear.”
Helena frowned. “Oh, I don’t know about wearing your mother’s clothes. Shouldn’t they be preserved for you?”
“But I want you to!” Amelia favored her with puppy eyes and Helena had no choice but to concede.
“Fine. I suppose borrowing one gown couldn’t hurt.”
“Yes, and Madame Montclair will make you a trousseau of your own for your honeymoon!”
Helena flushed. The rational part of her knew there would be no honeymoon. Still, the other, more hidden part of her wondered if… if she’d get to feel Silas’s touch again.
“I’m sure that won’t be necessary,” she said in a low, sheepish voice, dismissing her na?ve thoughts.
Amelia gave her an incredulous look. “What? Of course it’s necessary! Don’t be silly.”
“You’re getting married? To a potential witness? Is this the best time for that, Highcliff?” the Lord Chancellor asked him.
Silas blew out a breath. “She has no guardian to speak for her. It would be very easy for her uncle to claim her as we speak. So, for the sake of the case as well as my honor, there’s no other route I can take.”
Benedict cleared his throat. “The girl is in danger, my lord. This is the correct course of action.”
The Lord Chancellor looked from one to the other, his brow furrowed as if he was unconvinced. “Very well then, I shall get you the license today. You’re sure about this uncle of hers? He is the link we’ve been looking for?”
They both nodded.
“Our men acquired evidence to support that claim, yes. The way he came barging into my castle, trying to take the witness by force, points to his desperation. I think that if we push him—and this marriage should do just that—he will make a mistake, and we will be there to catch him at it,” Silas said.
The Lord Chancellor got to his feet. “Very well then. Wait here.”
Silas nodded in relief. The sooner he and Helena got married, the safer she would be. Getting a special license would put them one step closer.
He turned to Benedict. “I don’t suppose you are licensed to conduct a marriage ceremony?”
Benedict threw back his head and laughed. “No, I’m not. But never fear, I know who to speak to.”
Silas clapped him on the back. “You always come through for me.”
Benedict gave him a sidelong glance. “As do you. But now that you are marrying, I shall have to start thinking of finding my own bride.”
Silas laughed. “I have a feeling your mistress would be quite upset about that.”
“Ah,” he waved his hand dismissively, “she knows the ways of these things.”
Silas made a noncommittal sound.
Then, his mind threw up an image of Helena sprawled on his library table, the creamy mounds of her breasts hanging out of her stays.
If he was honest, he had not been able to stop thinking about how close he had come to ruining her, and how much he did not regret it.
It was foolish, allowing his body to dictate his emotions like this, but he could not seem to do a thing about it.
Soon enough, the Lord Chancellor returned, brandishing the special license in his hand, and congratulated Silas on his impending nuptials.
After Silas greeted him with a bow, he left with Benedict by his side, holding the paper that would secure Helena’s safety.
Helena smoothed down the blue satin gown, her eyes on her reflection in the looking glass, wondering if she had ever worn anything so fine.
Her dark hair cascaded down her back, and her blue eyes seemed to shine even more when reflected against her gown.
Amelia had brought her a string of pearls to wear around her neck, with matching ear bobs, rejecting all of Helena’s attempts at refusal.
“They are a gift, and you cannot refuse them.”
“These are too dear for me to accept.” Helena had protested, trying to put them back in Amelia’s hands.
The younger woman had simply moved away from her, her arms crossed, and shaking her head. “They are not too dear for me to give them to you. We are sisters now.”
Helena gave a sigh of defeat. “Very well, I shall wear them to the wedding ceremony, but should you feel the need to take them back afterwards, you absolutely should.”
Amelia snorted derisively. “If that is what it takes for you to accept them, then I agree to your terms.”
So here she was about to walk down the aisle, unable to recognize herself.
She had never looked like this.
Before being taken to the St. Margaret’s, she had worn simple homespun around the house. She had a few gowns for when they had visitors, but those were also simple as befitting her status as a girl who was yet to come out.
This dress, with its flowy sleeves, square neckline lined with white lace, tight bustier, and long train, was like something she’d only seen in pictures, and perhaps her mother’s wardrobe. She’d never dreamed that one day she would wear something like this.
In fact, she had never dared to dream of a future outside of endless chores, cold knees from crawling on the cold stone floor of the abbey, and endless punishment.
Now, she was at least free.
The thought brought a small smile to her face as she walked down the aisle of the village chapel.
The pews were filled with the castle staff, beaming at her with joy. She smiled shyly back, nodding to a few that she knew well such as the maids who usually brought her water in the morning to bathe, or the girls who served her breakfast.
She recognized the priest from the church waiting, and Benedict, beaming at her from Silas’s side, ready to bear witness. Amelia sat in the front row literally vibrating with happiness. Helena could not help but reflect that merriment back at her.
Finally, when she could avoid it no longer, her eyes slid to meet Silas’s. She had barely seen him in the last two days, what with all the preparations, and the fact that he’d had to dash to London to get the special license.
She could understand the urgency. Until she was Silas’s wife, she was still her mother’s daughter, and therefore subject to the whims of her legal guardian, Uncle James. He could burst into the door this minute, and try to stop the wedding.
Her eyes involuntarily went to the door, though she knew that the estate was heavily guarded.
She couldn’t help a flutter of nerves. If she was honest she would admit that it was easier to worry about a potential invasion of the wedding, rather than think about who she was marrying and what would happen after the ceremony.
Duchess Helena?
It seemed quite ridiculous to her. Yet here she was about to marry a duke.
She knew that wherever her mother was, she was probably hysterical.
She’s probably wailing, screaming and casting up her accounts.
It helped settle her a little bit, because finally she was at the altar and taking her place at Silas’s side.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God…”