Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Getting back to Highcliff was a relief for Silas. He couldn’t even quantify the weight that lifted from his shoulders to have Helena home once again, safely ensconced in the castle’s protective embrace.
He had never truly appreciated the defensive nature of his estate until now. No one could enter without passing through his guards.
London, by contrast, had left him feeling exposed, vulnerable. He was filled with regret for ever having agreed to take Helena with him.
Amelia was waiting in the front hall and practically skipped down the steps when she saw them. She embraced Helena at once, looping their arms together as they walked deeper into the house.
“I am so glad you’re back,” Amelia said brightly, though a touch of concern colored her voice. “But such a short honeymoon! Did you not like London?”
Helena glanced at Silas and gave a small, conspiratorial smile. “It was… loud, and dirty, mostly. Silas didn’t think it was safe for me.”
Silas’s jaw tensed as Amelia turned a frown on him.
“Why wouldn’t it be safe?” she asked.
“I was just being a worrywart,” Silas cut in before Helena could say anything. “Don’t fret about it, Amelia.”
He didn’t want his sister lying awake at night thinking of assassins lurking in alleys, waiting for a chance to strike down her new sister.
Helena gave Amelia’s arm a gentle squeeze. “He really was. We barely went anywhere. Though,” she added with a small smile, “we did have tea at the loveliest shop Benedict insisted on, and we visited a little bookshop just nearby. That part was very nice.”
Amelia brightened. “That sounds romantic.”
“It would’ve been more so if Silas hadn’t glowered at everyone who so much as looked at me,” Helena teased.
“I did not glower,” Silas muttered behind them. “I observed.”
Helena glanced back at him with a smile that made something twist low in his gut.
Still, she turned back to Amelia and added with a shrug, “But yes. Loud. And dirty. I don’t think I’m made for cities.”
Amelia sighed dramatically. “Oh dear. And I shall have to spend a whole season there when I come out. How will I bear it?”
Silas frowned. “You have some time yet. Why are you thinking about coming out?”
Amelia gave him a look. “I have two years at most before I come out. There’s a lot to do to get ready.”
“Three years.” Silas hissed, even though she’d be seventeen in two years, Silas thought it best to delay her debut as long as possible.
Amelia just rolled her eyes, exchanging a glance with Helena as if to say, “he doesn’t understand”. Silas shook his head, feeling quite done with the whole thing. He had no idea why his sister had such a desire to grow up so fast.
“I shall take our bags upstairs,” he said. “Shall I have the servants bring you some hot water to bathe?” he asked Helena.
“Yes, that would be lovely after all the road dust.”
“Ah, but I wanted you to tell me all about London!” Amelia protested.
Helena removed her arm from Amelia’s. “I shan’t be long. I shall tell you all about it at supper, which will be very soon, all right?”
Amelia pouted, shrugging her shoulders. “Fine,” she said grudgingly.
Helena smiled at her and then leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
“I shall see you soon,” she said before following Silas up the stairs.
After she had her bath, Helena went in search of Silas.
She found him changing his clothes as he got ready for dinner. She sat down on his bed and watched, conscious of the intimacy of their situation even with Silas’s valet present.
Once he had helped the duke with his cufflinks, the valet left them alone.
“What are we going to do about the diadem?” Helena asked at once.
Silas came to sit beside her with a sigh. “I asked Benedict to join us for dinner. Afterward we can talk about what to do next. Would you mind distracting Amelia while we do that?”
Helena grinned. “You mean because she’ll insist on clinging to Benedict like a limpet?”
Silas rolled his eyes. “No, I mean because she’ll be curious to know what we’re saying if we all go off. But if the women have their own after dinner digestif while we do the same, then she’ll take it as quite normal.”
“But you will tell me what the plan is?”
He smiled, “Of course.” He bumped his shoulder against hers. “As soon as we come to bed.”
“Why can’t we just tell her what we are doing?”
Silas took a deep breath. “She’s lost so much already. I don’t want her to be worried.”
Helena nodded. She could understand the instinct to protect a younger sibling from worry, but was afraid it might put Amelia in danger. Heaven knew what means these men were willing to use.
“Can I just tell her enough so that she’s wary of any strangers?”
“Of course you can. Just tell her dangerous people out there are after you and she should not speak to people she doesn’t know. Of course, she knows that already, but to reemphasize it can’t hurt.”
Helen sighed. “I cannot wait until this is over. I find myself continuously surprised, because before my father’s death we were living a very uneventful life, and now it seems that every day brings a new revelation that I wasn’t prepared for.”
He reached out curling his arm around her shoulders and rubbing her arm consolingly. “We will get through this, I promise you.”
She turned to look at him intently. “Promise me that we will not have any big secrets in this marriage?”
Silas huffed in amusement, shaking his head. “You and I have no secrets. Everything is already on the table. You already know that I am a spy. I have no need to hide anything from you.”
She nodded. “That is true. But should we have children, let us make proviso for them, so that they are not hit by any shocking revelations should we die.”
He tightened his hold on her shoulders. “Nobody’s dying. And our children will not go through what you did. If there’s anything I can promise you, it is that. Our children will always be protected, as will you—whether I am here or not.”
She reached out and held his hand. “I do not wish to imagine being left here without you. We’ve known each other for such a short time, yet I have come to rely on you so much. I don’t think I’ve ever leaned on anyone the same way I lean on you. I cannot envisage no longer having you in my life.”
“Well, don’t envision it, because I intend to be here for a long time. Now come on,” he said, pulling her to her feet. “Let us go down to dinner.”