Chapter 3
“Nothing!” Helena exclaimed. “I mean…” Her eyes widened as she racked her brain for an explanation. “Thank you.”
The Duke tilted his head, smirking as he looked at her. “Thank you for…”
She blinked and leaned back. “Ah, for saving me.”
“Saving you from what exactly?”
“From Mr. Ramsay,” she said slowly, the sense that she was about to walk into another trap. “It was nothing—a misunderstanding. In fact, had you not come along, I am sure I would have been fine.”
“So, no need to thank me then.” He continued to smirk. “I am glad we got that sorted out.”
He continued to look at her, the smirk on his lips reaching his blue eyes. He stood still, exuding confidence, seeming to enjoy the way she was squirming. How uncomfortable he was making her.
Helena did a quick assessment of the situation. As said, she knew little about the Duke, but she knew enough to understand that the farther away she was from him, the better. He was not known to be wicked or malevolent, but a political animal who was as charming as he was dangerous.
Best that I put this sordid situation behind me and hope he does the same.
“If there is nothing else…” She bowed her head and went to step around him.
“What were you doing here exactly?” He stepped across to block her path. “I admit, when I heard your voices drifting from down the hallway, I had no idea what I might stumble upon. The truth is, I am still not so sure what I witnessed.”
“Nothing,” she said, her eyes darting past him for an escape. “And it is none of your business.”
“Is that right?”
“It is.” She furrowed her brow and glared at him, pushing down the nerves that threatened to wreck her, needing him to grow bored or dismissive or simply decide she was not worth the worry. “And I ask that you… that you forget what you saw here tonight.”
I certainly plan on it.
“I would, if I knew what it was that I was forgetting.”
“As I said, it is nothing to concern yourself with. Now, please…” Again, she tried to step around him.
“Perhaps your father will know what to make of it.” Again, he moved to block her. “No doubt he will be eager to hear about what his guests have been up to.”
Her eyes widened. “No! I mean…” Desperate now, she pouted and fluttered her eyelashes. “There is no need for that. It will only upset my father, and he has enough on his plate as it is. Please, Your Grace…”
In a moment of pure desperation, she reached out and touched his arm.
She thought that she had him. The Duke looked at her hand, and his expression softened, almost seemed resigned. He nodded his head, and she breathed a sigh of relief, her heart fluttering but working to calm herself.
“Perhaps you are correct,” he said. “I would hate to burden your father with… whatever this was.”
“Thank you.”
“Having said that…” The grin returned to his handsome face, and her stomach flipped. “As it stands, it does not take a genius to figure these things out, does it? Even a simpleton might be able to piece together the little scene I’ve stumbled upon.”
“I…” She dropped her hand. “I was lost, that’s all.”
“In your own home?”
“Mr. Ramsay, I mean. He was lost. I found him and… and…” She was losing it.
Ordinarily, Helena was an expert liar, a skill developed over years of having to hide her secret. But she was finding it rather hard to concentrate.
She was not one to become undone by a handsome face. She did not fawn over charming gentlemen. She did not give in to compliments and delusions of romance. She had better things to do than that!
But there was something different about the Duke. Something… unescapable. He had a commanding presence. This was her home, but he acted as if she were the intruder, and the cocky grin he refused to let drop frustrated her just as much as it undid her ordinarily steely control.
“Lost? Or was he waiting to meet you?” he asked simply.
Her eyes widened again. “What… Why would he be—I only just met him!”
The Duke’s eyes flicked to the table, on which sat her manuscript.
“I am more than aware of Mr. Ramsay’s profession,” he explained.
“Just as I am beginning to suspect…” He leaned past her and glanced closer at the manuscript.
“That Henry Monroe is not who Mr. Ramsay was expecting to meet here this evening.” He was back on her, the look on his face suggesting that he was rather pleased with himself.
“Now, why don’t you tell me what really happened?
The truth might be a nice place to start. ”
Helena’s mind tripped and stumbled and fell as she searched desperately for a way out of this mess. A lie. An exaggeration. Something! Whatever she could say to convince the Duke that he had not stumbled upon her secret.
But she knew that it was no good. He had figured her out, and she got the keen sense that once again she had walked right into a trap from which there would be no escape.
Thus, she fell upon the last resort: begging.
“Please don’t tell my father!” she cried, this time grabbing his arm with both her hands. “Please, he cannot know. He must not know! If the ton finds out what I have done, it will… it will embarrass him. It might very well ruin his reputation.”
“That you have written a manuscript, you mean?” he asked simply. “And you were meeting with Mr. Ramsay to have it published.”
She winced and looked away. “Yes…”
“And Mr. Ramsay, sensing an opportunity, thought to take advantage of you.”
“I believe he was.”
“And had I not come here…” He clicked his tongue as if in disappointment. “Let us just say that it is a good thing I intervened when I did.”
She frowned, but was still bowing her head. “I suppose so…”
“So, all that is to say, your gratitude was well earned. Well deserved, in fact.”
Helena jerked her head up, her brow tightening and confusion sweeping over her to see the devilishly delighted grin on his face.
What on earth is he playing at?
“I guess it was,” she said carefully. “Thank you again.”
“You are most welcome, Lady Helena. And I promise…” He put a hand on his chest. “That your secret is safe with me. If it is found out, it won’t be from my lips.
After all, a passion is a most wonderful thing to have, and I would hate for you to lose that which you clearly covet so much.
Enough to take such a big risk in the first place. ”
“I… I do appreciate it.” She swallowed, still sensing the trap. “And if there is anything you need, please…” She almost did not say it, again sensing that this right here was the entire point. “… do not hesitate to ask.”
“I will remember that.”
The Duke looked down at her a moment longer, a knowingness in his eyes that she did not understand. He held her there, wanting her to see it—luring her, it felt like.
Helena gave her head a shake, ignoring the way her stomach flipped. She could not say whether she liked the Duke or not. He was charming, that was true. Handsome as well. But he was clearly teasing her for some reason, and she did not wish to find out. That, she knew, would lead to trouble.
“If there is nothing else…” She tried again to walk around him, and this time he stepped aside to let her pass.
“Of course,” he said. “You had better get back.”
She looked at him curiously, beyond confused. But Helena knew that lingering there would do her no good. Her father was no doubt wondering where she was, and she had to put this evening behind her. So, she put down her head and started toward the door.
“However!” the Duke called after her.
Helena froze. Winced. Cursed herself for being so stupid. And then slowly turned around to find the Duke smirking once again.
“As I said, I know Mr. Ramsay well enough,” he said casually, as if this were the most typical of conversations.
“And from what I know of his character, I doubt his silence will be so easily bought. He is a worm of a man, and even now, I am all but certain that he is scheming against you, if for no other reason than he hates to be made to look a fool.”
Her face paled as the reality hit her. “Oh no…”
He sighed and took a step toward her. “I will speak with him, but even that won’t be enough. He really is a twisted little man.”
“I… What…” Her pulse quickened, panic taking over. “What can I do? I can’t… My father can’t find out. Nobody can find out.”
“I agree,” he said, looking upset, even angry. “Likely, they will, which is a reality you need to accept.”
“No…” Her stomach dropped, the world starting to tumble. “But… but… but…”
“There is one thing I can think of.” He reached her, standing over her again as he looked her over.
That smile was still in his eyes, and now she understood what was going on. The so-called trap, as it was. Likely not planned, but swiftly taken advantage of. Helena braced herself for it.
“Marry me.”
She heard the words, but she did not understand them right away.
She balked, leaning back as if struck. She frowned stupidly at the Duke as she searched for the joke, the laughter, anything to suggest that he was not serious.
He simply looked at her, waiting for her reply, his blue eyes twinkling the whole while.
“You cannot be—”
“It will be a fake courtship,” he spoke over her. “A marriage of convenience. That way, even if word of your actions reaches the ton, it will cause little fuss once it is understood that you are under my protection. There are few men in this world willing to make an enemy of a duke.”
She stared blankly at him.
She searched for the punchline.
She… she almost laughed, such was the insanity!
She did not, however, as despite the smirk on his lips, the look he had her fixed with was very serious.
This was not a joke, but a real offer. And the last thing she would have expected.
“You are serious.”
“I very much am.”
She shook her head. “No, you can’t be! There is no way that… Why would you—This is a trick!”
“No trick,” he assured her. “It is, however, the best offer you are going to get. And once Mr. Ramsay spreads his gossip, likely the last.”
“But why?” she pressed, her breathing turned heavy, and her mind fracturing into a million little pieces such that she could not make sense of anything. “Why would you—”
“My reasons are my own,” he interrupted sharply. “Nor do they concern you. All that should concern you is what will happen if you refuse me.”
“You planned this!” she accused.
“I can see why you might think that. But I assure you, it is not the case. My finding you was a coincidence. As to this offer…” He shrugged as if it were no big thing. “Let’s just say that I know an opportunity when it presents itself. Just as I know how to use it.”
Helena found herself taking a step back. And then another.
This couldn’t be happening.
As she stared in abject horror at the Duke, she struggled to decide what was worse. Her secret getting out or being forced to wed. As things stood for her, it was a very close call, neither of which she wanted to happen.
“No…” She shook her head, taking another step back. “I cannot. I… You cannot make me.”
“I don’t intend to make you,” he said with a frown. “I am trying to help you.”
“You are trying to help yourself!” she cried, not knowing who she was angry at. Mr. Ramsay, the Duke, or herself.
That’s a lie. It’s me and me alone who deserves the brunt of my fury.
“I don’t believe you.”
“Lady Helena, if you will only listen—”
“No!” she shouted, then turned and fled the library.
It was not the most clever thing she had ever done, nor was there any logic behind it. But Helena was not thinking straight; her entire world was falling around her. She needed to escape, regroup, and think! She had to get away.
She stumbled out of the library and into the hallway, not knowing where she was going. Not that it made a difference. No sooner was she in the hallway than she found herself in yet another disastrous situation.
“There she is!” Mr. Ramsay cried, pointing a finger at her. “See! I told you as much, did I not!”
Her eyes widened, and she came to a screeching halt. Body flushed. Hardly able to catch her breath. She stumbled and just about tripped, backing up because accompanying Mr. Ramsay were five guests from the ball. And they were all looking at her.
“The Duke!” Mr. Ramsay declared proudly. “He was in the library with her, alone! No doubt he is there right now! Doing what? I will let your imaginations piece that together!”
That was when the Duke strode out of the library and into the hall. “Lady Helena, if you will just—” He pulled up the second he noticed the crowd.
For the first time since she saw him, he was not a bastion of unwavering confidence. His blue eyes widened, he sucked through his teeth, and he took a step back as if he meant to flee, before discarding that pointless notion.
And all the while, the small crowd watched on, whispers already starting, looks of shock, horror, and disgust painting each face. Except for Mr. Ramsay, who could not have looked more pleased with himself. Oh, how he gloated.
The final trap was set and sprung, a scandal was wandered into willingly, rumors were set to spread, and Helena’s life was sure to end. Unless…
Desperation washing over her, Helena turned and looked at the Duke as an understanding passed silently between them. And as was often the case, it seemed that the Duke of Hawthorne was about to get his way.