Chapter 10 #2
“The second youngest’s name starts with the letter S, while the youngest’s starts with an A.” He said, very much amused.
Helena fought a grin, instead she feigned annoyance and sniffed.
“Thank you, Your Grace. I remember now, Susannah and Amelia.”
“Very impressive indeed!” He clapped his hands silently. “And now for the most difficult of questions, how old are they?”
Helena smiled confidently, for she knew the answer to, she had asked Rebecca the very question last year. She adjusted the year in her mind and directly answered Matteo.
“Four and twenty, three and twenty, one and twenty, nineteen, eighteen, seventeen, and fifteen!”
“And how old are you?”
“Six and twenty!” She covered her mouth as soon as she uttered the words.
“Thank you for your answer.” He silently applauded her again, grinning broadly.
“You—”
An excited chatter spread among the guests as the Wakefield sisters, one by one, walked on stage. When they were complete, they curtsied and took their positions, hands ready to play.
Matteo leaned closer to her. She could still hear the laughter in his voice.
“Six and twenty is a fine age, my dear Helena. Thank you for trusting me with your secret.”
She could no longer help it; she laughed. Fortunately for her, a welcoming applause for the start of the performance broke. From in front of them, Chastity turned to look at her, then at Matteo, perplexity and a hint of a smile on her face.
Helena bit her lip and tried to put on a straight face, but the twitching of her lips gave her away. She looked at Matteo, who joined the applause, an innocent look on his face.
“Did you enjoy the musical, Lady Chastity?” Matteo asked as they waited for Matteo’s carriage to pick them up.
“Oh, immensely, Your Grace.” Chastity clasped her hands together as if savoring the memory of the music. “The Wakefield Sisters played so beautifully, I can only hope to be as proficient as they are.”
“But you do play the pianoforte beautifully, Chastity,” Helena said.
“Not better than you, Helena,” Chastity said with a grin.
Helena laughed.
“But I think Faith, at least, is most definitely better than me.”
“Only because she has had more practice.”
Matteo could easily imagine Helena making sure that her sister completed her scheduled hours on the pianoforte while she neglected her own study of it. It seemed to him that she needed more time for herself, for her own interests.
“All this talk of you and your sisters playing the pianoforte must lead to you allowing me to listen to you play,” Matteo said with a persuasive smile at Helena. “A small private concert.”
“Well…”
“You must hear Faith play first, Your Grace,” Chastity said, warming to the idea. “She does, indeed, play the best out of all four of us.”
“Excellent, I shall take that as a formal invitation,” Matteo said, smiling. He turned to Helena. “Just tell me when and I shall be there.”
He looked pointedly at Helena, subtly gesturing with his eyes at Chastity, who was closely watching their interaction.
“Er, perhaps you can join us for a family supper tomorrow evening? And then we can play after.” Helena suggested. “We have no plans for tomorrow night, and it would be an opportunity to acquaint yourself better with Faith and Grace.”
“As it happens, I have no prior engagements for tomorrow evening. I am happy to accept, Helena.”
Matteo turned to Chastity.
“I hope the plan is agreeable to you, Lady Chastity?”
“Oh, indeed. I look forward to it, Your Grace.”
Matteo bowed, smiling.
A footman approached them, respectfully cleared his throat, and announced that their carriage was ready.
When they reached Huntington House, Matteo handed them down the carriage and walked with them towards the front door.
“I shall be back to fetch you in two hours’ time. Shall we walk since Trueman House is but a few houses away?” he asked Helena.
“Oh, yes indeed, it will be much faster that way.”
“Will two hours be enough for a lady to rest and change into a different ensemble?” Matteo asked smiling.
For himself, the change in attire appropriate to an outdoor picnic would not take too long. He could only imagine the length of time ladies needed for such preparations.
That was perhaps telling how little familial feminine experience Matteo had in his life. He had no sister to wait for; he never experienced the amusement and frustration of having been ready for hours to attend a social function while your wife and sisters told you that you must wait another hour.
Poor, old Duke. Matteo smiled inwardly at Peter’s rants, rants that he knew were just for show.
In the past, he had attended very few social events with his parents. Perhaps one or two years after he had finished university. But there was never the anticipation of enjoying the event with family.
No, he had never had to wait for his mother to finish preparing for a ball. Never had he stood at the bottom of the stairs, awaiting to escort her to the carriage and tell her that she looked handsome, never had he been told that he looked handsome.
He had never thought that would be an experience that he would like to have—until now. He saw Helena walking down the staircase, her beautiful blue eyes watching him as well, anticipating the pleasure of attending a ball with him.
He gave himself a mental shake at the sudden gravity of his thoughts.
“Perhaps three hours?” he continued.
Helena watched as Chastity stifled a yawn. Smiling at Matteo, she answered him.
“Best make it three hours. I think a lie-down might be in order,” she whispered.
“As you wish. And perhaps arriving a tad late will ensure that more people see us together and know of our engagement.”
“Hush!” Helena slapped his arm again. She threw a quick glance at Chastity, who did not seem to hear.
“That is the third time that you have slapped my arm today, my lady.” Matteo laughed. “One would think that you find me very annoying or…”
“Or?”
Matteo moved closer to her and whispered in her ear.
“Or very attractive.” His voice dipped to a playful purr. “One would think that you are actually flirting with me.”
Helena sputtered in her surprise. She looked as if she wanted to give him an earful, but could not quite decide on the correct words. Or perhaps she knew the precise words but refused to speak them where Chasity could hear. Matteo’s shoulders shook with silent laughter.
They reached the front door. He took Helena’s hand and kissed it; his wide grin aimed at Helena. She looked like she would happily throw him off a cliff.
“Until this afternoon, ladies.” Matteo bowed to both ladies and turned to leave.
From behind him, he heard Chastity speak.
“Why, Helena, you are all red.”
Inside his carriage, he let out the laugh that he had been holding back.