Chapter Twenty-Three #2
‘First things first, Father. I received your missive summoning me home. Your brief words, and the way they were written, led me to believe something critical had occurred in my absence. Sending word to Fort Firth and awaiting the king’s regiment to escort me home via carriage would have taken weeks and wasted time I believed I could ill afford.
For that reason, I begged Lachlan for his personal escort and protection in seeing me safely home by the fastest means possible. ’
Helene ignored her father’s raised brow for having spoken Lachlan’s name with fond familiarity.
‘I am eternally grateful and indebted to Lachlan for agreeing to temporarily leave his own family and his clan so that I might stand before you now. Let me assure you’—she turned to look at Lachlan—‘you will never meet a more respected and honourable man than Lachlan MacLanoch.’
Lachlan inclined his head in thanks of her praise.
Helene glanced back at her father. ‘Secondly, I’ve decided, and will make it my priority, to house and care for Prudence myself. You need not concern yourself in this very moment with how I intend doing so.’
Her father’s and brother’s eyes widened in alarm at her having spoken Prudence’s name in the laird’s presence.
‘Lachlan knows about Prudence and is privy to her condition and her whereabouts, but if you think to foil my plans, then think again, for I’ll not hesitate to leak our family secret to your peers should I be forced to do so.
I will fetch Prudence as soon as I bathe and change my clothes.
Time is of the essence, so tell me, Father, what was your reason in summoning me home? ’
Helene might as well have cut out their tongues with her sgian-dubh, for both her father and brother stood rooted to the spot in mute silence, arms slack by their sides, with neither of them meeting her eye.
‘Speak your mind, Father. Whatever it is you have to say, it can be said in front of Lachlan. He is the only man I trust.’
This revelation pulled her father’s gaze to hers, and Helene thought she glimpsed hurt, if not regret, in his eyes.
He did not answer her, and the oppressive silence weighed heavy on Helene. She refused to stand idle. ‘Lachlan, if you can tolerate the present company for the next half an hour, I’ll quickly ready myself and then we’ll go directly to Bethlam.’
‘Aye, lass.’
She turned to leave.
‘Helene! Wait!’ said her brother.
‘Wait? For what?’
He gestured to the armchairs. ‘Let us all sit. I’ll ring for Grayson to bring tea. We’ve much to discuss.’
Helene cut her hand angrily through the air. ‘I’ll not sit drinking tea and making polite conversation while Prudence suffers indignity, injustice, and God knows what else in that lunatic asylum.’ She took another stride towards the door.
‘Prudence is no longer there,’ said her father.
Helene froze. She twisted her head and shot a glance at him over her shoulder. ‘What do you mean, she’s no longer there?’
Her father’s gaze fell at her feet. Helene looked to her brother for an answer.
Even he could not look her in the eyes. Her heart pounded and she felt the blood drain from her face.
Her insides turned ice-cold. She didn’t see Lachlan move, but suddenly he was there by her side, hand on her elbow, supporting her.
She stared at her father and heard the tremor in her voice when she asked, ‘If Prudence is no longer there, then . . . where is she?’
What could have been only two seconds of unbearable silence had Helene cry aloud, ‘Father?’
Sorrowful eyes met hers. ‘She is abed in her room upstairs.’
Helene spun on her heel and ran from the room.
*
Helene quietly pushed the door ajar and slipped inside the bedchamber.
Sunlight streamed in through partially drawn velvet drapes, illuminating a vase of yellow and orange roses on the dressing table.
Their glossy green tooth-edged leaves and sweet-smelling fragrance instilled in Helene an essence of calm and a feeling of raised spirits.
Her eyes came to rest on Prudence, sleeping on her side and facing the opposite wall. A bed-sheet covered the slender curves of her shoulder, waist, and hips, and black hair, an inherited trait from their mother, fanned out in long waves over the pillow and bedding.
Helene leaned back against the closed door, grateful for its support, and pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle an anguished sob of relief.
Relieved to be finally home. Relieved to see her dear sister here, safe and protected in their father’s house amidst comfort and care. As it should always have been.
With relief came hard-hitting concern. What had been the catalyst for her father in bringing Prudence home?
How long had she been here, and had her father welcomed Prudence home indefinitely?
Despite the need to know and understand the answers to those questions, Helene allowed herself to rejoice in her sister’s return.
It was the first time in more than ten years that they were all under the same roof.
Was this not progress and a pathway to reconciliation?
Still, something seemed sorely amiss with her father and brother.
It was as if the fight to estrange themselves from Prudence was gone.
Between them, they’d exhibited a pensive expression, their voices flat, and at times, their inability to meet her eyes suggested to Helene they were keeping something from her.
Helene rubbed her temples. Fatigue messed with her mind.
She inhaled and released a slow, deep breath before padding quietly over the plush rug towards the dressing table chair.
Once the chair was carefully placed in position beside the bed, she sat down to watch over Prudence, eager to look upon that sweet face with its refined chin, full lips, perfectly symmetrical nose, and high cheekbones.
What she saw caused Helene’s breath to hitch in her throat. Features pale and gaunt, with dark-circled eyes, Prudence’s appearance gave rise to gnawing fear. This was not the young lady Helene had last seen at the asylum, but rather a shadow of that person.
She covered her sister’s hand with her own. ‘Prudence.’ The name passed between Helene’s lips on a strangled whisper, and her chin dipped to her chest.
‘Helene?’
The weakened voice had Helene look into eyes that were once the colour of her own. Those green eyes had lost their sparkle. Prudence’s lips stretched into a wide grin, and long lashes blinked in recognition of Helene.
‘You’ve come home,’ said Prudence.
Helene reached out and tucked a wayward dark curl behind her sister’s ear. ‘Yes, my dearest. Just as I promised. And finding you here is an unexpected and wondrous surprise.’
Prudence grimaced. ‘Yes, I suppose it is.’
Helene wanted so desperately to press her sister into revealing all that had happened, and to explain how it came to be that she was back home in this house.
Those were questions she’d ask her father, for in Prudence’s weakened state, Helene sought only to give her sister hope for a brighter future.
‘I did it, Prudence. My time in Scotland paid off, and I now have the funds to provide a life for us both in the countryside, just as we discussed. It won’t be a lavish life by any means, but rather one in which I will be your full-time carer, and we’ll live comfortably enough.’
Helene refrained from mentioning Lachlan’s offer to accommodate herself and Prudence at Drumocher.
While his intentions were genuine and honourable, Helene would never impose on his family and their clan.
She was in love with Lachlan, but despite their shared intimacy and conversations, he’d voiced no claim on her heart.
She could not live under the same roof as him and suffer the pain of unrequited love.
More importantly, she knew Highlanders to be much addicted to superstition, and she very much doubted the MacLanoch Clan would willingly welcome and embrace into their fold a woman afflicted with the falling sickness.
Prudence would likely be branded a witch or possessed by the devil.
Settling her in Scotland would be akin to writing her death sentence.
Prudence furrowed her brow and asked, ‘How did you obtain those funds? You never did reveal that part to me.’
Cuthbert’s promissory note rested safe inside Helene’s inner coat pocket. If her father had plans to turn Prudence away once she was no longer confined to her bed, then those funds would be used for the purpose Helene had originally intended. ‘You needn’t worry about it now. I’ll tell you someday.’
Prudence’s stare strayed past Helene, and she wore an expression as if going back in time. The corners of her mouth lifted into a wistful smile. ‘Someday might never come, so we must make the most of each day.’
Helene gave her sister’s hand a light squeeze. ‘Indeed, we must.’
‘I thank God you made it home in time.’
‘In time? Whatever do you mean?’
Prudence blinked several times before refocusing and sweeping her gaze over Helene as if seeing her for the first time. ‘Goodness!’ Her eyes widened. ‘What are you wearing?’ She wrinkled her nose. ‘And what’s that smell?’
Her sister’s delayed if not comical reaction sent Helene into a fit of laughter. ‘I wished to return home by the fastest means possible, and so Lachlan and I travelled here on horseback. It meant disguising myself as a man.’
Prudence looked suddenly confused. ‘Lachlan?’
‘Yes, the laird of Clan MacLanoch. His castle, Drumocher, is where I stayed in Scotland, as did Agnes; her brother, Cuthbert; and their mother, Lady Sutton.’
Prudence squinted. ‘Yes. I remember now.’
‘Lachlan is currently in the library, acquainting himself with Father and Robert.’
Helene saw that her sister was tiring. ‘Rest now. I need a bath and a clean change of clothes. We’ll talk more about it later, but before I go, is there anything I can get you?’
‘Yes. Have Grayson ready the carriage to leave after the dinner hour.’