Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Amelia stood perfectly still as the silence settled over the study, though her heart beat hard enough to make her ribs ache.
Helen regarded the moment with calm amusement rather than offense.
“Well,” she said, folding her gloved hands before her, “Valerie certainly became spirited.” Her lips curved into a faint smile that never reached her eyes. “I spent years attempting to break that spirit, and yet somehow it survived.”
Amelia visibly stiffened while Gabriel’s expression darkened with alarming speed. Amelia felt a chill creep down her spine.
What mother speaks so casually of breaking her own child?
Amelia stared at Helen in disbelief, scarcely able to reconcile the elegant, composed woman before her with the cruelty hidden beneath her pleasant voice. Then, unwillingly, another thought crept into her mind.
My own mother is not so very different.
Lady Shirley had never struck her children, yet she had spent years arranging, directing, and deciding until Amelia scarcely knew where her own wishes began. The resemblance made Amelia’s stomach twist.
Helen’s attention shifted leisurely around the room. “Where is David?” she asked, her tone almost idle, as though inquiring after the weather.
Gabriel answered before anyone else could speak. “That is no longer your concern,” he said coldly, his hands clasped behind his back to conceal their tension. He took one deliberate step forward.
“What do you want, Helen?” His grey eyes never left hers. “Why have you returned after all this time?”
Helen met his stare without flinching. “I have already told you,” she replied smoothly, lifting one elegant shoulder.
“I have come for my children.” She paused, watching his face carefully before continuing.
“Idle gossip reached me that you intended to replace their mother with a governess.” Her gaze drifted slowly toward Amelia, lingering there with unmistakable calculation.
“Naturally, I found such rumors difficult to believe.”
Lady Provie shifted awkwardly where she stood near the fireplace. Helen inclined her head toward her with a polite smile. “So I called upon Lady Provie,” she continued, “and she very kindly confirmed that the gossip was, in fact, true.”
Lady Provie looked distinctly uncomfortable for the first time since Amelia had met her.
Helen spread her hands almost innocently. “I simply could not allow another woman to take my place. So here I am.”
Amelia felt every pair of eyes in the room turn towards her. Her cheeks warmed, not from embarrassment but from indignation.
Take her place?
She had never once attempted to replace anyone. She had merely loved two lonely children because no one else had been there to do so. Before she could speak, Gabriel moved.
He stepped directly in front of Amelia.
The movement was instinctive, protective, leaving no doubt who he meant to shield. His broad shoulders blocked Helen’s view of Amelia almost entirely.
“Valerie was correct,” Gabriel said, his voice dangerously quiet as he faced Helen. “You forfeited any right to call yourself their mother years ago.” His jaw tightened. “You will never lay eyes upon David or Valerie again.” The certainty in his tone echoed through the room.
Amelia’s heart swelled painfully. Not because of what he had said. Because of the fierceness behind every word.
She understood then that every rule, every stern lecture, every impossible standard Gabriel imposed had never been born from cruelty. They had been built from terror. Terror of failing those children, as every other adult in their lives had failed them. The realization made her eyes sting.
She stepped carefully around Gabriel’s shoulder before she could lose her nerve.
“David has already forgotten you,” she said quietly, meeting Helen’s gaze with surprising steadiness.
Helen’s eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. Amelia clasped her trembling hands together to hide their shaking.
“If you truly love him,” she continued, “you should allow it to remain that way.” Her voice softened with genuine sorrow. “After everything he endured… remembering would only wound him again.”
For a heartbeat, the room fell utterly silent. Then Helen smiled. It was not a pleasant smile. It was sharp. Venomous.
“My,” Helen murmured, slowly turning her attention fully upon Amelia.
“Where does a mere governess find such extraordinary audacity?” She took one graceful step closer.
“To lecture me regarding my own children.” Her eyes glittered coldly.
“You ought to be dismissed immediately for such breathtaking disrespect.”
Amelia felt her pulse race but refused to retreat. She had spent too much of her life remaining silent. Not tonight. Not where David and Valerie were concerned.
Helen tilted her head thoughtfully. “Although,” she mused, tapping one gloved finger lightly against her chin, “perhaps I have discovered a far better solution.”
Gabriel frowned. “What solution?” he demanded.
Helen smiled sweetly. “You should marry me.”
The words struck the room like a thunderclap.
Amelia forgot to breathe.
Helen continued as though proposing the most sensible arrangement imaginable.
“After all, Benedict was your brother.” She folded her hands elegantly.
“You are already a guardian to our children. Marry me, and together we can raise David and Valerie properly, precisely as we ought to have done after poor Benedict departed us.”
Gabriel made a sound Amelia had never heard before. It was not anger. Not irritation. Not even disbelief. It was pure, unmistakable shock.
“You cannot possibly be serious,” he said, staring at Helen as though she had suggested setting the manor ablaze for warmth.
“Oh, I am entirely serious,” Helen replied, smoothing an invisible crease from her sleeve. “Society would approve. The children would have both their mother and their uncle. And any unfortunate misunderstandings involving governesses would disappear overnight.”
Amelia’s stomach lurched. Her gaze flew instinctively to Gabriel.
Will he consider it?
Her chest tightened painfully as she searched Gabriel’s face for any hint of his decision. For the first time since she had met him, she was terrified of what he might say next.
The thought arrived before she could stop it. It crashed through her heart with frightening force. He was a duke. Helen was a lady of suitable birth. The match made perfect sense on paper. Far more sense than…
Than me.
A governess. A runaway. A woman with no fortune and a month-old position that had already reached its end.
She hated herself for the fear that gripped her.
If he agrees... I lost all of them.
Amelia stood perfectly still as the silence settled over Gabriel’s study, yet inside she felt as though the floor had begun to crumble beneath her.
The fire crackled softly in the grate, mocking the dreadful stillness that had fallen upon the room.
Gabriel’s expression had become harder than she had ever seen it, while Helen wore the serene smile of someone entirely convinced of her own victory.
Amelia clasped her trembling hands together, praying no one would notice how violently they shook. Every instinct urged her to speak, yet fear rooted her to the carpet. She had never imagined one woman’s cruelty could fill an entire room.
Gabriel stared at Helen in utter disbelief before finally finding his voice. “Have you completely lost your senses?” he demanded, taking one measured step towards her as his hands curled behind his back.
His voice remained controlled, yet Amelia heard the fury simmering beneath every syllable.
Helen merely tilted her head with infuriating composure and smoothed an invisible crease from her sleeve. “No,” she replied with a pleasant smile, lifting one elegant shoulder. “I believe I have finally come to my senses.”
Gabriel gave a humorless laugh that lasted scarcely a second. “Then I fear your senses have abandoned you entirely,” he said, shaking his head as he looked at her with open contempt.
Helen’s smile widened rather than faltered. “Not at all,” she answered smoothly, taking an unhurried step across the room. “It is the natural progression of matters, Gabriel.” She inclined her head almost affectionately. “My children are your wards, and they deserve their proper mother once again.”
“The children already have a family,” Gabriel replied sharply, lifting his chin. “I will remind you again that you forfeited the right to call yourself their mother years ago when you decided to fake your own death.”
Helen sighed dramatically before meeting his gaze again. “How terribly dramatic you have become,” she murmured, spreading her hands. “Surely even you understand appearances matter.” She smiled with chilling confidence. “The family ought to be restored.”
“I will never marry you,” Gabriel said flatly, each word striking the room like stone. He did not raise his voice, yet Amelia had never heard greater certainty.
Helen’s eyes gleamed as though she had been waiting for precisely that answer. “Oh,” she replied softly, taking another graceful step towards him, “I rather think you shall.”
Gabriel narrowed his eyes. “On what possible grounds?” he asked, folding his arms tightly across his chest.
“My terms,” Helen answered, her smile turning almost triumphant. She glanced briefly towards Amelia before returning her attention to Gabriel. “Once you hear them, I believe you will find yourself considerably more agreeable.”
Gabriel’s jaw tightened. “Speak plainly,” he ordered, gesturing impatiently with one hand. “You have tested my patience long enough.”