Chapter 4
“Ican explain!” Helena stammered, turning away from the Duke and facing the small crowd that was still staring at her in a state of both shock and fury. “Please, let me explain.”
“Oh, do explain!” Mr. Ramsay stepped forward, hands on his hips, the glee he found shining through. “I am sure we would love to hear it.”
“I… I…”
Helena struggled to form words. Thoughts. Much of anything that might save her. She knew where this ended, but she was desperate to fight that ending until there was no hope left.
“The Duke and I… we…”
“What were you doing in the library alone?” Mr. Ramsay pressed.
“Your Grace?” A lord she did not recognize stepped forward. “Explain yourself at once!”
“Yes!” someone else hissed. “Explain yourself.”
“It is not what you think!” Helena tried to no avail. “Please! If you will only listen!”
And they might have listened, had she something to tell them. But what could she possibly say? There was no explanation she might give that could save her from this moment. It was either Mr. Ramsay or the Duke, marriage or damnation.
“Helena!” From behind the crowd, Helena heard a voice that made her entire body tremble.
Face paling, stomach dropping, she stumbled back and very nearly wept.
“What is the meaning of this!”
It was her father, joined by her mother. They pushed through the crowd, coming to an abrupt halt as they took in the scene. Both of them looked from her to the Duke, a moment taken to understand… and then realization hit them.
“Helena!” her mother gasped.
“Your Grace!” her father bellowed. “How dare you!”
“What have you done?” her mother spoke over him. “Helena…”
It was all too much.
Helena stumbled back again, hardly able to stand, as her knees were shaking violently. The hallway spun, the walls cracked and began to tumble, and she was forced to do that which she did not want to do but knew she had no choice.
She spun around and found the Duke standing there, watching. The shock of the moment had passed, confidence reasserted, a calm on his handsome face that might have suggested that this was not in the least bit concerning for him and that somehow he had everything under control.
Helena found his eyes. She winced but then nodded her agreement. No need to say what about, because he knew well enough. What else could she do?
“If I might have your attention!” The Duke stepped forward, placing himself at her side.
His voice washed over the crowd like a hammer striking a gong, forcing silence because when men such as the Duke spoke, others had no choice but to listen.
“I am aware that this little scene you have stumbled upon might seem a tad uncouth.”
“Uncouth!” Mr. Ramsay cried. “It is—”
“I suggest you keep your mouth shut,” the Duke snarled. “Lest I shut it for you.”
Mr. Ramsay’s face paled, his confidence leaving him.
“And what of my mouth?” Helena’s father demanded. “I suggest you speak quickly, Your Grace. And whatever it is you have to say…” He shook with fury, unable to finish the thought.
Helena had never seen her father so angry. She had never seen her mother so disappointed. And knowing she was the cause hurt all the more.
“As Lady Helena has said, this is not what it looks like,” the Duke continued, standing with his back straight and his chin pointed to the sky.
“And while this was not how we had planned on telling people…” He glanced down at her, his smirk ever-present.
And then, he placed a hand on the small of her back and pulled her close.
“I suppose the secret is out. I have just asked Lady Helena for her hand in marriage.”
“What!” her father sputtered.
“Helena!” her mother cried.
“And I am delighted to announce that she said yes.” The Duke beamed proudly. “We are to wed soon.”
The shock on her father’s and mother’s faces was nothing compared to how she was feeling. They stared wide-eyed, caught between anger, surprise, and abject disbelief.
The crowd gasped, a few heads started to nod, and Helena noticed looks of relief passing through them.
Mr. Ramsay glared daggers at them, realizing that he was beaten and there was nothing he could do.
A quick glance at the Duke, and he was still smirking, his hand still on her back, a twinkle in his eyes that some might have interpreted as excitement about the announcement. That this was, in no way, a random affair.
As for Helena? She felt her heart sinking, her world crashing, the realization of what this would mean slowly settling on her shoulders. She was saved from one scandal, found herself in another, and for reasons that were partly her fault, her life would never be the same again.
And considering how she felt about marriage, she knew beyond doubt that her life would take a turn for the worse. How could it not?
Helena paced back and forth, unable to stop moving because if she did, she might very well explode!
Hands behind her back, her breathing heavy and rattling in her chest, blood pumping hot through her veins such that her limbs felt as if they were on fire.
As for her mind? In this singular instance, she had no difficulty staying in the moment.
And as she paced, her eyes flicked constantly to the closed door behind which were her father, her mother, and the Duke.
How did this happen? How could I have been so stupid! How… how… how! No, not how. What? What on earth am I going to do? If anything at all.
This was all her fault, and that was what she found the most difficult to rationalize. So desperate had she been to publish her work that she had not considered the grander implications.
Mr. Ramsay, a man she had never met, was learning her secret and trapping her. That secret was threatening to end her, a situation that would have been devastating. As for the Duke and his role in all of this?
She wondered about him the most.
On the face of it, he had saved her. Both from Mr. Ramsay’s threats and from the rumors that would have spread had she not given in to them. And by agreeing to marry her, he was putting his own reputation on the line in ways she could not fathom.
What did he really want? Why was he really doing this? And what did he expect from her? Somehow, she doubted very much that a simple marriage was where this would end.
Her only hope was that her father and mother would deny him. But she knew that was laughable. Once the announcement was made, her father demanded that he speak with the Duke at once, dragging him and her through the ballroom and to his study.
That was where they were now. And had been, for the better part of fifteen minutes. Her mother and father, bargaining with the Duke, were likely coming to terms from which Helena would not be able to escape.
The door to the study suddenly swung open, and her father stood on the other side. His expression was stony as he found her pacing.
“Helena.” He stepped to the side and gestured for her to enter. “Now.”
“Yes, Father.” She swallowed past the lump in her throat, bowed her head, and hurried through the door. When it swung closed behind her, she jumped in fright.
The Duke stood by her father’s desk, hands behind his back, facing her. He watched her skulk into the room with the same confident smirk that she was coming to know him for. When she found his eyes, the smile in them told her the deal was done.
Her mother was sitting on a chair beside the desk, and most strangely, she was smiling.
“Helena!” She leapt from the chair and rushed to her, holding out her hands for Helena to take. “Why did you not tell us!” she exclaimed as she took her hands. “Why did you keep it a secret!”
Helena blinked in surprise. “A… a secret?”
“You and His Grace,” her mother continued. “He has told us everything.”
“He has…” Helena frowned at the Duke. “Everything?”
The Duke’s smile grew as he walked over to them, his arms open wide. “No need to be coy anymore, Lady Helena.” He reached them both and put one hand on her mother’s shoulder and the other on her back. “It is past time we told them the truth.”
“The truth?” Helena had no idea what he was talking about.
“How we have been corresponding for weeks,” he explained simply. “How we had arranged to tell your parents everything tonight. And how I…” He grimaced as if embarrassed. “How I got ahead of myself and proposed before you had the chance. Silly me.”
“You… you did?” Her mouth hung open.
“Forgive me.” He looked at her parents. “I never intended for you to find out this way. While things got off to a rocky start, I only hope it will be smooth sailing from here on out.”
It dawned on Helena slower than it should have. She had been prepared for her father’s anger, her mother’s disappointment, her feigned attempts at justifying what happened as she prayed they would forgive her. But this? This was beyond her wildest imagination.
She looked at the Duke, and he offered her a coy wink, apparently pleased with himself. Luckily, neither of her parents noticed.
And I thought that I was the expert liar. Perhaps he is the one who should be writing stories.
“I cannot say I am pleased with the subterfuge,” her father said from behind them. “However…”
She turned to her father, already preparing to wince because she just expected he would be enraged. But he was beaming with delight, and she could not remember a time she had seen him so darn happy.
“I must say, the end results damn near justify the means. A duke, Helena!” He laughed and shook his head. “I only dare to dream of such things.”
“This calls for a celebration!” her mother agreed. “Your Grace? Perhaps a drink?”
“I would love one,” the Duke said with a charming smile. “Now that we have gotten the awkwardness out of the way.”
Helena stood in a state of unparalleled shock as her father and mother laughed together, congratulating the Duke, hugging each other because this seemed to be the best day of their life.
And the Duke played his role perfectly, giving nothing away, as charming and congenial as she had heard he could be.
“I…” Helena gave her head a shake. “Might I say something?”