Chapter 10
“Imust say, Sebastian, until I saw it with my own eyes, I was hesitant to believe it.”
Lord Giles Ashford’s smile was all teeth, his blue eyes sparkled, and he had a look about him that made it seem that he was always on the verge of laughter.
“Did you think I was lying?” Sebastian asked with an eyeroll. “That I somehow managed to trick the entire ton into believing that I was married?”
“Knowing you and what you are capable of, I would not put it past you,” Lord Ashford scoffed. “But no, that’s not what I meant at all.”
He did not elaborate, his smile growing.
Sebastian sighed. “Oh, please do tell me what your meaning is. I am on the edge of my seat.”
“This marriage,” Lord Ashford continued.
“As ashamed as I am to admit it, when I first heard of it, I assumed that it was some sort of ruse. A lie. A trick. That there was no way on God’s green earth the Duke of Hawthorne had fallen in love and then married said love.
” He laughed and shook his head. “I would have believed first that the sky had started to fall.”
“And now?”
Lord Ashford narrowed his eyes as if to consider the question. He looked between Sebastian and Helena, assessing them closely, searching for the lie.
As he did, Sebastian kept his hand wrapped around Helena’s. A soft squeeze, but nothing exaggerated. And Helena, feeling more comfortable than she had all week, was happy to return the gesture, pairing it with a smile for her husband that she hoped was loving.
“I was wrong,” Lord Ashford said finally. “And I am a big enough man to admit it.”
“Possibly the first time you have ever done such a thing,” Sebastian joked.
Lord Ashford shrugged and took a sip of his tea. “I am nothing if not capable of change. And clearly, so are you. My, oh my. How far we have come.”
“I have,” Sebastian said with a laugh. “You still have some ways to go.”
It was a sunny afternoon. The weather was warm but not uncomfortable, a light breeze blew across the grounds, and there was just the right amount of clouds in the sky to shelter the three as they sat around a table in the back garden and enjoyed a pot of tea and some sweetmeats.
Lord Ashford arrived later than expected, not able to eat lunch, but still wishing to have refreshments before he continued on the final leg of his journey.
He was sitting across from Helena and Sebastian, as if he wanted to be able to watch them and see how they would behave.
Helena was seated beside Sebastian. In fact, she was the one who had taken the seat, figuring it would do to be close to him. And when he took her hand as soon as they sat down, smiling at her, keeping it in his lap, she did not try to pull away. Nor did she wonder at its meaning.
I know the meaning now. I know exactly what is on my husband’s mind. And dammit if it doesn’t make this whole charade that much less confusing. And it’s about time!
Truly, since their conversation yesterday, Helena had noticed a most obvious change in the way Sebastian was treating her. A most welcome one, as it managed to clear up that which had been bothering her.
Before, he had treated her like a tool, caring not about what she wanted or what she was thinking, happy to parade her about and lavish her in praise and adoration because he assumed that was what he needed to do.
And now, he was treating her like a real person, and Helena could not have been happier about the change. It was much needed, in her opinion.
“So, tell me about yourself, Your Grace,” Lord Ashford started, apparently content with his assessment of their relationship.
“What would you like to know?”
“First of all, what is wrong with you?” he said casually as he sipped his tea.
“Excuse me?”
Sebastian scoffed. “Ignore him. Giles has… some might call it a scathing sense of humor, but that would require him to be funny.”
“Says you.” Lord Ashford grinned. “You’ve always hated that most people we know think me the funny one.”
“And me the handsome one,” Sebastian shot back.
“See if that changes, come a few more months of marriage,” Lord Ashford continued with a wicked smirk. “Now that I am the single one, I dare say that soon I will be both the funny one and the handsome one to boot. I only wonder what I will do with all this power.”
“The same as always, I suspect,” Sebastian drawled. “Squander it on women and liquor and gambling until you are left a husk of a man, bitter and alone and not nearly so handsome as you once were.”
“Scathing.” Lord Ashford wiggled his eyebrows. “And a cut that runs a little too deep. Careful, Sebastian. I might have to start telling your wife some of your secrets. I so hate to see you happy like this.”
“If you must,” Sebastian said. “I think you will find that there are no secrets between Helena and me.”
“Is that so?”
“Nothing you say will change how we feel.” He squeezed her hand, and for a moment, it looked as if he might bring it to his lips. But he refrained from the action, opting for a smile instead.
“Do not speak too quickly,” Helena cut in. “While you have fallen head over heels in love with me, I have yet to decide exactly how I feel about you.”
“Ha!” Lord Ashford laughed loudly. “Oh, she is a sharp one. I like her, Sebastian. Far too good for you.”
“Which is what I keep telling him,” Helena agreed.
“Yes, yes…” Sebastian pretended to pout. “Gang up on me. Very fun.”
Helena was seeing a different side of her husband. He was still arrogant and cocky. Still confident and self-assured. Still, the type to use humor and charm to disarm and get his way. All of that had not changed.
But there was an earnestness about him now that she had not noticed before. He was no longer so desperate to maintain the unbothered, superior facade, as he had done since they first met.
He was real in a way Helena did not know was possible, and despite that pesky voice that wondered if this was all part of a trap or trick, she was slowly becoming more certain that this right here was the real Duke.
He was slowly transforming into a real person before her eyes. One whom she could stand to be around. One with whom she could be herself and not care what he thought. One whom…
Dare I say, it might not be as awful to live with for these next few months as I once feared.
“So, come on then,” Lord Ashford pressed again. “What is wrong with you?”
Helena scoffed. “Care to elaborate on your meaning?”
“My meaning is, for one as beautiful as you are, to find yourself married to a boar like him…” He gestured to Sebastian with a derisive jerk of his head. “Something must be wrong.”
“Giles…” She felt Sebastian tense.
“No, no, it is a fair question,” Helena said politely. “And truly, Lord Ashford, it is a good one. I, too, was wondering what I was doing with Sebastian, but I wish to thank you.”
“Thank me?” Lord Ashford echoed, confused.
“Oh yes,” she said with her own wicked smirk. “Now that I have met you, seeing what else is out there, I cannot help but breathe a sigh of relief. After all, it has been made so clear to me that things could be infinitely worse.”
Sebastian roared with laughter, and even Lord Ashford chuckled at the joke.
Helena beamed at herself, delighted by their reactions. It had been a risky thing to say, something that her father and mother would have gasped at. But her husband, for all his faults, was not nearly so prim and proper as what she was used to.
“Yes, yes,” Lord Ashford scoffed. “Very clever of you.”
“Watch out.” Sebastian grinned. “You have hurt his feelings.”
“My feelings are fine,” Lord Ashford assured him. “And now that I know how wicked your wife is, I will be on my guard.” He laughed again as he took another sip of his tea.
Sebastian caught Helena’s eye, sharing a wink that she returned.
“So, Sebastian, let us turn to business. If it is fine with you.”
“And what business is that?”
Lord Ashford frowned. “The project you have been hounding me about for months now. The orphanage in London and—”
“Never mind that,” Sebastian said quickly, sitting up and fixing his friend with a warning look. “Now is not the time for such talk.”
“Is it not?” Lord Ashford furrowed his brow. “I would have thought that with this marriage, now was the perfect time—”
“Later,” Sebastian spoke over him, widening his eyes as he did.
Helena looked between the two men.
An orphanage in London? What is that about?
She considered the situation quickly. Not that she found any answers.
Sebastian was up to something. Something to do with an orphanage. Not that Helena could even guess what that meant. Stranger still, his eagerness to dismiss the topic suggested he was either embarrassed by it or wary of who knew its details.
Helena opened her mouth to press the topic, only to close it when she caught the warning look Sebastian gave Lord Ashford. Whatever this was, it was not for her ears.
Thus, she chose to drop it. After all the progress they had made, testing the waters in that way was likely not the smartest of ideas.
And as things currently stood, Helena was simply glad that she and Sebastian were able to be around one another in a way that felt natural.
No more lies. No more arguments. No more hating one another.
Perhaps one day, she would learn the truth of it. That was if she even wanted to. This marriage was not meant to last, and despite the changes taking place, that was not about to change anytime soon. A fact that Helena was more than happy to accept.
“Come on then,” Sebastian pivoted. “Why don’t you tell us what you have been up to this past month? The life of a bachelor, as it is.”
Lord Ashford laughed. “If you insist. But only so I can make you jealous.”
“You can try.” Sebastian gave her hand another light squeeze, and Helena returned it.