CHAPTER TWENTY
Helena paused in the downstairs hallway, closed her eyes, and listened. Silence. She smiled. Sweet, wonderful silence.
For once, the house was all hers, and she reveled in it.
Lady Verity had left two hours ago to help the local midwife attend to a tenant farmer’s wife who had gone into labor that morning. Nanny Potts and Alice were away at the vicarage and wouldn’t return until just before dusk.
Of course, Gabe wasn’t there either. Since Adam’s arrival at Grangely Park, he had been spending his days elsewhere.
If not at the bridge site, then the school, into which he’d thrown himself with unexpected drive.
Unfortunately, Helena suspected his motives were less to finish the projects as quickly as possible and more to simply avoid Adam.
She didn’t blame him. His younger brother had been behaving strangely, with the incident at the church only one in a series of odd acts and backhanded compliments.
Helena didn’t trust him not to say or do something even worse.
And she didn’t trust Gabe not to throttle him for it.
Best for everyone—and the county murder rate—if the two brothers stayed apart.
Only four days were left until the wedding, which meant only five days until Adam’s departure.
It couldn’t come soon enough to put her heart at ease.
Although he’d not said anything outright to her face regarding his feelings about her, she hadn’t been able to shake the suspicion that he wanted to undermine her, just as he had five years ago.
Enough. The sun was bright, the weather warm and clear, the spring air soft… The day was simply too lovely to spend inside—or to waste it thinking about Adam.
The afternoon was perfect to be outside in the garden’s fresh air, and that was exactly what she’d planned. So she had snatched up her straw bonnet from her dressing room and now strode toward the gardens stretching out from the rear of the house.
The larger park itself was wild and magical, with its winding river and trees laid out as if Capability Brown himself had waved a magic wand and recreated Eden.
But behind the grand manor house stretched her favorite part of the entire estate—a traditional garden contained within rambling stone walls, with alleys marked by old boxwood and bushy roses, and wonderful borders filled with flowers of all shapes, sizes, and colors.
She stopped at the brick conservatory at the edge of the garden, whose tall and wide arched windows let in enough sunshine even during the darkest part of winter to keep all kinds of exotic plants thriving.
Even now, the building was full, and two gardeners were busy inside, tending to the tender plants and ensuring the temperature remained constant.
With a smile and a nod to the men, she took a wicker trug basket down from a hook, selected a pair of sharp clippers, and placed then into the basket along with a pair of lady’s garden gloves.
Humming happily to herself, she swung the basket at her side as she sauntered across the gardens toward the herbaceous borders tucked behind the stone walls. Their south-facing aspect and protective walls meant the beds were already a riot of color from their early spring-blooming flowers.
Oh, how happy she was! Six weeks ago, she never would have believed she’d be here, once more engaged to Gabe— No, more than that. They were as good as married now, having settled early into their marriage in every way.
A soft laugh rose from her lips. Every way, indeed.
She’d had no idea that sharing a bed with a man could be so passionate yet also very tender, so endearing yet also blood-boiling, so…
creative. A wanton smile curled at the corners of her mouth at the memory of all they’d ventured to try in bed, all Gabe had taught her about how to please him and how to ask to be pleased in return, even in the short time since they’d first become intimate.
Of course, he still couldn’t bring himself to find release inside her, but that unwillingness would stop as soon as they were officially married, she knew.
And then, it would only be a matter of months until she was with child, the culmination of their love and life together.
Months? No, perhaps only a few weeks. La!
with the stamina they seemed to find every time they were alone together, it might only be a matter of days.
Wouldn’t that simply be a miracle on top of a miracle? And the answer to all her tearful prayers.
She turned her face up to the sun to catch its warmth and welcomed the happiness swelling inside her chest. Her shoulders eased down, and for the first time since she arrived here, she began to think that her dreams might very well all come true. Finally.
“Oh, how lovely you are,” she told the long row of pink and white peonies as she came around the corner and was stopped in her steps by their beauty.
Those were exactly the blooms she was looking for.
They would make a beautiful wedding bouquet for her and a smaller one for Maggie as her matron of honor.
Except for her sisters, there was no one Helena would rather have standing up with her at her wedding.
Truly, Maggie had welcomed her with open arms, and Helena couldn’t have made such quick progress on the school without her.
Not only had she been able to finagle her husband’s schedule to find time away from the bridge for Caleb to focus on renovating the old building on High Street, but she’d proven invaluable when it came to decisions about what kinds of desks and supplies to buy.
She’d even been able to help advertise for the schoolmaster position, which had been the most important decision of all.
After all, what good was having the finest building and supplies for the children if no one was there to teach them?
The school owed so much to Maggie, and the villagers had no idea of the critical role she was playing in bringing it to life.
The village buzzed with excitement over it.
The children were thrilled, although their parents were less so because they would have one less pair of helping hands in the shop or on the farm for every child they sent to school.
But Helena hoped they would come to see the advantages of a good education and the opportunities it could bring, including bringing more money to a family’s income over time.
She set the trug at her feet, pulled on the gloves, and bent down to cut the peonies with the little clippers.
Several of the large blossoms went into the trug, and her chest lightened the more she fussed with the flowers.
Humming to herself, she raised a pink one to her nose to sniff its sweet fragrance.
Wonderful. Perhaps a few white rosebuds and lilies could—
“Hello, Helena.”
She froze at the sound of the deep voice directly behind her. Adam.
“Larkin said you’d gone out into the garden.”
“So you followed me.” Her right hand tightened its grip on the sharp clippers.
“So I could speak privately with you,” he corrected. “Why do you always assume the worst of me?”
Habit. Not letting him see how much his sudden appearance had rattled her, she forced a smile, placed the flower into the trug, and lifted the little basket from the ground as she rose and faced him, to hold it in front of her.
A feeble barrier, but even though she doubted Adam would physically attack her, a wary part of her felt a desperate need to keep him at bay.
“There was no need to go to the trouble of finding me here. You could have waited until I returned to the house.”
“Too many sharp ears and prying eyes inside, don’t you think?” His smile was cold. “Out here we can speak completely at ease.”
“I suppose.” She cast a glance around her and felt her skin prickle with trepidation.
They were hidden behind the stone walls where the gardeners couldn’t see them and completely out of view of the house and outbuildings.
Not that anyone would have noticed them anyway.
At midday, all the outside servants would be busy at their work and wouldn’t pay any attention to what was happening in the corner of the gardens, and they knew not to interrupt the family anyway.
If Adam wanted privacy, he couldn’t have asked for a better time or place.
“After all, it wouldn’t do to have anyone overhear any agreements we might reach,” he drawled.
Wariness pricked at the backs of her knees. “What kind of agreements?”
“The best kind. The generous kind.” Heedless of crushing the flowers beneath his boots, he stepped back to lean his shoulder against the stone archway opening into the walled garden. “For me, that is.”
Her smile faded. “The extortionist kind, you mean.”
He shrugged his free shoulder and crossed his arms over his chest. “Same thing.”
With a heavy huff of breath to show her impatience, she turned to leave. But he stepped in front of her, blocking her escape. The small movement spiraled quick fear down into her limbs, and her hand clutching the trug began to tremble.
She cleared her suddenly tight throat. “Adam, I have nothing to bargain with.”
“So much more than you’ll admit, I’m sure,” he replied in a low voice, made all the more threatening because of its control.
“I’m certain Gabe has made you well cared for.
” His arms dropped to his sides, and Helena instinctively took a step back.
“My brother is nothing if not generous. Well, generous to those people he likes anyway, and he certainly likes you.” He dropped a lascivious gaze over her. “He’s paying you well for your favors.”
“He’s being generous to me as his wife-to-be,” she corrected, not liking his insinuations.
“His duchess-to-be,” he corrected with a smirk.
“What a social climb you’ll make, too, from the ruined daughter of a mere ‘sir’ to the most powerful non-royal woman in the kingdom.
” The gleam in his eyes reminded her of a snake’s, right before it struck.
“But what a shame it would be if anything happened to stop all your plans.”
Her blood turned to ice. That wasn’t an insinuation; it was a threat.
“Nothing is going to stop my wedding.” Yet even as she said that, she wondered if it were a lie. “Gabe knows I will be a good wife, mother, and duchess, and a true partner in all matters.”
“He once thought the same of Clarissa, too, don’t forget.” Adam reached down into the trug and took one of the peonies. She resisted the urge to slap his hand away. “I could easily stop your wedding. I think Sunday in the church proved that, don’t you?”
Her heart plunged into her stomach. “You wouldn’t do—”
“Try me.” All pretense of good humor and smiles vanished as his face turned stony hard.
Even the air around them took on a sudden chill, and goosebumps sprouted on her arms. “India taught me how to survive by going after what I want, and the last thing I’ll do is let a golden opportunity like this slip through my fingers.
You, Helena, are gold, just not in the way Gabe thinks. ”
“What do you want?” she asked bluntly. She didn’t want to listen to him a moment longer than she had to. “What will it take to make you leave me alone?”
“Three thousand pounds.”
Helena lost her breath at the staggering sum. “I don’t have that kind of money. If you’d been in England during the past five years, you would know that my family’s fortune has declined.” That was a nice way of saying they were nearly destitute. “I don’t even have a dowry.”
“Oh, but you do have that kind of money. After all, I’m certain my brother settled a large amount on you for the marriage, given you a hefty allowance and all kinds of funds for dresses, fripperies—” He raked a lascivious gaze down her front that made her feel dirty. “And whatnot.”
“But he—” But he gave it to my family, not to me. She bit her lip. She knew better than to share any more information than necessary. She wouldn’t give him any ammunition he could use against her. “Gabe won’t give you that.”
“I’m not asking it of Gabe. I’m asking it of you.” His mouth twisted into a sneer. “Give me the money, Helena, or I’ll make certain you never walk down the aisle with my brother.”
She stared at him, speechless. The world spun around her, and for a moment, she was terrified her knees might buckle beneath her.
“Don’t think you’ll outsmart me by convincing Gabe to elope to Scotland either.
If you do, I’ll make your marriage into a scandalous hell.
” He leaned toward her, lowering his head until his eyes were level with hers.
“Trust me, Helena, I’ll spread enough gossip and rumors about you that the ton will question the true paternity of any child you bear my brother. ”
“You wouldn’t dare,” she challenged, pressing her hand to her stomach to hold down its roiling. Dear God, she was going to be sick! To hurt his own brother like that, to wound innocent children— He was an absolute monster. “You’d never be welcome at Grangely Park again.”
“I was gone for five years and never bothered to write or inquire about this place. Do you honestly think I give a damn about it now? I care about what it can do for me. Nothing more. Certainly not now that my brother has become domesticated.” He tapped the peony bloom against her shoulder.
“I have a better life waiting for me in the Caribbean, and the money you’ll give me will ensure it.
So find a way to sign over your wedding funds to me, and I will leave Grangely Park to Gabe and leave you to your marriage.
If not, I’ll make certain you never become duchess, one way or another. ”
He crushed the peony in his fist, then tossed it to the ground at her feet.
“And if I were you, I wouldn’t bother to tell Gabe we had this conversation.” He shrugged. “I’ll simply deny it and claim you’re behaving just like Clarissa. For some reason,” he said sardonically, “my brother can’t seem to remember the difference between you.”
“He knows the difference,” she rasped out breathlessly, but even her own ears didn’t believe her words.
With a dark laugh, he sauntered away toward the house.
She stared after him, stunned. She pressed her fist against her heart as it pounded so hard that every beat was a jarring thud, and she struggled to catch her breath. With a gasp, she sank against the wall for support, but her eyes fixed on the broken flower at her feet.