Chapter 9
“Why does your brother keep glaring at us?” Helena asked, looking back at Philip, who was sauntering a little way back from them. “He doesn’t look very happy.”
“Just ignore him.” Arabella looked into the window of a sweet shop. “He’s just unhappy that he’s been taken away from his books. He’s not interested in going out into the fresh air.”
“Fresh air?” Helena rolled her eyes. “In London?”
Arabella smiled. “I suppose that was a strong choice of words. But it’s better than what he’s been doing.”
“Why didn’t he get someone in your household to escort you? Why does he have to do it?”
“Probably because he doesn’t trust me,” Arabella muttered. “He probably wants answers as to what’s going on.”
She glanced back, seeing Philip wander toward the public house.
He was likely trying to find an excuse to get away from her.
Her brother liked to grumble if Arabella did anything that meant he was taken away from his books.
It was as if he’d forgotten that he was a viscount now and he had his own duties.
“I think everyone would want them,” Helena remarked, limping alongside her. “But it’s none of their business. It’s a surprise, yes, but it’s also between you two. Who am I to complain? As long as you treat my brother decently, you’ve not got a problem with me.”
Arabella was touched. Helena was young, but had a level, sensible head on her shoulders.
It was nice to know that someone was kind and sweet about the situation.
Part of her was tempted to tell her the truth, about why she was supposedly courting Hartwood, but she stopped herself.
It was best to keep it quiet and not say anything about it.
Besides, there was a chance that Helena wouldn’t approve, and Arabella didn’t want to be at odds with the young woman. It was like they’d been friends for a long time instead of just a few days.
They crossed the street, and Arabella was aware of how people openly stared at her as she went past. She was sure those whispering to each other while glancing over at her were talking about her as well.
It was frustrating, knowing that she was being discussed where she could see them, but Arabella knew approaching them to demand answers wasn’t going to get her anywhere; she would just be seen as hysterical or delusional.
The best thing to do was to ignore it, but she couldn’t do that. It seemed to be all around her, and Arabella couldn’t get away from it.
It was no wonder people left London if there was a scandal that was vaguely related to them; the whispers and the growing paranoia was enough to make anyone mad.
They reached the pavement, and Arabella stepped up easily onto the stone slabs. Helena tried to do the same and almost ended up tripping over her own feet. Arabella caught her before the younger woman ended up on the ground.
“Thank you.” Helena gave her a sheepish smile as she stood up. “My stupid feet. I don’t think they listen to what I want them to do at times.”
“Maybe I ask what happened to you?” Arabella asked, trying not to glance down at Helena’s legs. “I understand if you don’t want to talk about it…”
“Not usually,” Helena replied before pausing. She bit her lip. “It’s just something I’m embarrassed about. I don’t want anyone to give me pity for what happened to me.”
“Pity? Why would anyone give you pity?”
Helena sighed and they fell into step, moving slowly to accommodate Helena’s limp.
“I was ten, and I was out riding with Alastair and Edmund… that’s Edmund Hale, my brother’s friend. My horse got spooked and bolted, and I was sort of thrown out of the saddle, but my leg got tangled up in the reins. I was basically upside-down, dangling by my leg, as the horse took off.”
Arabella gasped. “Oh, my goodness! That’s frightening!”
“Alastair and Edmund managed to catch up and get me untangled, but my leg was broken. The doctor said I would recover, but I’d likely end up with a limp with how badly broken it was.
” Helena made a face. “It didn’t mend properly, so it’s more pronounced than it should be.
I do my best to ignore it, and it’s become a part of me, but it doesn’t stop people staring at me as if I’m something that should be in a cage. ”
Arabella’s heart went out to Helena. The poor thing had gone through a scary experience, and she had the scars to prove it, and yet everyone treated her as if she wasn’t a normal person.
She was seen as something else. She couldn’t understand how anyone could do that; Helena was a lovely girl, and she had a quick wit about her, along with a sharp mind that showed her intelligence.
Any gentleman would be delighted to have her on their arm.
There were some very ignorant people.
“You should just ignore them,” she said, slipping an arm through Helena’s. “You’re a strong, confident young woman who can take care of herself. Nobody can take that away.”
“You think so?”
“Of course. People discarding you because of your leg are the fools.”
Helena gave her a relieved smile.
“I’m glad you think that way. I can probably count on both hands the amount of people who don’t treat me like I’ve got a mental disability.”
“But you don’t.”
“I know, but physical and mental disabilities seem to go hand-in-hand. It’s better to think the obvious than actually look closer.”
“Then it’s their loss.” Arabella looked back but saw no sign of Philip. “I have a feeling we’ve lost our chaperone.”
Helena turned around, frowning as she caught sight of the public house across the street.
“Do you think he’s doing something for himself right now?”
“You mean getting drunk? I wouldn’t be surprised.”
That was another thing Philip had done since their father died.
He would get drunk while reading a book.
That did cause some hilarity. Arabella could recall a few times when she entered the library and found Philip reading a book upside-down because he was so drunk he couldn’t tell which way was up.
He was going to end up in an early grave himself if he carried on drinking.
Especially if he didn’t have the money for it. Arabella wondered where the money was coming from. She budgeted everything carefully, so there shouldn’t be any for going to a public house. Philip had found a way somehow.
“Lady Arabella! Helena!”
Arabella looked up, trying to see where the voice was coming from. Then she saw Sebastian Vaughn approaching them, wearing an easy smile as he strolled along. That made Arabella pause as discomfort rolled in her belly. What was he doing here? Helena looked just as confused.
“I didn’t think Sebastian would be out here today,” she said. “He normally doesn’t care for shopping along here.”
“Maybe he wanted to see how you were doing,” Arabella suggested. “He would’ve known that you and I were meeting today.”
But Helena made a face and rolled her eyes.
“I doubt it. Cousin Sebastian isn’t the… kindest of people.”
“Isn’t he?”
“He likes to tease me a bit too much, and it’s frustrating. He just won’t stop and leave me alone, even when he gets told by my brother and Edmund.” Helena sighed. “He’s eased off a little lately, but I do get worried that he’ll make remarks in public and everyone will hear him.”
Arabella could see her point. They were in a busy street, and anything Vaughn said would be heard by most people. But they couldn’t really walk away from him, not without people noticing. Taking a deep breath, she fixed what she hoped was a pleasant smile on her face as Vaughn drew near.
“Lord Vaughn, good morning,” she greeted.
“Lady Arabella.” Vaughn bowed. “You’re looking very lovely today.”
“I…” Arabella glanced at Helena, who looked equally bemused. “Thank you. I… I don’t know what else to say to that.”
“Then don’t say anything. Just enjoy it.” Vaughn’s smile faded a little. “How are you holding up?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“With your father’s… well, with him taking his own life.”
Arabella froze. Where was this going? It felt far too abrupt. She swallowed.
“I don’t think that’s any of your business,” she said curtly. “That’s my affair.”
“I’m aware, but when I spoke to your brother about it, he said that it was driving you mad, that you had ideas that it wasn’t a suicide.” Vaughn tilted his head to one side. “I was curious as to how you came to that conclusion.”
Arabella looked around her. He couldn’t be thinking of asking her that in the middle of the street, could he? Helena gave her a worried glance before addressing her cousin.
“Maybe you should leave Lady Arabella alone,” she said. “It’s not something she wishes to discuss.”
“I understand, Helena. Truly.” Vaughn touched a hand to his chest. “I just wish that I knew what I could do to help.”
“You can help by stop being so intrusive when it doesn’t concern you.”
The sound of the Duke of Hartwood’s voice made Arabella sag in relief, and she tried not to lean into Helena.
Hartwood was crossing the street toward them, looking splendid in a suit of dark brown.
He was freshly shaven, his hair still wet on his head.
He gave Helena a warm smile before turning to Arabella.
“My lady Arabella.” Before she could respond, he took her hand and bowed over it, clasping her hand to his mouth as he kissed her fingers. Then he gave her a devilish smile when he glanced up. “I trust you haven’t been waiting long. I didn’t mean to keep you and my sister waiting as much as I did.”
Arabella was about to ask what he was talking about because, as far as she knew, Hartwood hadn’t meant to meet them.
But with the heat coming from his gloved hand, the warmth seeping through her fingers, along with Helena giving her a slight nudge, she kept quiet.
She could feel her heart missing a few beats as she tried to think how she could take her hand away without it looking obvious.
“You don’t need to worry about it,” she said as warmly as she could. “We’ve been fine, although we seem to have lost our current escort.”
“What?” the duke blinked. “You’re not being escorted anymore?”
“Our current chaperone has more… pressing things to do.” Arabella wasn’t about to go into it right now. “Would you like to accompany us? Helena and I are just looking at a few shops and deciding what would look good in her home.”
“Her home?” His eyes twinkled mischievously. “You mean the home she shares with me? Now I’m scared about what my sister thinks is a good addition to the house.”
Helena laughed.
“You sound like a philistine, brother.”
“I thought he was,” Vaughn grunted.
That was when Arabella remembered that he was still there. She’d been momentarily distracted by Hartwood approaching them and so had forgotten there was someone else with them. The duke shrugged.
“Depends on who you talk to, my darling cousin. I’m sure the same could be said about you with your… specific tastes.”
Vaughn gave a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“It’s good to know exactly what you want. Makes it easier to find what you need in the future.”
“I suppose. But it can make you rather… selective. Picky, even.” He was saying it good-naturedly, but Arabella could sense a tension beneath his words. “Anyway, I think the ladies and I are going to see if there’s anything that would be worthy of entering our house.”
Arabella giggled, and Helena grinned. She stepped across and slipped an arm through her brother’s.
“I think that’s a great idea,” she beamed. “Arabella, shall we? Or do you want to fetch your brother?”
“I think we can manage without finding Philip,” Arabella said quickly, barely glancing behind her. “He’s happy where he is.”
Also, she didn’t like the idea of going into a public house without a proper chaperone to grab her brother. It was likely going to end badly. Besides, it would be a lot more pleasant without Philip hovering nearby with a sour look on his face.
But given the look on Vaughn’s face, she had a feeling that the pleasant atmosphere wasn’t going to last for long.