Chapter 3
“Ah! Look who remembered to honor us with her presence!” Patricia greeted loudly. “Good morning.”
Helena smiled sheepishly as she walked into the opulent dining hall in the Dowager Duchess’s home, but again, nearly lost her footing as she found not Jeremy sitting by Patricia’s side, but the Duke of Redgrave.
Just like the day before, his handsome face did not move a single muscle as he lifted his gaze from Patricia and looked her straight in the eye.
“Do you always sleep so late?” Patricia asked as she stirred her tea.
Helena bit back her groan of agony and smiled as warmly as she could as she dropped into a curtsy.
“Please forgive me. I am not used to sleeping in such an… exquisite bed. It is, um, taking some time to become accustomed to your home’s greatness. I promise, though, that I will strive to do better in the future.”
She kept her true reason for her tardiness to herself.
That she had spent all night, restless and worried about Jeremy leaving her with the Duke of Redgrave.
She was not afraid of his stature or his scars, as Alex seemed to be.
No, it was that look he gave her. That look made her feel as if she had somehow betrayed him, despite the fact that they had never met.
Patricia tsked her tongue as she looked Helena up and down, immediately making her feel self-conscious.
Patricia had been gracious with her money for many things, but Helena’s wardrobe was still her own.
She glanced down at her out-of-fashion dark blue gown and winced as she saw at least half a dozen snags in the skirts.
Quickly, she fluffed her skirts, hoping to hide at least some of them in the folds.
“Your family was once accustomed to such affluence, were they not?” Patricia asked.
Helena forced a smile.
“At one time, yes,” she agreed, feeling sorrow dig into her heart. “Though that seems like a lifetime ago now.”
Patricia grunted, then waved her hand in the air as if to dismiss the topic.
“Well, sit down. You can eat something while you listen. There is much to go over,” she remarked.
Helena quickly thanked her for her kindness and took a seat, leaning back and accidentally meeting Evander’s quiet gaze again as the servants came around to fill her plate and cup of tea.
“As I was saying,” Patricia went on. “Jeremy has already taken his leave, giving me no opportunity to convince him to delay this ridiculous trip. However, when it comes to men and their business, I suppose no amount of nagging will make them come to heel, is that not right, Evander?”
Evander’s hard gaze flicked to Patricia, his hard expression softening in an instant.
“Indeed,” he replied.
“Well then, I suppose today’s responsibilities shall fall on you two,” she huffed, adjusting her spectacles with one hand as she picked up her list with the other.
“Let us see. You two will need to visit the florist, the baker, the stationery shop, and the modiste. You will need to be very careful when choosing the flowers, as we all know how particular Jeremy is about them. And Helena, you will need to try on your wedding dress. It should be ready for fitting. As for the baker and the stationery shop, you are simply going in to confirm the dates they will have our orders ready.”
As Patricia continued to go down the long list of responsibilities, Helena grew dizzier and paler.
How was she supposed to do all of this? It would have been one thing to take on such tasks with Jeremy.
He made everything fun. Evander, though?
He obviously despised her, for reasons she could not fathom, and she was certainly not looking forward to spending the entire day in his brooding silence.
“Are we boring you, Helena?” Patricia asked.
Helena looked up and immediately fixed her smile.
“No, not at all. I am just… overwhelmed and excited, I suppose,” Helena replied, hoping that her lie did not sound like one. “I was just… I was just wondering if it was at all possible to send servants in our stead to take care of these matters?”
Patricia’s gray brows flew up as she looked at Helena over her spectacles, and Helena instantly wished she could take back her question.
“My dear, this is my grandson’s wedding—yours as well, and I am so very happy that he has finally found his true love, who is ready to settle down with him before I pass away.
However, despite that happiness, I will not allow any of this work to be done lazily.
Now, as my grandson’s bride-to-be, you should know better than anyone what kind of flowers Jeremy would want, and you certainly understand that leaving such a task to a servant who doesn’t know his preferences for flowers to choose what will be on display at his wedding would be a disaster and a waste of time! ”
“I know, but—”
“And your wedding dress? You want it to fit you perfectly, do you not?”
Helena nodded meekly, wishing once more that her usual sunny outlook on life had not vanished the moment she had met Evander’s eyes the day before.
She had already been struggling to keep a grip on such an outlook before he had arrived, but the moment he came into view, it had slipped from her fingertips, and she had not been able to get it back.
“You will pick the flowers and try on the dress,” Patricia said with a decisive nod. “Though I will allow you to send your maid into the bakery and stationery shop to acquire the dates if you truly would prefer not to do it yourself.”
“Yes, Grandmama,” Helena said softly, remaining silent for the rest of breakfast.
Helena’s tension only intensified once she, Aggie, and Evander were ready to take the carriage into the nearby town.
As the footman opened the door, Evander waved a hand toward it, inviting her to enter first. For a second, she relaxed, thinking he meant to be civil after all, and she paused, hand lifting in expectation of his to steady her up the step, as any gentleman would offer a lady.
But no hand came. With her cheeks warming, she gathered her skirts and climbed in unaided.
Then Aggie moved to follow, and Evander offered his hand at once, handing her maid up as graciously as you please.
He would assist my maid, but not me?
Aggie offered her an unsure look as she took the seat beside Helena, giving her a little shrug as Evander climbed in next.
Both women drew their legs and skirts as close to their seats as possible, as his large body seemed to take up the lion’s share of the compartment.
Helena watched him, unable to look away, as his massive form took up the entire seat across from them.
He was still trying to find his place when they caught each other’s gaze, and as Helena blushed, Evander suddenly jerked back, hitting the top of his head and back against the carriage’s wall and ceiling, seemingly trying to press himself into the farthest corner away from her.
Annoyance broke through her trepidation as she saw him struggle to shrink, and she scowled.
“I do not have some contagious disease, you know,” she stated sternly. “You do not have to stuff yourself into a corner; you may sit as a normal person would.”
Evander’s eyes slid over her, looking her up and down as if she were nothing at all, and he did not reply.
Now annoyed and offended, Helena gritted her teeth and flared her nostrils as she turned her head quickly toward the window.
The audacity of this man! What have I ever done to him?
The carriage ride felt long and stuffy as they kept ignoring each other; tension filled the silent air with every passing second until they finally pulled into the main street of the small country town.
“Oh, thank goodness,” Aggie breathed, pushing open the carriage door the moment they came to a stop.
Before she could climb out, though, Evander asked her to wait a moment.
Helena watched Aggie stiffen as Evander unfurled his large body from the corner of the carriage and stepped out first. Then, as he had done at the house, he offered her his hand.
Aggie glanced nervously at Helena before accepting his hand and letting him help her out.
Helena moved quickly, hoping this time she would at least get assistance, but as she got close to the carriage door, Evander stepped aside and placed his black-gloved hands behind his back.
Now fuming over his rudeness, Helena glowered at him even as he refused to look at her.
“Ahem,” Aggie cleared her throat, breaking through the tension. “Pardon, Miss, but is that not Lord Ingram’s carriage?”
Forgetting about Evander’s rudeness entirely, Helena whipped her head in the direction of Aggie’s pointing finger and blanched. Sure enough, there was Lord Ingram’s carriage moving through the main street of the town, heading in the direction they had just come from.
“What on earth is he doing here?” Helena murmured, watching the carriage pass by.
He was supposed to be meeting Mama in London.
“Perhaps he has a country home nearby?” Aggie asked.
Helena glanced at her maid and gave a small smile, knowing Aggie was trying to soothe her anxiety. It did not work, of course, but she was grateful for the attempt.
“Right. Yes, many nobles have summer houses in this part of the country, I suppose,” Helena replied.
Even though summer is over.
“Come, Miss. Your Grace, let us tend to our duties,” Aggie gently urged. “We have much to do.”
Helena nodded as she watched the Ingram carriage continue down the road, growing smaller with each passing second.
“Yes,” she murmured, finally looking away from the carriage and toward the shops lining the main street. “Much to do.”
Silence settled over the three of them once again as they began to walk up the street toward the flower shop. They were nearly there when Evander’s deep voice broke through the air.
“Who is Lord Ingram?” he asked.
Helena’s sleek blonde brows shot up at his question. Was he actually deigning to speak to her now? She looked toward him for confirmation and saw that he was looking down at her. His blue eyes were still piercing with their intensity, but at least the look of hatred was gone.
“He is… was a friend of my late father’s,” she replied. “He is in some sort of contract with my mother. I believe it is to help our family from time to time.”
“Help with what?” Evander asked as they stopped in front of the flower shop.
Her surprised brows dipped into a furrow.
“Pardon me, but I do not believe that is any of your business, Your Grace,” she stated coldly.
Evander cocked his head as he looked at her, his eyes narrowing slightly.
“You do not like this Lord Ingram,” he stated after a moment.
Helena flinched, hating that he seemed to be able to read her so easily.
“I… I never said that,” she replied.
“You did not have to. The blush in your cheeks drained the moment your maid said his name. He makes you uncomfortable.”
She might not have been blushing before, but she certainly was now. He would not even speak to her before now, yet he had been studying the varying shades of her cheeks.
First, he ignores me, then he sits as far away from me as possible, and now he pretends to care about me?
Evander took a step closer, hovering on the brink of breaking through her personal space, but Helena did not step back.
She just raised her chin a little higher so she could keep her eyes on his.
As he did so, the intoxicating scent of juniper, pine, and something deliciously spicy filled her nostrils.
How had she not noticed such a scent in the carriage?
Then she remembered how she had all but stuck her head out the window in an attempt to get away from him and blushed all over again.
“What has he done that has made you so uncomfortable?” Evander asked, a hint of an edge to his deep tone.
“I… I never said he made me uncomfortable,” she stammered out, her heart suddenly racing.
“Your body is betraying your secrets,” he replied, squinting a little more as he leaned closer. “Now tell me why he makes you uncomfortable.”
“You are making me uncomfortable,” she breathed, her mind lingering on the way his tone had almost become sensual as he said, your body.
Evander chuckled, the sound husky and dangerous.
“No, I make you frustrated,” he countered, his eyes flicking down her body for the briefest of seconds. “And curious, I think.”
“I think you know nothing whatsoever about me,” Helena shot back, and to her surprise, Evander’s lips lifted up into an amused grin.
“Tell me what I should know. What is your association with Lord Ingram?”
“There is nothing to tell.”
“Why do you lie?”
“I do not—”
“Excuse me, my lady. Your Grace.” Aggie cleared her throat again.
Helena blinked at the sound, looked around herself, and then down.
She bit her bottom lip as she saw that the toes of her shoes were nearly touching the Duke’s, and they were far closer than she had thought.
Had she moved toward him? Then she took in her setback shoulders, her clenched fists, and realized that she was not cowering back from Evander’s encroaching body, but instead challenging it with a stance of her own.
“Shall we go inside?” Aggie asked tentatively, tugging at the sleeve of Helena’s gown. “Pick out some lovely flowers for the wedding party? From the windows, it seems they have a lovely selection.”
“Yes,” Helena stated, taking a decisive step back from the Duke of Redgrave. “Yes, we should.”
Before I lose my sanity altogether.