Chapter 17
“You look lovely as ever, sweetheart.”
Helena fought the urge to widen her smile and turn as Evander whispered his words of praise into her ear, but knowing their guests were watching, she kept her expression as light and polite as possible as she kept her eyes on the evening’s ball that was now in full swing.
Last night, she had been in such a state of anxiety over what had happened between them.
Not only that, but over everything she had confessed.
It fascinated her that so much change could come from a mere twenty-four hours.
“Your mood seems much improved, Your Grace,” she murmured to him teasingly as she watched the guests continue laughing and dancing.
From her side, Evander let out a throaty chuckle that made her insides quiver with arousal.
“How could it not?” he asked, his deep voice seeping into her mind and fueling her fantasies. “The woman of my dreams returns my affections, and Jeremy and I have come to an accord.”
This time, Helena could not contain her bigger smile.
After some time and several nips from the whiskey bottle Evander had left behind, Helena had found enough courage to return to her mother’s side at last night’s party.
Even so, she was too distracted by the absence of not just Evander, but also Jeremy, to try to be in the moment.
It had been a vast relief when Patricia finally allowed her to retire for the evening, and she was even more relieved when she found Jeremy and Evander in her quarters.
She had been shocked at first to hear Jeremy’s confession about his lover, but it was something she quickly got over once he explained that he would be stepping out of the way for the sake of her and Evander.
Though they did not share the details of their new plan, they did tell her to go along with the parties, which she found much easier to do now that she no longer felt guilty about falling in love with one man while agreeing to marry another.
“And you do not care to share with me the specifics of such an accord?” she asked presently, raising an inquiring brow as she dared a look at him.
Desire slammed into her the moment she met Evander’s piercing blue gaze, and for a moment, she forgot to breathe as Evander leaned toward her ear and softly rasped, “In time, my love. For now, you should continue to enjoy the party,” before letting his bottom lip caress against her lobe.
Heat flushed into her cheeks as Evander pulled back with a smirk, and before she could find her wits again, Jeremy appeared between them, wrapping an arm around them both.
“Greetings, you lovely creatures,” he greeted cheerily as he gave them both a squeeze. “Amazing party, by the way. You two did so well together in my absence.”
Helena suppressed a giggle behind her hand as Evander rolled his eyes; both of them understood the subtle jab Jeremy had thrown at them.
“Helena, dearest, you have played doting hostess long enough. The hour is growing late, and you have yet to grace the dance floor. Do come and dance with your almost-faux husband,” Jeremy urged, letting go of Evander’s shoulder so he could bow politely before Helena.
“Would you hush!” Helena whispered, her eyes darting nervously around them. “You still have not told me everything, but I am sure it would not bode well for someone to discover our secret before you put your plan into play. Letty is looking at us!”
“Oh, when is she not?” Jeremy’s grin widened as he looked at Evander. “She is so adorable when she worries, is she not?”
Evander chortled and gave them a gentle push.
“Go, have a lovely dance,” he encouraged them.
The entire evening felt so surreal to Helena as Jeremy led her through the crowd of guests and onto the dance floor.
Evander’s hard facade had completely crumpled to let his affection for her shine through, making it impossible for her to deny the feelings she had been holding for him.
She was no longer going to be part of a marriage of convenience.
Evander was going to handle their problem with Lord Ingram, or so he had promised. It all felt too good to be true.
“You look tense, my dear,” Jeremy said quietly as he pulled her into the waltz. “Are you having misgivings about me?”
“You?” she asked, letting him lead her into the dance. “No, not at all. I wish you had told me the full truth, but I do understand, and I only wish you nothing but happiness.”
Jeremy’s smile was affectionate as he guided her into the beautiful dance.
“And I for you, Helena,” he replied with a most serious affectation. “You are a truly beautiful lady, inside and out. And a better friend than I deserve.”
Helena smiled back at him with equal affection, then turned her head to scan the crowd, finding the face she was searching for almost immediately.
Just as she had thought, Evander was watching them, his face once again contorted into his usual stoic expression as his arms remained crossed over his chest.
“Good thing he knows the truth now,” Jeremy murmured. “Otherwise, he would be wanting to kill me right about now.”
Helena laughed, unable to contain the moment of mirth.
“So you and Evander?” Jeremy asked her. “Do you love him?”
She was startled by the question, so much so that if Jeremy were not such an excellent dancer, she would have stumbled. Her eyes drew to Evander once more, and in doing so, she felt her heart tremble in her chest.
“It is as if I have known him for years,” she whispered, shaking her head in disbelief. “It makes no sense, I know, but from the moment we met, even when I was sure he hated me, I felt this pull in my spirit. As if I recognized him somehow.”
“I shall take that as a yes then,” Jeremy chuckled.
Helena managed to laugh with him.
“There is so much I do not know about him yet, but… Yes, I do believe I am in love with him. No one has ever made me feel the way he does.”
As the dance ended, Jeremy bowed to her and kissed her knuckles.
“Then I believe our new plan will work out best for us all,” he replied solemnly.
“Tell me what this plan of yours is,” Helena whispered, but Jeremy only winked as his lips formed a smirk on her knuckles.
“Ah, good. You are finished.”
A shiver of cold fear ran down Helena’s spine as she heard Lord Ingram’s voice behind her, and all the hope she had been feeling drained from her body.
“I was hoping for the next dance,” Lord Ingram went on, his tone polite as he stepped to the side, looking first at Jeremy with a pleasant smile. Yet when he turned to Helena, his lips tightened, and a look of determination settled into his eyes. It dissolved at once as he looked back at Jeremy.
“Would you mind, Mr. Winterbourne?” Lord Ingram asked.
“Be my guest,” Jeremy replied cordially, stepping out of the way.
“No, I…” Helena breathed. She took a step to follow Jeremy, but Lord Ingram was already there, capturing her hands and whirling her into the steps of the new dance.
At once, her body rebelled against his touch; vivid memories of the way he had thrown her against the wall filled her mind and made her body grow taut with worry.
Her corset, laced snugly for the evening, suddenly felt as though it had been cinched a full size smaller, and she found herself struggling to draw a full breath around him.
“You need to calm your mother down,” Lord Ingram commanded as he forced her into the dance. “She is still upset about the other night, and my patience is running thin.”
Helena narrowed her eyes as her nostrils flared and her lips drew into a sneer, though the effort of holding his gaze while her chest fought against her stays cost her more than she wanted to admit.
“Why would she not be?” she hissed. “You said awful things. You struck her. Threatened us.”
“Becoming my paramour is not a threat but a promise of pleasure,” Lord Ingram replied, completely ignoring what she had said about striking her mother. “Ask your dear mama. She knows how good I am.”
Disgust bloomed in Helena’s belly, making her nauseous and dizzy, and with each spin of the dance her breaths grew shallower, as though the boning of her corset had turned to iron.
“You are despicable,” she whispered angrily. “And a downright fool if you believe I would ever feel pleasure from your touch.”
Lord Ingram barked out a laugh as he twirled her around.
“That is fine. I do not need to seek your pleasure to have my own. In fact, I feel quite a thrill when I have to fight for it a little,” he said, his tone dark and full of evil promise as he stared down into her eyes.
His grip on her hands tightened painfully as he yanked her close.
“Especially when you fight me, Little Helena,” he whispered, so close to her face that she could feel his hot, rank breath on her face. “It still fuels my fantasies to imagine how I will break you open.”
Despite her rage and determination to hold on to it, Helena paled and cowered under his watchful and disgusting gaze, the tightness in her chest now competing with the rising tide of her panic.
Unable to bear his touch any longer, she wrenched her hands from his, unconcerned if the people around her thought her rude.
“Get back here,” Lord Ingram demanded through gritted teeth, his eyes darting toward the crowd. “You will not embarrass me.”
“Do forgive me, Lord Ingram, but my feet are weary from dancing and in need of rest,” she said loudly enough for those around her to hear, though the words came out more breathless than she intended.
She then turned her back to him, feeling her anxiety rise now that she could no longer see him, and hurried out of the ballroom, one hand pressed unconsciously against her ribs as though she could will them to loosen on their own.
“What was that?” Jeremy asked at Evander’s side.
“I do not know,” Evander said through gritted teeth as he watched Helena flee the ballroom. “But I am going to find out. Stay here and distract your guests.”
Jeremy gave him a solemn nod as Evander moved with forced restraint through the crowded ballroom.
He had seen Lord Ingram approach Helena; seen the way she had first glared at him, then paled at whatever he had said to her.
The beast in him wanted to grab hold of the evil man right then and there and make him pay, but the man, the human Helena had brought out in him, needed to see to her comfort first.
He searched for her in the large house, finding her in the library where she had found him the day before, sitting on the couch and clutching her throat as she gasped for air.
“Helena!” he exclaimed, rushing to kneel before her. “Are you all right?”
“I… I cannot breathe.”
Her eyes were wide and panicked, her cheeks pale as she tried in vain to heave in breaths.
“Come here, love, I have you,” he quickly assured her, moving to take her into his arms.
Helena let out a desperate cry as he cradled her in his lap, his large hand moving down to her chest, where he found her racing heartbeat.
He could feel her body struggling, fighting the fear that had taken over her, and realized how trapped she felt.
Not waiting another moment to give it a thought, he reached down to the tight bodice of her white gown with both hands and yanked.
The sounds of tearing fabric and popping laces intermingled with Helena finally taking in a deep, gasping breath.
His eyes drew to her beautiful, bare breasts, the sight of which had his body responding instantly.
Instead of giving in to such a delectable view, however, he snapped his gaze back up to her face and focused on calming her down.
“Breathe, sweetheart, breathe,” he coaxed.
“I cannot do this,” she rasped through still-struggling breaths. “He will not stop. He will never stop.”
Fury tunneled through Evander’s veins as he gently stroked his hands up to her face and cupped her cheeks, making her look at him.
“Helena, look at me,” he commanded, holding her terrified gaze. “All you need to worry about is breathing. Deep breath in through your nose. There we go. Hold. And let loose through your lips. Just like me. Watch me.”
He held her face as he took a deep breath, exactly as he had instructed her to, then exhaled.
Evander repeated this several times until color finally returned to Helena’s face.
Only when he let his hand drift back to her chest and felt her heart steady did he lean in and softly kiss her lips, offering reassurance.
Helena whimpered as he did, and his rage abated a little as he felt her arms slide around his neck and cling to him.
He caressed her lips softly with his own, giving her a quiet promise that he would make everything all right, and only when he felt her body relax did he pull away.
“Better?” he asked, caressing her cheek.
Her forehead pressed against his; she nodded.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I thought I would die in that thing.”
“Of course,” Evander replied, tilting his head up to kiss her forehead. “Now tell me what that scoundrel said to you.”
Helena drew in another shuddering breath as she pulled back and bowed her head. It was then that she seemed to notice her ruined gown, and a beautiful pink blush stole across her cheeks as she tried to pull the ripped ends back together.
“Here,” Evander said, sloughing off his jacket.
Keeping his eyes averted, despite his body screaming at him to do otherwise, Evander held out his jacket, putting it on her with the lapels facing her back so she was fully covered.
“Thank you,” she breathed, pulling the collar of his jacket up to her lips.
His heart skipped a beat as he watched her close her eyes and inhale deeply, as if using his scent to further her comfort.
“It is the least I could do after ripping your pretty gown,” he replied, wrapping an arm around her lower back. “I should not have done that.”
“No,” Helena quickly negated, glancing up at him with forgiving eyes. “No, it was too tight. I could not breathe. I fear I was just a few seconds away from a fainting spell.”
Though relieved that he was so quickly forgiven, Evander still could not relax and revel in his moment alone with her.
“Tell me what caused this,” he commanded gently once more. “What did he tell you?”
For a moment, Helena hesitated, and in that brief time, Evander watched some of her fear return to her eyes.
“He said… He said he enjoyed hurting my mother and me,” she whispered, beginning to quiver in his lap. “He said that he would enjoy breaking me open.”
Evander’s grip tightened around Helena’s thighs as his vision tinged with red and his nostrils flared. He forced a breath into his lungs, managing to loosen his fingertips so as not to hurt Helena.
He was drowning in fury. No man dared threaten the love of his life and remained unpunished.
“He will be dealt with,” he vowed, feeling the muscle in his jaw tick with irritation. “Immediately.”