Chapter 25
“The gossipers are running amok, you know, now that word has spread that you married the Beast of Redgrave instead of Jeremy!” Letty reported as she dunked her biscuit into her tea.
“I do not care about such rumors,” Helena retorted. “And he is not a beast.”
“Of course not, my dear. I am so very happy for you.”
Helena rolled her eyes. She had not heard from Letty since the wedding. Her ‘friend’ had not even congratulated her that day at the reception. Yet just after breakfast that morning, she had arrived for a surprise visit.
“And what do they say of Jeremy?” Helena asked, unable to resist the question despite herself. She had written to him twice since the wedding and received nothing in return, and try as she might to be happy for him, the silence gnawed at her.
Letty’s eyes lit with delight. “Oh, no one quite knows what to make of it! Some say he has fled to the continent in shame. Others whisper that he has lost his mind entirely. I heard from Lady Ashby that he was seen boarding a ship bound for Italy, of all places, with nothing but a single trunk and his valet.”
“His valet?” Helena repeated carefully, keeping her expression neutral.
“Yes, is that not curious? A man does not typically flee the country with only his valet for company.” Letty’s brows rose meaningfully, though whether she suspected the truth or was merely fishing for scandal of any kind, Helena could not say.
“Do you know anything about it? Surely he confided in you, given how close the two of you were.”
“I know only that he is happy,” Helena said, which was true enough, and offered nothing more. “Wherever he has gone, I trust he had good reason for it. Our engagement was nothing more than an arrangement, after all.”
“Well, I still say it is a dreadful waste,” Letty huffed, giving her skirts an irritated little smooth.
“He ought to have come to me with such an arrangement instead. I would have gone through with it properly, rather than making a spectacle the way you did.” She paused just long enough to let the barb land before adding, almost as an afterthought, “Not that I am not happy for you, of course. It all worked out splendidly for you in the end, did it not?”
Helena kept her expression pleasant with some effort. “It did, rather.”
“I only meant that Jeremy and I have always understood one another so well,” Letty pressed on. “I would have made him an excellent wife. It seems such a pity that it went to waste on someone who did not even want him.”
“I did not want him in that way,” Helena said evenly. “Neither did he want that from me. I should think you know that better than most, Letty, given how often you have complained of his lack of interest in courting you.”
Letty’s mouth pinched at that, and she seemed to remember herself, setting down her teacup with renewed purpose as her gaze drifted instead toward the parlor’s gilded trim.
“So how are things between you and your husband?”
Helena smiled as she recalled the previous afternoon with her family. She had been awash with embarrassment when Alex had thrown mud at Evander, but her heart had swelled with love and joy as she watched the giddy playfulness that had unfolded quickly after the initial assault.
“You should have seen him with Alex yesterday. It was a most endearing sight. He played with Alex as if he were his own son. Beasts do not hold such fondness.”
Letty let out a hmmph as her eyes—once again—roved over the expensive décor of the parlor. Despite her obvious distaste for the Duke of Redgrave, she seemed to have no trouble coveting his property.
“Are all the rooms as pretty as this one?” Letty asked, abruptly changing the subject.
Helena stiffened at the strange question. She had already started to doubt her friendship with Letty. With Jeremy gone, her ‘charming’ banter now seemed more petty than ever, and Helena wondered how she could go about untangling herself from such a person.
“I believe so,” Helena replied, her tone careful.
“Would you show me?” Letty asked, turning her gaze from the blush pink and gold, expensive vase holding roses to Helena with an inquisitive brow. “I believe your best friend deserves a tour of such a grand house!”
Helena almost asked why she would want such a thing, then she realized that in her moment of surprise over Letty’s impromptu visit, she had forgotten that an offer of a tour was a standard practice.
“Forgive me for not offering sooner,” Helena replied, rising from her chair. “Come. I should be happy to show you my new home.”
As Helena guided Letty through the vast house, the young woman ogled openly the expensive furniture, the beautiful paintings, and the vast amounts of finery that decorated each room.
Yet even though she offered somewhat begrudging compliments to each room, Helena could not help but notice that her friend appeared underwhelmed as they walked back into the women’s parlor.
“Was that it?” Letty asked.
“Is that not enough?” Helena asked with a dry laugh. “We have twenty-seven rooms!”
“Yet you only showed me twenty-six,” Letty retorted.
Helena raised her brows, surprised that Letty had gone to the trouble of keeping count.
“Is it because one of them is always locked?” Letty asked, her voice dropping into a suspicious tone as she stepped toward Helena. “Is there a room that not even you, his wife, his Duchess, are allowed to enter?”
Helena gave her an exhausted look, knowing that once more, Letty was implying something.
“There is no locked, secret room that I cannot enter,” she stated. “I simply chose not to show you my husband’s study. He allows me to enter at any time, but I do not find it respectful to let others in. A man is allowed his privacy just as a woman is allowed hers, Letty.”
“Yes, but what does he do with such privacy?” Letty nudged.
Helena shook her head, baffled and annoyed.
“Speak plainly, Letty, I have no desire to unravel your implications,” Helena commanded, her veneer of politeness fading by the second.
Letty raised her chin haughtily as she shrugged a dainty shoulder.
“I know you believe you are so much better off now that you are married to a duke and not just a simple second son like Jeremy, but as your friend, I want you to be aware that not all that glitters is gold. Men’s secrets rarely lead to something good.”
“What secrets?” Helena sighed. “Evander keeps no secrets from me!”
Letty let out another high-pitched hmmph as she crossed her arms.
“That is what Lady Brooks thought of her husband as well,” Letty retorted.
“She, too, respected her husband’s ‘privacy’ because he showered her in finery.
Until she received a warning one day and chose to explore her husband’s study.
As it turns out, he has several mistresses.
Two of whom bear his illegitimate children! ”
“Evander would never do such a thing!” Helena said at once, though she heard the slight waver in her own voice even as she said it. “He is not that kind of man.”
Letty tilted her head, studying her with something almost like pity. “Even beasts have secrets, Helena. Are you so very confident that he keeps none from you? None at all?”
At first, fury over Letty’s insinuation consumed Helena’s mind.
Yet after its initial explosion, it slithered away, and in its place a seedling of doubt bloomed.
Evander had confessed his deep love for her.
He could not do such a thing… could he? Yet even as she told herself so, she thought of how she felt the distance he was putting between them.
He was keeping something from her. She had known that for weeks.
She had simply never let herself wonder whether it might be something worse than his scars.
Shame washed through her as she even entertained the thought.
“That is quite enough. I think you should leave, Letty,” Helena stated with authority as she clasped her hands in front of her. “In fact, I believe that we should not only say farewell to this visit, but to this… this friendship.”
Letty’s jaw dropped so fast that Helena had to stifle a laugh.
Satisfaction rolled through her as she severed the friendship, and she knew in that moment she had made the right decision.
Letty had always had a way of putting Helena down, as if her previously lower circumstances were a way to bring Letty’s status up higher.
Even now, even as Helena stood in a higher rank, Letty was trying to sink her spirits.
“You would do something so cruel?” Letty asked. “After all of our years of friendship?”
“My husband taught me something,” Helena replied, feeling her confidence grow. “And it is that I do not need to suffer the company of those who would wish me harm. So yes, to protect my happiness, I would do something so cruel.”
She then called for Aggie, who quickly appeared, and Helena requested her to show Letty out. As Letty was escorted to the front door, she continued to berate Helena for her decision, but Helena was too satisfied with her decision to pay her any mind.
However, after the silence settled in and the pleasure of her choice faded, that seed of doubt Letty had planted grew a little bigger. She wondered, as she was left alone with her thoughts, whether, despite Letty’s obvious attempts to dismiss her, the young woman also might have a valid point.
Evander says he loves me. So why does it still feel as though I only have half of him?