Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Helena woke up quite late the next morning. Last night had been exhausting. The baroness’s labor had been intense. Helena had had to stay beside her for five full hours before she was finally able to deliver a healthy and beautiful baby girl. The happy couple had named the baby Ruth.
Helena was glad that both mother and child were safe and healthy.
The baron was happy and Helena had loved watching the small family together.
She loved being a midwife. She was able to not only witness the miracle of life but also see happy families uniting over their love for one another and the new soul that had entered the world.
She stood up from her bed and quickly went about her morning routine.
Once she was dressed for the day and had tied her long hair in a French braid, she walked out of the room.
The house was filled with the scent of freshly baked muffins and Helena couldn’t help but smile.
She walked inside the dining room to join her father and sister.
Just as she had expected, the two were already seated and happily enjoying breakfast.
“Good morning,” Helena greeted them, her eyes immediately falling on the tray of muffins on the table. Phoebe was awful at remembering recipes for medicines and tonics but was an excellent baker. She always made the tastiest desserts and Helena was glad that her little sister spoiled her this way.
“Look who finally decided to wake up,” Phoebe said with a laugh and Helena knew that she was only teasing her.
“Yes, because unlike you, I didn’t sleep all night,” Helena replied, taking a seat just beside her father.
“Oh yes, she came back quite late from the baron’s house,” her father chimed in. Helena smiled at him.
“Oh, no one told me! What did the baron have, a daughter or a son?” Phoebe questioned, her tone filled with excitement. This was her favorite question whenever Helena returned after delivering a baby. The sisters would bet about it early on and would patiently wait for the results.
“I won again. He had a daughter, just as I predicted,” Helena answered, laughing loudly. Her predictions had become quite accurate lately. It was more often than not that she won.
“That is unfair! I was saving money to buy new fabric.” Phoebe frowned, clearly unhappy about the result. “The only reason I placed this bet was to have your money too and get better, more expensive fabrics.”
“What do you even need fabrics for? Is a wedding approaching?” Helena asked, confused. She knew that Phoebe loved making new dresses for every occasion but couldn’t think of anyone getting married in the near future.
“How could you forget, Helena? The annual Summer Fair is one week away!” Phoebe exclaimed and Helena rolled her eyes at her evident excitement.
She had never been interested in the summer fair.
She was aware that Phoebe was always eager for it and was of course looking forward to attending the event.
“You can keep the money and buy yourself some beautiful fabrics, but I’ll take double next time,” Helena said, squeezing her sister’s hand.
“Really? You are the best, Helena! Oh I can’t wait to attend––everyone is claiming that it will be even better and much bigger this time,” Phoebe went on, giving them details about all the gossip that the villagers must have told her.
“Oh yes, I have heard that too,” her father added, agreeing with Phoebe.
“Oh, and I forgot to tell you both something,” Phoebe said, her tone suddenly growing soft.
Helena looked up from the piece of bread she was buttering to stare at Phoebe’s change of expression.
Her pale skin had turned crimson and she was blushing deeply.
“Jonathan has asked me to accompany him to the summer dance.”
Helena couldn’t help but smile at her sister’s shy demeanor. She knew that Phoebe was young and that being fancied and asked to a dance by a boy as handsome as Jonathan was certainly a cause for excitement. Helena was extremely happy for her sister and only wanted the best for her.
“Well, if Jonathan wishes to take you to the summer dance, he will have to do the gentlemanly thing and ask me for my permission first. Otherwise, I can’t allow him to escort you,” her father said, causing Helena’s smile to fade.
She turned to look at Phoebe, who was staring at her with a confused expression.
Their father was quite liberal and very understanding and had never put forth such ultimatums. The summer dance was not a formal event, and Helena had no idea why her father had added this condition.
The sisters stared at him as an awkward silence descended.
Just then, her father erupted into loud laughter and stared at them with amusement shining in his eyes. His laughter was so infectious that both Helena and Phoebe couldn’t help but join in.
“Why are we laughing?” Helena asked, finally gaining control over her breathing.
“I was only trying to scare you two––and you actually believed me! Jonathan called on me yesterday and asked for my permission to take you to the summer dance. He is certainly a fine young gentleman, and I am sure you will have an excellent time with him,” her father answered.
Helena watched as Phoebe’s features relaxed a little.
“You scared me for a second there, Papa,” Phoebe said, her smile intact.
Helena simply stared at the two people she loved the most in the whole wide world and couldn’t help but smile.
The relationship between them was one full of understanding, love, and affection and she couldn’t be more thankful for it.
“Helena, why don’t you consider going to the dance with your sister?
” Her father turned towards her and Helena was left speechless at the unexpected question.
She knew that her father wished for her to go out, to socialize and simply enjoy life, but he had never addressed her over such a matter directly.
“You know I don’t have the time for courting and attending summer dances, Father.
I simply have no interest in being involved in social life in that way,” Helena replied honestly.
She wanted to devote her life to medicine, and courting only seemed like a waste of time.
She had no plans of ever marrying, and so there was no point in going to the summer dance.
Most young women went there to find themselves husbands, and Helena had no such plans.
“Helena, I wish I could somehow show you the absurdity of your decision. One day, when you turn back and look at your life, you will regret your decision of never getting married,” her father said.
Helena had no idea what to reply. She knew that he only wanted the best for her, but her decision to remain unwed had been made after a lot of consideration. She had no plans of ever straying from it.
“I will have no regrets, Father, because this decision makes me immensely happy. I love the life I am living and have no desire to ever substitute it for the life of a married woman,” Helena said with a smile.
She was absolutely certain that nothing and no one could ever change her mind in this regard.
Helena noticed that her father was just about to reply when a loud knock was heard at their door.
She silently thanked the heavens for the much-needed interruption, since she knew she had no energy to continue having such a discussion with her father.
The man was adamant, and the two of them would simply end up arguing.
Phoebe stood up to walk out of the dining room and attend to whoever had arrived. Helena and her father stayed seated, continuing their breakfast in total silence.
“Abigail has come to see you,” Phoebe announced while resuming her seat.
Helena smiled. Abigail was her best friend. They had known each other since they were little girls and time had made them closer than ever. They had planned to go for a walk that day.
“Are we strolling aimlessly or do you wish to go somewhere?” Helena asked as the two walked down the road.
“We are going to town, of course. I need to buy some fabrics and trimmings,” Abigail answered, her tone laced with excitement.
Helena rolled her eyes, knowing the reason behind this shopping spree.
Abigail, too, was extremely fond of the summer fair.
She was in love with the vicar’s son and was always trying to make him notice her.
“I have just heard Phoebe’s endless monologue about the summer dance and the kind of dress she wants for herself. Please don’t bore me any longer,” Helena said, sounding exhausted. Last night’s lack of sleep was taking a toll on her, but she had no choice.
“Well not everyone is as boring as you, Helena. Some of us do still wish to enjoy our lives and attend dances. You should consider it too, you know. I have heard that neighboring villages have been invited to attend this year as well, and several gentlemen will be coming. You might find someone special for yourself,” Abigail went on and Helena listened to her patiently.
“You are well aware that I am not interested in marriage. Why does everyone keep trying to convince me?” Helena sighed, knowing that she could say anything in front of Abigail without offending her.
“Oh, come now, please stop right there! I know what follows after this––you will tell me how you have devoted your life to medicine and have no desire to ever get married. You only wish to make your medicinals and help people in need. Marriage is a concept that is far beneath you and you want to die an old maid. Then you’ll go on about how you can only deliver other people’s children but can never imagine having your own.
” Helena laughed as Abigail mimicked her voice as she went on.
She had said the exact same things countless times and knew that everyone close to her was already aware of her thoughts on her marital status.
“You are absolutely right, my dear friend! My heart is content with simply being devoted to medicine and working on bringing new lives into this world,” Helena said as she stared at Abigail with an amused expression.
“The best medicine for the heart is love,” Abigail said softly, and Helena couldn’t help but grow serious. She knew that Abigail was right and that every human needed love to survive. And the main reason she had sworn off marriage was because of love––not that she had ever revealed this to anyone.
She still couldn’t forget when her mother had fallen seriously sick. Helena had noticed how her father had spent day and night tending to her, yet despite everything, he couldn’t save her. The woman he loved with all his heart had left him all alone and he had been devastated.
Helena still remembered the heart wrenching expression on her father’s face when he had realized that his wife and the mother of his two daughters had left the world for good. For eight years, she had watched him fade away. Helena never wished to suffer that way again.
She could handle the pain of never falling in love and never being married, but losing the one you loved was the most terrible feeling in the whole world. Helena was certain that there was no way she would be able to handle that kind of loss.
“Let’s check those fabrics.” Abigail’s loud voice forced Helena to come out of her train of thought and she quietly followed behind her friend.
The two girls stood inside the haberdashery picking and rejecting a number of fabrics, ribbons and color combinations.
Helena had no interest in making dresses for herself but knew that she could at least assist her friend with the task.
Helena noticed that several young women and even old women stood beside them, also shopping for several different items. As they sorted through the fabrics and ribbons she couldn’t help but hear the conversation of two middle-aged women who stood just beside her.
“Do you think the Duke of Davinshire will attend?” the first woman questioned, and Helena rolled her eyes. She had no idea why there was such an obsession with the duke.
He had moved to the countryside two years before and had never shown his face in public.
No one in the village had ever laid eyes on the man, which was rather unsettling but also made everyone generally curious.
It also started rumors about the duke. Most villagers believed him to be a monster or a brute, which seemed bizarre to Helena.
She couldn’t understand how people could be dumb enough to consider a living, breathing man to be a monster.
It was also rumored that he did not show his face to anyone in the village because of his ghastly appearance.
He was said to be disfigured. Some people even said that he had horns and fangs and was part human, part devil.
The more sensible people in the village did not believe that, of course, but Helena was certain that most of them feared the man.
“He never attends, but he might this time. It has been two years, after all. How long will he hide?” the other woman replied.
One thing Helena did know was that the villagers had all the time in the world to invest in baseless gossip.
She had never talked about him or even thought about him.
She had no concern for how he looked or acted and did not wonder why he refused to come out of his mansion.
She had much better things to think about and attend to.
The duke was someone out of her reach and a man she was never going to interact with.
Discussing him was simply a waste of time.
The one thing she couldn’t help but wonder about was how a person could not leave his home for two whole years.
He had never shown himself in public, though he probably travelled for business, although nobody in the village ever saw him leave.
He was always cooped up inside those walls.
Only a man who had a serious reason for hiding behind closed walls could remain there for that long.
Were the rumors really true?
“Helena, how do you think this purple ribbon will look with the fabric we chose?” Abigail’s voice brought her back to the present.
“I think it will look pretty,” Helena said unconsciously, distracted.
Even though she had never taken interest in the gossip of the town, today she couldn’t help thinking about it.
It was true that the duke’s character seemed slightly suspicious.
There must certainly be some reason behind him hiding away from the world.
Helena couldn’t help but wonder about the reason behind this secrecy.