by Abby Ayles
Agatha’s eyes shot to her sister’s face in shock. “Arabella?”
“The sister I love is welcomed. This person, this critical and grasping creature that I have witnessed these past weeks, is not.” Arabella stepped toward Agatha. “See that my sister returns before then.”
Helena stood in surprise at her cousin’s defence of her. They met on the stair, and Arabella gave her an assuring smile. “Let us go to dinner.”
They walked with arms entwined as Agatha remained on the stair. Moments later, the sound of stamping feet ascending the stair could be heard behind them.
“I am sorry about my sister,” Arabella apologized. “I feel as if I have been asking your forgiveness on her account since you arrived.”
“It is not your fault,” Helena replied.
“Yes, it is. My sister needed to have been controlled a long time ago, but no one ever did because it seemed harmless. Until now, when we see what a slack hand has produced in her treatment of her own kin. My mother and father will wish to speak to you about this as well.”
“It is not necessary. As long as she understands now, I see no need to discuss this further.”
Arabella smiled. “I knew you would say that, as did they. Still, they insist that all be set right between us.”
“All is well between us, cousin,” Helena said with a smile as they held hands.
“You are a good person, Helena. Far more lenient and understanding than I would be in the same situation. I am glad you are here, and I wish for you to enjoy your remaining days with us. Do not let Agatha spoil your visit,” Arabella encouraged.
“Agatha could not do so even if she tried with all her might,” Helena said with a laugh. It felt good.
“I’m glad to hear it. Shall we go to the dining room?”
“Let’s.”
Agatha did not come to dinner. Helena felt sorry for her, but she also thought she deserved the chiding she had received, though Arabella’s stance had taken her by surprise as she was sure it had Agatha.
Dinner was a light event. The conversation was good, and Helena found herself not so isolated as she had been before. Perhaps it was her own emotions that changed her view of the setting, as the guests had not altered.
“Lieutenant Rock seems to have taken an interest in you,” Beatrice whispered to her over the boiled potatoes.
She turned to her sister while looking in the lieutenant’s direction surreptitiously. “Why do you say that?”
“He has not taken his eyes off of you since you sat down,” she continued to whisper.
Helena had not noticed. Her eyes were otherwise engaged as they met Elias’s over the table several times.
“He seems a fine gentleman,” Beatrice noted.
“He does seem so,” Helena answered, though she questioned the truth of her own words. Appearances could be deceiving, and Helena was not sure whether the lieutenant was sincere or an actor playing a part for her benefit.
“Helena, we are to play cards in the music room after dinner. Will you join us?” Arabella asked from the other side of her. Her sister and cousin had placed her between them at the table and the conversation was unending because of it. Beatrice’s disposition had improved and, with it, her desire for conversation.
“I would love to,” Helena answered with a smile.
“Wonderful. We have everyone for our game,” her cousin said cheerfully. “Did you hear that, Captain?” she called to her fiancé.
“What?”
“Helena will join our card game this evening,” Arabella announced to Captain Standish.
“Excellent! We shall truly have a game.”
It was the first time since the guests had arrived that Helena felt a part of the happiness of the occasion. It was wonderful to be included, and though she knew not all of the guests shared her cousin’s sentiments, she no longer cared.
She was going to celebrate her cousin’s wedding whether anyone else felt she deserved to or not.
“Will you play, Beatrice?” she asked as she turned to her sister.
“Cards? I could take a hand when you are done,” Beatrice replied.
“Beatrice will play as well,” Helena said to her cousin.
“We shall make sure she is accounted in one of the rounds,” Arabella said with a smile.
Helena felt the smile on her face. For once, she did not feel foreign in her surroundings, but like her true self was finally showing forth. She was no longer going to hide it. She was going to be Helena Leeson and proud of it, no matter what the circumstances.
“Did you try the beef?” Beatrice asked her.
“Yes, I did.”
“Was it good? I have been contemplating it,” her sister continued. “My stomach has not been handling meat well these past days.”
“It was indeed very good, but if your stomach is still a problem perhaps you should forego the beef tonight.”
“But it looks so delicious,” Beatrice continued.
Helena smiled. Her sister seemed a little more like the sister she had known growing up. She still refused to hear of or look at Elias, but perhaps the sharpness of her disappointment had begun to dull. Perhaps soon she would be in a position to hear the truth of Elias and his father.
Dinner ended sometime later, and Helena found herself once again surrounded by her cousin and sister, a fact that seemed to disturb Lieutenant Rock. She saw him attempting to approach her before she was whisked away.
Elias, on the other hand, seemed quite pleased with the turn of events. He followed after them with a smile on his face.
“Now, what shall we play first?” Arabella asked. “Whist? Loo? Perhaps vingt-et-un? What do you think, Helena?”
"I have not played loo in some time," she admitted.
"Then loo it shall be. Captain?" her cousin called as she took the gentleman by the arm. "Our first game has been decided. Helena has not played loo in some time and she wishes to play it tonight."
Captain Standish turned to her with a smile. “It will be better than whist,” he mused. “We have played it a thousand times since we arrived.”
The company laughed, and Helena laughed with them. Perhaps she still had the right to enjoy yourself, even under the circumstances.
Chapter 32
She was radiant that evening. It was as if something had ignited in Helena, and Elias could see it. He could see the girl he’d known as a child. The woman he had come to love.
She was no longer hidden behind sad eyes and a melancholy disposition. She was bursting out from beneath the cloud like the rays of the sun.
What more? Her eyes kept meeting his as they sat at the table for dinner. He had chosen to place himself directly opposite her. Lieutenant Rock sat two seats away, yet her eyes hardly turned to him.
Elias had to repress a smile. He did not want Helena looking at the lieutenant. He wanted her eyes to be for him alone. His joy was increased when he saw how she conversed happily with her sister and cousin, and how Arabella included her in the evening’s games.
He was even happier as the lieutenant was thwarted in his attempt to speak to Helena as they left the dining room.
The card table and several more chairs had been brought into the music room for the evening's festivities. The wedding was two days away and the house had begun to buzz with the excitement of it. The household staff were busier than ever before as the time drew closer.
Miss Morton was at the harpsichord as some of the guests engaged in a small dance. Helena was at the card table, and there was a bright smile on her face. Elias sat back in his chair and folded his leg comfortably as he watched her. He also watched Lieutenant Rock.
The man’s eyes were constantly on Helena. When she smiled, so did he. He watched her like a hungry wolf espying his next meal. Elias did not care for the looks he gave her. It made his stomach sick. He was sure that Lieutenant Rock was everything he feared and worse.
The evening progressed and a good time was had by all. Helena retired from the c
ard table to allow her sister an opportunity to play. She sat quietly, watching the others’ amusement.
“Miss Helena,” Lieutenant Rock called suddenly. “We have heard from nearly all of the ladies of the party. Yet we have not heard you play. You must give us a song.”
Elias’s fist clenched. The man had the gall. He had not even taken consideration if Helena wished to play or if she was even capable, yet he announced it to the room?
She smiled politely but shook her head. “I do not wish to play, Lieutenant. Let others continue to display their skills. I am content to sit and enjoy it.”
“Helena, you must,” Arabella encouraged. “For me. You were such a talent on the harpsichord when we were children. I am sure your talent has not wavered in the passing years.”
Helena turned to her cousin and smiled. Elias knew that smile. It was the one she used when she was about to concede to another’s wishes.
“For you, cousin,” she said sweetly as she got to her feet and moved to the instrument.
The room was silent as Helena approached. Most, he was sure, wondered at her ability. Some, he was also sure, were criticizing her even before she sat.
Helena was serene as she sat at the instrument. She flexed her fingers lightly before announcing the piece she would be playing.
“Jean-Philippe Rameau's Les Cyclopes,” she said and, in an instant, her fingers began to dance across the keys at a feverish rate.
Her hands crossed over each other and shifted from the lower keys to the upper keys in such a fluid motion it was as if she had to take no thought to the action. The music simply flowed out of her.
One-by-one the guests fell under the spell of her playing. Elias was already enchanted. The last time he had seen her play was at Balwell these many months ago.
It was good to see her once again enjoying herself and being the center of attention as she deserved, though she was always the center of his attention.
Elias’s eyes forced themselves away from Helena, to the faces of those listening. All were in awe, but Lieutenant Rock’s attention was the one that concerned him. Elias had enough.
He got to his feet and stayed close to the walls as he made his way around the room. He did not wish to obstruct anyone’s view or draw attention to himself or his actions while Helena was playing. However, with everyone’s eyes on her, it was the perfect time to speak to the man.
“Lieutenant?” Elias said softly once he was near the gentleman.
“Are you enjoying the music, Your Lordship” the man replied jovially.
“Quite. I would like a word with you if I may?”
The lieutenant looked at him quizzically. “Now?”
“If it is no imposition,” Elias replied. He turned from where the man sat and walked toward a quieter corner. Lieutenant Rock followed him.
“What is this about, Lord Chatleton? You seem out of sorts,” the lieutenant commented.
“Not out of sorts. Concerned,” Elias corrected as they stood close to one another.
“What concerns you?”
“What are your intentions toward Miss Helena?” he asked flatly.
Lieutenant Rock laughed. “Forgive me, Your Lordship, but is there some understanding between you and the lady that I should be aware of that you should ask me such a question?”
“I am a close friend of the family, therefore, her well-being is of some interest to me.”
Lieutenant Rock levelled his eyes upon him. “Is that so? Then why, may I ask, have you ignored the lady up until now? Are you sure it is her interests that you are concerned about or your own as you see she has favored me with her attention?”
The smug, arrogant fiend! Elias’s jaw and hands flexed simultaneously.
“The little interest Miss Helena has shown in you is of no concern to me. It is your interest in her that I call into question.”
“And what have I done that you should question my intent?” the lieutenant replied coldly.
“You have singled her out amongst the ladies. That is clear to all. Is there some reason? Do you desire more with the lady that just an acquaintance?”
“Forgive me again, Your Lordship, but my desires regarding Miss Helena are none of your concern. As you said, you are only a friend, and not a good one at that from what I have seen. You are not family. I owe you no explanation of my feelings.”
The lieutenant spoke with evident disdain to Elias’s questioning and it only proved to provoke further anger within him.
“So you will not answer my question?”
“No, Your Lordship, I will not. I would ask that you kindly stay out of my affairs, lest I have cause to call your own conduct into question. You seem to take too much of an interest in the lady for one who is merely a friend. It could be construed that there is some secret connection between you. One, I am sure, would be fodder for the curious ears of the guests.”
“Is that a threat?” Elias asked through gritted teeth.
“Certainly not, Your Lordship. I would never threaten a man of your standing,” Lieutenant Rock answered with a smug smile. “I simply stated that this conversation would make others question the connection between the lady and yourself. Given her current position, I can only see that as being detrimental, and not something I would wish to occur. Would you?”
Elias leaned closer. His voice was low as he spoke. “Lieutenant, I would be very careful if I were you. The ladies you have met before did not have the friends that Miss Helena possesses. If I were you, I would be less concerned with her and my connection, as I would with the continuation of your career.”
Lieutenant Rock’s eyes flashed. “Do you threaten me?”
“Certainly not,” Elias said with a smile to equal the one the lieutenant had so recently given him. “I merely say that if you ever wish to be more than you are, it would be best to think of your advancement and less of the reputations of others. Don’t you think? After all, you can never be sure what could happen when you make the affairs of others your business. Sometimes, in such cases, the results are quite detrimental to the one who uttered the rumors, more than the ones the rumors speak of.”
The lieutenant was seething. Elias could see it, and it gave him much satisfaction.
“Is that all you wish to speak about, Your Lordship?” The words were strained as they were spoken.
“Yes. That is all,” Elias answered before he walked away.
Helena had finished playing by the time he returned to his seat. He watched her as she returned to her sister. The lieutenant remained in the corner with an angry look on his face.
Seethe if you wish. Just stay away from Helena or I will make my words truth.
Elias had never felt this way before. Was it jealousy or simple concern that drove him to make such a statement? He was unsure, but what he did know was that if Lieutenant Rock ever said anything or did anything to harm Helena’s reputation, he would never see the sea again. Elias would make sure of it.
Later that evening, Elias was forced to go to his room to retrieve a document for the Baronet. The man had asked him to make certain inquiries regarding a property he wished to buy. Elias had made the connection and had received the response earlier that day.
He was walking down the stair when he stopped short at the sight of Helena coming toward him. “Helena?”
“Elias?” she said softly as a smile spread across her face.
He continued to walk toward her. “Why have you left the others?”
“I am quite undone this evening,” she replied. “I believe the events of the past few days have finally caught up to me. I am to bed.”
Elias placed his hand upon the rail as Helena did the same. His fingers landed upon hers. He looked at where their hands touched, and then at her. She too was staring at the union of their fingers. Elias gently moved his thumb across the soft skin beneath it. Helena didn’t move.
“As long as you are not unwell,” he said softly as he looked at her.
“I am very well indeed,”
she answered. Her voice was low and sweet to his ears.
“Did you have some business that you left us early?” she asked.
“An errand for the Baronet,” he replied as his thumb continued its ministrations. Helena’s face became red. He chuckled.
“What?” Helena asked.
“Nothing,” Elias answered. “I just noticed how much happier you are today. It makes me very happy to see it.”
