Capturing the Viscount's Heart

by Abby Ayles

  Helena stood in the courtyard of Newgate Prison with her sister and mother. Elias and his father accompanied them.

  The group remained above ground as the jailer descended into the bowels of the prison to bring her father out. Helena’s eyes watched the dark portal that had once bid them entrance. Now, it was the path of freedom for her father.

  They waited long but soon, a hunched and dirty frame appeared in view. Helena’s heart wept within her as her father hobbled toward them. Her mother wept openly, as did Beatrice, while Elias and his father moved to assist him.

  Prison had taken a toll on him, much greater than when she had last seen him. He was thinner and sickly. A cough racked his lungs, and he seemed hardly able to walk at all.

  “Get the carriage,” Lord Wismoth called, and Elias called it forward. They helped her father inside and they followed after him.

  Their father was weak, and Helena held back the urge to cry as she sat beside Elias. He was holding her father up. He seemed too weak to even look around him.

  “Father,” she called gently and his eyes slowly fluttered open.

  “Helena,” he said with a tired smiled. “Is that my Helena?”

  “It is,” she said as she took his hand.

  Her father’s eyes looked upon the one who held him up. “I am told I am to thank you,” he said weakly.

  “There is no need. Rest now. We will see to your care,” Elias answered. Fatigued, her father obeyed.

  The physician was called the moment they arrived at Sutton Street. Helena had attempted to care for her father, but her mother would not permit it. Now that her husband was home, she had resumed the role that fear and grief had stolen from her.

  Beatrice locked herself in her room and cried. The coming of the Earl and Elias had also brought unhappy tidings for her. Their father was free and the truth was known, but too late. The Viscount of Morsby had now entered a courtship with another woman. Her hopes for her own happiness were gone.

  Helena sat by the window in the entertainment room and looked out as rain washed the busy streets of London clean. She felt his presence over her shoulder a moment later. She knew it was Elias even before she turned to face him.

  He smiled at her and she smiled back. “Are you happy?”

  “I am. Very,” Helena answered.

  “You father is home. There must be nothing else your heart could desire.”

  She looked into his eyes. “Only one thing,” she whispered then quickly turned away her eyes. “Your father was good to call his personal physician to look after my father.”

  “He would do no less than all he can,” Elias answered. “Your father is like a brother to him. He would do as much for him as he would for them.”

  “We are grateful for it,” Helena answered as she moved away from him. The proximity between them was too much, and Helena could barely breathe as her heart raced in her chest.

  The house was lighter. Helena could feel it. The staff was aware that their master had returned, now they all waited for news of his health.

  Later that evening, they were summoned. The family and Elias and the Earl too. They found her father sitting up in bed. He was drawn, but his eyes were less tired and he seemed more aware of himself.

  “Family. Friends,” her father said as Elias and Lord Wismoth entered. “Please, all of you, sit.”

  They did as requested. Helena sat in the chair to the left of her father’s bed, while her sister sat to the right. Beatrice looked solemn but she tried her best to hide her sorrow in their father’s presence. Their mother sat beside her, and the Earl and Elias in chairs that had been set at the foot of the bed.

  “It has been too long since we have all been together. It feels several lifetimes ago,” Mr. Leeson said with a sigh. “I have made many grievous mistakes,” he continued. “Too many to account for, but I wish for you all to hear my words. I owe these gentlemen an apology."

  “Nonsense, Ambrose,” Lord Wismoth interjected. “None is necessary.”

  “No,” Mr. Leeson replied with a raising of a hand to silence his welcomed guest. “There must be one, for I have accused you wrongfully and I must repent for my sin. You have proven yourselves the worthiest of men. True and dear friends, who persisted in helping me despite my unimaginable behavior toward you."

  A cough racked her father’s lungs and he was forced to stop his speech as he regained himself.

  “I am free because of you. My family returned and our lives made whole because you did not relent in your pursuits, even when I chided you bitterly and accused you of being traitors to our friendship. I was a prideful fool,” he admitted. “But I am no more.”

  “Ambrose,” Lord Wismoth said as he got to his feet and approached the bed. He stood by his friend and took his hand. “All is forgiven.”

  Helena looked in shock as her father began to weep. It began slowly and then increased like snow rolling down a hill. Her mother sprang to his side and held him as he continued to weep.

  “Let us leave,” Helena urged. She had never seen her father in such a state, and she knew it was one he would not want to be remembered.

  They left in wordless agreement as her mother consoled her returned husband. It was a beautiful sad sight to Helena’s eyes. Never had she seen the love between her parents so openly displayed as she did now, watching her mother comfort her father.

  It was late in the evening as the household began to rejoice. Dinner was had and the family moved from the lower floors. The staff was allowed a bottle of wine to congratulate their master’s return, while the family remained above stairs with Elias and his father. Their celebrations were far less grand than those of the rest of the household. A sorrow lingered despite the joy they felt.

  “We have been so long in one state that it seems hard to leave it now,” Helena commented as the silence filled the room.

  “Do not worry, that will change,” the Earl encouraged. She knew he was right. Joy would return to the halls of their house on Sutton Street once her father recovered himself.

  “Do you think Father will fully recover?” Beatrice asked. “He seems so weak and fragile now.”

  Helena walked to where her sister sat and sat beside her. “I hope so,” she answered. “If not, we will have to find other recourse for our provision.”

  “You will not have to look far,” Elias interjected. “You know that Father and I will aid you in any way we can. If your father is able to work, he shall return to the company. His position and responsibility restored,” he assured.

  “In the meantime, perhaps a time away from London would be best for his recovery,” the Earl suggested. “Bath, or maybe Bristol by the sea.”

  “It has been a long time since we have visited Bath,” Beatrice replied. “Perhaps Father will want to go there.”

  “I do not know. We shall wait and see first what the physician says upon his return tomorrow,” Helena answered.

  “I am sure the news will be good,” the Earl interjected. “Your father is a strong man. He has endured much despite his failing health. I am sure, with time and care, he will make a full and complete recovery.”

  “I think I would have some tea,” Helena announced suddenly as she got to her feet. “I will go down and see what Cook has that may be shared.”

  “I will help you,” Beatrice offered as she got to her feet.

  They walked together downstairs, the sound of the house’s merriment filling their ears.

  “I’m sorry, Helena,” Beatrice apologized. “I chastised you wrongly. You were following your heart, which knew better than all of us the character of Elias and his father. Our grief blinded us. And my disappointment blinded me as well,” she elaborated as her chin lowered to her chest.

  “I did not mean to hurt you, Beatrice,” Helena answered. “Or to disappoint Father with my actions, but I knew that they were misunderstood. I am thankful that things have ended well and now the truth is known.”

  “If only it had come sooner,” Beatrice r
eplied in melancholy.

  Helena gripped her arm lightly. “I too wish it had come before now. That Father may have been freed before now, and he would have been there to consent to your union with Lord Morsby. We might all be celebrating your wedding today.”

  “Still, it is a day for rejoicing,” Beatrice confirmed. “Our family is restored and our friendship renewed. Many thanks must be given to Lord Wismoth and Elias. I do not know that we could ever repay the kindness they have shown us.”

  “Nor will we have to. Their hearts are too good to hold us to any debt. I am happier,” Helena announced. “I am so happy, Beatrice,” she continued as tears began to sting her eyes.

  Her sister stopped her with an embrace. “There, my sweet Helena,” she soothed as the tears began to roll down her cheeks.

  “I have been so miserable and now it all ended so gloriously that my mind fights to believe it. It fears this is all a dream and I will wake to the news that Father is still imprisoned, Lord Wismoth is our enemy, and I myself am forever divided from Elias.”

  “You care for him deeply, don’t you?” Beatrice whispered into her hair. “You love him?”

  “I have never met a better man,” Helena elaborated. “My heart is entirely his.”

  Her sister took hold of her face and brought it to hers. “Then one day soon, I wager, there will be a wedding at Balwell Manor with you the bride.”

  “Do not say such things,” Helena answered. “I fear to hope for it.”

  “Why fear? You have been his heart all your life by his own admission. It is not a far leap from friendship to love. The effort he has put into proving our father’s innocence was not solely done for him I’m sure.”

  “He has never said,” Helena replied. “Never a word, though it sometimes seemed intimated in his actions.”

  Her sister’s thumbs dried her cheeks. “Wipe away your tears. Let us get the tea and tonight we will think no more of questions. We will not wonder or hope for things we cannot predict. We will celebrate our father’s return and our friends, and for the first time in months, sleep well.”

  “Yes,” Helena replied as she exhaled her emotion. “We shall.”

  Chapter 38

  He had waited all that he could. It had been weeks since Mr. Leeson had returned home and his family had slowly begun to recover. Now, it was time.

  Elias had already consulted his father and he had agreed and given his consent. The time had come to make his feelings known to Helena, and if she accepted him, her father.

  His strides were long and quick as he walked toward Sutton Street. He was met at the door by a smiling Mrs. Royce.

  “Your Lordship,” she said brightly. “What a pleasure it is to see you today. Please come in,” she said as she stepped aside to allow him to enter. “May I take your coat?”

  “Just for a moment,” Elias replied. “Is Miss Helena in the house?”

  “Yes, she is, my lord. She’s in the parlor with her mother.”

  Elias didn’t wait for Mrs. Royce until he was at the parlor door. He was too anxious to see Helena.

  “Good afternoon,” he said as he entered the room after being announced.

  “Lord Chatleton. Good afternoon,” Mrs. Leeson said with a smile.

  “Elias,” Helena replied. “We did not know you were in London.”

  “I have only arrived today. I had an important matter I wished to discuss,” he explained.

  “My husband is upstairs. I will have Mrs. Royce call him,” Mrs. Leeson announced as she moved toward the door.

  “Actually, the matter I wished to discuss is with Helena,” he said as his eyes settled on her. “If I may, Mrs. Leeson, I would like to speak to Helena alone.”

  A broad smile began to spread across Mrs. Leeson’s face as she turned to Helena. She seemed stunned.

  Elias stepped toward her as Mrs. Leeson quietly excused herself and closed the door behind her. “I will be not be far,” she said.

  “Helena, would you sit a moment?” Elias asked as he gently took her hand.

  She nodded her consent and smiled. “Of course.”

  He led her to the small couch by the fireplace. Her hand trembled in his, and he wondered if she knew what he had come to ask. He hoped she did, and that the trembling was her excitement and not fear.

  “These months have made me reflect on our lives together,” he began. “It made me realize how much a part of my life you truly are. How invaluable you are to me.”

  Her cheeks were crimson as he spoke, and he smiled at the change in her countenance as his Helena became more bashful than he had ever seen her.

  “Elias,” she chided playfully. “You flatter me.”

  “Not enough,” he answered as he took her hand. He laid one hand flat with the palm turned up and placed her hand on top of his. Her delicate fingers and palm fit perfectly into his larger one.

  “You would do this when I was a child,” Helena replied with a smile. “You make me remember very happy times.”

  “I hope to add to those memories,” Elias answered as he searched his pocket for the gift he had purchased.

  “Do you?” Helena questioned quietly.

  “I have something for you,” he said as he smiled and retrieved a small pouch from his pocket and placed it in her hand. “I got this for your birthday.”

  Helena looked at Elias and smiled. “You remembered?”

  “I could never forget,” he answered. “Open it.”

  Helena looked over the gift and then tugged on the strings to free it from its packaging. She exclaimed at the exquisite brooch she found there. "Elias, it’s beautiful!"

  “As are you,” he said to her heart’s delight.

  “Why do you say such things?”

  “Because they’re true,” he said softly. “I have long wanted to tell you how I feel, Helena, but circumstances were against it. It was torture for me to be away from you all these months, and have our families at odds.”

  “You know how I missed you,” Helena replied. “Every day I thought of you.”

  “I thought of you too. It was thoughts of you and your family that urged me to continue to search for the real thief.”

  “And you found him,” Helena said with a smile.

  “There is something important I wish to ask you, Helena, but first there is something important that I must say.”

  “What is it, Elias? I will listen to whatever you have to say to me,” she replied.

  He took her hand and placed it over his heart. “Do you feel that?”

  “Yes. The beating,” Helena replied breathlessly.

  “My heart beats for you, Helena. It was once my own but now it desires a new owner. It no longer wants to be mine, but yours, if you would accept it.”

  Helena’s fingers moved lightly over his chest above his heart. “Isn’t it strange? My heart sings the same song.”

  “Does it?” Elias asked as he gently pressed her hand against his chest. “Does it quicken like mine?”

  She nodded quietly. “It fills my ears with no other sound.”

  “Then let me give you another,” Elias said softly.

  “What sound?”

  “This,” Elias began softly as he leaned closer and whispered in her ear. “I love you.”

  The words rolled from his tongue in a breath as his heart thundered in his ears. He had uttered the words that he had kept hidden in his heart. Now there was no going back, not that he wanted to. His only desire was Helena, and whether she wanted him or not, his love was only for her.

  “I have loved you, perhaps all my life,” he said with a chuckle as he sat back and watched the expression of surprise appear on Helena’s face. “Though I did not know it until I returned home and found you so changed. Suddenly, my little Helena was no longer a girl, but a woman whose every look made my heart stop in my chest.”

  She was trembling again. Elias took Helena’s hand and covered it with his. “Do not be afraid,” he whispered.

  “I’m not afra
id,” she replied breathlessly. “I am overcome.”

  “Do you love me?” he asked as he gazed into her beautiful green eyes. The emeralds there were the same as the ones on the ring that hid beneath his lapel in his breast pocket.

  “I have loved you since I was fourteen,” she declared to his surprise. “The last summer you were home at Balwell, do you remember?”

  He nodded.