Page 39 of The Insufferable Duke
“Perhaps we should agree not to mention this to our families?” Lady Helena whispered once they reached the edge of the park. Christopher held open a wrought iron gate, allowing her to step through first.
“I was thinking of announcing it this evening,” Christopher said wryly. “Fear not, I thought the same would be wise. I do not need to hear my uncle talk again of what a foolish idea the marriage is, only to forget and then give me the same tirade an hour later.”
“He forgets?” Lady Helena asked as they walked alongside each other.
“He has grown forgetful in his old age. Last night he told me for thirty minutes everything that was wrong with the Carters. Their pride, their disdain, their obsession with theton, then he told me the same thing mere minutes afterwards.” Christopher sighed and looked at Lady Helena, to find her lips had pursed together. “What is it?”
“You found a way to deliver another insult to my family when I did not even provoke you.” She came to a sudden halt, and Christopher did the same thing, realizing she was right. “You could have told me that story without speaking of my pride, etcetera, yet you did not. You chose to wound.”
Christopher hung his head forward and nodded.
“Good Lord, are you agreeing with me?” Lady Helena asked. “Oh, where is a bench, for I might fall down in surprise.” She walked on, prompting Christopher to hurry to her side. “You actually agreed with me?”
“I am capable of doing so. Perhaps you are right. It has become a habit to insult and spar with you when, as you say, it is not necessary.”
“Precisely. I beg of you, Your Grace, if we are to be brother and sister, then we must bear one another’s company.” She forced a smile, lifting her head high. “Let today be our test. Shall we see if we are able to have a conversation without angering one another?”
“We can attempt it, yes.” Yet even as Christopher said the words, he felt a burning irritation in his gut. It had something to do with the fact that Lady Helena reminded him they would be brother and sister-in-law soon. She didn’t feel like a sister to him, far from it. He admired her looks far too much for that and was too intrigued by her fiery spirit. “What do you wish to talk about then? Pray, you begin,. for we have seen that I have got us off on the wrong foot already.”
He turned with her to follow their siblings. Robert and Lady Julia walked arm in arm down a slim path. They passed over a thin bridge over a babbling brook then through paths of a formal knot garden between blooming flowers.
“Well, we could talk of reading,” Lady Helena said after a minute or so of silence. “When we attended tea at your house, I observed all the books in your room. Your mother said they were yours.” She looked at him.
“Startled I read, Lady Helena?” he chuckled.
“I was going to ask you what you like reading. What are your favorite books?” Her genuine interest piqued his curiosity. He nodded, showing he had every interest in taking part in their conversation. Their pace naturally slowed, and they ambled alongside each other, repeatedly glancing at one another as he began.
“I must confess a curiosity for the darker books in life. Have you read the gothic tales? For instance,The Castle of Otrantoor Miss Radcliffe’sThe Mysteries of Udolpho.”
“I have.” Lady Helena was wide-eyed as she looked at him. “You like them too?”
“I suppose they offer an escape. A chance to see another world in a way that is quite encapsulating. I have never felt so transformed from a place as I do when reading such gothic novels.”
“Yes, I know what you mean,” Lady Helena said eagerly, stepping a little closer to him. He was very aware of that nearness. “There is a sublimeness to the description of those worlds, an eerie and otherworldly feel.” She smiled indulgently. “My mother tells me that they are not the books a young lady of thetonshould be reading.”
“Ha! Then I am glad you defy both your mother’s and theton’sexpectations in at least one regard.”
“You make it sound as if I follow them in every other regard.” She playfully narrowed her eyes at him yet went on. “Have you readVathek?”
“I have not.”
“Then if you are fond of gothic novels, I would recommend it. I stayed up at night and read until my candle burnt out in order to finish it.” She smiled widely. “I cannot get enough of such books.”
“Neither can I.” Christopher was startled by having this in common with Lady Helena. It was never something he would have presumed of the proper and elegant lady who glared at him from the other side of the ballroom. Was it possible there was another part to Lady Helena entirely? One that was more indulgent in her fantasies and excitements and not so reserved or distant? “Can I confess to you my surprise at your liking for such books?”
“Why are you surprised?”
“You always seem so proper,” he whispered, glancing about others in the park to ensure they were not overheard. A few people looked their way, as if curious as to why a Moore and a Carter were walking together, but no one was close enough to hear them. “I quite like the idea of you defying convention.”
“Maybe I am not quite the lady you believe me to be.”
“Perhaps not,” he agreed, smiling at her.
“Can I confess too that I am equally surprised?” she whispered. “I have heard many tales about you, and based on what I have read in the scandal sheets, I was convinced that your only interest in life was ladies. Ha! I could not imagine you sitting down and calmly reading.”
“Ah, it all comes out now.” He stopped walking and turned to face her abruptly. She halted too, her legs brushing against the flower heads nearby. “Is your opinion truly so low of me?”
“I didn’t say it was low. I merely repeated what the scandal sheets say of you.” She raised an eyebrow. “Surely you cannot be ignorant of what they say?”
