Page 9 of The Scandalous Deal of the Scarred Lady
“Collusion!” Lucy harrumphed and stabbed her needle through the sock with more force than necessary. “As though anyone here were capable of such a thing. I managed this escapade entirely on my own.”
“I will be sure to inform the constabulary when they show up,” James remarked rather dryly. “I fail to see how it was that you came to agree to this entire thing at all. I had thought you were of higher intellect than to fall for a maiden’s ridiculous schemes.”
“’Twas no scheme, as I am sure you will find if you only but go and see the good Lady. She sheltered me from the storm, and we had a…conversation,” she said, pausing a little uncomfortably there.
He noticed this hesitation and felt one eyebrow rise.
“A conversation,” she insisted, drawing the yarn through with perhaps more force than necessary. “If you would only visit, I think you would understand.”
“Understand,” he scoffed and rose, leaving her to her fire and her basket of mending. “We shall see. I will accept your challenge then. I will look upon this maiden whose visage is one of innocence, a girl with angelic demeanor that will impress upon me her very perfection of manner and bearing. One more like every other girl of the ton.”
“I think not,” Lucy said, without looking up, though he noticed a hint of a smile working at the corners of her mouth. “Meet her. The rest will come clear.”
“Humph.” He stared at the pin in his hand a long moment before thrusting it into the pocket of his waistcoat. “Utter nonsense.”
Chapter 5
Ishould never have done it.
For days now, Helena had been stewing over her rash act. The beloved brooch from her mother was long since gone, and she had only herself to blame for that. It was likely the entire story had been nothing more than a fabrication by a very clever thief.
But Lucy had seemed sincere. And while Helena had not been exposed to many people in her short lifetime, she considered herself something of a judge of people, for all she did was sit at her window and watch society stroll past her house, laughing, talking and living, utterly unaware that they had an unseen audience who spent hours deciphering their actions as a way to discern the stories they told.
Lucy’s story had spoken to her of fear and desperation, alongside a great love for the Duke of Durham.
I ought to give it time. He cannot just show up at my doorstep and demand to see me. There are rules that involve complicated rituals. Introductions. Propriety must be maintained. It does me no good to sit here stewing about it.
Though she had helped him there, whether he realized it or not. She’d given him an opening into the house, that could become something of an opportunity if he only took it. The question was, would he respond to the bait, or would he ignore it completely?
Restless, Helena let her hands drift over her harp, bringing up a storm of music that reflected her restless mood. It was a piece she had worked out over the summer, entitled ‘Storm’ for it held the violent discordance of the wind and rain.
She had perhaps played it a bit overmuch of late, for Aunt Phoebe appeared in the doorway, cheeks flushed, eyes flashing. “Whatever are you playing?” she asked, though she knew full well. They had had this conversation every day for a week now.
Helena placed the flat of her hand against the strings, stilling the disharmonious cacophony. “I apologize, Aunt Phoebe,” she said, smiling amiably enough. “I shall endeavor to play something softer.”
“Or not at all.”
Helena had to laugh. Aunt Phoebe was a beautiful woman, only five-and-thirty, but with the looks still of a woman ten years younger, but right now she managed to look so stern that few would guess that typically her aunt was one who loved to laugh. Helena had heard her at tea, with her friends and knew full well how much her aunt enjoyed life.
Except of late. She had seemed distracted since the storm that had carried their strange visitor to them. Thinking of this now, Helena rose from her harp and went to her aunt, enfolding the older woman in a long hug, for she did not feel the age difference between them was a deterrent for closeness. “Will you never forgive me?” she asked softly. “I have apologized many times for speaking to our guest without permission.”
“She could have beenanybody,” Phoebe said, pushing the girl away with a certain irritation clear upon her face.
Helena flushed uncomfortably. There was much about that conversation that Aunt Phoebe did not know. Now, having her come into the room, when she was thinking so hard about what she had done, seemed a sign of sorts. Maybe it was time to confess the truth, especially since her aunt had asked her very specifically about the rose pin just that morning.
Helena put out a hand to catch at her aunt’s sleeve before she could leave. “Aunt Phoebe, she truly was of no concern. A servant from another great house here in the city caught unawares in the suddenness with which the blizzard came. You said yourself that morning, how quickly the storm came up. There was only a smattering of flakes all morning!”
Phoebe shot her a look. “What house? What did she tell you?”
Her aunt’s tone was so severe that Helena sighed. Once again, her aunt was spoiling for a fight. She had brought up several times now how disobedient Helena was fast becoming and how, if her behavior continued, she would have to go to Helena’s father about it. The last thing she wanted was trouble, especially now — just in case the Duke of Durham would keep the promise that his servant Lucy had set for him.
“I do not remember,” she said finally. “Some house or another. I remember recognizing the name from one of your stories, but it escapes me now. Is it important?”
Phoebe stared at her a long moment. “No. No, I suppose not.” She turned to go.
Helena frowned. “Aunt Phoebe? Was there a reason you were looking for me?”
Phoebe tilted her head to one side as she thought about this. “I suppose it was that your father wished to see you. He is hardly back before you are in trouble. I guess you must have done something to upset him. How you manage to do so is beyond me.” She shook her head. “Never have I seen a more disobedient girl.”
