He flinched. “Well, how could I not be changed? I became a duke, did I not? There are responsibilities—”
“It’s more than that,” she interrupted, coming to take his hands. He allowed it, even as he fought to keep his expression neutral. She stared into his face for a moment, then sighed. “Very well, I can see I’m making things worse with my prying rather than better. You know that I love you and that I am here for you if you change your mind.”
He nodded before he leaned down to kiss her cheek. “I do know both those things. I appreciate them, I assure you.”
Her concern had not left her face, but she smiled regardless. “Let me change the subject then.”
“Do!” he encouraged with a laugh as he motioned for her to walk with him.
“Mama seems determined to parade a cadre of ladies before you this Season. So many ‘prospects’ today that it made my head spin. Have any of them caught your eye?”
Baldwin swallowed as he pictured the one and only lady in attendance who did capture his interest: Helena. When she’d intruded upon him in his office, he had wanted such things. Things his normally very proper brain didn’t let him think about. He was a gentleman, raised by a gentleman. One did not think about grabbing ladies and kissing them. Nor of shutting the office door and…well, doing more than merely kiss.
That those impulses reared up in him around Helena was shocking, frankly. It set him on his heels.
“I shall turn the question on you,” he said. “You met all my prospects today. Are there any that you could call sister without pulling a face?”
Her expression softened. “I would accept anyone you married, assuming she made you happy.”
Baldwin bent his head. Happiness was not in the equation at present. “That doesn’t count as a response. You always have an opinion.”
“I’ve known most of your prospects for years,” she said slowly. “They’re all decent enough people. None have the...the spark that I thought you’d seek. The only stranger in our midst was that American girl, Charity Shephard.”
Baldwin swallowed. Here was Charlotte, dancing ever closer to the truth. “She’s interesting, I’d say.”
Charlotte’s eyebrows lifted. “That would be one way of putting it. She’s different, but I suppose that comes from being raised in a very different environment than ours.”
“You don’t like her,” Baldwin said flatly, and by his sister’s expression he could see he’d struck on the truth.
“Perhaps she’ll grow on me,” she said with a shrug. “You know who I did like today?”
“Who?” he encouraged.
“Her cousin, Helena.”
Baldwin let out his breath softly. Of course. Of course Charlotte would like Helena. Because the universe was patently unfair. “Yes, she’s very likeable,” he said. “You were seated with her and her family, weren’t you?”
“Yes.” Charlotte’s smile widened. “There’s this little spark to her that I cannot help but be attracted to. She comes across as someone who’d be a good friend. Who would fit in with Emma, Meg and Adelaide, too.”
These were the wives of his married friends, and Baldwin found himself nodding. He could easily see Helena amongst their ranks. Emma and Adelaide would be attracted to her sweetness, and Meg would love that she was the kind of woman who counted stars without apology.
“Well, she’s serving as her cousin’s companion,” he said, reminding himself as much as informing his sister. “I doubt she could be considered a—a prospect.”
Charlotte wrinkled her brow. “I’ve never known you to be such a snob, Baldwin. Her family back in Boston sounds to be as good as her cousin’s. And we’ve never stood on ceremony in our circles.”
Baldwin shook his head. Once again, they were back to a subject he couldn’t…wouldn’t discuss. “Well, I’m sure she’ll find a match if she wishes to do. Why don’t we join Mama and Ewan?”
His sister stared at him a moment, but then shrugged. “Certainly, if you’d like to. I suppose we’ve all had more than enough air today.”
She turned toward the terrace and Baldwin fell into step beside her. But even as he tried to refocus, to push aside the topics his sister had broached, he found he kept returning to images of fiery red hair, bright green eyes and a smile that lightened his load.
Images of a woman he could not pursue, no matter how pleasant a thought that was.
Chapter Five
“We have something to discuss.”
Helena looked up from her plate to see her uncle staring at her. She swallowed. “We? Do you mean you and me?”
“All of us,” Charity interjected.
Helena fought the urge to sigh and set her napkin aside next to her untouched breakfast plate. “What is it?”
She already knew the answer. But anything to put off the inevitable.
“Charity tells me she found you alone with the Duke of Sheffield yesterday when you snuck away from the party,” Uncle Peter said, spearing her with a glare.
Helena glanced at Charity. Of course she would run to tattle on her. It was in her nature, encouraged by her father and her late mother to seek out any unfairness or tiny slight she felt against herself, then tell the world about it. It had been that way with Charity since birth, and she rather expected that it would be until the grave.
“I-I didn’t sneak away, exactly,” Helena said carefully. “I only needed a moment. There were so many people, so many strangers.”
He slammed a hand down on the table to interrupt her. “How can I make myself clearer to you, you dolt of a girl? You are here to polish your cousin’s diamond, not to call attention to yourself or to try to whore your way into trouble like you did in Boston.”
Charity turned her face as tears flooded Helena’s eyes, followed by a pain she rarely allowed herself to feel. “That—that isn’t what happened in Boston,” she whispered, trying to push aside terrifying images. Painful ones. Ones that had changed her life, altered her spirit.
He lifted his brows. “It is what is happening now. You will do your duty, girl. And be happy that we’ve included you in your cousin’s future. That is a far better end for you than you could have had, isn’t it?”
Helena swallowed. In truth, he wasn’t wrong. Her life with Charity and Uncle Peter might be difficult, but it was nothing compared to what her family had done to her back home.
“Yes,” she whispered. “I apologize, Uncle. I won’t forget myself again.”
He pushed to his feet with a grunt. “Your cousin and I are going out,” he snapped. “We will be gone the whole day, so I suggest you think about your actions and ponder your next steps very carefully.”
Helena supposed this news was meant to be a punishment to her, but her heart soared even as she kept a somber, reflective expression. “Of course. I understand completely.”
“Good.” He turned to Charity. “Go upstairs and change into your best dress. We’re going on some calls.”