Helena huffed in amusement. “You and your brother seem to possess a similar thirst for knowledge.”
Amelia inclined her head to the side like a curious puppy. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that you both have a vast number of questions.”
“Which you do not wish to answer,” Amelia said shrewdly.
“I would prefer to keep my own counsel until I know you both better. I advise that you do the same, my lady. For your own safety,” she replied, ensuring her tone is as soft as possible.
“I suppose that makes sense. We are strangers, after all,” she frowned, “so how come you’re here?”
Helena snorted. “You just cannot help yourself, can you?”
Amelia sheepishly shook her head. “I am dying to know why my brother took off in the middle of the day only to come back with a waif-like lady. Did he rescue you from brigands?”
Helena laughed sardonically. “I suppose he did.”
Two maids came in carrying pails of hot water.
“I am sure you would appreciate a long bath, then.” Amelia said. “You can use this room while you stay with us. I shall just go andsee if I can find something for you to wear. You are not much taller than me. I shall have the seamstress adjust some of my gowns for you.” Her eyes slid down to Helena’s bosom, “though they might be a lot tighter around here,” she said, using her hands to indicate her chest.
“I shall be grateful for anything to wear, my lady. It need not be a gown. I would be fine with a some clothes borrowed from the maids.”
“Oh pish!” Amelia cried, “you are a lady and you will dress like one. That’s what my brother always says, anyway.”
Helena smiled. “And you always obey him?”
Amelia shrugged. “Heismy only guardian. I have very little choice.”
Their parents are dead, she realized.
“Oh. I am sorry. I did not know.”
“It’s all right. Our parents died when I was five years old, so I don’t remember them much. They’re just hazy impressions of well-dressed people to me. Silas was the one who brought me up.”
“How old was he when it happened?”
“He was one and twenty. I’m not sure, but I think he used to be quite a cheerful fellow. That all changed when he became my guardian. Now he tries to be all stern and forbidding.” Amelia made a face as if copying Silas’s strict mien. “Though I suppose that comes with running a duchy.”
A duchy? He is a duke, then, she thought.
What would a duke have to do with her father? She didn’t remember her father mentioning any duke before.
She’d have to discover that later. For now, she could only think that Silas was also protecting his younger sibling, like she was with Charlie.
Amelia left her to her bath then. Helena took her time reveling in the warm water. During her time at the convent, she had only ever had cold water in her basin to wash with. She had forgotten what a luxury it was to lie back while her limbs were scrubbed industriously, in front of a fire. She felt her whole body liquefy with pleasure.
She sighed in contentment, feeling completely at peace for the moment.
Chapter Five
“Come in,” Silas called and looked up when there was a knock at the door.
The door opened and Lady Helena stepped into the room.
His eyebrows rose in surprise at her changed looks. Her long black hair, now brushed through and shining like a midnight sky, was tied in a complicated knot atop her head.
She wore a simple sky-blue muslin gown that cascaded airily from her shoulders to her feet. A yellow lace ribbon was tied just below her bosom. Heavens, he could not ignore how shapely she was.
