“Don’t we all?”
He took a seat across from her. “Well, no. Especially not women your age,” he said, folding his hands on the table.
She took a deep breath. “Chemistry informs so many things. From cooking our food, to candle making—” She indicated the candle in front of her. “So many everyday things are made due to chemistry.”
“Did they teach you that in St. Margaret’s?”
“No. My father was the one who introduced me to the wonders of science.”
He nodded slowly. “I do remember that about him; he was fascinated by how things work.”
Helena smiled, eyes soft with the memory. “Yes, he was.”
He studied her a moment longer, quiet, his gaze never leaving her face. There was something in the way she hesitated, in the slight pause before she spoke, that drew his attention.
She was still holding back.
She thought she could keep her secrets buried, hiding the full truth from him. But Silas remained calm. He needed to exercise patience with her. Yet a part of him felt that if he kept waiting, she’d keep her secrets locked away forever.
When he finally spoke, his voice was low and steady. “You’re not being entirely honest with me, my lady.”
Her eyes flickered briefly, and she straightened, a small, defensive motion.
“I have told you all I know, Your Grace,” she said, but the slightest tremor in her voice gave her away.
“No, you haven’t,” he pressed.
He took a step forward, his boots silent on the polished floor, his presence closing in on her. He could see the pulse at her throat fluttering, her breath quickening.
She was trying to keep her cool, but he knew better, as this was not his first interrogation.
“What else is there?” he asked, deliberately slow. “What else are you keeping from me?”
The words hung heavily in the air, laced with meaning. Every syllable was a calculated move, forcing her to acknowledge the truth—or deny it outright.
Her gaze flickered, a brief flash of vulnerability. But she quickly masked it, turning her back to him and walking toward the window.
He watched her every movement, every shift in her posture. She thought she was out of reach, but he wasn’t fooled.
“There is nothing else to know, Your Grace,” she muttered, barely above a whisper.
Silas kept his eyes pinned on her. “I understand more than you realize, Lady Helena.”
Her back still turned, Helena’s shoulders tensed. “Well. I have clarified that I don’t know anything else,” she said firmly, but he could hear the lie in her words.
She wasn’t fooling him, not for a second.
He moved closer, his pace deliberate, controlled. “You are hiding something, my lady,” he said softly, but there was no mistaking the command in his voice. “You’re afraid to admit it, but you know more than you’re letting on.”
Her gaze snapped to him, and for a split second, their eyes locked. He could see both defiance and uncertainty. He knew he had her cornered, knew the struggle raging inside her. But she wouldn’t break. Not yet.
He moved closer still, stepping into her personal space with the predatory ease of a man who knew how to dominate a situation.
His voice dropped lower, barely a whisper now. “What aren’t you telling me, Helena? About your uncle? Your mother?”
Her breath hitched, and she stepped back, but she couldn’t escape him, not anymore.
“I have told you all that I can,” she snapped, her voice shaky but still holding on to the edge of defiance.
