“Helena?”
“Look, the next dance is about to begin,” Helena evaded.
She reached out towards Chastity’s hair.
“Let me straighten your?—”
“Helena, stop fussing.” Chastity tilted her head away from her sister’s reach. “I am not a child.”
“Oh,” Helena replied, taken aback. “I apologize. I had not meant to infer that you were a child.”
Chastity shrugged her shoulders and smiled a small smile.
When the dancing resumed, Helena once again observed her sister and her partner. So far, all of the gentlemen who had asked for introductions were very suitable. She would know the next morning who of them planned to pursue Chastity for those who would be bound to call on them.
Everything is going well. Except for that little episode with the duke.
Helena frowned. Playing the scene back in her mind, Helena started to question herself if perhaps she had overreacted.
“No, I did not! But I must not let him rile me up like that again.” She muttered to herself.
“If we had known that you would start talking to yourself instead of to the other guests, then we would have hastened more in finding you.”
Relief flooded Helena; she closed her eyes and turned towards the welcome voice of her friends. Celine Harken, Duchess of Wylds, greeted her with laughter in her eyes. Beside her stood Dahlia, radiant with the expectation of her first child.
“You made it after all!” Helena said, giving each of them a warm hug.
“We would not miss Chastity’s first ball, of course! The twins are also here.” Dahlia smiled at her, then she paused and seemed to study Helena’s face. “But what is this?”
“What? What isthis?”
“This.” Dahlia gestured to Helena’s face. “You look all riled up, Helena. Something is amiss, for you do not appear as calm as you usually do.”
“What can you mean, Dahlia? I am perfectly well.”
“Come now, Helena, you know you cannot fool us. Dahlia is right, you are fuming!” Celine said.
“Has someone done something untoward to Chastity? I shall give them a lashing?—”
“No, you will not, pregnant lady,” Helena said as she grasped Dahlia’s arm to stop her from marching towards an unknown enemy. “Besides, you do not even know who it is.”
“Ah, so there is someone. Who is it? And what has he done to Chastity?” Celine asked now with all seriousness.
“Well, he did not really do anything, I prevented him before he could.”
Her friends listened to her with their full attention.
“I stopped him from dancing with Chastity. He was a most unsuitable partner for her.”
Her friends’ visible “ah” and nods encouraged her.
“Who is this gentleman?” Dahlia asked.
“Well…” Helena bit her lip before blurting out her answer. “The Duke of Valen.”
“Matteo?” Dahlia started laughing.
Celine frowned.
