He ignored her.
“Rotten Row, of course,” he answered instead. “There is no more convenient place to go horseback riding in Town than in Rotten Row. Do you ride, Lady Helena?”
“Yes, I have learned to.”
“Are you proficient at it?”
Helena sighed again.
The man can talk. Incessantly.
“I would venture to say that I am competent enough.”
“Helena is more than competent, Your Grace; she rides the best out of us four sisters,” Chastity said staunchly.
Helena noticed that her sister watched the duke and her more closely than before.
“Four sisters!” Matteo said, surprised. “You never mentioned that there were four of you.”
Chastity!
The last thing that she would have wanted to share with Matteo was that she had two more sisters.
“It is not relevant information, Your Grace.”
“Really? And why is that?” Matteo asked, his voice turning cold. But by the insulted look in his eyes, she could tell that he already knew the answer.
Helena faltered for a while, thinking that she might have gone too far. But no, it was her prerogative to keep her sisters—all three of them—away from rakes.
When she did not answer, Matteo pressed on.
“You know, Lady Helena, soon you will need a better excuse for disliking me than that of arake, for it certainly grows tiresome.”
She glared at him, her expression defiant. Her blue eyes held his green gaze. Neither of them noticed that they had stopped in the middle of the path. Chasity forgotten, their surroundings forgotten.
Was it her imagination, or did the green in his eyes deepen? And was it hurt that she glimpsed in them?Hadshe hurt him? It certainly seemed so.
Helena was surprised that she felt regret for being so unkind. Regret, yes, and something altogether different. A pull, it made her skin tingle.
All these unexpected emotions confused her. She stepped back, breaking their gaze. Her heart drummed in her chest.
“I feel that I have overstayed my welcome. Good evening, ladies.” Matteo said.
He gave Chastity a polite bow, then, before walking away, looked at Helena one more time.
If she felt her knees weaken or her breath shorten, Helena was quite sure that it was all due to her dislike of Matteo Castor.
Almost at once, Chastity turned to her, the question in her eyes unmistakable.
“What just happened, Helena?”
“Nothing of import. I am sure the duke just needed to be somewhere else. You know how busy the aristocracy can be.”
Chastity was unconvinced, but she was also kind enough to know that her sister needed time to think.
“Shall we head home?” Chastity said instead.
Helena nodded. She hardly noticed that it was Chastity who led the way back.
