“Er, they, they have too much friction in them, m’lady.”
Too much friction?
Helena had never heard of such a thing about hairpins. But she inwardly shrugged her shoulders. She would not pretend to know better than a lady’s maid.
“Alright, let us head to the milliners then.”
Sally seemed to sigh with relief, and Helena, seeing this, raised her eyebrows, but shrugged her shoulders again and did not think any more of it.
Her mind went instead to Cecily’s question.
Are you starting with your trousseau?
Helena knew it would just be a matter of time before people started asking her that question. Of course, what would follow would be the more pertinent question:When is your wedding?
Although her parents had not yet prompted her for the information, she knew that they would need an answer to the yet unasked question. Knowing them, they would not really care when it would happen, just that itwouldactually happen. And a date would be proof of that.
A feeling of trepidation made Helena clasp her hands together. The longer she and Matteo kept up this pretense, the harder it would be to end it without grave consequences.
Helena felt like a giant clock ticked in front of her. And she and Matteo were running out of time. For the first time since she accepted Matteo’s proposal, she felt that perhaps she had made a mistake in agreeing to this harebrained scheme.
The carriage slowed as it neared Huntington House. Helena, who had been preoccupied with her thoughts, suddenly sat upright in her seat.
“Is that Chastity?” Helena asked as she craned her neck from the carriage window. “What is she doing out? I thought she was resting in her chambers?”
The carriage was about twenty yards away from the house. A lady was climbing up the front steps of the house. By the way she walked and at the sight of the familiar dress—a favorite of her sister’s, Helena was sure that it was, indeed, Chastity,
“Sally?”
The lady’s maid visibly gulped.
“I-I am sure I do not know, m’lady. I left her in her room.”
“Well, what could have been so important for her to forego her rest?”
As soon as the carriage stopped, and she was handed down, Helena hastily went after her sister.
She found her in her chambers, attempting to remove her stays by herself. Unsuccessfully reaching for the ties behind her with her right hand, Chastity tried with her left. Though she was obviously having difficulties in her endeavors, a wide, wistful smile still played on her lips, and her eyes sparkled.
“Chastity?”
“Oh! Helena, why, you are back!”
“Yes, we were delayed because Sally said that you needed new hairpins.”
She watched her sister, who continued to undress, rather clumsily, by herself. Moving closer, she assisted Chastity with her stays. She stayed still. From her reflection in the vanity mirror, Helena could see that she was biting her lip. Having finished with the stays, Helena laid them on the chair and waited for her sister to face her. When Chastity turned around, she voiced the question she had asked Sally earlier in the carriage.
“What were you doing out, Chastity? I thought you wanted to rest?”
“Oh, I did rest, but I woke up soon and thought I craved a walk outdoors, so I went to the park.”
“By yourself?” Helena exclaimed.
“I-It was just a quick turn in the park,” Chastity said with a defiant look in her eye. “Nothing untoward happened, Helena, the Grosvenor Gate to Hyde Park is but a few yards from Huntington House. I was gone but for a few minutes.”
“Chastity, you know that young ladies should not be walking out by themselves,” Helena said slowly, taken aback by her younger sister’s words. “But more than that, I was worried that you are too wearied. For earlier today, you said that you needed rest.”
Chastity visibly deflated. Her anger, which had seemed to be rising, was suddenly gone.
