“Oh, thank you, Helena!”
Chastity kissed her sister’s cheek and quickly left.
“Well,” Helena said to herself as she watched her sister—looking, indeed, full of energy—rush away.
When she returned to the sitting room, she went to the wingback armchairs where Matteo sat.
“It is my duty to tell you that, once again, we are for the theater tomorrow.”
Matteo’s eyebrows rose in amusement.
“Excellent.” He smiled at her. “What color shall we wear?”
Chapter Seventeen
The Theater Royal was full, as it had been on every performance since its reopening after the fire.
“The view of the stage from your box is better than my father’s, Matteo,” Helena said as she pointed to a direction to their left.
“Oh? Do you agree with your sister, Lady Chastity?” Matteo asked, turning to Chastity.
They sat at the Duke of Valen’s Box in the Theater Royal, awaiting the start of a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The theater was abuzz with chatter. From the next box, a group of ladies and two gentlemen laughed uproariously.
“Chastity?” Helena prodded her sister when she did not answer.
Indeed, Chastity had not seemed to hear them at all; her neck was craned as she watched the people in other boxes and in the seats below.
“Chastity, Matteo asked you a question,” Helena repeated tapping her sister on the arm.
“Oh!” Chastity exclaimed, hastily turning back to her companions. “Forgive me, Your Grace.”
“Are you looking for someone, Lady Chastity?”
“Oh, no. I-I am just admiring the general splendor of the theater.” Chastity’s cheeks flushed.
Puzzled, Helena watched her sister’s eyes move one more time to the other boxes before she focused her attention on Matteo. When she noticed her older sister watching her, Chastity flinched.
“It is your first time in the Theater Royal, then?” Matteo asked Chastity.
“Yes, Your Grace. We had not the opportunity to go since my coming out.” Chastity answered.
“Then you cannot possibly give an answer to my question.” Matteo smiled at her amiably.
“I apologize again. What was the question?”
“Your sister claimed that my box has a better view of the stage than that of your father’s. I asked your opinion on the view.”
“Ah,” Chastity said with another apologetic smile. “But Helena has used the box before with Mama.”
“Mama usually uses the box with her friends, but I have gone a few times with her in the past,” Helena said. “More times with Celine and Dahlia.”
“Having no other testimony to compare with, we shall have to accept your opinion,” Matteo said, grinning.
Some minutes later, the audience quieted down, though there was still the sound of faint talking, as the performance began.
Helena, who sat between Matteo and Chastity, leaned slightly forward. She had never seen this performance before and was therefore looking forward to it. She had started reading Shakespeare under her governess’s supervision when she was twelve. By age thirteen, she had managed to finish all his works.
To say that she loved Shakespeare was an understatement. A Midsummer Night’s Dream and All’s Well That Ends Well had a special place in her heart—not because she loved the stories particularly, but mainly because the female protagonist in both works was named Helena. She liked the Helena from A Midsummer Night’s Dream better than the other Helena, for, although she admired the second Helena for her bravery, ingenuity, and determination, she could not quite comprehend such forwardness.
