“Oh, that’s good. I’ll be sure to see him.”
“You can hardly lurk in the corridor or force your way into the library. Papa would be cross.”
“Papa is never cross for long.” Diana giggled. “Mama and I are to visit the dressmaker tomorrow for the final fitting of my ball gown. I can’t wait for you to see it. Mama insisted I wear white because all debutantes do, but I did want something that would make me stand out. It is lovely though. I’m sure you’ll agree.”
“You will stand out, dearest,” Helen said confidently. “You’d look lovely if you were dressed in a jute sack.”
Diana laughed. “Well, it’s certainly not a sack. Do you think if I asked Papa to invite Lord Peyton to my ball, he would come, and dance with me?”
“He might. You can only ask.” Helen bit her lip at the flood of intense jealousy that snaked through her. She was still trying to reason with herself when their mother entered the room.
“Here you are. I have decided your idea is an excellent one, Helen. Toby and Alexander are to stay with your grandfather for a few weeks. And Miss Prince is to accompany them.”
“Toby will like that. He is dreadfully fatiguing when he has nothing to occupy his time, but why are you sending Alexander?” Diana glanced at Helen. “He won’t want to go without Helen.”
“Nonsense,” Mama said. “There is still much to be done to prepare for the ball. Alexander loves Miss Prince, and your grandfather spoils him most dreadfully. They will leave for Walcott tomorrow.”
“I might go with them and help Miss Prince settle Alexander in,” Helen suggested.
“But you might miss my ball!” Diana cried.
“Diana is quite correct. If we have a spate of bad weather, the roads could become impassable.” A small smile tugged Mama’s lips as she walked to the door. “You must wear your new gown. It cost your father a small fortune.” She paused a hand on the doorknob. “I need to discuss a matter with Mrs. Chance. Come and see me in my sitting room in fifteen minutes, please, Helen.”
Was she in trouble? As the door closed behind their mother, Helen traced the scar at her temple, unnerved. Nothing would sway Mama when she was determined. Didn’t Papa always say so?
She had not wished for a new dress. She loathed balls, and anyway, it was Diana’s night to shine.
Helen had not enjoyed a social occasion for years. Not since she danced twice with a handsome gentleman and strolled in the perfumed garden by moonlight. He had proved himself not to be a gentleman at all, as it turned out. Instead, he was a cold, unfeeling rake.
“My goodness, your face! What ghastly thing are you thinking about?” Diana asked.
Diana had never been told the extent of Helen’s fall from grace, and Helen wasn’t about to tell her now. “That I shall have men crushing my toes again,” she said, “and either treating me with indifference or sympathy.”
Diana shook her head. “You never know, you might meet the man of your dreams.”
Peyton’s lean face appeared in her mind’s eye, and annoyed with herself, she feared she already had.
In answer to her mother’s summons, Helen found her at the small desk in her sitting room, the household accounts open before her. One finger absently toyed with a curl at her neck.
“May I help you with the accounts, Mama?” Helen asked, pleased to find something to distract her mother from her purpose.
“No thank you.” Mama pushed back her chair, rose, then sat on the small tapestry sofa, gesturing for Helen to join her.
Helen sat, bracing herself for one of Mama’s talks.
“You must not give up on life, dear child.”
Helen sighed. “I haven’t Mama.”
“If not marriage, what do you plan for your future?”
“Harry insists he will never marry. I thought I might live with him at Cherrywood, when the time comes, and assist him in managing the estate. I am rather good at that sort of thing.”
Mama put an arm around her. “My dear child. Your brother might state at the ripe old age of twenty-two that he has no wish to marry, but I assure you hewillchange his mind.”
“Not everyone marries, Mama.”
“No. Not everyone is suited to it. But you are. You’re practical and capable. You are also very loving. Surely you want to be a mother one day?”
