But then she looked around, and she saw steely determination on the face of each woman.
So be it, she thought.
She glanced at Declan. Her husband. The sight of his strong, handsome face—her face, her strength—should have filled her with such joy and hope. Instead, she felt as if her heart was being torn apart, piece by piece.
Why had fate set him in her path only to keep him forever out of arm’s reach? What had she done to deserve the machinations of Girdleston, and St. James’s Palace, Miss Knightly Snow, and her own parents? Must limestone and money and power fuel everything?
Tears began to tighten her throat and she excused herself, quitting the room. Before she slipped out the door, she caught Declan’s eye. He winked, but the playful gesture felt like an arrow to her throat.
She wanted to weep. She wanted to fling herself at the duke and shake him until he awakened enough to see these women, toreallysee them, and to acknowledge their ambitions perfectly aligned with every trapping of his life. If he could attach himself to one of them, if he endeavored to form some bond, they could build a life together. They could attend limitless parties and spend the year traveling in sequence to each of his lavish homes.
Five minutes later, Declan sought her out in the corridor.
“Helena, don’t,” he said, coming upon her two corners away from the green salon. He held a miniature chapel that appeared to have been snapped in two.
“Don’t what?” she said. Her voice was thick with tears.
“Do not lose your composure now.”
“What could it possibly matter? Lusk has the same regard for these women as he does for my father’s dogs. Either he doesn’t enjoy women, he’s faithful to some paramour that I haven’t discovered, or he wants to move limestone on my river as much as his uncle.He will not budge.” She dropped her face into her hands.
“Actually, the four of them look to be having a pleasant time,” said Declan. “Is Lusk ever excited about anyone? Perhaps we are striving for a reaction that does not exist.”
Helena ignored him. “I cannot express how suffocating and trapped andboundit feels to extricate myself from this wedding! I’ve tried, and tried, and tried—and nothing works. No one listens except you. And what good has that done for either of us? Now I’ve pulled you and your family into greater peril. I’ve made you marry me—”
“I married you because it was my greatest wish on this earth, Helena. Do not deceive yourself. You are frightened, you are disheartened, but you must not give in to despair.”
“Why not?” she demanded. “I’ve not a single card left to play. Our only choice is to come to them with our marriage. The promises we made last night are so precious to me. They are pressed into my very soul; it sickens me to use our union as a bargaining chip.” She sucked in a breath, swiping tears from her eyes. “And you’ll be punished. And I cannot protect you.”
“It was never your job to protect me, Helena. I am the protector.”
“But you cannot protect meandyourself,” she cried softly. “And what of your father and sisters? They should come first. You’ve only just met me.”
“You are my wife,” Declan bit out. “Youare my family.”
Helena did not hear him. She went on. “The men in charge of these aristocratic fiefdoms, and these mines, and the whole bloody world, will do as they wish. We are pawns. You said it yourself.” She cried into her hands.
Declan swore. A nearby alcove housed a statue of a woman in a toga holding a basket of fruit. He dropped the miniature chapel, now snappedin two neat pieces, into the marble fruit and reached for her. He pulled her close, kissing the top of her head.
“Do not lose heart,” he whispered. “You are relentless, remember. My relentless wife. I’m not in prison y—”
He stopped talking.
Helena looked up, wanting to hear more, drawing hope and comfort from the very sound of his voice. He wasn’t looking at her; his eyes were trained on the corner. Gently but swiftly he set her aside. He walked two yards and edged against the wall, flattening himself. Carefully he looked around the corner in the direction of the party.
“Bloody, bleeding—” he mumbled, baring his teeth.
“What is it?” she whispered.
“The person in the black cloak is here. At this party. I’ve just caught a glimpse.”
“At Girdleston’s birthday?”
A quick nod. “I may not be able to extricate us from the Lusk dukedom—yet—but I can bloody well discover who has been following you.”
He was off the wall in the next instant, striding around one corner, then the next. Helena hurried after him, wiping tears from her eyes.
When the entrance to the green salon came into view, she saw the lurking figure hovering outside the room.
