“David has already forgotten you,” she said quietly, meeting Helen’s gaze with surprising steadiness.
Helen’s eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. Amelia clasped her trembling hands together to hide their shaking.
“If you truly love him,” she continued, “you should allow it to remain that way.” Her voice softened with genuine sorrow. “After everything he endured… remembering would only wound him again.”
For a heartbeat, the room fell utterly silent. Then Helen smiled. It was not a pleasant smile. It was sharp. Venomous.
“My,” Helen murmured, slowly turning her attention fully upon Amelia. “Where does a mere governess find such extraordinary audacity?” She took one graceful step closer. “To lecture me regarding my own children.” Her eyes glittered coldly. “You ought to be dismissed immediately for such breathtaking disrespect.”
Amelia felt her pulse race but refused to retreat. She had spent too much of her life remaining silent. Not tonight. Not where David and Valerie were concerned.
Helen tilted her head thoughtfully. “Although,” she mused, tapping one gloved finger lightly against her chin, “perhaps I have discovered a far better solution.”
Gabriel frowned. “What solution?” he demanded.
Helen smiled sweetly. “You should marry me.”
The words struck the room like a thunderclap.
Amelia forgot to breathe.
Helen continued as though proposing the most sensible arrangement imaginable. “After all, Benedict was your brother.” She folded her hands elegantly. “You are already a guardian to our children. Marry me, and together we can raise David and Valerie properly, precisely as we ought to have done after poor Benedict departed us.”
Gabriel made a sound Amelia had never heard before. It was not anger. Not irritation. Not even disbelief. It was pure, unmistakable shock.
“You cannot possibly be serious,” he said, staring at Helen as though she had suggested setting the manor ablaze for warmth.
“Oh, I am entirely serious,” Helen replied, smoothing an invisible crease from her sleeve. “Society would approve. The children would have both their mother and their uncle. And any unfortunate misunderstandings involving governesses would disappear overnight.”
Amelia’s stomach lurched. Her gaze flew instinctively to Gabriel.
Will he consider it?
Her chest tightened painfully as she searched Gabriel’s face for any hint of his decision. For the first time since she had met him, she was terrified of what he might say next.
The thought arrived before she could stop it. It crashed through her heart with frightening force. He was a duke. Helen was a lady of suitable birth. The match made perfect sense on paper. Far more sense than…
Than me.
A governess. A runaway. A woman with no fortune and a month-old position that had already reached its end.
She hated herself for the fear that gripped her.
If he agrees... I lost all of them.
Amelia stood perfectly still as the silence settled over Gabriel’s study, yet inside she felt as though the floor had begun to crumble beneath her. The fire crackled softly in the grate, mocking the dreadful stillness that had fallen upon the room. Gabriel’s expression had become harder than she had ever seen it, while Helen wore the serene smile of someone entirely convinced of her own victory.
Amelia clasped her trembling hands together, praying no one would notice how violently they shook. Every instinct urged her to speak, yet fear rooted her to the carpet. She had never imagined one woman’s cruelty could fill an entire room.
Gabriel stared at Helen in utter disbelief before finally finding his voice. “Have you completely lost your senses?” he demanded, taking one measured step towards her as his hands curled behind his back.
His voice remained controlled, yet Amelia heard the fury simmering beneath every syllable.
Helen merely tilted her head with infuriating composure and smoothed an invisible crease from her sleeve. “No,” she replied with a pleasant smile, lifting one elegant shoulder. “I believe I have finally come to my senses.”
Gabriel gave a humorless laugh that lasted scarcely a second. “Then I fear your senses have abandoned you entirely,” he said, shaking his head as he looked at her with open contempt.
Helen’s smile widened rather than faltered. “Not at all,” she answered smoothly, taking an unhurried step across the room. “It is the natural progression of matters, Gabriel.” She inclined her head almost affectionately. “My children are your wards, and they deserve their proper mother once again.”
