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Theodora froze mid-bite, her bright eyes widening. A knowing smile slowly spread across her lips as she leaned in close, setting her biscuit aside and grasping Helena's wrist with intense excitement.

"The k...?" Theodora whispered, her voice dripping with curiosity. "Helena! Did you say the kiss? Do not dare try to pull back now, Duchess of Cavendish!"

Chapter Sixteen

"If we are truly friends, you would tell me every bit of it. You shall tell me every single detail this very second, or I swear I shall not leave this sofa until nightfall!" Theodora demanded, her tone dropping into a stern bark that startled Helena.

Theodora set her porcelain teacup down onto the side table. She leaned forward, her plum silk promenade dress rustling loudly, her eyes locking onto Helena with a fierce glare.

Helena swallowed hard, her throat suddenly feeling bone-dry. She opened her mouth to construct a plausible lie, claiming that she had merely meant to say ‘the kindness' or ‘the coldness' of his recent demeanor, but Theodora's searching gaze cut off the breath in her lungs.

"Theodora, please, it was nothing of consequence," Helena stammered, her voice shaking slightly as she tried to pull her hands back. "It was merely a fleeting moment of clouded judgment brought on by the hour, the shadows in the gallery, and..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Theodora let out a sharp squeal of pure astonishment. Theodora reached out and clapped her palm firmly over Helena's mouth, sealing her lips shut. Helena's eyes widened as Theodora's gaze darted past her shoulder toward the far corner of the drawing room.

Standing near the tall sideboard, merely a few feet away, was a young housemaid holding a polished silver tray, her ears visibly strained as she attempted to polish a crystal decanter.

Theodora glared at the servant before leaning in close to Helena's ear as she whispered in a frantic hiss. "Send her out. Send her out this instant before the entire county hears of this."

Helena gently pried Theodora's hand away from her face, sitting upright and turning to face the maid. "Mary," Helena called out smoothly. "You are finished with the decanter. You can leave now. We shall require nothing further until we ring."

The young maid started guiltily, dropping her polishing cloth before snatching it up and curtsying low. "Yes, Your Grace. My apologies, Your Grace," she murmured nervously, hurrying toward the exit.

The moment the doors clicked shut behind Mary, Theodora bounded up from the sofa like an unleashed hound. She glided to the entrance, locking the doors with key and latch. Returning, she practically threw herself back onto the sofa beside Helena, smiling with anticipation.

"You kissed the Duke?" Theodora whispered loudly as she stared at her dearest friend in disbelief.

"He kissed me, but I did kiss him back."

Theodora let out a squeal of delight, her hands tightening around Helena's with such force that the delicate lace of her gloves pinched skin. A wicked grin spread across Theodora's face, her eyes dancing with curiosity.

"And? What other incredibly unhallowed acts did you perform with your dashingly handsome husband?" Theodora asked eagerly, leaning in so close that her feather-trimmed bonnet brushed against Helena's hair.

Helena looked at Theodora with a deeply ashamed and flustered expression, her friend's scandalous query breaking through her embarrassment. A helpless giggle escaped her lips before she could stop it, and she shook her head vigorously, attempting to pull her hands away.

"And nothing."

Theodora threw herself back against the sofa cushions. "Nothing? You don't mean that now, do you?"

"I mean precisely that, Theodora." Helena insisted hastily. "It was a single lapse in discipline that lasted no more than a few breathless seconds. The moment his lips parted from mine, he froze as though he had been struck by lightning, muttered an abrupt apology, and vanished into the shadows like a ghost. In addition, we have not spoken a single word of that moment since it occurred."

Theodora folded her arms across her chest, watching Helena carefully. "A lapse in discipline, you call it. I do not believe that a man such as George Cavendish would simply suffer a 'lapse in discipline' without profound cause, Helena. He kissed you because he could no longer restrain the very feelings he has been trying to hide behind his harsh rules."

Helena let out a heavy sigh, picking up her linen handkerchief and folding it into neat squares. The lingering joy of her friend's visit was swiftly eclipsed by the heavy, suffocating reality that had haunted her for the past four days.

"But what bothers me is his distance. He gets colder each day and even grows even further away from me." Helena confessed the full weight of her aching heart. "Ever since that night, and especially since he dismissed the housemaids for their insolent gossip, he has built an impenetrable wall between us. He takes his suppers alone in his gloomy study, he avoids the drawing room entirely, and he has completely abandoned our evening games of chess. He acts as though my very presence is a threat to his composure."

"I do remember you saying that you only married the Duke to protect Oliver. If that remains so, why does his distance bother you so much?" Theodora asked quietly, her gentle voice cutting directly to the core of the matter.

Helena stiffened immediately. "It doesn't."

Theodora shook her head slowly, a smile touching her lips. "Then you mean to say your heart was in none of the words you told me? Your heart was in that kiss, even if just for a moment and I daresay that you miss the Duke."

The accusation struck Helena painfully in her throat. She opened her mouth to deny, but the honesty in Theodora's eyes rendered the lies useless before they could form upon her tongue.

"If I do miss a single thing from the arrogant Duke, it's the chess games," Helena declared stiffly. "I miss trying to outsmart him at every turn, arguing over our moves and especially how I could have done better, and watching him become smug when he thinks he has trapped my king."

Theodora let out a delighted laugh as she countered Helena's excuse. "Helena, haven't you lost every single game so far? If I didn't know better, I would think you had bested the Duke a few times."