Page 44 of Married to the Forbidden Duke
“Oh, she doesn’t mind too much as long as I don’t bother her overmuch.” The girl flushed. “She finds it very trying, you know, to have to escort me to places. That’s why I’m so grateful to my brother whenever he can.”
“Is he kind to you? Your brother.”
Helena gave a soft smile. “Oh, yes. But escorting one’s younger sister to events he doesn’t want to be seen at isn’t precisely fun for him, I think.”
“He doesn’t want to marry?” Alice guessed.
“Not yet. He is not like the Duke, who has always been a bit of a romantic.” She sighed, her eyes going a little starry.
Alice scoffed before she could help herself. “The Duke?Romantic?”
“Oh, yes. Of course, his first attempt at marriage was largely for the sake of his reputation, but I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”
Alice’s stomach lurched and she told herself it was from the rocking motion of her horse. “And how does he look at me?”
Helena wrinkled her nose as she thought. “As though you are a fascinating puzzle he is trying to unlock.”
Alice laughed uncomfortably. “Well, that’s what he gets for marrying a woman he knew nothing about.”
“But he wants to,” Helena said seriously, and Alice’s stomach clenched. “I think he wants to know you. And…” She sucked on her lip, her eyes going distant. “I think he wants you to know him, too.”
If Alice allowed herself to get too close to this man, she risked being drawn to him, and she could never allow that to happen.
“You’ll have to tell me a little more about your beaus,” she said, changing the topic of conversation. “Do you want to marry, Helena?”
“For love, only,” Helena nodded, her eyes shining. “If I fell in love, I wouldn’t mind marrying him at once.”
“Well, then I suppose we should find you a husband. Do you have your eye on anyone?”
Helena blushed. “I don’t know that my brother would approve,” she mumbled.
“Why is that? Is he ineligible? Too old? Too young?”
“Um.” Her blush grew, fiery across her face. “I suppose he’s…”
“There has to be a reason, otherwise surely your brother wouldn’t want you to be unhappy.”
“He is the younger son of an Earl,” Helena confessed. “Mr. William Kingsley. He says he’s going to take a commission. But he’s only young and I know it will take him some time to distinguish himself. And my mother would prefer me to marry sooner rather than later.”
Alice glanced at the other girl. She’d never been in love, so she didn’t know precisely how it felt, but shedidknow how it felt to lose something, and the prospect of Helena losing someone she loved made her heart squeeze. “Do you love him?” she asked abruptly.
“I… I think I do.”
“And do you believe he will distinguish himself?”
“He says when he is a captain, he will return, but he knows it’s unlikely I’m still unmarried by then.”
Alice pursed her lips as she thought. “Why not marry him before he leaves?”
“Marryhim?” Helena’s voice was more of a squeak.
“Well, it won’t be an easy life, to be sure, but if you know yourself and your heart well enough to want this over marrying another gentleman, then whyever not?”
Helena stared at her hands on the reins. “My brother—my mother—they would never approve. And I am not of age yet, you know. They have every right to refuse the marriage.”
“Hmm.” Alice thought back to the Earl of Denshire, and the friendship he had with Frederick. Perhaps she could leverage some kind of influence there. “If I can get him to agree to the match, would you want to go ahead with it?”
Helena cast her a quick, nervous glance. “You would… do that?”
