Page 33 of The Duke of her Dreams

Helen pursed her lips. “Knowing Aunt Gertrude, the news will spread like wildfire.”

He slashed his hand dramatically through the air. “And that plays in our favor. When the entirety of London finds out, you will finally have your wish. And I will have mine.”

“Fine,” she replied. “By the way, I need a bath.”

“Shall I ring for a servant to take you to your chambers?”

Helen shook her head, unable to take any more of the tension she felt when she was near him. “I will find my way around, Your Grace. Or I shall find a servant along the way.”

Theodore huffed, raking his hand through his hair. “Fine. You may go.”

He went back to his position on the chair, stretching out his legs like a cat. Theodore watched her leave, a slight limp in her step. His blood pooled to his groin, desire enveloping his mind.

“This is only a ruse,” he muttered, turning his attention to the bookshelf. “I will not get physical with her, so she does not get into any more trouble with theton.”

He reached for the dark book hidden between the large tomes. It was the last issue of theSilent Dreamshe got when he was in London.

Turning the pages, he began to read with a large grin on his face.

ChapterFourteen

Helen paced around the drawing-room, unable to conceal her happiness. Ever since they arrived in London, she had been the center of attention from almost all the unmarried men of the Season — exactly like the Duke had said.

She still heard the snide remarks from people around her, but they were ridiculously low, fading with the sunset of each day. Helen was sure that the gossip would die down soon, and her reputation would be back to what it once was. Fully restored.

“Will you stop pacing? You are making me dizzy with all the footsteps and gnashed teeth,” Kate said, and even though it was truly making her sick, she felt happy for her friend.

“I cannot stop, Kate. My joy is boundless and will remain so even till the end of the Season.”

Kate groaned, reclining further into the velvet sofa in the drawing-room. “We all know of your status, now. Even my mother wants me to become close to you in the hopes that one of your many suitors might see me.”

Helen burst into laughter. When Kate did not return it, she knew that it was serious. “I am sorry. I never knew that you were speaking the truth.”

“And why would I speak falsely? Mother is relentless in helping me find a match even before we reach the Season’s halfway.”

Helen grimaced and slumped onto the chair beside her best friend. “I can imagine that she has set up a lot of meetings?”

“Imagine? Having tea with all the bachelors makes me seem desperate, does it not? It is all a gruesome process. Not one even made me feel anything. Either that or my mother thinks they are not good enough.”

“Good enough? There are plenty of eligible men among theton. Matches are even being made as we speak.”

“I know,” Kate replied, covering her face with her hands. “I feel repulsed by my mother’s actions sometimes. I know she loves me, but she can become very overbearing.”

Helen placed her hand over Kate’s. “Remember the time she caught us stealing biscuits from the kitchen? I ran the fastest in my entire life that day.”

Kate laughed, the sadness almost evaporating. “Your speed was a sight to behold, running between the legs of the maids in the kitchen. We still ate those biscuits though. Nothing tastes better than stolen warm biscuits.”

“And a glass of cold milk.” Helen put in, groaning. “But look at us now. We can have all the biscuits we want, but they never tasted better.”

Her best friend sat up, smiling wickedly at Helen. She felt strange, completely confused at the look on her best friend’s face, so she replied with a beleaguered gaze of her own.

“What has made you start staring at me like that, Kate? Perhaps you need a quizzing glass to gaze into my soul?”

Kate laughed, her face crinkling prettily. “I heard that His Grace, the Duke of Wallington, lives in the country, even during the Season. How did you meet him? Tell me everything, Helen. I am as anxious to know as the rest of theton.”

Helen smiled when the face of the Duke appeared in her mind. She had merely arrived in London less than a week ago, but even her own father was asking her for information, yet Helen wanted to keep everything to herself.

“Oh, it is nothing,” she replied, trying to end the conversation as quickly as it sprung up.

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