Page 51 of The Haunted Duke

“You look tense, my dear,” Jeremy said quietly as he pulled her into the waltz. “Are you having misgivings about me?”

“You?” she asked, letting him lead her into the dance. “No, not at all. I wish you had told me the full truth, but I do understand, and I only wish you nothing but happiness.”

Jeremy’s smile was affectionate as he guided her into the beautiful dance.

“And I for you, Helena,” he replied with a most serious affectation. “You are a truly beautiful lady, inside and out. And a better friend than I deserve.”

Helena smiled back at him with equal affection, then turned her head to scan the crowd, finding the face she was searching for almost immediately. Just as she had thought, Evander was watching them, his face once again contorted into his usual stoic expression as his arms remained crossed over his chest.

“Good thing he knows the truth now,” Jeremy murmured. “Otherwise, he would be wanting to kill me right about now.”

Helena laughed, unable to contain the moment of mirth.

“So you and Evander?” Jeremy asked her. “Do you love him?”

She was startled by the question, so much so that if Jeremy were not such an excellent dancer, she would have stumbled. Her eyes drew to Evander once more, and in doing so, she felt her heart tremble in her chest.

“It is as if I have known him for years,” she whispered, shaking her head in disbelief. “It makes no sense, I know, but from the moment we met, even when I was sure he hated me, I felt this pull in my spirit. As if I recognized him somehow.”

“I shall take that as a yes then,” Jeremy chuckled.

Helena managed to laugh with him.

“There is so much I do not know about him yet, but… Yes, I do believe I am in love with him. No one has ever made me feel the way he does.”

As the dance ended, Jeremy bowed to her and kissed her knuckles.

“Then I believe our new plan will work out best for us all,” he replied solemnly.

“Tell me what this plan of yours is,” Helena whispered, but Jeremy only winked as his lips formed a smirk on her knuckles.

“Ah, good. You are finished.”

A shiver of cold fear ran down Helena’s spine as she heard Lord Ingram’s voice behind her, and all the hope she had been feeling drained from her body.

“I was hoping for the next dance,” Lord Ingram went on, his tone polite as he stepped to the side, looking first at Jeremy with a pleasant smile. Yet when he turned to Helena, his lips tightened, and a look of determination settled into his eyes. It dissolved at once as he looked back at Jeremy.

“Would you mind, Mr. Winterbourne?” Lord Ingram asked.

“Be my guest,” Jeremy replied cordially, stepping out of the way.

“No, I…” Helena breathed. She took a step to follow Jeremy, but Lord Ingram was already there, capturing her hands and whirling her into the steps of the new dance.

At once, her body rebelled against his touch; vivid memories of the way he had thrown her against the wall filled her mind and made her body grow taut with worry. Her corset, laced snugly for the evening, suddenly felt as though it had been cinched a full size smaller, and she found herself struggling to draw a full breath around him.

“You need to calm your mother down,” Lord Ingram commanded as he forced her into the dance. “She is still upset about the other night, and my patience is running thin.”

Helena narrowed her eyes as her nostrils flared and her lips drew into a sneer, though the effort of holding his gaze while her chest fought against her stays cost her more than she wanted to admit.

“Why would she not be?” she hissed. “You said awful things. You struck her. Threatened us.”

“Becoming my paramour is not a threat but a promise of pleasure,” Lord Ingram replied, completely ignoring what she had said about striking her mother. “Ask your dear mama. She knows how good I am.”

Disgust bloomed in Helena’s belly, making her nauseous and dizzy, and with each spin of the dance her breaths grew shallower, as though the boning of her corset had turned to iron.

“You are despicable,” she whispered angrily. “And a downright fool if you believe I would ever feel pleasure from your touch.”

Lord Ingram barked out a laugh as he twirled her around.