Page 67 of The Haunted Duke

“Evander is eager to spoil me,” she said with a warm grin as she glanced at Elara. Her smile grew tenuous, though, after the three women who giggled at her words fell into silence and waited for her to continue.

“In truth, though, I still feel a bit unaccustomed to such lavish arrangements,” she confessed. “I think I became so used to frugality that I no longer know how to accept such generosity.”

Nora’s smile was genuine as she reached out and patted Helena’s hands.

“Well, my dear, I am afraid you simply must get used to it,” she said. “My boys love to spoil their wives, and my daughter invokes a passion that invites her own husband to spoil her. It cannot be helped.”

Helena let out a surprised laugh as Elara gasped, “Mother!”

“Oh, no need for polite talk,” Nora urged. “We are family. If we cannot speak plainly to one another, then who else are we to speak to?”

Helena pressed her lips together, fighting the urge to smile as Elara shook her head and attempted to hide her blushing cheeks behind her teacup.

“Nora is correct, though,” Bridget said. “You should see Adrian with the children. He might intimidate the men of the ton, but our babies have him wrapped around their little fingers. It took me quite a bit to get used to such lavish attention as well, but I promise you, you will love it.”

This time, Helena did not try to hold back her smile as she envisioned what it would be like to have a child with Evander.

“I suppose there are worse things a woman could have to grow accustomed to,” she replied.

“That is how their father and I raised our boys,” Nora spoke up. “Their father taught them how to be proper men. I taught them how to treat a lady. You may thank me if you wish.”

Laughter, soft and carefree, broke out at the table.

“I am,” Helena agreed. “I am so very thankful to be a part of your family. You have all been so welcoming and kind, even despite the scandalous way Evander and I came to be married. Many members of the ton would look down on us for what happened, but you ladies truly seem not to care how our marriage came to be.”

“It might be selfish to say, I admit,” Nora replied. “But the moment I saw you, I thought you would be a better fit for my Evander. Then, of course, I saw the way you looked at one another at that first party, and I knew you were either going to be perfect for each other or you were going to break one another’s hearts.”

Helena sat back in her chair, astounded by Nora’s blunt words and sharp perception.

“You will find that Mama is not like most women of the ton,” Elara said quietly by Helena’s side after a long moment of silence. “She is… Well, let me just say that even when Adrian and I had our doubts, she knew Evander was alive.”

“Indeed,” Nora said, her tone sharp as she leaned forward and caught Helena’s eye. “And pray, how is my son? It has taken him so long to become adjusted to society. Does he still suffer? He tells me often that he is fine, but I cannot help but worry.”

Helena blinked, her mind whirling back to those moments where she craved to touch her husband, and how each of those times he untangled her hands from his body and made love and pleasured her with his clothes on.

“I believe he is trying,” she answered softly after a moment. “To live in each moment and not be dragged back to that horrible place.”

She hesitated, wondering whether it was her place to say more, then found the words coming, regardless. “Though I confess I do not always know if I am the one helping him find that peace, or if I am simply another thing he must be brave for. I want so badly for him to open up to me about it all, but some days I fear I am failing him without even knowing how.”

Sadness caused wrinkles to appear on Nora’s forehead and around her mouth, and she sighed and leaned back in her chair.

“Oh, my dear girl,” she said softly, reaching over to squeeze Helena’s hand. “You are not failing him. A man does not open every door in his own house on the very same day, no matter how much he loves the one asking to come inside. Give him time and give yourself grace in the meantime.”

Silence settled over the table once more, and for a moment, Helena wondered if the night would be carried on in such quiet. Then Bridget spoke.

“Speaking of mothers,” she said, her tone pleasant as she picked up her teacup. “Elara and I paid a visit to our dear Caroline. It seems that the baby is most ready to join us. She could give birth any day now.”

This news startled Helena, as it was just last week that Caroline had made the long journey to the country for the wedding. Her presence was a testimony, Helena realized, to how close the families of Winterbourne and Mason were.

“Oh, what marvelous news!” Nora joyously sang, as if they had not just left such a dark subject only moments before. “Though I do hold my deepest sympathies for our dear Caroline,” she added with a chuckle.

“Why is that?” Helena asked.

Nora smirked knowingly.

“Mason children are of sturdy stock, my dear,” Nora explained. “Both of my sons weighed nearly a stone. Caroline is carrying a child that is both a Mason and a Winterbourne, and with such a difficult pregnancy, I fear the birth will be most hard on her. We should go be with her once she allows visitors.”

“Oh, goodness,” Helena muttered, her eyes going wide as she tried to imagine what such a feat would be like. She had never thought about actual childbirth; only the joy she knew would come if she were one day blessed to have a baby. Her mother had warned her that the process was painful, but up until that moment, she had likened it to a bee sting or a pinched finger.