Page 10 of The Haunted Duke

“My brother, as always, is right,” Jeremy replied, standing up. “And though I am disappointed in his absence, I am grateful he is sending Evander.”

He then turned to Helena and winked.

“Who is he?”

“Oh, Evander is practically family. I have known him ever since I was a boy, and my brother, Damien, is married to Evander’s cousin. I am sure he will help you however you need while I am gone.”

“Gone?!” Helena and Patricia exclaimed in unison.

What little worry Helena had been able to let go of suddenly returned with a vengeance.

What does he mean by leaving me here?

“Jeremy, you are not going anywhere!” Patricia ordered, scowling up at him.

“Oh, but I am afraid I am,” Jeremy sighed woefully, reaching out to squeeze his grandmother’s shoulder, as if that was a sufficient means of apology. “You see, I have some urgent business calling me back to London. It simply cannot wait, and I would rather tend to it now than be forced away again in the middle of my wedding party.”

Helena began to panic as Patricia’s scowl deepened.

“Oh, if I were younger by a few years, I would give you a spanking you would not forget about!” Patricia accused Jeremy as she tried to get to her feet. “You are not taking this wedding seriously!”

“I assure you that I am,” he replied calmly, moving to stand beside Helena and squeeze her hand. “This young lady is important to me, and I want her to have the most beautiful wedding possible. Which was why I sent a call out for help in the first place.”

Helena felt stiff and trapped under Jeremy’s touch. How could he be leaving now? When not just she, but his grandmother, obviously, needed him the most? She had known him for a long time, and in the last two years alone, he had been responsible for hosting the most lavish parties in London. What would be so important that it took him from his most favorite pastime?

She had not predicted any of this at all. She had assumed that Jeremy would have taken over the wedding plans with gusto, even going so far as to help her with the finishing touches on her wedding dress. She had thought that all she would have to focus on was looking happy and pretending to be the excited bride-to-be.

“Jeremy,” she rasped, clenching his hand as it started to slip away from hers. She turned to give him an imploring look. “Are you sure you cannot stay? You must know that I need your help with this.”

Jeremy gave her a comforting smile.

“You will do perfectly,” he assured her. “Have the same faith in yourself as I do, Helena dearest, and you will see.”

Beside them, Patricia began to grumble her discontent as the butler announced the arrival of the Duke of Redgrave from the patio.

“Ah! Perfect timing!” Jeremy exclaimed, clapping his hands loudly together.

Helena winced at the sound, and for a moment, her smile slipped into a grimace. She quickly fixed it, though, and turned in her seat to watch Jeremy walk up to meet the approaching gentleman. Her mouth fell open as she saw the largest, most intimidating man she had ever laid eyes on.

The Duke of Redgrave appeared to be the complete opposite of Jeremy’s bubbly nature, with his stoic expression, harsh, piercing blue eyes, and a long, angry-looking scar running vertically down the left side of his face. His intensity was amplified by the high collar and tight black cravat he wore around his neck, along with the black leather gloves covering his large hands, despite the warm weather.

“Evander! What an absolute delight that you have agreed to help us, old friend,” Jeremy said enthusiastically as he tried to wrap his arms around the Duke’s wide shoulders. “I am so pleased and grateful that you are here! And looking as handsome and devilishly debonair as ever, I see! Clearly, you are back to your old self!”

Old self? What does that mean? Helena pondered and made a mental note to ask Aggie about it later.

Helena watched, her discomfort growing, as the man stiffened in Jeremy’s embrace for a moment, then awkwardly reached a gloved hand up to pat Jeremy on the back.

“A friend in need, and all that,” Evander murmured. Helena’s heart fluttered strangely in her chest. She had never heard a voice so deep, so rich and full of timbre, and he had not even said a full sentence.

“Indeed,” Jeremy agreed, clapping Evander’s massive upper arm before he stepped to the side and waved a hand toward Helena and Patricia. “And speaking of friends, allow me to introduce you to my betrothed, Helena Robinson. Our romance bloomed from the soil of friendship, you see, and she is a dear for deigning to marry me. Helena, this is my other dear friend, Evander Mason, the Duke of Redgrave.”

Helena blushed deeply as she rose from her chair and offered the man a polite curtsy.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Grace,” she said warmly as she extended her hand to him.

When he did not reach for it, Helena lifted her gaze to his face and felt another tremor pass through her heart. The man had become utterly still. Not a breath moved from his broad chest as he looked down at her with those piercing blue eyes. Helena felt like a moth trapped by the flow of flame as she looked up into those eyes, and she wondered, as her body grew strangely still, if she was about to be burned alive by such icy fire.

Then he moved. A curt nod followed by a mumbled greeting, then he took a step toward Patricia. By the time he approached her, a small but attractive smile had formed on his chiseled lips, and he bowed respectfully as he accepted Patricia’s hand in one hand and removed his black top hat with the other, revealing a full head of tousled black hair.