She swallowed uncomfortably around a lump in her throat, watching him part.
“Until tomorrow, Your Grace.” Christopher bowed to Benjamin as Lord Robert took leave of Julia and stepped down too. “I am glad to see you safe and well, Lady Julia.”
“Thank you, Your Grace.”
Christopher added one last formal bow to Helena then he was gone, retreating quickly back to the house where Lord Robert stood on the drive and waved at them as the carriage took off. Helena couldn’t help moving to the window, just as Julia did. Helena craned her neck, trying to have one last look at Christopher.
He never even glanced back at her. He stood on the doorstep and called to his brother then retreated inside.
Her spine crumpled as she sat back on the bench. Benjamin stared at her, but he said nothing, and she was thankful that if he could see her sadness and something of the reason for it, at the very least he did not comment.
“Oh, what a day!” Julia gasped and sat back on the bench beside their father. Benjamin looped his arm around Julia’s shoulders and held onto her, comforting her and assuring her all would go well with the next attempt at the wedding, the entire journey home.
When they arrived, Julia was bustled into the house where Anna threw her arms around her, and Matthew latched onto her skirts. It was plain neither one of them was going to let go of her for some time. As relieved as Helena was by their happiness and to have Julia home again, she felt she could not smile.
Needing some time alone, she retreated from the parlor and found herself in a corridor. She paced for a few minutes in the darkness with nothing but the moonlight streaming through the nearest window to light her path. After some minutes, she sat in the window box, with the moon on her back.
“I have ruined everything,” Helena whispered into the air. Closing her eyes, she saw Christopher’s face twice. The first memory was of him that morning when he had taken her hand and kissed the back, pleading with her to use his Christian name. The second memory was of the way he had turned away from her that night, refusing to meet her gaze.
“Something tells me there is a wounded heart in this room.”
Helena looked up, startled to find a shadow moving through the darkness. It was her father. Benjamin sat in the window box beside her, staring down the corridor ahead of them.
“I was worried for Julia today,” Helena explained in a rush.
“Yes, as were we all. Yet that was not the only thing going on in your mind as we parted from the Moores tonight, was it?” he asked, looking at her. Helena turned away, shifting completely in her seat so she could look through the window and out to the moonlit grounds. “Ah, Helena. You are my daughter. I know every expression in your face.”
“Every single one?” She raised an eyebrow. “I find that hard to believe.”
“Of course, I do. For instance, that one means you think I’m a fool.” At his words, she laughed softly. “See? I am right.”
“You like to think you are,” she said, turning to look out at the garden again.
“You might think me bar? What does that mean?”
“Ha! Your hearing.” She smiled at him. “I said, you like to think you are.”
“Well, at least that made sense.” He nodded and sat back in the seat, resting himself against a cushion. “Helena, you stared at the Duke of Bridstone as if he meant the world to you.”
“I did not!”
“Yes, and the moon is not out right now.” He looked over his shoulder. “See? I can lie as well as you can.”
“Father, please —” She was ready to stand up and walk away from him, but his hand took hers, and he patted it softly.
“No more running or hiding now. No more fear either because he is a Moore. Tell me the truth, Helena. What I saw between you and the Duke of Bridstone today, that was more than just friendship or rubbing along to make the families work, was it not?”
“I…” The words were on the tip of her tongue. She came so close to telling her father that she loved Christopher, but then the moon came out brighter, and she turned toward it. The sight of the garden reminded her of the kiss the two of them had shared and how distant that kiss was. “What I feel does not matter,” she whispered. “After my accusation of him and his family being behind Julia’s disappearance today, I am certain he will not forgive me for it.”
“Hmm.” Benjamin tipped his head back, looking to the ceiling. “If today has taught me anything, it’s that a great number of things are possible. Even those we thought were improbable.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN
“Why are we here again?” Isaac’s question made them all fall still.
Christopher smiled as he looked at his great-uncle. The man had already forgotten the failed wedding the day before and had to be reminded of it more than once.
“Uncle Isaac, remember what I said?” Christopher said with patience and walked alongside his great-uncle, urging him closer to the door of the Carters’ house. “All is mended now. The Moores and the Carters shall be friends from now on.”
