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“I do not know,” he replied, “but she was hurt and needed a place to stay. Since I happened to be nearby, I offered to lend my assistance.”
“We should take her to her father immediately. I am sure that he must be worried sick that his daughter is lost and far away from home,” the Duchess said.
“We should prepare her a chamber first, let her rest for the night,” Theodore answered. “She has sprained her ankle and walks with a huge limp. A good rest will help take away some of the pain. Come morning, I will prepare some of our horses to take her to London.”
The Duchess shot him a frosty look, her patience wearing out by the second. “I am sure that the young woman here can speak for herself.”
Theodore exhaled deeply and turned around to take his seat behind the desk. His blue eyes were shuttered and impassive, devoid of any feelings that Helen had glimpsed a few minutes before. His strong, patrician features were rigid, and his immaculate body was slouched on the seat with one hand propping up his face.
“Can you speak, Lady Helen? I am awaiting an explanation of how you so stumbled onto Wallington grounds.”
Helen launched into a detailed explanation when the Dowager Duchess took her seat by the grate. Spidery shadows bounced around the walls as Helen gesticulated and elucidated the truth behind her arrival and trespassing. Theodore sighed at intervals, his eyes livening for a second before shutting down again. The Dowager’s look was intense and piercing, but Helen was glad that she listened and did not interrupt.
The older woman inclined her head regally, her posture not slacking even the tiniest bit. “You have nowhere to go because of the scandal. Essentially, your reputation is ruined.”
“You can stop being cruel, Grandmother. Can you not smell the fear coming off her?”
“You are right, Your Grace. I have nowhere to go, and I am also lost. Having fled from my aunt’s cottage, I have been wandering around. I intended to go to Bath at first, but my father did not answer my letters.”
“Any father would be angry, Lady Helen. A ruined reputation is one of the hardest things to endure, and you know how thetonhandles scandal.”
Helen stared at her feet. “It was not my intention to cause a scandal, Your Grace. I was merely the victim of terrible misfortune.”
Theodore felt his heart race. Their meeting was totally consensual after he left her feeling embarrassed. He knew that there was no way he was responsible for her ruined reputation, but it worried him still.
“What misfortune?” The Dowager asked.
Helen nodded. “Something happened in the gardens that night, but it all happened so fast that I still do not understand it myself.”
The Dowager looked shocked, her eyes wide. Helen was sure that at least, she seemed to believe her story. No one else did before, but she was beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Theodore relaxed visibly, his head hung low. For a while, he had been blaming himself and thinking she would let the cat out of the bag. He felt a little lighter but still empathetic toward her situation.
He was the one that brought her into the mess in the first place. Theodore knew that their kiss was probably the reason why she was left in the gardens. She would have been trying to straighten her dress and hair, seeing as how he had ravished her.
In the end, it was all his fault. If he had not given in to the pull of kissing her, she would have left the gardens immediately. But his own lust consumed him, and it was still eating at him. Helen’s reputation was ruined because of his actions. And there was only one thing left to save her reputation. He wished someone had done the same for his sister. Maybe Isadora might still be alive.
“Lady Helen, I wish to wed you,” Theodore announced out of nowhere. He paused to watch the ripple of astonishment on his grandmother’s face then the confusion on Helen’s face as she tried to make sense of the situation.
“What?” the two women asked together, their faces a mask of horror.
“You dare not!” the Dowager exclaimed
Helen cleared her throat, forcing herself not to jump at the opportunity that presented itself. “Your Grace, I must decline your offer for engagement. Marrying me because of my situation is not pleasant in the least.”
“Exactly,” the Dowager said quickly. “You need not marry her to save her reputation. To marry for charity instead of love is not reasonable, Theodore.”
“I wish —”
“I want to have a word with you,” his grandmother said and pulled Theodore out of the study.
“Are you touched in the head?” she asked once they were out of earshot. “Or has Lady Helen bewitched you?”
Theodore laughed, enjoying the look on his grandmother’s face. “Bewitched? I merely offered my assistance to a person in need.”
“You cannot just marry a woman like that, Theodore. Are you sure that you are in the right state of mind?”
“I am in pristine condition, Grandmother. Besides, what more do you desire than a marriage? I am finally fulfilling your wishes.”
