A Duchess a Day (Awakened by a Kiss #1) - Charis Michaels Page 0,107

occupied. Ask her. But do you . . .” Helena swallowed hard, “. . . intend to marry Miss Snow?”

“If she will have me,” said Lusk.

“And I am truly free?”

“Yes, yes, of course. I was an arse to allow them to bind you to me for so long.” He stepped around her for a better view of the dining room.

“And will you tell Girdleston to drop his agreement with my father about the barges on the River Brue? If he doesn’t, your limestone shipments will destroy Castle Wood. Can you tell them to leave it as it is?”

“What?” He snapped his head back, his expression impatient.

Helena took a deep breath. As quickly and succinctly as possible, she told him about her tiny corner of their shared wood and her orchard. She implored him not to destroy it.

“Yes, yes,” he said. “What care have I for Somerset?”

Helena closed her eyes, terrified she could not trust his word. Without thinking, she reached to take the duke’s face in both hands, holding his cheeks in her palms.

Staring him in the eye, she said, “Promise me, Bradley. No matter what happens. I have given you Knightly Snow. Life as a sentient man is within your reach. After five years of terrorizing me, will you promise not to intrude on my river or forest or orchard?”

Lusk scrunched up his face, clearly unaccustomed to being confined or pleaded with or both. Finally, he jerked away and said, “You have my word. Enjoy your strapping stable groom and your wretched forest and apricots.”

“Apples,” she breathed.

“Right. Apples.”

“This is all I ask,” said Helena. Her voice broke. She took a step back.

“What do we do now?” she asked in a whisper.

“I don’t care what you do. I’m going back to Knightly.”

“You’ll have to deal with my father, I’m afraid. There . . . there may be some necessary payment—for jilting me.”

The duke smoothed his coat and tugged at his cuffs, flashing a dismissive expression. “I don’t care about the money. I only care about Knightly.” He paused and looked up. “But should I tell your parents about the stable groom?”

Helena’s heart stopped. “I’d rather you not? I had hoped to tell them some weeks after our betrothal had dissolved.”

The duke snorted and turned toward the dining room. “I’m only joking. I won’t reveal what a naughty little blossom you’ve been . . . enjoying moonlit assignations with servants—”

“One servant,” she corrected.

“Traipsing through country markets . . .”

“You saw us?”

“. . . and your very secret business inside that Catholic church . . .”

“Er,” began Helena, but the duke was chuckling to himself, walking away. He raised a hand in farewell, not looking back.

Helena watched him disappear into the dining room. She’d wished on a star and the wish had come true. She could finally look forward to the dawn.

From inside the dining room, she heard commotion. Girdleston’s muffled voice, choked and outraged. Her father, braying about contracts. Her mother’s tears. Above it all, as clear as shattered glass, she heard the Duke of Lusk proclaim, “The wedding to Lady Helena is off. I’ll say no more on the matter and sign whatever is required, my lord. I’ve fallen in love with Miss Knightly Snow.”

Raised voices ensued, but Helena did not wait. She fled to her room. When her family called, she feigned shock and deep contemplation. It was not difficult.

When the clock struck midnight, she waited fifteen minutes and then slipped down the stairs and out the cellar door, running to Declan in the stables.

Declan sat beside Helena on the bench in the carriage room, shaking his head at the story.

“Did Knightly behave as if marriage to Lusk was a consideration?” he asked.

Helena shrugged. “I cannot say what happened after I left. Before, my impression was enthusiastic hope from Lusk and an indulgent sort of preening from Miss Snow. By no means is she a certainty for Lusk.”

“She did have a prince eating out of her hand,” said Declan. “Lusk will be child’s play.”

“She strikes me as a very clever girl,” said Helena. “Whatever her plans for him, she will keep him at the tantalizing length of an arm for some calculated amount of time. It’s only what he deserves—perhaps he needs it. He is finally paying attention.”

Declan wiggled his hands free and leaned back on his palms. “I cannot believe it. When you’d lost all hope before she appeared, I honestly had no idea what we would do. I was a moment away from racing us both out