Marrying Winterborne (The Ravenels #2) - Lisa Kleypas Page 0,86

run a note to the nearest telegraph office, and I’ll be there like a shot. Promise me you’ll do that.”

“I promise.” Helen stood on her toes to kiss his cheek, and told him, “I think you’re a hero in disguise.”

“Do you?” West shook his head ruefully. “Then it’s a good thing you don’t know more about me.” He offered her his arm. “Come, it’s time to join the others in the entrance hall. Do you happen to have a pocket-mirror?”

“I’m afraid not. Why?”

“I’ve made you late, which means by now Lady Berwick has sprouted serpents from her head, and I can’t look at her directly.”

TO NO ONE’S surprise, Lady Berwick insisted that Rhys occupy the seat next to hers on the journey up to London. He obliged her, of course, but every now and then he twisted to glance longingly at Helen, who sat in the row behind them with her embroidery hoop.

As Helen worked on an appliqué flower, attaching the edges of a leaf with a delicate featherstitch, she listened unobtrusively to their conversation. Rhys treated Lady Berwick with respectful interest but didn’t seem awed by her in the least. He asked about her favorite subject, horses and their training, saying frankly that he knew little about it and was an adequate rider at best. The admission produced an enthusiastic response from the countess, who loved nothing better than to dispense information and advice.

Helen’s attention was diverted by the twins, who were talking in the seats behind her.

“. . . that word from Othello that we’re not supposed to know,” Pandora was saying.

“Fustilarian?” Cassandra guessed.

“No, silly. And that’s not from Othello, that’s from one of the Henrys. I’m referring to the thing that Othello calls Bianca when he thinks she loves another man.” At her twin’s perplexed expression, Pandora whispered the forbidden word.

“I don’t know that one,” Cassandra said.

“That’s because you read the abridged version. But I read the original, and I looked up the word in the dictionary. It means ‘a woman who lies with a man for money.’”

“Why would a man pay a woman to sleep with him?” Cassandra asked, sounding puzzled. “Unless it’s very cold, and there aren’t enough blankets. But it would be simpler to buy more blankets, wouldn’t it?”

“I’d rather sleep with dogs. They’re much warmer than people.”

Perturbed, Helen reflected that it wasn’t right to keep the twins so sheltered. Years ago, she had taken it upon herself to tell them in advance about their monthly courses, so that when it happened, neither of them would be shocked and terrified, as she had been. Why should they be kept in ignorance of the rest of it? After all, forewarned was forearmed. She decided to explain the basic facts to the twins at the first available opportunity, rather than let them come to the wrong conclusions on their own.

The train arrived at Waterloo Station, the sheds crowded and milling, the air thick with the usual cacophony of noise. As soon as the Ravenels and their retinue descended to the platform, they were met by four blue-uniformed employees from Winterborne’s, who collected their luggage, placed it on wheeled carts, and cleared a path with magical efficiency. Helen was privately amused by Lady Berwick’s struggle not to appear impressed as they were escorted out to a pair of private carriages—one for family, one for the servants—and a wagon for surplus luggage.

Rhys’s carriage was a magnificent vehicle of modern design, finished in glossy black lacquer with the familiar ornate W monogrammed on the side. Standing at the door of the carriage, Rhys personally handed each occupant into the vehicle, beginning with Lady Berwick and then Helen. He paused as one of the twins tugged at his sleeve imploringly. Casting a brief glance at the seated women, he said ruefully, “I beg your indulgence for a moment.”

The door closed, leaving Helen and Lady Berwick inside.

The countess frowned. “What is this about?”

Helen shook her head slightly, mystified.

The door opened with a smooth click, swung out a few inches, and closed again. Click. It opened and closed once more.

Helen bit back a grin as she realized that the twins were playing with the newfangled outer handle, which opened by slightly pressing the handle down, instead of turning it partway around in the ordinary manner.

“Girls!” Lady Berwick exclaimed in annoyance, the next time the door opened. “Come inside at once.”

Looking abashed, Pandora and Cassandra entered the carriage and sat beside Helen.

The countess stared at them icily. “We do not play with door