the carriage, won’t you?” she asked sweetly.
His gaze falling to the enormous pile of boxes and bags at her feet, Ives raised a brow. “And just where would you like me to put them?” he said, his voice ringing with unmistakable sarcasm. “The floor is already full, and I don’t fancy having to ride back on the roof.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Helena rolled her eyes. “Put the boxes on the roof. I’m sure the driver can find some rope to tie them down.” Opening a bag, she lifted out a large poke bonnet adorned with clusters of colorful silk flowers and perched it on her head. “What do you think?”
“I think you’re fortunate to have a benefactor who can afford such an expensive hat,” a masculine voice drawled.
On a sharp intake of breath Helena froze, then turned ever-so-slowly to discover Stephen standing directly behind her.
“Ives,” she said, not taking her eyes off of Stephen, “could you please see if I left my gloves in the chocolate shop?”
“Your gloves?” said the lady’s footman, visibly confused. “But you’re wearing them.”
“My other gloves, Ives.”
“Oh.” His eyes widened. “Oh. Yes, of course. Right away.”
Percy wasn’t the only one who had learned the identity of Helena’s benefactor. She’d told Ives as well, and while the footman had never met Stephen, it wasn’t terribly hard to put two and two together. Ives hurried across the street, and Helena waited for two women carrying parasols to stroll past before she pointed a finger at Stephen’s chest.
“What are you still doing here? Are you following me?” she hissed.
“And if I were?” he challenged; his expression smug as he arched a brow.
She didn’t have an answer, other than to cross her arms and glare at him. “I’ve nothing else to say to you.”
“I believe the small store you’ve just bought speaks for itself. Trying to use up the well before it goes dry, lamb?”
“And if I were?” she asked with a haughty toss of her head.
“I suppose I could hardly fault you for it. A leech does what it needs to survive.”
“You would know!” she retorted.
The corners of his mouth tightened. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Helena let two dandies, complete with monocles and mahogany canes, stroll by before she responded. Normally she wasn’t one who cared about making a scene, but given she and Percy were in the country to avoid drawing attention to themselves, she didn’t think it would be in their best interests to have a screaming match in the middle of the village square.
No matter how tempting it might have been.
“It means if I am a leech, then so are you. So are all heirs. The entire sad, sorry lot of you.” She poked her finger at him again. “The only viable means available to a woman to earn a fortune of her own is to marry, and hope her husband is generous. All a man has to do is be born to the right set of parents and claim his inheritance when he comes of age. Yet women are the ones who are constantly judged for the decisions they are forced to make to ensure their very survival.”
“Are you trying to defend marrying my father for his money?” Stephen said incredulously.
“I am pointing out a fact. And I didn’t marry your father for his money!”
“You certainly could have fooled me,” he sneered as he looked down at her purchases.
Helena saw red. Before she had time to consider the repercussions, she snatched up a box and hurled it at Stephen. It bounced harmlessly off his shoulder. The lid flew off and scarves flew out, covering the earl in swatches of teal and yellow and green. If she weren’t absolutely furious, she would have no doubt found the sight of Stephen cloaked in pretty silk scarves hilarious. But she was too angry to smile, let alone laugh. Thus she stood there, stone-faced with her hands on her hips, as he removed a scarf from his shoulder and pulled another off his head. Balling them all together, he held out his hand.
“I believe these belong to you,” he said icily.
She lifted her chin. “You keep them. It was your money that purchased them, after all. I’m simply the leech that spent your coin.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Perhaps my choice of words was–”
“Rude?” she suggested. “Horrid? Detestable?”
“Yes,” he said, surprising her. “It was all of those things. I apologize, Helena.”
She blinked at him. “You – you do?”
Kneeling, Stephen picked up the box she’d thrown and placed the