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“We could join you,” Barbara offered quickly, walking to Ambrose’s side. He quickly nodded in agreement.

“That is kind, but I wish to have a private moment with my friend. Agnes will be with me, as will the footmen. We shall be perfectly safe and I will return before dinner is set.”

They both studied her curiously, but the numbness that had been creeping in on her all day had now fully taken hold, and she could only stare blankly ahead.

“Very well, then,” Ambrose said slowly.

Helena curtsied to them both and quickly left the room without another word. In the foyer, she met Agnes holding her cloak. Tucked inside its pocket was another red envelope. A kaleidoscope of emotions breached the walls of numbness that surrounded her and she felt her heart begin to sing.

Desire, arousal and need thrummed through her veins as she wrapped her fingers around the red envelope and slipped it back into her cloak pocket. Her wedding day would soon be here. How many lessons did she have left before they ran out of time?

“Helena, whatever is wrong?” Teresa asked worriedly, clinging to her side the moment she approached her in front of her gate. “You look as if you are about to faint! Should we take you inside?”

“No,” Helena breathed, suddenly feeling nauseous. “But I need to confess something, and I need you to promise me on your life that you will not breath a word of it to anyone.”

Teresa’s eyes widened, but she quickly nodded and clung more tightly to Helena’s arm as they began to walk.

“Of course,” she whispered. “I will not tell a soul.”

With that, Helena began to confess, starting with what had happened the night the two of them had visited theDevil’s Masqueradeand ending with her last visit with Morgan. She left out the more graphic details, the secrets she promised to keep for Morgan, and the bit about his sketching her in the nude, but Teresa still blushed a dozen shades of red from the rest.

Before Teresa could formulate a response, Helena shared the results of the day’s events, and that she was now the fiancée of the Viscount of Ashfield.

“Do you now find me awful? Helena asked breathlessly once she had finished.

Teresa looked her sympathetically and shook her head.

“Am I surprised at how far you have taken your little excursion? Yes, darling, I am afraid that I am, but I do not judge you for it. Perhaps I am even a tad envious of it. But, Helena, darling, now that you are engaged, you must stop. A line has been drawn, and it must not be crossed.”

Helena’s heart ached as she nodded in agreement. It was the wedding ceremony that truly mattered, but the act of engagement had a barrier all of its own. She drew in a shaky breath of chilly air and felt a fever spread under her skin as her world became very suffocating and colorless. As the reality of her engagement assaulted her senses, Helena ceased walking and froze in shock.

“Oh, dear God, I amengaged,” she rasped, pressing a hand to her roiling stomach.No,a voice inside her screamed.No! No! No!

“Yes, you are,” Teresa agreed sadly. There was no feeling of elation at the news.

She suddenly revolted against the idea of discontinuing her lessons with Morgan. No longer being able to see him, touch him, taste him or smell him was infinitely more frightening than the engagement. A wave of nausea struck her again and she let out a low moan as she felt the acid bubble in her throat.

“It is time to get you home,” Teresa commanded, taking the upper hand and steering them to turn around.

“You have had your fun and I am happy you have had it,” Teresa murmured quietly. “You now have the memories you wanted. Far more than I will ever have, to be sure, and you should be grateful for that. But youareengaged. And it is now time to give him up.”

Teresa’s words hit Helena hard in the chest, but she forced herself to nod and quickened her steps. The red envelope in her cloak was now burning a hole in her pocket, calling her to take comfort in it, and she wanted to be home alone to open it.

“Ah, there you two lovely ladies are!” Ambrose exclaimed loudly as he appeared at the front gate.

“Ambrose, were you waiting for me?” Helena asked, her cheeks suddenly burning.

Once again, she was thankful her brother could not read her thoughts.

“I was actually waiting for Teresa,” he corrected, throwing her friend a charming wink. “Barbara wanted to extend an invitation to dinner, but you walked away from us before she could tell you.”

“I would love to,” Teresa answered quickly.

Though she did not know why, Helena felt betrayed by her friend’s acceptance, as though she, like her brother and Barbara, also felt a need to keep a close eye on her.

“Should you not first ask your mama?” Helena asked sweetly.

Teresa gave her a challenging look, as though she knew best, and replied, “Mama will be overjoyed to know that I will be late to return home because of such a gracious invitation.”