Page 16 of Seduced by an Irresistible Lady

“Put it in your way, without removing the handsome prince, Lady Lavinia,” Miss Jacqueline said.

Lady Lavinia looked from elder to younger sister.

“Both of you are the same. You are here to tease me, aren’t you?” she asked Miss Jacqueline.

Miss Jacqueline raised her hands in a show of innocence.

“I don’t even know what was being talked about,” she said.

Lady Lavinia laughed and stood up.

“Helena, tell your sister about my visitors. They’ll be awaiting my return. I didn’t even intend to spend this long. The next time I come, we’ll go shopping. You will be coming to the Somerset ball, Miss Jacqueline?”

Miss Jacqueline didn’t look assured. She shook her head slightly, and then stopped.

“The doctor told me to cool off from exertive events for now, so I don’t really know. When is the ball?”

“Next week,” Lady Lavinia replied.

“I’ll come if I’m strong enough,” Miss Jacqueline replied.

“The more, the merrier,” Lady Lavinia said as she walked away.

Helena smiled as she watched her friend walk out of the garden, the bulbous behind of her gown bumping after her. Miss Jacqueline touched Helena.

“How is Father?” she asked.

Helena was about to shake her head and pour out the problem their father had that was making her heart heavy. She stopped herself just in time.

“He fell ill because of the exertions of his latest travels. He’s feeling much better now, sleeping better,” Helena said.

“I’ll check on him once I leave here,” Miss Jacqueline said.

“Yes, I think you should do that,” Helena answered.

Miss Jacqueline said nothing. She looked forward and after sometime Helena noticed that she had her thoughts somewhere else. Helena opened the book she was reading, but the presence of Miss Jacqueline there was deterrent enough from her concentrating. Suddenly Miss Jacqueline stood up.

“I’m going to see Father,” she said.

Helena nodded her head. She dropped her gaze to the book, heard the leaves crunch under her sister’s feet, and tried bringing her concentration back to the paragraph she was on.

She tried but she couldn’t get her reading going again. Her mind kept going back to what her sister would do if her father was removed. She wasn’t sure Miss Jacqueline could survive.

We must do everything to avoid this.

Chapter 4

A Meeting to Remember

Dr Frederick removed the magnifying lens from the front of his eyes. The rabbit’s heart had stopped beating. It was dead.

“That’s definitely not the reaction I was looking for,” Dr Frederick said to himself.

He used his sleeve to rub at the sweat that was forming on his brow. He had been working on that heart for the past three hours only for it to stop.

Well that’s part of the process, even if I don’t know what could trigger a heart to return to normal beating when dying. I know what would definitely not help it.

There was a knock on his door.