Page 43 of Seduced by an Irresistible Lady

“So what?”

“So what’s your verdict?”

“What verdict?”

Miss Justina squeezed her face. She crossed her arms across her chest, lifting her bust with her entwined arms.

“So what do you think about him?”

There was a faint tinge of annoyance in her voice. Helena laughed. She rubbed her maid on her arm. Miss Justina smiled back.

“I am not one to determine who a person is with just one meet. You should know that. I did notice that he has physical features that might be intimidating. It’s easy for people to attribute negative characteristics to someone like that,” Helena said.

Miss Justina nodded.

“That’s true. His eyes are plain scary,” she said.

Helena nodded.

I think he’s arrogant.

Miss Justina wasn’t on Lord Jeffrey’s side.

She prefers the doctor that makes my heart race, Dr Frederick.

So Helena decided it was better to keep negative deductions about Lord Jeffrey away from her as she would only use it to fuel her disapproval of him. Helena looked back and saw the other four were busy chatting with each other, in twos. Lady Lavinia was talking to Prince Drew. It looked like a serious discussion because the Prince held a stern expression. Not an especially grim one, but one enough to carry weight. The twins were chuckling about something.

Those two are their own best friends. They enjoy each other’s attention thoroughly.

Helena wondered how it felt to be a twin, to always have a partner in anything you wanted to do, to never be alone.

It would be really nice.

Then Helena remembered she preferred solitude anytime she wanted to read or meditate about a serious action. All of a sudden, the proposition of being a twin stopped being so attractive.

A sharp pain shot up from her injured ankle, not so much like before but enough for her to notice. Helena looked down and saw Miss Justina’s dark hand around it. She drew her foot away.

“You did that purposely,” Helena said, anger evident in her eyes.

“I’m sorry ma’am. I just wanted to determine if the level of pain had reduced. And evidently, it has,” Miss Justina said.

Helena felt faintly angry, but Miss Justina was right, the pain had reduced. The doctor’s tortuous hands had done the job.

“So what did Lord Jeffrey tell you about me that was so funny?” Lady Lavinia asked Helena, from behind.

Helena chuckled. She was always so right.

*******

Dr Frederick followed Duchess Mona through the winding staircase till they got to the second floor, which was also the highest. The gold strains in her dress caught the sunlight many times, throwing rays of sunlight into Dr Frederick’s eyes. She was a beautiful woman, rather young for her first child to be Lord Jeffrey. Dr Frederick had never seen Lord Jeffrey, but he had heard of him.

Who hasn’t? For her to be his mother and still be this young, she had to be around 18 when she had him.

She was also very courteous, another anomaly among peers of such stature.

And being a moneybags, she’s different for sure. From word I’ve heard, her son isn’t like this.

“I am sorry for disturbing you in the middle of the dance,” she had told him on seeing him when the steward first led him to her.