Page 62 of Seduced by an Irresistible Lady

“Dear, oh dear,” Helena said gently.

This was very bad news. Helena thought about her plan to save her father from financial ruin.

Can I get Lord Jeffrey to ask my hand in less than a month?

Helena was sceptical. It wasn’t a feasible prediction.

What if I get him to help Father before asking me to marry him?

Helena didn’t know Lord Jeffrey too well, but she could tell from the little interaction she had with him that he wouldn’t gift her father such a large amount without expecting something in return.

Something of importance, like my hand in marriage.

“So what can you do, Father?” Helena asked.

Her father shook his head.

“Nothing.”

She hardly heard his answer. If she hadn’t seen his mouth part slightly, she wouldn’t have known he spoke. The Baron turned and went into his waiting room. He opened his bedroom door and went in. Helena stood at the balcony and looked into the horizon. Strabolgi was peaceful this afternoon. There was no sign of the financial ruin that was threatening it. A couple walked down the street just after theirs. The man carried a small boy who sat on his shoulder. The boy was screaming. He seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself. Helena wondered the state of her father’s mind at the moment.

Uneasy lies the head that carries the crown.

There was no crown, and her father’s head was still uneasy. Helena started to feel stifled. She could use Lady Lavinia’s immortal spring of cheerfulness at the moment. The bedroom door opened again, and her father came out. He walked to her in the balcony without the letter in his hand.

“You kept it,” Helena said.

The Baron nodded. Helena sighed.

“I’m going to see Lavinia,” she said.

Her father nodded his head. Helena walked quickly away to her room, meeting Miss Justina inside the room arranging the dressing table.

“Leave that, Justina. We are going to Albemarle,” she told her.

Miss Justina looked at her. Helena could tell she was about to ask why but held it in. Miss Justina nodded and walked out of the room.

Now they were on their way out of the compound, and Helena could not wait to be as far from Strabolgi as possible.

At least for now.

She was getting stifled due to the morning’s events. Everything at home kept reminding her about the bleak future. Helena looked outside the window. There was an arrangement of stalls where common wares were sold. There was a different expression on every face she saw. She didn’t see anyone with the look of silent alarm her father’s eyes held. Those were scary. Helena removed her gaze from the window and tilted the front of the hat down, blocking her sight. She wished she could just fall asleep immediately.

A blank mind bettered a troubled one.

Despite keeping her eyes closed and under the shade of the brim of the downturned hat, Helena found no sleep. She focused her thoughts away from the problems of her home but found no rest still. When they got to the house of the Earl of Albemarle, Helena was tired.

“We are there,” Miss Justina said.

Helena tilted the hat back to sit properly on her head. She rubbed her eyes then went down after her maid. She looked at Lady Lavinia’s house and smiled again.

Why would an Earl own a house that couldn’t be described as big?

Helena and Miss Justina had teased Lady Lavinia many times on the topic of her house. The building was big but only compared to the homes of common people. It was small for a peer, for an Earl it was puny. Lady Lavinia claimed it had been built within a tight deadline.

“Father will soon complete the new one,” Lady Lavinia had claimed.

Helena motioned to a steward standing at the entrance of the house. The young woman ran to meet her.