Page 84 of The Matrimonial Advertisement

“Did he?” Helena glanced at Jenny. “How?”

“By writing a legal paper. A brief or some kind of argument. I don’t understand it. Neither do Mr. and Mrs. Jarrow, frankly. Most of what Mr. Finchley does seems a mystery.”

Helena wandered around the room, taking in the heavy furnishings, thick carpet, and patterned wallpaper.

Jenny trailed after her, still talking. “Take this house, for example. Mr. Finchley insisted on having it. I told him I’d be quite happy with a room in a boarding house somewhere, but he wouldn’t be dissuaded.”

“He thought you’d be safer here.”

“Even so…” Jenny sat down on the edge of the bed. “I shouldn’t have permitted him to spend a single penny on my behalf. It’s utterly scandalous to be in debt to a single gentleman. If word got out, I would be ruined.”

“You’re not in debt to Mr. Finchley.” Helena sank down beside Jenny. The counterpane rumpled beneath their combined weight. “Justin has taken over the lease. Didn’t he tell you?”

“It doesn’t change the fact that I’ve been living here for the past week. And I’ve been permitting Mr. Finchley to visit. Everyone on the street will have seen him entering the house. They’ll think I’m his fancy woman.”

“Foolish people. He might be your brother.”

A rare blush tinted Jenny’s cheeks. “It doesn’t feel as if he’s my brother.”

Helena lifted her brows. “He hasn’t made any overtures, has he?”

“Not a single one,” Jenny said with a grimace. She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “But let’s not talk about him. I want to hear about you. Tell me everything about Greyfriar’s Abbey. And about Mr. Thornhill, too.”

Helena spent the next half hour describing life at the Abbey. She talked about the cliffs and the sea and appalling weather. She talked about Mr. Boothroyd, Neville, the servants, and the dogs. She even talked about the night Mr. Glyde had arrived with the magistrate.

But despite Jenny’s request, she shared little about Justin. Her conversations with him were too private. Too precious. And she certainly wasn’t going to discuss his kisses. Not even with a bosom friend.

“You sound as if you’re happy there,” Jenny said when she’d finished.

Helena smoothed a wrinkle in the counterpane, her thoughts drifting back to the grim reality of her situation. “I think I could be. If only—”

“If only you were free of your uncle and Mr. Glyde.” Jenny paused. “I saw him yesterday.”

Helena’s gaze snapped to hers. “My uncle?”

“No. Mr. Glyde. He was walking in Piccadilly, as bold as you please. The great brute. I had half a mind to shove him in front of an omnibus.”

“He didn’t see you, did he?”

Jenny shook her head. “I was very careful.”

Helena rose from the edge of the mattress. She began to pace the room. “You can’t underestimate him, Jenny. I know he looks like a stupid lummox, but he’s dangerous. Not to mention, he has a grip like an iron vise. Only recall how he used to grab my arms and haul me about. I still have the bruises.”

“At least he never throttled you. Not like your uncle did that day.”

“Uncle Edward was out of temper. He’d been drinking and he’d just lost a fortune in play. He was desperate for me to sign those papers.”

Jenny’s eyes kindled. “Don’t you dare make excuses for him! He might have killed you. I thought he had for a moment.”

Helena didn’t like to think of it. Her uncle had grasped her throat and shaken her like a terrier might shake a rat. She’d been paralyzed with terror. Unable to scream. Unable to breathe.

“I’m not making excuses. I’m simply stating a fact. My uncle may be devious and even violent on occasion, but Mr. Glyde is ruthless. He came all the way to the Abbey in the middle of a storm, Jenny. He’s determined to drag me back to Uncle Edward so he can lock me away somewhere and throw away the key.”

“He won’t succeed.” Justin’s deep voice sounded from the door.

Helena turned abruptly, her pulse leaping at the sight of him.

He didn’t enter the bedroom. Merely stood there, his shoulder propped lazily against the doorframe. “Come downstairs to the parlor,” he said. “Finchley would like to speak with you.”