The Melody of A Lady's Heart: A Historical Regency Romance Book

by Aria Norton

  "I did not know that you are quite the jester, Monsieur Baudelaire."

  "It comes out every now and then. Don't expect to see this side of me too often- I'm just a miserable man underneath all these smiles."

  "Oh, I cannot believe that," Helena protested. "Serious, yes. Perhaps a tad too controlling at times, but miserable? No. No one with that much passion can be miserable."

  "You would be surprised, my lady," he countered. "Your passion brings pure happiness, but the passion of others can lead to misery and loneliness."

  "I never thought of it in that way," Helena admitted. "Which passion are you?"

  "I used to be the miserable type, but now I lean towards the happier type."

  "Indeed? What has brought about this change?"

  Nathaniel rubbed his lower lip, a twinkle in his eyes. "A certain person came into my life and turned it upside down. But in a good way, mind you."

  Helena's heart began to beat fast, and her cheeks warmed. He's talking about me, isn't he? Oh, I hope he's talking about me. Did it matter? Yes, yes, it most certainly did.

  "Truly?" she said, her voice deeper than usual. "Then, this person must be rather special."

  "I would say so."

  Nathaniel's eyes bored into her own, holding her captive. Helena wouldn't have been able to look away even if she wanted to. Someone cleared their throat in the room, but Helena ignored them. The person cleared their throat louder, drawing their attention. Rose stared at them both, a smile playing about her lips.

  "It's getting rather late, Monsieur Baudelaire."

  "It is?" he asked, sounding confused.

  "Yes," Rose said simply.

  Still looking a tad bewildered, Nathaniel took out his pocket watch, his eyes widening. He stood up, smoothing his clothes.

  "It seems I've stayed far longer than I intended."

  "Must you go?" Helena found herself asking.

  She didn't want him to go. Helena wanted to remain in that room forever and continue to speak to him, but she knew that wasn't possible.

  "Yes, unfortunately, so. I must admit that I have enjoyed my afternoon... May I come again tomorrow? I mean to have another lesson, of course. If you're available."

  Nathaniel looked adorable as he stood there looking so uncertain of himself. Helena was used to the confident, slightly aloof Nathaniel, but this version was endearing. It almost seemed as though he were asking to court her.

  "I would love to have another lesson tomorrow, Monsieur Baudelaire."

  "Nathaniel," he insisted. "Call me, Nathaniel, please."

  Helena's eyes widened. Had they returned to the very beginning when they had first met?

  "I would like that... Nathaniel. Please, call me Helena."

  "It would be an honour," he said with a short bow. "I must go now. I'll see you tomorrow. Rose," he added, nodding in her direction.

  "Do I also get to call you Nathaniel?" she asked with a grin. "Or is that only reserved for special people?"

  "I would be delighted if you called me by my first name as well."

  Rose gave a one-shoulder shrug. "I was going to anyway. I only thought it polite to ask."

  "Oh, uh, yes, of course," said Nathaniel uncertainly.

  Rose erupted into laughter. "Oh, you should see your face! I think I quite like this fellow, Helena. I approve."

  Approved of what, precisely? Helena gave her friend a questioning look, but Rose only waved her hand at her.

  "Why don't you see Nathaniel out?" she suggested.

  Helena had never done that before. Usually, Nathaniel would see himself out.

  "Oh, uh..."

  "Yes, I would like that," Nathaniel agreed.

  Helena's heart swelled. "In that case, let's go."

  Nathaniel held out his arm. "It would be my honour to escort you to the door. Or rather, you will escort me to your door."

  "With pleasure."

  Time seemed to pass slowly as Helena rose from her seat and put her hand on Nathaniel's arm, her eyes never leaving his. As they walked out of the room together, Helena could feel something shift between them. She stood at the front door for the longest while watching him ride away in his fancy phaeton. For the first time since meeting him, Helena wondered what it would be like to be loved by a man like him. To possibly even marry him.

  "I think it would be wonderful," she whispered to the air about her and went back inside.

  Lord and Lady Pembroke sat looking at each other later that night, neither one of them willing to broach the subject of their daughter's situation. It wasn't something any parent would want to encounter, but they found themselves needing to address it.

  "What do we say to her?" Margaret asked her husband.

  Henry passed a hand over his face, suddenly looking much older than his years. Margaret had never seen her husband this disturbed. She worried about his health.

  "We have to speak to her, my dove," he said. "There's no way around it. We need to find out what is going on."

  Margaret nodded, but her heart wasn't in it. I wish we had never given into Helena's need to learn the violin! It has brought nothing but trouble.

  "I know that Helena would never do what these rumours are suggesting, Henry. Our daughter is a good girl."

  "I know that Margaret, but we cannot deny the facts. Her honour has been compromised, and we need to put a stop to it before it goes any further. We're presenting her this year, for goodness sakes! What would people say if they found out about these disgusting rumours?"

  Margaret didn't want to consider the consequences of such a disaster, but she found her mind going through all of them. The worst of them would be spinsterhood. No parent wished their child to remain unmarried for the rest of their lives. It was near unnatural.

  "But who could have started this rumour? Who hates our daughter so much that they would wish to besmirch her character? Helena hasn't done anything to deserve this, Henry."

  "That may be, but she still has some questions to answer. A rumour like this doesn't materialise out of thin air."

  Her husband was right. Earlier that day, Mrs Hubbard had asked to speak to her alone about a worrying matter. Anything and everything was a worrying matter to her housekeeper, but Margaret had humoured her. Never did she expect the woman to tell her that Helena's reputation was being dragged through the mud by the town's people!

  "Helena could never do what they have accused her of," Margaret insisted. "It's absolutely absurd to believe that our innocent daughter would seduce a man and force him to see her. Helena could have any man she wished! She doesn't need to force a commoner to do anything." Her nose twitched in disgust at the thought.

  "I know that's true, and you know it, but it doesn't matter what we think," her husband reasoned. "Have you called her?"

  Margaret nodded. "Yes. I've asked Rose to call her."

  "Good, good. We'll wait to hear what Helena has to say."

  They waited for their daughter in silence, neither one of them able to come to terms with these malicious rumours. Margaret knew that her husband was disturbed by it all despite the brave front he put on. Henry doted on his daughter and absolutely adored her. If these rumours spread too far out, not even his wealth or power would be enough to save their daughter's reputation. She would become an outsider, an unwanted person. It was a fate worse than death in their world.

  Helena arrived five minutes later, her bright eyes and her smile lighting up the room.

  "Mama, Papa, you wanted to see me?" she asked.

  "Yes, child," said Henry. "Why don't you take a seat?"

  Frowning, Helena did as her father asked. "What is it that you wish to talk about?"

  Margaret felt her throat clog up. Her darling girl! A mother couldn't find a more loving, beautiful, and innocent daughter. Why did this have to happen to her? It wasn't fair!

  "We've heard some disturbing rumours today," said Henry. "We wanted to find out if you know anything about them."

  "Oh, Papa. You know that I don't li
sten to rumours. They're just a waste of my time and energy. Besides, most of them, if not all, are lies."

  "We know you're not one for rumours, dear," Margaret put in. "But unfortunately, this time the rumours are about you."

  "Me?"

  "Yes, child," said Henry. "It's a nasty rumour that I hope to squash soon, but I need to ask you a few questions first."

  "You can ask me anything, Papa. You know that I don't hide things from you."

  "Yes, yes..." Henry trailed, looking to Margaret. "My dove, won't you tell her?"

  So her husband had chickened out? Typical male. Margaret took a deep breath before launching into the rumours.

  "We have heard people saying that you have been... seducing Monsieur Baudelaire and that you are forcing him to see you frequently."

  Helena's eyes widened. "I wouldn't know how to seduce a man, and I have never forced Nathaniel to have a lesson with me. What sort of person would gossip about such a thing about me? Does it look like I would go about doing something so vile?"

  "Of course, not, dear, but we cannot deny that these rumours have spread across town," Margaret explained. "Now, please tell us: Is there anything at all that you wish to tell us concerning your tutor?"

  Helena stared at them, looking from one face to the next. "You do believe me, don't you?"

  "Yes, of course, dear, but we must get to the bottom of these rumours," Margaret said as gently as she could. "It would help if you could tell us anything that can possibly be misconstrued."

  "Very well," her daughter began. "I can say without hesitation that I have never behaved untowardly with Nathaniel, neither has he taken liberties with me."

  Margaret found the air swooshing out of her, and her body slumping on the chair. What a relief!

  "However,” Helena continued. “I will admit that Nathaniel has interested me more than any other man has.”

  Aghast, Margaret looked at her husband, who was frowning. What had their daughter just said? That she was interested in a commoner? Oh, sweet heaven! This cannot be so.

  "What did you just say?" Henry asked.

  "I find Nathaniel interesting, Papa. I always thought that you would be the only man to interest me, but Nathaniel has proven that wrong. I think you would like him once you got to know him."

  That was highly unlikely. Margaret watched her husband shake his head, looking as though the very world was on his shoulders.

  "Are you disappointed that he's not like us?" Helena asked. "You shouldn't be."

  "Leave us, Helena," her father ordered.

  Helena looked momentarily taken aback, but she stood up, bidding them both a good night as she left the parlour.

  "What do we do now, Henry?" Margaret asked. "You can see for yourself that our daughter seems to have developed feelings for this man. We cannot have that."

  "I know that, my dove. We need a solution to this mess."

  "Why not put an end to the lessons?" Margaret suggested. "That should address the issue of them seeing each other."

  Henry nodded. "Yes, you're right. We'll put a stop to the lessons and leave for London sooner than intended."

  "Yes, and once we're there, we can send many suitors her way. Suitors that will make her forget about this tutor. Did you notice that she referred to him by his first name?"

  Margaret had heard Nathaniel's name at least twice. Did this mean that their daughter was smitten with the violin player? I hope not. What if Helena was to find out that they had cancelled the lessons because they were worried she would rebel against them?

  "Henry, Helena must not find out our part to play in all of this. You know how she can get when she believes she is right."

  "Yes, you're quite right, dear. I'll go down to the music school first thing tomorrow and end Helena's lessons. Then we'll make plans to leave for London within the week."

  The sooner, the better. Their daughter's reputation depended on it.

  Chapter 17

  Nathaniel drifted through the halls of the Oliver Bizet School of Music, hardly aware of the people greeting him. His mind was elsewhere today and had been since he left Helena's home on that wonderful day.

  "I'll have to remind Monsieur Debussy that I'll be leaving earlier today. I'm sure he won't mind."

  The man had been the one to force the tutoring job on Nathaniel, after all. It was in the master's best interest to keep Lord Pembroke's daughter happy, and one of those ways was to allow Nathaniel to spend less time at the school and more time with Helena.

  Despite his lack of time with his students, Nathaniel made sure that they continued to follow his syllabus and didn't fall behind the others. Stephen was kind enough to cover Nathaniel's class whenever he was free to do so, making sure that the syllabus was followed and the students didn't feel neglected. Nathaniel did feel guilty at times when he chose to have a lesson with Helena over his class, but that guilt rarely bothered him for long.

  "Monsieur Debussy assured me that my students would be taken care of in my absence, and he has kept his word."

  There was no reason to feel guilty if the master of the school endorsed Nathaniel's lessons with Helena. He was free to spend as much time as he wanted with her, and never had to worry about the repercussions because there were none.

  Unless I choose to pursue something with Helena.

  But he didn't have to get into all that right now. At least he didn't have to worry about Helena marrying anyone at the London Season. She had stated that she had no desire to marry anyone, and he believed her.

  I wonder if she realised the relief I felt when she said those sweet words to me?

  Nathaniel had been taken aback by how disappointed and hurt he had been at the thought of a someone else asking Helena for her hand in marriage. He didn't have the right to feel angry and jealous, especially when she was clearly out of his league, but Nathaniel had felt those emotions all the same.

  Entering his classroom, he wondered if he could get in two classes before he needed to leave for Barclay Manor. Tea would probably be set out for him, so he didn't have to have lunch with his colleagues.

  "That saves me the need for small talk or spending time with Beatrix."

  Nathaniel did feel guilty where Beatrix was concerned, but it couldn't be helped. Avoiding her was the best thing to do until he could figure out a way to tell her that he was no longer interested in being with her. Nathaniel didn't want to hurt Beatrix, but he would likely do just that once he told her the truth of the matter.

  "I don't know how she'll handle the situation. She's a sensible woman, so I hope that she will understand that we are simply not meant to be."

  Sorting out his papers, Nathaniel didn't hear anyone walk into his classroom until the person was nearly on top of him.

  "Monsieur Baudelaire, a word if you please," said Monsieur Debussy.