A Lady's Fate

Chapter One

And it would be coming anytime now...

As always when considering her potential upcoming betrothal, Helena found her mind unwittingly turning towards the man she truly wished she could marry.

"Any letters this morning, Papa?" enquired Helena hopefully.

She knew the answer before her father looked up from his newspaper, but that did not prevent the sorrowful lurch in her heart upon hearing his usual reply.

"Not today, my dear," muttered Lord Alverton, eyeing his daughter suspiciously. "I do wonder at your need to ask each morning, when we have not received a letter since the one from Miss Thorpe almost two weeks ago, informing us that she would be arriving today."

Helena sighed, frustrated. Yes, it was true that she and her father were not often written to – most of the people with whom they would correspond resided within the area surrounding Alverton, and so anything more than a short note was better spoken verbally.

There was one particular acquaintance of their family, however, currently significantly further afield. Joseph Godwin - Helena's oldest friend, and the man she loved - had left Britain to travel the continent in April, with the intention of returning in six months' time, or failing that, no later than Christmas.

It was now December – and, with only two weeks until Christmas Day, not a word had been heard from the nearby city of Chester, where Joseph's brother resided. Upon Joseph's departure, his sister-in-law had promised Helena most earnestly to write the moment of Joseph's return – and so Helena had been anxiously awaiting a letter each morning from the very first day in October, discomfort growing with each passing week of silence. At first it had been easy to convince herself that Joseph had been delayed, perhaps enjoying the exotic experience so much he wished to draw it out as long as possible. But as the twenty-fifth of December drew ever closer, it became impossible for Helena to refrain from imagining all kinds of terrible situations – some involving Joseph never returning home again.

No! Helena refused to torture herself with such dreadful possibilities. Instead, she turned her thoughts back to what her father had just said – and started as she suddenly realised that she had completely overlooked one particular part of his reply.

"Miss Thorpe is arriving today?" she yelped, upsetting the porcelain butter dish with an agitated twitch of the elbow.

Lord Alverton regarded his daughter's hysterical outburst with a raised eyebrow.

"Indeed she is – I had thought we discussed the matter at quite some length, when she initially wrote accepting my invitation."

"But..." stuttered Helena incredulously, certain of some terrible misunderstanding. How could she have failed to recall such an important detail as their house guest's arrival date?

"There is nothing prepared!" squeaked Helena, on the verge of tears. "I had not thought she was due to arrive for another week, at least!"

"How peculiar," mused Lord Alverton. "It is not like you to overlook such a detail. Now that I consider it, I feel you have not been yourself of late. Is something troubling you, Helena?"

Oh, how Helena wished she could share the cause of her internal turmoil! Ever since she had realised the extent of her feelings for Joseph, it had been Helena's greatest wish to voice her predicament aloud. The thought of discussing such delicate matters with the formidable Earl, however, caused Helena to break out in cold sweat. Although she may not have been blessed with a mother's presence as she reached adulthood, Helena knew well enough that such matters of the heart were certainly not to be discussed with one's father, at any cost. And so, agonising though it was to ponder her feelings for Joseph alone, Helena had succeeded in keeping the matter to herself all this time.