Helen was a maid. Nothing more. She may have once been an earl’s daughter, but her family had since lost that title. She was a commoner now. That’s right, and don’t you forget it. Helen repeated this like a mantra dozens of times.
She sensed a presence approaching and turned to look. “Oh, Candy. You’re home.”
The fluffy cat hopped on the bed, her fur tickling Helen’s cheek.
When Helen first took Candy in, the cat had been tiny enough to fit within Helen’s cupped palms. She’d grown so much. Normally, Candy returned to the room before Helen did, but not today. Candy seemed to find that odd. She was nudging her head against Helen. Helen sat up, put the present box aside, and lifted Candy into her arms. The feline purred happily.
Candy had beautiful snow-white fur and vivid orange eyes. She had become something of a mascot for the dormitory. During the day, she patrolled the grounds, taking naps wherever she deemed appropriate and receiving affection from whomever she encountered along the way. Helen wasn’t quite sure what Candy thought of her, but Candy would always return to Helen’s room by sunset. Helen’s roommate would often bury her face in Candy’s fluffy belly, which earned her a perturbed look from the cat.
While Helen gently massaged Candy’s face, which prompted her to purr even louder, the door swung open and Helen’s roommate plodded in.
“How are you feeling? Wait, what happened to your face?” asked the roommate.
Helen snatched up her hand mirror. She’d been flailing around on her bed, so her hair was a tangled, unkempt mess sticking up in all directions. She used her fingers to comb it down and at least make herself look more presentable. “To answer your first question, I’m fine.”
“You don’t exactly look fine.”
“Don’t I? I slept like a log. I’m worried whether I’ll be able to sleep tonight.”
Her roommate scrutinized her face. “If it’s not physical, I assume it’s mental. If it’ll make you feel better to talk about it, I’m all ears.” The woman approached, leaning her head toward the cat on Helen’s lap. Candy shot her an irritated look.
Maybe it would be better to voice it than to keep wrestling with it on my own.
It would be easier to define her own feelings if she could get someone else’s input. And so, she decided to spill her guts—without mentioning names or specifics, of course.
“Is this about that guy from the merchant family?” the roommate asked.
“No.”
“Aha, then the merchant’s son has a rival now! Whoever it is, I’ll bet they’re head over heels for you.”
Helen shook her head. “I very much doubt that.” She was only “special” to Virgil because of her connection with Claudia. She couldn’t say as much to her roommate, or it would be too obvious who she was talking about. It was frustrating not being able to share all the details.
“Well,” said the roommate, “how do you feel about this new guy?”
“Me?”
“You always refuse men outright, no matter what they say. If you’re waffling this much about it, then you obviously don’t dislike him. Right?”
“He’s a good person,” Helen acknowledged.
“If he asked you out on a date, would you say yes?”
“There’s no way he would ever ask me.”
“Hypothetically, then,” said the roommate. “Picture it. He casually invites you for tea. You prefer something more casual over a big to-do, right? Well, come on, close your eyes and imagine it.”
At her roommate’s prompting, Helen finally shut her eyes and imagined Virgil sitting at his desk, tackling a mountain of paperwork. He’d been so busy lately with the refugee crisis, which was probably why he looked like that in her mind’s eye.
He needs a break more than I do.
Despite everything he had on his plate, he had fussed over her—a mere maid!—and people in high society still had the audacity to call him the Ice Scion. The name didn’t fit him at all. He was so much like his sister. They were both noble souls, always prioritizing other people over themselves even when they were exhausted from their own toils. The more she let her mind wander, the further she strayed from the image her roommate had prompted her to picture.
“Well?” said her roommate.
Helen shook her head. “All that did was convince me now isn’t the time for such silliness.”
“Goodness, you are too work-focused! But I guess it’s not all bad. Life must be pretty good for you to have room to worry about things like romance.”
Upon delivering those wise words, the roommate set about burrowing her face in Candy’s fur.
Many men and women were married off by their families once they came of age. That didn’t only apply to the upper class either. From what Helen had heard, it was common in the provinces for parents to negotiate their children’s matches with family friends. Keeping close connections made everyone’s lives easier.
Helen recalled the lowest point of her life. If it had benefited her family, she would have married anyone. She hadn’t had the luxury of considering otherwise. The stress of their situation had been like a boulder, crushing her. She couldn’t see anything beyond the problems immediately in front of her. Claudia had saved her then, when she could find no other way forward. If not for Claudia, she wouldn’t have been able to consider her possibilities.
I know Lord Virgil didn’t mean anything by what he said. Helen had let his words disillusion her. I’m probably being so sensitive because I’ve started considering marriage.
After Elizabeth’s suggestion, Helen had found herself wanting to be Claudia’s nursemaid if they could make it work. Virgil had refused Brian’s invitation on her behalf, but Helen needed to give it serious consideration. She had to figure out where her heart was.
Unfortunately, she didn’t think she’d find the answer anytime soon.