Chapter 2

Everyone was anxiously awaiting the next assembly. A Miss Kelly Fernandez was to be in attendance, and it was rumoured that she would be bringing a large party with her.

Everyone that had, had the pleasure of meeting Miss Fernandez so far adored her. The gossip mill had nothing but gushing reports of the young, gorgeous, delightfully amiable woman that was going to be calling Netherfield home for the next year at least.

"Oh Mr. Bering, if I could see one of my children settled at Netherfield, I could die a happy woman." Her husband just glared at her over his glasses, once again annoyed that she was interrupting his book. Mrs. Bering saw his look and added, "And all the others being equally well married of course. Although I do hope she takes a liking to my Tracey. She is the most likely to take care of me if you should leave me on my own. Oh, imagine living out my days at Netherfield." Mr. Bering just grunted and turned the page in his book.

The day of the assembly came in a hurry and the Bering party arrived early to ensure they did not miss the newcomers. Unfortunately, all the other parties had the same idea, and the room was already nearly at capacity. It wouldn't have mattered in the end because there was no way you could have missed their arrival due to the hush that settled throughout the room at the first sight of them. There standing in the entryway to the hall was Miss Fernandez, her two brothers, the husband of the youngest brother, and another strikingly beautiful young woman that no one was expecting.

Miss Fernandez had an elegant, yet innocent beauty to recommend her. She smiled easily, was polite and displayed a calm mannerism. Her brothers appeared to be fine, well-breed young men upon first glance; they were well dressed and cordial. The brother-in-law, Liam, seemed to be able to blend in with any group and engage in conversation, but her friend Helena G. Wells was a mystery. She quickly drew the attention of almost every pair of eyes in the room, as many would agree she was the most beautiful woman they had ever seen. Her slender figure was showcased in a tight-fitting suit that accentuated her assets perfectly. She was tall, clearly of noble breeding and her cascading jet black hair complimented her milky white skin and plump red lips. The quickly generating rumour of her being worth at least ten thousand a year added to her intrigue.

Helena, for her part, could feel everyone's stares as she walked in and quickly became uncomfortable. She let out a sigh of disappointment. "This was going to be just like every other gathering she went to," she thought. "They were like sharks, smelling out her money."

"This was a mistake," she whispered to Kelly. "I should not have come."

"Nonsense, a little dancing is exactly what you need to get out of that melancholy mood you've been in since we arrived," said Kelly as she looked around at all of the people gathered in the room.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I will absolutely NOT be dancing," whispered Helena sharply.

"Your loss Helena," shrugged Kelly as she started to walk away. Helena was pulled out of her brooding by the sound of gentle, melodious laughter coming from the corner of the room. The back of a head of curly brown locks simply but beautifully pinned up caught her attention. She didn't even know what this woman looked like, but she found herself drawn to her. She felt like running over there and introducing herself. She even felt slightly irritated that this woman didn't seem to notice she was there at all. "Well, this is a new feeling, how curious," thought Helena.

Kelly wasted no time in making herself familiar with as many of the families in the room as possible. She had always been more comfortable in social situations then Helena was. While Kelly was gaining a reputation of being friendly and open, Helena was quickly becoming the least liked person in the room. She wasn't meaning to, but the more she ignored the attempts of others to engage her in conversation in order to catch the attention of the curly haired beauty, the more they began to see her as proud and arrogant. She danced only one dance each with Kelly's brothers, when she saw the curly haired woman accept a dance, but other than that she spent the evening sulking in the shadows. If her eyes constantly wandered to the curly haired brunette no one noticed, no one except Myka Bering and her best friend Claudia Donovan.

"Claudia, is it just me or does Miss Fernandez's friend keep staring at me?" She whispered to her friend after finishing her third dance.

"Nope, definitely not just you. I've noticed it too," she excitedly whispered back.

"How strange. I wonder why she doesn't just say hello?" asked Myka.

"I don't know. It's kind of creepy if you ask me," said Claudia with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Yes," she said barely above a whisper, but Myka couldn't help the slight blush that came over her as she caught those striking dark eyes on her again, or the warm feeling that settled in her abdomen. Before she had much time to consider her reaction to this mysterious stranger her thoughts were interrupted by a handsome young man she knew well.

"May I have the next Miss Myka?"

"Yes of course Mr. Donovan," said Myka with a laugh. "What kind of assembly would it be if we didn't share at least one dance dear Joshua."

Helena watched the handsome young man approach and ask her to dance. She frowned when she saw her smile at him when she accepted. She felt the jealousy boiling just under the surface and when she heard that beautiful laugh again she gasped at the delightful heat that rushed to her core and nearly fled the hall entirely, but before she could force her feet to move she felt a familiar hand squeeze her shoulder.

"Come H.G, your brooding is drawing far too much attention, you're embarrassing me. I must insist that you dance. I will be here for a while, I don't want to start on the wrong foot with the locals," said Kelly softening her tone. Helena scoffed.

"If you were so worried about embarrassment my dear you should have let me stay home. I didn't ask to be here," Helena said with a scowl.

"What, and leave you behind to drown yourself in your sorrows alone in a dark library. I think not! I dare say you've done enough of that recently," said Kelly trying to tease Helena into a lighter mood. Then there was that laugh again, and Helena sighed.

"If only I could dance with that intriguing young woman that has captured my attention so completely," she thought. Helena squared her shoulders and looked down to meet Kelly's eyes.

"You know how much I detest dancing unless I am particularly acquainted with those I am "engaging" with as you like to say. Both of your brother's and Liam are engaged elsewhere and there is no one else in the room whom I am sure it would not be a great punishment to endure."

"Whatever could you mean? I have not met so many pleasant people in one room in all my life! And to be honest many of them are much more handsome than I expected. It is quite a pleasant surprise. Wouldn't you agree Helena," said Kelly as her eyes lingered on the brunette she had watched Helena stare at all evening.

"Yes, I suppose you are right, " said Helena as she followed Kelly's look. The curly haired brunette was talking with the tall brown-haired gentleman that Kelly had just finished dancing with. She had to admit he was handsome despite his permanently goofy grin.

"Is this another friend of hers? Or perhaps a relative, they do have a striking resemblance in the eyes," she thought. She felt the undercurrent of hope rise within her. "Perhaps the gentleman she danced with earlier is a relation as well? Perhaps, she is not already spoken for and I have a chance!"

Helena watched her longingly for awhile, but when she turned and their eyes met Helena suddenly became terrified. "She makes my heart beat faster and my lungs struggle to bring in air and I don't even know her name," Helena screamed to herself as she shook her head. "This can't happen. I must focus on Christina and finding Sykes. I don't have the luxury or time to deal with my heart. This Ends now Helena," she whispered, and she forced herself to look away and meet Kelly's eyes again.

"Your new acquaintance seems charming," she said to Kelly trying to change the subject. She nodded towards the duo to indicate who she was talking about.

"Oh yes," said Kelly. "He is quite handsome and very chivalrous. He has a strange sense of humour though. He made several jokes while we danced and I didn't get a single one of them," she continued with a shrug. She looked up at Helena with a gentle smile while she watched her stare at Pete's sister, then she smirked.

"I believe he is speaking with his sister. Would you like me to ask him to introduce you?" asked Kelly knowingly. Helena looked down at her in shock, surprised at being caught. She quickly schooled her features and looked back at the duo.

"She would be a tolerable partner I suppose, but not beautiful enough to tempt me this night." At that moment Myka turned around and Helena could see the hurt and confusion in her eyes. "Oh god, she heard me!" Helena thought.

She tensed and coldly turned to Kelly. "You best go and enjoy your new friend's smiles, you are wasting your time on me." With that she turned and walked away, leaving Kelly to frown at her retreating form.

"Well, if there was a chance, there certainly isn't going to be one now," Helena sighed as she walked outside to get some air.

Myka watched her walk out of the hall. A part of her was deeply offended by this stranger's words, but deep down she knew there was something more there, that the words were meant to hide something else. She could see it in her eyes. They held so much darkness and pain, but longing and loneliness too. As much as she was offended a bigger part of her wanted to know what caused that pain, so she could help take it away. That surprised Myka, she usually wasn't quick to forgive. She should be outraged by the woman's behaviour this evening, not just for herself but for her friends that had felt slighted by her arrogance and pride. But for some reason she couldn't. She couldn't convince her heart to feel anything other than sympathy for the raven haired beauty that had stolen her breath away the moment their eyes had met.

The rest of the evening passed pleasantly for the Bering family. Myka spent the rest of the night talking and laughing with Claudia and Joshua as was her usual and tried to keep the striking stranger off her mind. Helena, that was her name, Pete had told her.

Mrs. Bering was thrilled that Miss Fernandez seemed to be spending so much time with Pete, they had danced at least four times which she boasted about to anyone that would listen. Leena had been praised for her accomplishments at the piano forte. While she didn't particularly like playing it gave her a great opportunity to watch people's auras and learn what she could of them. That was what she really liked doing. Abigail and Tracey had been lucky enough to have a partner for every dance, but that wasn't unusual for them. It had been a night well spent in Mrs. Bering's eyes. As she watched the others drift off to sleep in the carriage she let a small smile settle on her lips. Yes, it was a most successful evening indeed. She couldn't wait to tell Mr. Bering.