A Home for Helena (The Lady P Chronicles Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

can stay here at the Centre for a day or two, but we’ve new girls coming next week and will need the room.” The director cleared her voice. “Helena, I’m afraid we won’t be able to place you anywhere in London, at least not until the Earskines cool down. They have too much pull in this city. What do you think of the north of England, or perhaps even the continent?”
    Helena blew out a long breath of air. “I don’t know. We’ll discuss it later. But I’ll need my clothes and other stuff.” Her portrait, for one. She couldn't allow Lucille Earskine to toss it out with the garbage.
    “I’ll send someone over to collect them for you. In the meantime, Helena—” her voice softened— “try to relax. You aren’t the first woman to be victimized by a filthy rich philanderer. Do you have any family or friends you could spend some time with?”
    Not really. Her adoptive mother was gone, she’d lost touch with her high school and college friends—not that she’d been all that close to any of them. Always the loner. She’d met a few people during her travels—even dated a few times—but none of them had ever clicked. She supposed she should be looking out for a serious relationship, like just about every twenty-seven-year-old she’d ever heard of, but she couldn’t really work up any enthusiasm for it. The truth was that she didn’t really know what she wanted, and until she did, she wasn’t willing to screw up someone else’s life while she figured it out.
    “I can always go to Disney,” she quipped. Might as well inject a bit of humor into the conversation.
    “Disney?” The director’s voice sounded baffled.
    Helena’s giggle had only a touch of hysteria. “Just kidding. It’s an American thing.”
    In any case, she didn’t have the funds for a hotel, let alone a vacation. The story of her life. One adventure after another. Helena’s Excellent Adventure. No doubt someday she'd be laughing about it with her grandchildren… if she ever had any, that is. An intense longing for a home and family came over her, and she choked back a sob.
    "I have some applications in for positions in my field," she assured the agency director. "I'll check back with them and see how things are progressing. In the meantime, if I could stay at the Centre for a day or two, that would be awesome."
    She clicked off the mobile phone just as a loud clap of thunder reverberated above her. Before she knew it, her hair and clothes were drenched and she was shivering uncontrollably.
    Shelter. Coffee. Food. In that order. And then perhaps the world wouldn’t seem so dismal.
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    H elena chose a table in the back of the sandwich shop to sit down at for her meal. Still reeling from the shock of her confrontation with the Earskines, she wanted to curl up in a ball and hide from the world. But even at three in the afternoon, cheap eateries in central London ran at a fast pace, especially in summer when droves of tourists spilled into the city. Helena huddled in her seat avoiding eye-contact while she picked at her turkey-bacon-mustard sandwich and slowly sipped her diet soda. For the most part, people respected her silent plea for privacy; they were too busy chattering with their companions to notice her, which suited her just fine. She was just too discouraged to interact with anyone.
    "Do you mind if I sit here?"
    Helena looked up in surprise to find an oddly-dressed woman standing in front of her, a hand on the table. She was tall with a solid figure and wore a flowing crimson caftan and a bright red headscarf. Her black hair was liberally streaked with gray, and her dusky face was slightly wrinkled.
    Helena pointed her head toward the vacant tables nearby. "There are other tables." It wasn't like her to be rude, but this wasn't any ordinary day.
    "No, it isn't," agreed the woman.
    Helena's eyes widened. Had she said that aloud?
    "No, you didn't," the other woman said as she pulled out the chair opposite Helena and seated