Helena was embarrassed, not because of what was going on, that was normal and she was well aware of that. But because she hadn't been as vague as she wanted to be. Saying such a thing in her time would have left the men pleasantly clueless, or acting as such. Not here. Now everyone would know what she was talking about. And, goodness, she just wanted to curl up and bury her face into her pillows and DIE! It was also a mix of the tightening pain in her sides and stomach which threatened to turn her inside out soon if it didn't stop.
She hadn't been afflicted for long, she must have started bleeding at some point during the night, but it was not a heavy flow. Thankfully, she never had a very heavy flow. That didn't mean that there were not a few drops of blood on the bed and soaking through her undergarments.
Helena felt disgusting, but she didn't know what to do otherwise. In her time, the sheets would have been removed and the bed would have been covered in something more absorbent, like straw or something of the like and she would have been left to bleed, with no visitors. It was not appropriate for a girl to be seen in this state. And the things that females had to wear during this time were terribly uncomfortable, but it caught a majority of the flow.
"Oh, please tell me I will not have to be stuck here for a week with it." She couldn't bear the thought anymore. Even to her, being here for so long, the idea felt so old fashioned.