The Unaccomplished Lady Eleanor (14 page)

‘
Perhaps I would
,
’
replied James
, impatience
now colouring
his tone
. 
‘
B
ut I can assure you I have no such reason.
’

‘
At the moment,
’
remarked Felicity matter-of-factly. 
‘
However, you might
change your mind if you discussed the advantages of marriage with someone who is already engaged in the institution.  Some
one like
… the Duke of Swinton.
’

‘
The Duke of Swin-?
What on earth-
?
’
  stammered
an
obviously bewildered James.

‘
Is the
d
uke aware
, I wonder,
that his wife is playing him false?
’
enquired
Felicity
innocently.

James quickly regained his composure. 
‘I
have no idea wh
at you are talking about,
madam.’

‘
Oh, but I think you do
. 
Does not the address 24 Wimpole Street mean anything to you?
’

James gasped loudly. 
‘
How on earth do you-
?
’

‘
Oh, I have my ways,’ tittered Felicity
. 
‘One can glean a
host of information from servants
and drivers
, shoul
d one be prepared to pay
for it. 
Information s
uch as
what happens in your little love-nest
in Wimpole Street whenever the d
uke
heads off
to his club –
which, I believe
,
he does quite
spontaneously
, r
esulting in a
hastily delivered
note
to yourself,
informi
ng you of the d
uchess’s
… availability
.
’

‘
Why you little-
’

‘
Oh, do not misunderstand me, sir,
’
she continued serenely. 
‘
I would be quite happy for you to continue your …
liaison
, should you comply with my wishes.  However, should you
see fit
not to, then I
think it is only fair tha
t the duke is made aware of the
duplicitous nature of his spouse.
’

James’s voice now took on a dark edge. 
‘
Are you telling me, madam, that unless I offer you marriage, you will info
rm the Duke of Swinton of my –
?
’

‘
Indeed I am, sir
.  A
nd I hear the man
is a first
-
class shot. 
H
e was
, I believe,
awarded a medal for bravery in the battle of Vittoria.
’

‘
Good
l
ord,
’
hiss
ed
James
. 
‘
I always had you down as
a cold fish
, Miss Carmichael,
but I never imagined you could be so … so-
’

‘
I think
calculating
is the word you are looking for, sir.
’

‘
That, I can assure you, is only one of many, madam.
’

‘
Of course
,
there is no need to rush your decision,
’
informed Felicity brightly. 
‘
Please do take a little time to consider my proposal.
’

James’s voice
reverberated with anger. 
‘
I
do not need a single
second to consider it, madam
. 
You
may
play your
little
games
, but I will have no part in them
. 
I would not marry you if you wer
e the last woman on earth.  And
do not flatter yourself t
hat you are the only one with
a calculating mind
, Miss Carmichael
.
Should I wish
to
,
I could spread
a
rumour
about you that would ruin you
forever.
’

‘
You wouldn’t dare.’

‘
Wouldn’t I? 
I think perhaps you underestimate me, madam.
’

Eleanor heard the crunching of feet on gravel.  James was evidently taking his leave of
Felicity.  She shivered as she heard Felicity hissing to his retreatin
g back, her
tone dripping with loathing
,
‘
And I think, perhaps,
you
underestimate
me
, sir
.
’

Eleanor
’s head was spinning.  She
could not
believe what she had just heard.  Felicity Carmichael had attempted to blackmail James into marrying her.  She had disliked the girl the instant she had made her acquaintance
,
but she never
would have dreamed she was so-

Her
musings were cut short as she became aware of footsteps walking around the corner towards her,
accompanied by a series of
shocking imprecations.  Before she
had a chance to move, Felicity
Carmichael
was standing
before her.

Desperately attempting to
re
arrange her
countenance
from one of pure horror into something resembling normal, Eleanor tried to speak, but no words were forthcoming.  It was too late anyway.  Felicity’s ugly features twisted into an
evil
expression
, before she turned
on her heel and marched back from whence she had come.

SIX

‘
A
re you sickening for something, miss?  You’re not yourself and you’re awful pale.
’

Eleanor glanced at her reflection as Milly pinned up her hair the following day.  She had contemplated telling Milly about what she’d overheard yesterday
,
but decided against it.  She had also contemp
lated talking to James,
bu
t thought that would probably be pointless
.   Besi
des, he
’d probably have
sniggered about it with the odious Mr Lovell
by now
and brushed the whole thing off
.  Despite being unable to
wipe the evil pa
rting look Felicity had
given her from her mind
, she tried convincing herself that she was readi
ng too much into the matter
.  The best thing she could do was f
orget the entire incident.  After
all,
James
’s
vehement refus
al of Felicity’s request
shou
ld ha
ve put an end to it
.   

She smiled weakly at Milly’s concerned face. 
‘
No, I’m fine, Milly
,
honestly.  I just di
dn’t sleep very well
.
’

Eleanor found the d
owager
already at the
breakfast
table,
engrossed in the contents of a letter she was reading.  Her dark eyes
grew
narrower and the
furrows
on her f
orehead deeper, as she evidently
tried to make sense of the script.

‘
Hmph,
’
she huffed
at leng
th, folding up the letter
and slipping it back in
to
its envelope
b
efore booming out
,
‘
Stevens!
’
 

‘
Yes, your g
race?
’
muttered the footman
, appearing
alongside her. 

‘
We are to receive another visitor today
. 
See to it that the lilac room at the end of Lady Eleanor’s corridor is made up immediately.
’

‘Another visitor, ma’am?  May I ask who?’ enquired Eleanor, as the footman took his leave of the room

‘
Indeed you may, Eleanor
. 
It is a young widow from Hungary, who is keen to participate in the Season here. 
She is a
protégée
of a very old friend of mine, who, I confess, I have not heard from for quite some time.
’

Ele
anor widened her eyes
. 
‘
A young widow
?  Do you have any idea of her age?
’

‘
One can assume that she
is a little older than you
, Eleanor. 
Although
hopefully she is a little less …
hard work
,
’
replied the
d
owager
, through pursed lips. 

Despite her godmother’s disparaging comment, E
leanor’s spirits soared
.  It would be fun to have another young lady in the house
.  And she would no
longer be out
numbered by James and Derek
Lo
vell.  Yes, the news regarding their new guest
had cheered up Eleanor considerably.

Just at that mome
nt, James entered the breakfast-
room.  Eleanor h
ad not set eyes on him since his
conversa
tion with Felicity yesterday. 
Feigning a great dea
l of interest in the
slice of toast she was buttering, Eleanor mumbled a good morning.  She wondered how he was feeling
;
whether he
, too,
had had
a fitful
night’s sleep
. 
She didn’t have long to wait
to find out
, in
fact only as long as it took him to sit down and reach for the sliver coffee pot
.

‘
Well, Aunt,
’
he
began
,
‘
I think congratulations
are
in order.  That was one of the best garden parties ever.
’

Eleanor’s eyebrows shot to her forehead. 
How could he sound so …
chirpy?  She sneaked a look at him.  He looked fine: quite normal in fact in his spotless riding att
ire.  Evidently his
conversation with Felicity had not affected him at all.

At her nephew’s praise, the
d
owager
’s severe expression melted slightly. 
‘
Well, if I do say so myself, James, it did
go
rather
well thanks
,
in no small part
,
to you playing the p
erfect host.  All those
young chits
were
eating out of your hand.
’

Ja
mes smiled and rolled his eyes
. 
‘
It was all I could do
to shake some of them off
.
’

‘
Indeed,
’
chuckled the dowag
er
.  ‘W
ell
,
do not permit Cynthia Carmichael to hear you say suc
h a thing.  That
woman will never tire in her efforts to marry you off to the ghastly Felicity.
’

At the mention of Felicity, Eleanor held
her breath
and raised her eyes to James.  She
observed how his jaw muscles tensed for a few seconds, befo
re
he resumed his
usual relaxed countenance. 

‘
I
n that case
,
my dear Aunt,
’
he smiled, ‘
I’m afraid
Cynthia Carmichael will soon be one very exhausted woman.
’

A peremptory knock at the door signalled the arrival of Giles. 
‘
Begging your pardon, your g
race,
’
he said
,
on entering the room and bowing stiffly,
‘
but there is a
… a
…
man
at the door with
…
something
for Lady Eleanor.
’

Eleanor’s toast stopped mid-way to her mouth
. 

‘
What
man
and what
something
, Giles?
’
snapped the
d
owager
.

‘
The farmer, Mickey Hump
hreys, your grace.  With several
…
dead rabbits
.’

Eleanor’s heart sank
.  Mickey had evidently brought over her p
rize from the archery competition.  With the awful business with Felicity, she had completely forgotten about
it
.  Now
James had an
ideal opportunity to inform the
d
owager
of what
would
undoubtedly be classed as Eleano
r’s ‘shockingly unbecoming behaviour’ a
n
d she would receive the biggest scolding of her life. 

The
d
owager
’s
enquiring gaze came to rest on her
goddaughter. 
‘
And what, may I ask, would Mickey Humphreys be doing here with dead rabbits, Eleanor?
’

Eleanor flushed guiltily. 
‘
I,
er-
’

‘
T
hey are to be distributed between the farmhouses, Aunt,
’
cut in James. 
‘
Two men were poaching in the woods yesterday
. 
Mickey caught them
and
Lady Eleanor instructed him to share the bounty between the various farmhouses.
’
 

The dowager’s dark eyes narrowed. 
‘
Did she indeed?
 
So, why, in that case, is Mr Humphreys
bringing the rabbits here
, pray
?
’

‘
I, um,
have no-
’
stammered Eleanor,
growing increasingly uncomfortable
under h
er godmother’s scrutiny
.

‘
T
he man has obviously forgotten his instructions,
’
piped up James.
‘
Please remind him, Giles, that the rabbits are to
be
distributed between the houses on the estate.
’

‘
Very well, my lord,
’
replied
Giles, bowing his head and exit
ing the room. 

Ja
mes shook his head in exasperation
. 
‘
Damned farmers
. 
Can’t remember where they live sometimes
.  A
lthough
,
having seen some of their wives, perhaps that is merely wishful thinking.
’

Relief coursing through her,
E
leanor failed to suppress a
snort of laughter.

‘
Really, Eleanor,
’
tutt
ed the
d
owager
,
‘
it does not do for young ladies to snort like a farmya
rd animal.  Indeed, it is most-
’

‘
-
un
becoming
,
’
cho
rused Eleanor and James
together, be
fore collapsing into
fits of
hysterical laughter.

The
d
owager
’s pursed lips and stern expression showed that she was not impressed with their uncouth behaviour.
 
‘
I do wish, Eleanor, that you would take matters regarding your conduct a little more seriously.  H
eaven only knows how we will ever find a
man who c
an cope with you.  Now, girl
, you are aware, are you not
,
that we have a number of social occasions to attend next week?
’

Eleanor attempted a serious tone. 
‘
Y
es, Godmother.
’

‘
And have you, dare I ask, given any thought to what you are to wear to these occasions?
’

Focussing on her toast, Eleanor attempted to quell the
bubble of laughter s
welling in her
stomach. 
But, at a roar
of laughter from James, she could hold it back no longer.

‘
I’m
afraid I have not, Godmother,
’
she blu
rted out, tears of laughter rolling
down her cheeks. 
‘
I haven’t given it any
thought
at all
.
’

James was now laughing so hard that he had pushed back his chair from the table and was almost doubled up. 

The
d
owager
cast them both a
n exasperated look
.  ‘The
n it is just as well that one of us has the foresight to think of such matters.  You will accompany me to London today, Eleanor
, where we shall buy you
a new gown.  We will leave at eleven o
’
clock sharp.
’

This
announcement resulted in
yet more hysterics, until Giles, obviously unimpressed at so much activity in
one morning, appeared once again in the doorway. 
‘
Excuse me, my lord,
but a note has been delivered for you. The messenger informed me that it requires your urgent attention.
’