The Unaccomplished Lady Eleanor (25 page)

When the carriage eventually pulled up outside its destination, Eleanor
wasted not a moment jumping out
.  Stannington Hal
l
, she discovered,
was a fashionable mansion house
built by the present
e
arl’s father.  The
long
drive open
ed into
a large unattractive but prac
tical gravelled area
at the front of the house
.  
T
he most impressive scenes were at the
rear of the building,
where
one could see nothing but
undulating
countryside and a wide flowing river
.  It was England
at its most perfect
– and put
Eleanor
imme
diately in mind of Merryoaks,
as a
pang of homesickness
washed over her
. 

It was a little after mid
day but
,
judging by the large number of people milling around, it appeared that E
leanor and her party were among
the last to arrive. The grounds we
re dotted with colourful
rugs
, and guests
dressed in
l
ight summer colours were swarming around, revelling in the beautiful setting and the glorious weather.  The
d
owager
was hovering
at the front of the building impatiently awaiting their arrival and, for once, Eleanor
was
relieved to see her.
Her relief
was short-lived
.  As the first words
boomed from the old lady’s
mouth, Eleanor’s spirits immediately reverted back to their previous gloomy state.

‘
El
eanor, do hurry up, girl.  The v
iscount is here with Lord and Lady Grayson. They are most keen to meet you, although goodness knows where they’ve wandered off to now.
I do declare the Stanningtons’ grounds are so large they are the very height of ostentation.
’

Before Eleanor had a chance to speak, James
forestalled her
. 
‘
You
don’t mind if I walk
with you, Aunt
,
wh
ile you seek out the Graysons? 
I feel the
need to stretch my legs
after the carriage ride.
’
Then, directing his next comment to
Lovell and
Madeleine who were standing alongside him
,
‘
Madeleine why don’t you and Lovell go and
collect
our picnic hamper
and find a good spot
?
I shall join you shortly.
’

At this ill-concealed dismissal,
Madeleine pouted petulantly. 
‘
Hmph
. 
Very well, James
,
but do not be
too
long.
I shall be waiting for you.
’

James regarded her darkly for a moment befo
re t
urning his attention to the dowager
.  
‘
Come along then, Aunt. 
I thought you were keen to find the Graysons and they may take some finding amongst this crowd.
’

The
d
owager
marched purposefully ahead
of them
, putting Eleanor in mind of a
bloodhound
sniffing out
a scent
.  She wondered about voicing this opinion to James, but he appeared in such bad spirits again today,
that
she wiped the idea from her mind.
Bad spirits
or not, however,
Eleanor
found
something paradoxically comforting and unse
ttling walking alongside him
.  Comforting, in that his person - tall,
strong and overwhelmingly masculine
–
made her f
eel safe and protected.  On the other hand
,
being so close to him again
brought back memories of the Carmichael
s
’
ball and their kiss.  Not that she wanted to repeat such a thing.  Heaven forbid. 
Although
she had to admit, it had been rather pleas–

‘
I feel I must apologiz
e to you, madam,
’
declared James
,
interrupt
ing Eleanor’s musings.

Eleanor’s heart stopped for a second
. 
Oh
gracious
.
Had he sensed what she was thinking?  Was he about to apologi
z
e for kissing her?  If he did, then wha
t on earth should she say in reply
? 
Colour flooded her
cheeks.

‘
About
,
er
,
what, my lord?
’
she stammered, not daring to look at him
,
but focussing on a section of the lawn several feet in front of her as they c
ontinued
walking.

‘
My friend’s behaviour
.
I’m afraid Lovell can
be most
…
in
considerate
at times
.  H
is conversation in the carriage this
morning was not fit for a
lady’s ears.
’

Eleanor
releas
ed a sigh of relief. 
‘
Thank you for the apology
,
’
she said politely,
‘
however it is quite unnece
ssary.
If anyone should apologiz
e for his unseemly behaviour, it should be Mr Lovell himself.
’

James
appeared on the verge of replying, but obviously
changed his mind
. 
They
continued
walking in silence with the
d
owager
, still attempting to sniff out the Graysons, some way ah
ead
.  Their lack of conversation did not help Eleanor’s nerves and she
was grateful when someone ha
iled
James and he made his excuses and took his leave of her. 

Not only was Eleanor grateful to the person who had rid her of James’s overwhelming presence, but she was also much indebted to Lord and Lady Stannington
- firstly
for the extent of their estate
,
and
secondly
that they had invited so many guests to fill it. 
T
he grounds were so vast and
bustling
that not even the
d
owager
was able to locate the Graysons.  Under the heat of the unrelenting sun, Lady Ormiston eventually admitted defeat and concluded that they should partake of some refreshment and resume
their search a little later. 
Eleanor had needed
no further persuading. 

Eventually locating their own party, they
found Madeleine and Lovell
had opted to picnic on the edge of the crowd, in the shade of a
group
of oak trees.  James was also present, having obviously spent as little time as was socially acceptable with the
young ma
n who had hailed him earlier.  Madeleine was sitting on the outspread picnic blank
et,
propped up
against
a tree trunk
.  She
held
a glass of champagne in
one hand
and brush
ed
away a persistent fly with the other.  She flashed the
d
owager
a welcoming smile and, as usual, completely ignored Eleanor.  Having removed his jacket and rolled up his shirtsleeves, James
lay
on his back
alongside her
,
his eyes closed.  He made no acknowledgement of their return.  In contrast to the relaxed
atmosphere,
Derek Lovell appeared
un
able to settle.  Eleanor concluded that, without the thrill of cards or dice to amuse him, the man was probably bored stiff.  Huffing and
puffing and pacing
about like
a
caged animal, he suddenly announced that he was going for a stroll.  No objections to this statement were forthcoming. 

‘
I
think
,
’
began
James
,
once Lovell had left,
‘
that I will spend the entire afternoon lying
here.  I have no wish to engage in conversation with anyone today.
’

‘
Now James,
’
tutte
d the
d
owager
,
as she rummaged
in the wicker hamper,
‘
do not be so grumpy.  You know
very
well that I require your help in finding a husband for Eleanor.
’

James
jerked
upright. 
‘
Ah yes. 
And how were the Graysons, Aunt?
’

The
d
owager
produced a
champagne flute from the hamper. 
‘
Alas, we were unable to find them
.  But I am sure they
will seek us out at some point.
’

‘
Oh, I
’m sure they will
,
’
agreed Lady Madeleine. 
‘
They are undoubtedly
most excited that someone has
shown an interest in the v
iscount.
He is not, after all, the most
outwardly
pleasing
young
man.
’

A bolt of anger pierced
Eleanor. 
‘
Looks can be deceiving, Lady Madeleine
. 
S
ome of the most beautiful people can also be the most odious.
’

Madeleine smiled beatifically. 
‘
I am sure you are right,
dear,
’
she said, condesce
nsion hanging off
every word.

James
,
meanwhile, said nothing.  Instead, his smile disappeared and he shot Eleanor a questioning glance before resuming his horizontal position. 

Not only had the Stanningtons provided a marvellous setting for their guests, but they had also furnish
ed
them
with a hamper o
f tempting treats.  A
ccompanying the champagne was a delicious array of
sandwiches, sweetmeats, patties and cake.  Eleanor was awa
re of
Madeleine watching her as she
savoured a salmon sandwich
. 

‘
Are you aware, Lady Eleanor,
that after the age of eighteen, it is most important
that
a young lady observe
s
what she eats.
’

Eleanor smile
d beatifically
. 
‘
Oh
,
indeed I am, Lady Madeleine,
and I can assure you that I observed this particular sandwich for a full ten minutes before
selecting it
.
’

From his prone position, James
snort
ed with
laughter. 
Madeleine, evidently not amused, shook her head disparagingly.

Much to
the Hungarian
’s disgust, Eleanor had partaken of two more
s
andwiches an
d had even forced down a
large sl
ice of Savoy cake,
purely for the pleasure of
watchi
ng Madeleine’
s perfect face contort in
disgust
. 
These amusements over, though, Eleanor was bored.
James
was
still dozing
; t
he d
owager
,
having finished off t
he champagne, also appeared to be
nodding off
; and M
adeleine
was
preoccupied in
the construction of a
daisy chain
.
Eleanor
decided to
escape for a while.  The homesickness, which had enveloped her earlier,
continued
to linger. 
Along with her home and her friends, she
missed the peace, tranquillity and
,
above all,
the freedom of the countryside
.
Here in London
,
constantly
surrounded
by people, it
was p
ositively claustrophobic.