The Unaccomplished Lady Eleanor (27 page)

In stunned silence, t
hey
watched
the weapon quivering indignantly in the bark.  It was some moments later,
with
both of them
lying quite still, before Jam
es said, quite matter-of-factly,
‘
Well, Lady Eleanor.  It would appear that we are making quite a habit of rescuing one another.
’

Having received more compliments and praise from Ed and his pals on how clever she was – especially for a girl - Eleanor
returned to th
e manicured
picnic
grounds
accompanied by James
.  
She
was aware of several enquiring looks as they made their way back to their party: the edge of her crumbled gown dripping water around her ankles, and her hair, which Milly had gone to such lengths to arrange, now completely dishevelled and adorned with varying pieces of flora. 

The
d
owager
’s reaction to her goddaughter’s appearance was surprisingly restrained, undoubtedly due to the presence of three other stout persons squeezed onto the blanket.
  Aware
that it would not do at all to scold her go
ddaughter in front of her
prospective in-laws,
Lady Ormiston
had hastily rearranged her initial
expression
of
horro
r, into one of concern. 

‘
Ah
Eleanor, there you are.  And looking a little
… out of sorts
,
’
she
s
niffed, holding up her lorgnette and pursing her thin lips.  Then, attempting to
make light of the s
ituation,
‘
O
bviously you have been involved in some
mishap
.
Now do sit down here with the Graysons, my dear
,
and tell us all about it.
’

Eleanor had never
imagined
she would be so relieved to see Whitlock.
The moment they returned from the Stanningtons’ picnic, she
made her excuses and retired to her bedchamber without any supper.
For all her fatigue
,
however,
she could not sleep
, her head whirling wi
th the events of the day. 

Once news of the ‘mishap’ had spread, their party had been inundated with curious, gossip-seeking guests all eager to hear the details of the drama first-hand.

The Stanningtons, of course, had been appalled that some rogue poacher had dared to be hunting on their land and had come so close to injuring, or worse still, killing, one of their esteemed guests.
Eleanor had wondered, as Lady Stannington had
dramatically
da
bb
ed
her handkerchief to her eyes,
if the couple would have been quite so upset if the guest in question had not been quite so esteemed.

Then there was
Madeleine
,
who had appeared on the scene with all the theatre of a newly bereaved widow. 
Rather than adding to her praise, the Hungarian had
blamed
Eleanor, bemoaning the
fact that if
Eleanor
had not been
behaving
like a child in the water, then James would not have been on t
he river-
bank
in the first place
.
  

Never one to miss
a drama, Cynthia Carmichael had been one of the first tabbies on the scene, bustling over
with
her vinaigrette.   She had had, so she informed the
d
owager
, a fit of the vapours upon hearing how close the arrow had come to hitting poor James.  Felicity, tagging along behind her, had not spoken a single word but had regarded James with a strange look that Eleanor had been unable to decipher.  The glare she had
thrown
Eleanor
had been much easier to read: i
t had been one of unconcealed disdain. 

Another reaction
Eleanor had found difficult to assess was that of the Duke of Swinton.  As members of his party had passed by and exchanged a few words with James, the
duke and duchess had
remained on the periphery
,
the duchess
looking
thoroughly
shocked and the duke
looking
unmistakably … disappointed. 

Lady Ormiston, despite having had her own fit of the vapours when Madeleine had later informed her of Eleanor’s fishing spree, had had little choice but to support her goddaughter’s actions in front of the Graysons
.  Indeed
Lord Grayson,
from whom his son had obviousl
y inherited his unfortunate looks, had been most impressed with Eleanor’s quick thinking and nimble actions.

‘
Can’t be d
oing with these simpering
ninnies who do nothing but talk dresses and balls,
’
he had advocated.  
‘
Like a woman with spirit, so I do.
’
 

R
elief had spread over the
d
owager
’s face. 
‘
Oh, well, I can assure you, Lord Grayson,
’
she had replied with alacrity,
‘
that Lady Eleanor has
plenty
of that.
’

The young v
iscount had nodded his approval. 
‘
And not only that
,
but a fine
-
looking filly too, P
apa,
’
he’d leered. 

Eleanor, resentful of being talked of as though she were a horse, had been
about to protest
when she’d caught James staring at her with that same strange
– but increasingly familiar -
expression on his face. 
For a very brief moment, a
s
her eyes
had
fused with
his, everyone else had melted into the background and only the two of them
had
existed.  James had been the fir
st to avert his gaze leaving Eleanor
wondering if he,
too
, was aware of something very stran
ge happening between
them. 

THIRTEEN

T
he following morning, Eleanor
regaled the events of the picnic to Milly, adding in her own distinctive humour.  But, rather than drinking in every detail as was usually the case, Milly appeared to be paying scant attention. 

‘
Is something wrong, Milly?
’
Eleanor
asked concernedly, as the girl brushed her hair.    

‘
No,
miss
,’
Milly replie
d weakly.  ‘
Nothing to bother yourself with at any rate.
’

Eleanor swivelled around on her stool
to face her
. 
‘
But I
want
to bother myself. 
You are my only friend here and if something is
troubling you
, then I want to help.  Now tell me, what is it?
’

Milly regarded
her for
a
few seconds, chewing
her bottom lip. 
‘
It’s
rats, miss.’

Eleanor wrinkled her forehead. 
‘
Rats?
’

‘
Yes, miss.  And lots of  ’em.  House was full of  ’
em when I
visited
my ma yesterday.  Causing s
ome right bother
they are
.
’

‘
That I can
believe,
’
puffed
Eleanor. 
‘
I’ve seen first-hand the trouble
a load of
rats caused to poor Zach’s farm
last year.  Now tell me, Milly,
how does your mother plan to be rid of them?
’

Milly
shrugged her shoulders.
 
‘
Not much she can do, miss
. 
She’s put a few traps down but there’s so many of
’
em, the traps
don’t seem to be making
no
difference.  Reckon she’ll just have t
o wait ’
til they get fed up and move on.
’

‘
Bu
t we have to do something,’ gasped Eleanor.  ‘
We can’t let your family live with rats. 
I
will have a word with the farmer here. What’s he called again
? 
Mickey Humphreys
.
  I’m sure he’ll be able to get his hands on some rat poison.
’

‘
But that costs money, miss,
and my ma ain’t-
’

‘
Don’t you worry about that
. 
I owe you more than a few packets of rat poison for all the help you’ve given me with my dancing
-
a
nd for being such a good friend.
I will go and speak to Mickey this morning and see if he can
help us tomorrow.  W
e will most likely need everyone out of the house for the day so that Mickey can do his work and I know exactly what we will do. You said yesterday that you w
ould like
to go
to a picnic, Milly.
 
So, t
omorrow, if Mickey is willing, we shall have a picnic - in Paddy’s Meadow.  All you will have to do is to
bring your family to the m
eadow by noon and I shall arrange everything el
se.  What do you think, Milly?’

Milly
stared
at her mistress in genuine awe.  If only all toffs were as kind and caring as her, she though
t, then the world would be in
much better fettle.

It wa
s yet another beautiful day
with the sun already high in the cloudless sky. 
After breakfast, Eleanor determined to ride over
t
o the Humphreys’ farm to
discuss
the Maguires’ rat problem
with Mickey
.  She had thought him a decent sort at her godmother’s garden party and was almost sure he wouldn’t mind lending a hand.  Giles had informed her that Lady Ormiston had gone to Richmond and thankfully there was no dancing l
esson scheduled for that day
. 
Eleanor
had one of the grooms saddle up a chestnut mare
and, steadfastly refusing the man’s
offer
to
accompany her,
she
made her way to Mickey’s farm,
marvelling at
the
abundance of violets, bluebells, buttercups and daisies springing from the hedgerows
,
as she trotted along the quiet country lanes. 

Once they had recovered from the sh
ock of having such a ‘top-lofty
visitor
’
, Mickey Humphreys and his
pretty wife, Bella,
had made Eleano
r most welcome
, with
a slab of delicious
fruit cake and a dish of
tea. 
Mickey,
honoured that Eleanor had thought to turn to him with
her
problem, was only too delighted to h
elp and had promised
to be at the Maguires’ house first thing the following morning,
complete
with rat poison and as many traps as he could muster.

Almost two hours later, reluctantly taking he
r leave of the Humphreys’ cosy
cottage
,
Eleanor
was
in
no mood to return to the
intimidating, ghostly walls of
Whitlock.  S
he decided
instead
to make the most of the glorious day
.  She
trotted her horse along a maze of lanes until she was
surrounded
by a patchwork of multi-coloured fields.  She had had little
opportunity
to ride during her stay at the c
astle, Lady Ormiston being of the opinion that it was quite unbecoming for young ladies to sit in a saddle.  As Eleanor kicked the horse to a gallop and the two of them flew effortlessly over hedgerows, streams and fences, she forgot all about her problems
, aware only of the
countryside flashing by
,
the br
eeze whistling through her hair,
and the large
powerful be
ast beneath her.  W
hen they eventually reached a wide track flanked on either side by fences, she slowed the horse to a trot and found that they were both pa
nting with
exhilaration. 

The incongruous sound of slow, mocking applaus
e caused Eleanor’s heart to skip
a beat.
She
swung the horse around and found herself
face-to-face with James and
Derek Lovell, both also
on horseback. 

‘
Thank you
, Lady Eleanor,
’
sneered
Lovell,
‘
for that firs
t
-
class demonstrati
on of yet another of your alternative
accomplishments
.
’

‘
I had no idea that I had an audience, sir
,
’
snapped back Eleanor truthfully.

Lovell raised a sceptical eyebrow.
 
‘
Oh really?
  T
hen we are not correct in thinking you were hoping to impress us?
’

I
ndignation
pulsed through
Eleanor. 
‘
Impress you?
 
W
hy on earth would I wish to do that,
sir
?
’

Lovell tittered
derisively. 
‘
F
or the same reasons
,
madam, any lady wishes to impress a gentleman.
’

Eleanor tried desperately to quell the colour rising in her cheeks. 
‘
Perhaps,
’
she replied bluntly,
‘
if there were any gentlemen here, then your point may have some credence.  Now
,
if you will e
xcuse me, I must return to the c
astle.
I have a great deal to do today.
’

As Lovell
made some acerbic comment regarding her pianoforte playing, James remained silent
, staring at her
in that same discomfiting manner he had demonstrated of late.

Seething at the arrogance of the pair,
Eleanor
wheeled her horse around and with her head held hi
gh, set off at a brisk
trot
down the lane.

She had only gone a little way when James call
ed
after her. 
‘
Oh, Lady Eleanor
,
  I think you will find that the c
astle is in the opposite direction.
’

Eleanor pulled the horse to a halt, silently cursing herself.  She had been in such a rush to distance herself from the pair that she hadn’t given a thought as to the correct way back to Whitlock. 

Steeling herself for their reaction, she swung the
beast
around to face the two men.  James was doing his best to conceal his amusement although his twitching lips and sparkling eyes betrayed the earnest expression he was affecting.  Lovell
,
on the other hand, was laughing so hard he was almost doubled up.

Reluctantly, Eleanor
trotted the horse
over to
them.  Looking James defiantly i
n the eyes, she said,
‘
I
am well aware of that fact
.  However, I thought I would partake of a little more fresh air and ride out a while longer.
’

James affected an understanding
countenance and nodded his head
. 
‘
I see
.  T
hen forgive me for interfering, Lady Eleanor.  You had
,
however
,
given me the impression that you had much to do today and that it was a matter of some i
mport that you returned to the c
astle immediately.
’

Eleanor tossed her head.
‘
Well
,
of course I have a great deal to do, sir.  However
,
one should always
make
time in the day for recreation.
’

This remark caused another snort of laughter from Derek Lovell.
Eleanor shot him a baleful glare.

‘
Oh, I could not agree more, Lady Eleanor,
’
replied
James solemnly,
‘
as
,
I am sure
,
will my
a
unt.  She is, I take it, aware that you are galloping wildly around the countryside without the accompaniment of a groom?
’

Eleanor’s heart sank.  Damn the man.  D
amn him to hell.
He
knew
fine well what the
d
owager
’s opinion on such conduct would be. 

His lips were twitching furiously as she regarded him once more. 

‘
My g
odmother was not present when I
left the house
, sir.  I was therefore unable to inform her of my plans.
’

‘
I see
.  Th
en I think it best that you allow
us
to accompany you back to the c
astle.  There are, as you are no doubt aware, Lady Eleanor, numerous unmentionable mishaps which could befall a young lady out riding alone.
’

It wasn’t only Eleanor who resented this unwelcome invitation but, by the sudden sobering of Derek
Lovell
, he
,
too
,
had no wish for her to join them. 
‘
Oh, come on,
Prestonville
,
’
he
moaned
. 
‘
Let her go on.  The last thing we need is some chit tagging along behind us.
’