The Unaccomplished Lady Eleanor (29 page)

An hour later, with everyone awake,
Ed
suggested
they
s
plit into two teams and play another game of rounders.  Various items of clothing
were placed around the meadow marking out
six bases.  Eleanor was the third
person to
take her turn with the
bat.  She
took up
her position
and waited for
Ed to throw the ball
.  As it flew t
owards her, she pulled
back
the bat and
, as
hard as she c
ould,
belted the ball out into the field.

‘
OW!
’
came an almighty screech.

All
the Maguires and Eleanor stared wide-eyed as James Prestonville slowly approached them from the bottom of the meadow.  He was wearing brown riding breeches and a white shirt which, due to the heat of the day, was unbuttoned at the neck
with
the sleeves rolled up to his elbow.  Leading his horse
by the
reins
, he rubbed a spot on the
side of his head
with his free hand
. 
Noting the
foreboding way in which he was regarding her, Eleanor quailed inwardly.
 
She was sorry that the ball had hit him of course, but
,
damn him
,
why did
he have to be out riding today?
  He was now about to spoil what had so far been a perfect afternoon. 

The full complement of Maguire
eyes
were al
so staring at James, but,
one by one, as he approached her, they turned
t
o regard Eleanor.  For the first time in a very long while, Elea
nor could imagine, every member of
th
e Maguire family was
silent. 

A
s if
unaware of his audience
, James strode
towards Eleanor,
his eyes glued to hers. 
As he came to a halt directly before her,
her
heart thundered
and all the air seemed to rush from her lungs
.
  His expression was stony as he regarded her with that same unfathomable expression she had witnessed regularly of late. 

He slid a hand into his pocket
and retrieved the ball
.  He held it out to her.  Eleanor gulped.  At
a loss as to what to say,
she
took it from him and muttered her thanks. 

‘
I’
m glad to see that you have recovered from your accident yesterday, Lady Eleanor,
’
he said
,
in the same intimate tone
he had used before their kiss
at the
Carmichaels’
ball. 

As the memory
of that kiss
slammed into her head
,
Eleanor
’s stomach somersaulted and a
flush r
ose
in her cheeks. 
‘
Thank you,’ she muttered.  ‘
I am quite well
today
.
’

With his eyes still fixed on hers, Ja
mes nodded his head. 
Eleanor gulped under the heat of his gaze. 
He was so close to her that she could smell the light fragrance of his soap, intermingled with his own masculine scent.  Her
head
began to swim
and
her lips to tingle. 
  

It was
five
-year-old Tom, the youngest of the Maguires, who eventually broke the silence.
‘
Here, sir,
will you be in my team?
’

James
’s eyebrows shot to his hairline.  He whipped around to
face
the boy
who was
o
blivious to the reprimanding
glare
s of his older siblings
, all of whom were in complete and utter awe of the man
. 
‘
We could do with a good bowler, sir,
’
continued the child innocently. 
‘
We’re losing and our Ed is rubbish
.
’

‘
Really
?
’
aske
d James
solemnly
. 

There
followed
a brief hiatus when nobody dared move, then James suddenly strode over to a tree
,
tethered
up
his horse
and returned to the group
. 
‘
Well then,
’
he sa
id,
‘
if you’re losing, young man, then we had better see what we can do to rectify that situation.  Now
,
who is up next?
’

Eleanor could not recall
ever
seeing James
so relaxed. 
When not
laughing at her unbecoming antics,
he generally
had a concerned
air
about him: tired and troubled - like a man with a deal of worries on his shoulders.  But the
n that was hardly surprising
.  W
ith the combination of the ‘title business’
,
Felicity
Carmichael
’s threats
,
and the uncertainty of the Duke of Swinton’s actions following the discovery of his wife’s affair
,
James Prestonville did indeed have a great
many
troubles at the moment. 

With the
game
of rounders finished, they returned to the picnic blankets and finished off what was left of the food. 

‘
Well, I must say,’
remarke
d James, ‘t
hat is
the most delicious apple pie I have ever tasted.  My compliments,
Mrs Maguire.
’

‘
Oh, I didn’t make it
, sir,
’
chuckled Mrs Maguire, who was sitting alongside him. 
‘
Lady Eleanor baked it - fresh this morning - and with her own fair hands.  She ain’t half a one that girl.
’

‘Yes,’ murmured
James
pensively, watching
Eleanor
run ar
ound the field with
Tom on her shoulders. 
‘
She is a one indeed.
’

Some hours later, as evening – and the younger Maguires – began to fall, the group was disbanded and everyone headed home.

‘
I do hope all the
rats have gone
, Mrs Maguire,
’
said Eleanor, as they bid their farewells.

‘
Oh, whether they have or not, miss,
’
replied the older woman,
‘
we
’ve
all
had
a wonderful day
. 
We can’t thank you enough,
really we can’t.
’

T
hen, with tears in her eyes, she
pulled Eleanor to her and embraced her tightly.  

Eleanor had instructed Milly to take the gig back to the Maguires’ house in order that she could transport the younger children
, who were now fit to drop,
and the remainder of the food.  This meant, she had noted nervously
after she had waved them all off
, t
hat only she a
nd James were to return to the c
astle. 
They walked along the country lanes in silence, James leadi
ng his horse by the reins. 
The air was still warm, scented with the sweet smell of pollen
.  Alone with James
, Eleanor
found herself
experiencing a bewildering mixt
ure of emotions: anticipation and excitement, but, above all, an overwhelming sense of longing.  Her
eyes
insisted
on straying
t
o the strong, masculine hand that was clutching the horse’s rein.  The thought of the same hand touching her
resulted in a strange swirling sensation in the pit of her stomach. 
 

‘
Well, Lady Eleanor,
’
began
James, breaking the charged silence,
‘
of the two picnics we have attended recently, I can honestly say that this one wins hands down.  It has been a marvellous day.
’

Startled out of her outrageous musings, Eleanor blurted out the first thing that came into her head. 
‘
Well, at least I did not end up atop of you this time, sir
.
’
No soone
r had she uttered the words, tha
n she blushed to the
roots of her hair as another shocking image flashed through her mind. 

James regarded her strangely fo
r a moment.  Then said smoothly,
‘
Indeed, Lady Eleanor. 
However
I did not say it was a perfect day.
’

N
o other words were spoken as they
continued their route
, Eleanor burning with em
barrassment and James
seemingly
reverting back to his distant, withdrawn state.  Upon reaching Whitlock, James handed
over his horse
to
a groom
before they
made their way up the steps into the
entrance
hall
. 
Giles greeted them
there
. 

  
‘
Her g
race is in the drawing-
room, sir,
’
the
butler
informed James
solemnly
. 
‘
She
has
requested that both you and Lady Eleanor join her the moment you arrive. Although she was not aware
,
’
he sniffed
,
as his eyes travelling disapprovingly over Eleanor’s bedraggled appearance,
‘
that you had been out together.
’
 

  
‘
Nor could she have been,
’
replied James brusquely. 
‘
Lady Eleanor and I stumbled upon one another quite by chance this afternoon.
Now, Lady Eleanor, I suggest we obey my
a
unt’s command and go to her at once.
’

   Eleanor grimaced.  She was undoubtedly going to be
scolded
for leaving the house so soon after her
riding accident
and for being absent
for most
of the day. 
She had no wish to make matters worse by appearing before her godmother looking like a scarecrow. 
‘
I really think
I should go upstairs and
make myself presentable,
’
she explained.

  
‘
You did say, Giles, that my a
unt wished to see us
the moment
we arrived back, did you not?
’

  
‘
Yes, sir.’

  
‘
Then come along, Lady Eleanor,
’
ordere
d James, strutting
towards
the drawing
-
room. 

   Eleanor
heav
ed a
weary
sigh, which drew another critical loo
k from Giles.  Well
, she might as
well
get it over with.
 
After all, it couldn’t possibly be any worse than she was imagining it to be.
 
Could it?

It was worse. 

Not only was Lady Ormiston waiting to pounce on
he
r for her ‘irresponsible conduct’ but so
,
too
,
was Hester Myers.  Upon s
potting her father, standing in front of the fireplace,
however, Eleano
r’s heart leapt with joy.