The Unaccomplished Lady Eleanor (43 page)

‘
N
o I wasn’t,
’
declared Horace stoutly. 
‘
Not until I’ve made sure you’re not about creating more havoc.  You’ve ruined my life and Betsy’s and I’m sure as eggs not going to sit by and watch you ruin someone else’s.
’

A furious Felicity stamped her
foot. 
‘
You idiot!
’
she screamed, tears of anger rolling down her plump face. 
‘
You are nothing!  Nothing!  You and your pathetic, snivelling girl!  I
,
on the other hand
,
could have been something – a great lady in a great house.  I had it all planned.  Every last bit of it … and now you-
y
ou-
’

‘
Aye, miss,
’
sniffed Horace, shaking his head in mock sympathy,
‘
well you know what they say about the best laid plans.
’

‘
Get out of my sight!
’
roared Felicity. 
‘
Or I’ll … I’ll-
’

‘
You’ll what, miss?
’
cut in Horace calmly. 
‘
Tell all these top-lofty folk her
e about how you paid me to lie with you?
  About how you wanted a babe so you could fob the poor child off as someone else’s
?
Someone with a fancy title and a big
house?
  Well
,
let me tell you something,
Miss Carmichael
, if you really are with child then it’s mine all right and I’ll fight you for it.  Oh, I know I might not have a fancy title and a
big
house but I have plenty of love to give it and
that
is something an evil little witch like you will never have.
’

Quivering with frustration and anger and now conscious of the large, astounded crowd which had gathered around the
m, a
seething
Felicity, picked up her skirts and, holding her chin high, made her way through the crowd towards the door.  At exactly the same moment
,
Lady Carmichael collapsed in a heap on the floor in a very justifiable fit of the vapours. 

‘
I thought you said that that man was your cousin, Lady Eleanor,
’
remarked a puzzled
and visibly relieved James as he
steer
ed
her out onto the
terrace
, away from all the drama inside.

‘
I did
.  B
ut only because I couldn’t think of any other way to get him and Milly in here.
’

‘
I see,
’
said James, as they reached a corner of the stone balustrade. 
‘
And why exactly did you want to get him in here?
’

‘
T
o stop Felicity blackmailing you
,
of course,
’
replied Eleanor matter-of-factly.  She had her back to the balustrade and was aware that James was standing very close to her.  She suddenly felt quite shy again.   

He regarded her with a bemused smile.
‘
But how did you know she was?
’

She raised her eyes to him and said sheepishly
,
‘
I overheard her – on several occasions, sir. But I did not dare say anything to you because you have been rather … grumpy of late
.  A
nd besides, I didn’t know what good it would do, you knowing that I knew.
’

James shook his head, regarding her in amazement.
‘
I don’t know how I can ever repay you for what you have done, Lady Eleanor. You really are an astonishing woman.
’

This time she dared not look at his face but focused instead on the broadness of his chest which was level with her eyes. 
‘
I believe you have bestowed that label upon me already
,
sir
.  I
n the orchard at Whitlock,
’
she almost whispered. 

‘
Ah, yes,
’
said James, moving closer.  He raised a hand and trailed a finger down her soft cheek, causing Eleanor to tremble. 
‘
And what was it we were talking about there,
before we were so rudely interrupted?
’

His face was now so close to hers that his breath feathered across her skin, causing her heart to race uncontrollably. 

‘
I have quite forgotten, sir,
’
murmured Eleanor closing her eyes and parting her lips in anticipation of his kiss.  

‘
Then perhaps I should remind you,
’
whispered James. 

  The first time he had kissed her he had, quite literally
,
taken her breath
away. This time
, he took not only her breath but every one of her senses.  He started he
sitantly at first,
his lips gently brushing against hers, teasing her, making her yearn for more.  As he began probing the inside of her mouth with his tongue, deepening the kiss,
Eleanor
pressed her body unashamedly to his an
d emitted a small groan of
pleasure.

 
‘
Marry me, Eleanor,
’
he murmured
,
as his lips briefly left hers.  He gave her no chance
to reply
as he kissed her again, harde
r this time.  Eleanor
felt herself drowning in his lips, his arms, his words.  Suddenly
,
however, an image
slammed into
her mind – an image of the look
he had
exchange
d
earlier with the Duchess of Swinton.  The effect co
uld not have been more sobering
if someone had thrown a bucket of ice-cold water over her.

 
‘
No,
’
she said, pushing him away from her. 
‘
I am so
rry but I cannot marry you, sir.
’
A
nd with that
,
she picked up her skirts and marched b
ack to the house, fighting
the tears burning her eyes. 

  Milly and Horace chattered all the way home in the carriage about the magnificence of the ball, the success of their plan and the reaction in the room once Feli
city had left.  Eleanor
heard not a word of it.  She could think of nothing other than James and his proposal.  She now knew that she loved the wretched man to complete and utter distraction but he had made no declaration of love for her.  Obviously, he was only asking her to marry him because he felt obliged; because that was the only way he could think of repaying her for saving his life.  Having witnesse
d his brief encounter with the d
uchess that evening, it was obvious where his true feelings lay. 

TWENTY
-
TWO

F
or all it was only two months since Eleanor had left Merryoaks, it felt so very much longer.  As soon as
the house came into view
– its golden bricks glowing welcomingly in the sunshine, surrounded by trees
laden down with heavy pink cher
ry blossom, she knew she had made the right
decision
in coming home and declining the
d
owager
’s offer to accompany them all to Brighton.  As well as having tired of all t
he endless, meaningless socializ
ing, she could not bear the pain it would have caused her to set eyes upon James again.  

Grateful that the house appeared unchanged, the same could not be said regarding her feel
ings for her objectionable step
mama.  Much to Eleanor’s disappointment, it was Hester who provided her ‘welcome’, storming into the entrance hall as she arrived and informing her that her father had had to go into town on some urgent business and would be back within the hour.  Having
imparted
that information
, the woman
then
launched into a predictable diatribe, which Eleanor was both expecting and prepared for. 

‘
Really, Eleanor,
’
she began, before the girl had even had time to remove her bonnet,
‘
words cannot express my disappointment. 
I
had hoped that in London someone would take you.
I mean one hears of so many poor second sons who encounter such difficulties in finding a wife.  Surely one of those would have been grateful for you.
’

‘
I am not a horse looking for a new owner, madam,
’
replied Eleanor curtly, handing her bonnet to the butler.

Hester ignored her
.  She
began pacing up and down the marble floor of the hall.
‘
But what of this v
iscount?
  Y
ou were
certain he was going to offer for you
.
’

‘
As indeed he did,
’
informed Eleanor, tugging an arm out of her pelisse.
‘
And I refused him.
’

Hester
stopped pacing and
grabbed the back of a chair as if to steady herself. 
‘
Refused him?
 
But how could you possibly …
?
I mean why did you …
?
D
o you not know girl,
that beggars cannot be choosers?
’

‘
I am not a beggar,
’
replied Eleanor stoutly, now handing her pelisse to the servant and dismissing him with a fleeting smile.

‘
Oh, I beg to differ,
’
countered Hester
,
resuming her pacing.
‘
For if you cannot find a husband in London then where on earth do you
think you are going to find one?
  They do not grow on trees, you know.
’

Eleanor regarded her coolly. 
‘
Then perhaps I shall never have one
.  Perhaps
I shall live
out my days here with you and P
apa.
’

Hester
came to a halt directly in front of Eleanor
, h
er face
only inches away from her
s. 
‘
The only way you will do that, Eleanor,
is over my dead body.
’

Eleanor smiled sweetly. 
‘
I’
m
sure that could be arranged, madam,
’
she pronounced, before picking up her skirts and heading towards the staircase. 

Eleanor spent most of the next two days in her room.  For all the weather
was glorious, she was in no
mood for company
, nor
Hester’s incessant condemnations.  Indeed she was feeling so low that even the pleasure of seeing her father again had failed to shake her melancholy. 

This morning, she had positioned her armcha
ir in front of the open
win
dow and was attempting –
unsuccessfully – to lose herself in a copy of Miss Austen’s
Mansfield Park
. 
Un
able to
concentrate on anything
for more than a minute, she inevitably found herself staring into space as yet another image of James Prestonville invaded her thoughts.  She had not seen the man sin
ce the evening of his proposal. 
He had not come home that night and she had done all she could not to think about where he was or who he was with.  It had been bad enough imagining him with Madeleine and
that had been before she realiz
ed how much she loved him.  To now imagine him with the Duchess of Swinton was more than she could bear.    

A timid knock at the door intruded on her ruminations.
‘
Are you all right, my dear?
’
enquired her father concernedly.

Eleanor’s spirits momentarily lifted
.  At least here was someone who genuinely cared for her. 
‘
Yes, Father,
’
she replied with forced brightness. 
‘
Come
in.
’

He entered the room, smiling warily. 
‘
I’ve brought you a cup of tea,
’
he said walking over to her and placing the cup and saucer on the pie-crust table in front of her.

‘
Thank you
. 
That’s very kind.
’

‘
Well, then,
’
he began
awkwardly, sinking on to
a small cushioned footstool
. 
‘
You don’t need to tell me what has caused this
melancholy
, but you do need to assure me that you really are all right.
’

Unable to help herself, tears began silently streaming down Eleanor’s face. 
‘
I’m fine, Father, really I am.
’

‘
Well you certainly have a strange way of showing it,
’
declared Lord Myers, shaking his head despairingly. 
‘
I dread to think of the
state you would be in if something
was
wrong.
’

Eleanor
managed
a watery smile. 
‘
I’m sorry.
I don’t mean to worry you.
’

‘
Well, you do, my girl.  A great deal,
’
he informed
her,
with mock severity. 
‘
Oh, I know I don’t understand much about matters of the heart – not in the same way your
m
other
did
- but I can see that someone has upset you and I would wager, knowing our ways, that it is most likely a man.
’

Eleanor wiped away the tear that was midway down her cheek and pulled a rueful face. 
‘
You are right, as ever, Father
. 
It is a man. 
But in a couple of days I shall be
as
right as ninepence
.  I shall put him to the back of my mind and carry on exactly as I was before. As if I had never met him.
’

Lord Myers nodded his head in sympathetic agreement.
‘
Put hi
m out of your head, eh?  Y
es
,
that’s probably for the best.  No doubt, like the rest of us, he
’s more trouble than he’s worth.’

‘
Indeed, he is,
’
nodded Eleanor
resolutely.     

‘
And then you can spend the rest of your days here with Hester and
me
,
’
said Lord Myers innocently. 
‘
Won’t that be delightful for you?
’

‘
I
t
will,
’
replied Eleanor, pushing all thoughts of
a home of her own
, filled with love and children
,
out of her mind.

‘
Very well then,
’
asserted Lord Myers, rising to his feet. 
‘
You wipe this wretched man from your mind and we shall all carry on as though he doesn’t exist.
Agreed?
’
  He held out a hand to her.

She reached out and shook
it
with a hesitant smile. 
‘
Agreed,
’
she said, wishing
desperately that that were
possible. 

Three days later and Eleanor’s spirits had not lifted in the slightest, despite her father’s valiant efforts to cheer her up. 

‘
Any further forward with our little agreement?
’
he asked at breakfast that morning. 

Eleanor shook her head.
‘
I’m afraid not,
’
she said
,
pulling an apologetic face.

‘
I see,
’
said Lord Myers pensively, just as his new wife, burst – with uncharacterist
ic fervour - into the
room.

‘
D
o I not have the most marvellous news, Husband,
’
she declared
, marching across the room and claiming the seat opposite Lord Myers.

He
raised his eyebrows. 
‘
Really, my dear?
 
And what would that be?
’

‘
I have just heard that Kitty Osbourne’s brother is to visit – Mr Jeremiah Osbourne.  Is that not the best news ever?
’

Lord Myers looked puzzled. 
‘
I am sure Kitty is thrilled by it, my dear. But what
,
pray
,
has Mr Jeremiah Osbourne to do with us?
’

Hester
rolled her eyes. 
‘
I
s it not obvious?  He can marry Eleanor of course,
’
she declared matter-of-factly. 

This time Lord Myers’s eyes grew wide.
‘
But if the man is of a
similar age to Kitty,
then he must be nearing sixty.
’

‘
Nonsense,
’
scoffed Hester, waving a dismissive hand.
‘
He is only eight and fifty
.  A
nd quite respectable so I have heard.  I believe he has fifteen thousand a year.
’

Lord Myers looked unconvinced. 
‘
Regardless, my dear,
’
he countered softly. 
‘
I do think that eight and fifty is a little old for a girl of not yet twenty.
’

‘
Poppycock,
’
declared Hester stoutly. 
‘
The girl needs a mature man; someone experienced who can control her wilful ways.  Mr Jeremiah Osbourne will be perfect.  I have invited him to tea this very afternoon.

Eleanor knew not at what hour Miss Kitty Osbourne and Mr Jeremiah Osbourne were expected at Merryoaks for tea.  She had paid scant attention to Hester’s twittering, having not the slightest interest in anything the spiteful woman said.  At a little before three
,
however, while Eleanor was
i
n her room
making yet another futile attempt to read, Lord Myers sought out his daughter and informed her that he had a
horse in dire need of exercise
and
he
would appreciate it if Eleanor would take it out for a short ride.  Aware that he could have asked any one of the grooms to perform such a task and
that the request was a thinly
disguised ploy desig
ned to get her out of the house,
Eleanor
could not find it in her heart to refuse.  Her father made no disguise of how worried he was about her and she had no desire to cause him even greater concern.  She had therefore managed a fleeting smile and, having changed into her riding attire, had gone to the stables to collect the horse.