The Unaccomplished Lady Eleanor (8 page)

‘
Enormous?
  That is not the word for it,
’
replied M.
Aminieux,
throwing his hands
to his head. 
‘
It
would be easier to fly than to teach this girl to dance.
’

By the time luncheon came around, El
eanor’s feet were throbbing
.  Having
given up on the waltz,
the dancing master
had
then
attempted to teach her the quadrille. 
I
ts complicated routine
s of figures and changes had
met with even less success
a
nd a great deal more
shaking
of curls
.

‘
I am having the headache,
’
he
had declared when the
d
owager
had invited him to eat with them. 
‘
I
cannot
eat when I am having the headache
.’

Had E
leanor
not been
so
ravenous, then she
,
too
, would have
foregone luncheon
.  She had no desire
to spend a minute longer than necessary in the presence of the ghastly, insulting James.  With the combination of a light breakfast and several hours dancing
, though
, she had worked up
a healthy
appetite. 

She entered the dining-
room to find James and Derek
Lovell already seated at the table.  There was no sign of the
d
owager
. 

‘
Ah.  Make way for the hippopotamus,
’
James
joked
,
as Eleanor crossed the room to the table.

Derek
Lovell sniggered
, which only added to the irritation
Eleanor
was now accustomed to feeling in James’s presence
. 

‘
My, my,
’
she sniffed
acerbically,
‘
s
uch a mature sense of humour
.
I am sure a
ny child under seven
would find you most
amusing,
sir
.
’

An obviously bemused James lifted an eyebrow. 
‘
Are you aware, Lady Eleanor,
that such a cutting tongue is most unbecoming in a young lady?
’

Elean
or fixed him with a hard gaze. 
‘
And are
you
aware, my lord, that such childish, insulting behaviour is
most unbecoming in a gentleman?
’

James’s eyes narrowed
, but
b
efore he could reply the
d
owager
swept
into the room and
claimed her seat at the head of the table.

‘
Really, Eleanor,
’
she
puff
ed,
evidently
sensing the t
ense atmosphere
,
‘
I do hope yo
u are not
irrita
ting James
again.  You r
eally
must learn to hold
your tongue, my girl.  It
does not do for young ladies to go around voicing their opinions on all and sundry.  Indeed it is positively unbecoming.
’

Eleanor
gawped at her godmother in
astonishment.  Why was it that the
woman
always
concluded
she was
in the wrong
?
  Wh
ereas James-

Her train of thought was interrupted by Giles
appearing
in the doorway. 
‘
Lady and Felici
ty Carmichael to see you, your g
race,
’
he announced, his tone
reverberating
with disapproval. 
‘
I have informed her ladyship that you are at luncheon, ma’am
,
but
she insists it is a matter of some
import.
’

‘
Good
l
ord,
’ groaned Lady Ormiston.  ‘
Was it not enough that they invited their ghastly
selves to dinner yesterday evening under the pretext of discussing so
me
charity event
with me?
  What on earth can they be wanting now?  Oh well, the sooner we get it
over with the better
, I suppose
.  Show them in, Giles,
’
she gestured impatiently.

The butler bowed before vacating his spot
.  He returned
s
everal seconds later with
the unexpected guests.

‘
My dear Lady Ormiston,
’
gushed Lady Carmichael. 
‘
Oh and
you too, James.  We d
id so hope that you would be-
’
s
he broke off a
t a sharp nudge from Felicity
.    
‘
Anyway,
’
she blustered, ‘p
lease do forgive the intrusio
n but
we
needed to see you on a most
urgent matter.
’

The
d
owager
’s eyes narrowed as she surveyed the visitors suspiciously. 
‘
Did you indeed, Cynthia?
 
And what, may I ask
,
is this urgent matter?
’

‘
We
ll,
’
continue
d a flushed Lady Carmichael.  ‘We believe that Felicity may have left her, um,
shawl here yesterday evening.
’

The
d
owager
emitted a snort of
disbelief. 
‘
T
hat is indeed pressing, Cynthia.  Why
,
if I didn’t know you better, I would assume you were simply looking for an excuse to visit me again.  Although
,
perhaps
,
it is not
myself
that you wished to see.
’

Lady Carmichael
’s flush deepened
while
her daughter cast her
an accusing glare. 
‘
I am sure, Lady Ormiston,
’
she
flustered
,
‘
that I have not the faintest idea what you mean.  Felicity and I were simply on our way to Richmond this morning and
,
as we were to pass by Whitlock
,
it made perfect sense for us to call in.  However
,
I can see you are busy and … come
,
Felicity,
’
she
cupped
her daughter
by the elbow. 
‘
Let us leave these good people to their luncheon.
’

James leant over to his friend and whispered something
that resu
lted in an obnoxious sneer spreading across Derek Lovell’s ugly face. 

‘
Come now, my dear Lady Carmichael,
’
announced
James, his eyes sparkling mischievously
. 
‘
Now that you are here would you not do us the pleasure of joining us for luncheon?
’

Felicity,
Eleanor noticed with
surprise, shot James a look overflowing with contempt.  Lady Carmichael, on the other hand, seemed quite at sixes and sev
ens that her plan had
obviously
been rumbled. 
‘
We
ll,
’ she stuttered, shuffling her feet awkwardly, ‘
I really do think perhaps that we should be on our way.  After all, it was very improper of us to call so unexpec-
’

‘
Oh, d
o stop twittering and sit down, Cynthia,
’
boomed Lady Ormiston. 
‘
I cannot
abide dithering.
’

Lady Carmichael
,
visibly delighted she had finally achieved her desired result, produced a tremulous smile. 
‘
Well if you insist,
then w
e would be delighted to j
oin you.  Particularly as we
missed out on the pleasure of James’s company yesterday evening.
’

‘
Well
,
now you shall have the pleasure of not only my company but also that of an old
university
friend of mine,
’
announced James with a winsome smile.
‘
This
,
my dear Lady Carmichael, is
Mr
Derek Lovell.
’

Mr Lovell bowed his head
graciously.

‘
Oh, how delightful,
’
twittered Lady Carmichael, as she unbuttoned her pelisse. 
‘
Is that not delightful, Felicity dear?
’

Felicity handed
over
her
bonnet
to a waiting Stevens and smoothed down her hair.
‘
If you say so, M
ama,
’
she replied
coolly
,
evidently unimpressed with her mother’s scheming.

Lady Carmichael
, oblivious to her daughter’s indifferent response, continued unabashed. 
‘
And may I ask if you are here to partake in the Season, Mr Lovell?
’
she enquired
, relinquishing her bonnet to the footman and sashaying over to the table.

‘
Indeed I am, madam,
’
replied Derek
Lovell
soberly. 

‘
Oh, how absolutely splendid,
’
trilled Lady Carmichael, slipping into the chair next to Eleanor. 
‘
I
n that case we must extend
you
an invitation to Felicity’s
come
out
ball
.  We are most excited about it.
’

‘
And rightly so, Lady Carmichael,
’
affirmed James archly. 
‘
I have no do
ubt the event will be the
success of the Season.
’

Derek
Lovell
, holdi
ng his napkin to hi
s mouth, gave another
sly snigger.

‘
Oh, do you really think so, James?
’
enthused Lady Carmichael, unaware of the pair’s amusement. 
‘
We do so hope that yo
u will be able to attend.  W
ithout you
it would not be at all the thing
.
’

James smiled reassuringly. 
‘
My dear Lady Carmichael,
I can assure you that wild horses would not keep me from the event.
’

Lady Carmichael sighed satisfactorily.
 
Eleanor
, on the other hand,
in her usual percipient way,
had not failed to note
the thread of sarcasm running through his tone
.   And,
judging by the menacing look Felicity shot
him, she was
not the only one. 

Eleanor arrived back in her chambers a little after six o
’
clock having spent the entire day under her godmother’s watchful eye. 

‘
Ooh
, miss,
’
exclaimed Milly, who had just finished supervising the filling of Eleanor’s bath
. 
‘
You look fit to drop
.
’