The Unaccomplished Lady Eleanor (9 page)

Eleanor
dragged herself
over to the bed and flopped down on
to her back. 
‘
That, Milly,
’
she sighed, gazing dolefully at the ceiling,
‘
sums up
exactly
how I am feeling.  Not, I hasten to add, that I have been doing anything
remotely
useful.  Unless,
like my godmother, you,
too, consider it
essential
that
I learn how to embroider pearl daisies on
to a ridiculously useless reticule
, o
r that I am fully instructed in all the complicated steps of several, quite torturous dances.
’

Milly’s eyes lit up. 
‘
Dancing, miss? Oh, I do love dancing, I do,
’
she sighed dreamily, hugging the towel she
was carrying
to her chest. 
‘
We’re always dancing in my house.
’

‘
Really?
’
asked Eleanor, propping herself up on her elbows. 
‘
What kind of dancing, Milly?
’

‘
O
h, all kinds, miss.  That
quadrille
one
is good fun but my favourite is the waltz. Even though I’ve heard that some of them grand ladies are refusing
to do it,
on account of it being a bit daring and all.
’

‘
But … how on earth did you learn all those dances, Milly?
  M
y head was fit to burst having to concentrate on only one of them today.
’

‘
My brother, Herbert, miss.  He’s worked in some grand houses.  And
he don’t miss much
.  Picks up all the s
teps while he’s standing around, t
hen comes home and learns them all to us.
’

‘
Really?
’
asked Eleanor,
beaming broadly as an idea
occurred to her. 
‘
Do you think you could teach me, Milly?
’

‘
Of course, miss,
’
confirmed Milly,
dipping her elbow into the bath water to check
the
temperature. 
‘
Ain’t much to it really.
’

‘
Can we start now?
’
             

‘
But what about your bath, miss?
’

‘
Oh, don’t worry
about that
,
’
said Eleanor, leaping off the bed
.
‘
I can have a cold one later.
’

Eleanor’s second dancing les
son of the day turned out
to be
much more enjoyable than the first.  Indeed, with Milly’s no-nonsense approach and overriding sense of fun, Eleanor had not laughed so much in what felt like a very long time.

A
s delighted as Milly
so obviously
was with both her new post and her new mistress
,
the girl was unable to conceal her disappointment at the state of Eleanor’s wardrobe. 

‘
I’ve cleaned your frock as best I could, miss,
’
she said, holding up the old blue evening gown for Eleanor
to inspect before she
went down
for dinner that evening. 
‘
There’s still a f
ew marks,
but I’ve scrubbed and scrubbed and there ain’t no shifting them.
’

Eleanor too
k the gown from her
.
‘
D
on’t worry, Milly.  You’ve done an excellent job.  Thank you for trying so hard.
  It looks just fine.
’

Milly flushed
at the praise and began h
elping Eleanor into the garment. 
‘
I hope you don’t think I’m speaking out of turn or anything, miss,
’
she ventured shyly, as she
did up the buttons at the back
,
‘
b
ut I did think a grand lady like you would be having some fine gowns.
’

Eleanor, standing in front of the full-length mirror, regard
ed Milly’s face in the glass. 
‘
Oh, Milly,
’
she chuckled,
‘
I’m afraid fine gowns don
’t interest me in the slightest.  And besides, I’m no grand lady
-
I’m just me.
’

Milly stopped buttoning and stared at her mistress’s reflection. 
‘
My
, miss,
there’s all them out there pretendin
g they’re grand and titled
when they’re not
.  A
nd then there’s
you who is grand and titled, but
who’s pretending you isn’t.  I ain’t never heard the likes of it.
’

Eleanor giggl
ed. 
‘
Talking of titles, Milly,
’
she
said pensively
,
as
the maid resumed her buttoning, ‘d
o you know
anything about this so-called ‘
title
’
business
with
James
Prestonville
?
’

‘
Oh, yes miss,
’
declared the girl matter-of-factly. 
‘
I
t’s been the talk of the place for ages.  Ever since the old master died
, a
nd that’s nigh on nine months now.  There we all was expecting Master James to inherit the title and all
, and glad of it we was
too, him being s
o kind and clever and all. 
I don’t mind telling you, miss, the
place was in a right state before
he came along.  Sorte
d it all out good and proper
he has.
’

‘
So the refurbishment was all down to James then?
’

‘
Aye, miss,
he’s
done a grand job and we w
as
all just waiting for him to take over the title, but then we learn that some other blighter has put their claim in for it and no
one knows who they are or nothing.  And so poor Master James, miss, h
e can’t be calling himself
the
d
uke ’
til the whole thing is cleared up.  Dragging on and on so it is
an
d them
solicitors are forever
h
ere trying
to sort it out.  Here for
three
hours yesterday
,
they were.  And you can always tell wh
en they’ve been, miss,
’
c
os the M
aster, well, it puts him in a right bad humour.
’

‘
Hmm,
’
muse
d Eleanor, recalling the obvious bad humour James had been in at their first encounter yesterday. 
‘
I suppose if it
’
s been going on for as long as you say,
it’s hardly surprising he’s finding it wearing. 
He must
feel like he is
just
kicking his heels until it’s all sorted
out
.
’

Milly ceased her
buttoning and regarded Eleanor in the mirror with a cheeky grin. 
‘
Oh no, miss.  He’s doing
more than kicking his heels, if you gets my meaning.
’

Eleanor wrinkled her brow. 
‘
I’m not sure I do
actually
, Milly.
’

‘
Oh, miss
,
you a
re such an innocent,
’
chided the girl playfully
,
tapping Eleanor’s arm.  Then, lowering her voice
,
‘
N
ot that I’m one to gossip nor nothing, but rumour has it that Master J
ames is having one of them
relationships
with the Duchess of Swinton.
’

‘
Really?
’
exclaime
d Eleanor, her eyes widening. 
‘
And do you think
he will seek to marry her once this business is sorted out?
’

Milly collapsed into a fit of giggles. 
‘
Oh
,
I wouldn’t be thinking so, miss.  You see she’s already married.
’

‘
So, Mr Lovell,
’
began
the
d
owager
at dinner that evening. 
‘
James has told us you were friends at Oxford.
’

‘
That is correct, ma’am,
’
replied Lovell graciously. 

‘
And what
,
may I ask
,
have you been
doing since you left there
?
’
she
enquired, cutting into a large slice of game pie. 

‘
Mostly travelling,
’
informed Lovell, helping himself to the dish of boiled potatoes. 
‘
I have spent several years in Europe.
’

‘
Have you indeed?
And what are your intentions now that you hav
e returned to England
?
’

‘
I am not yet sure, ma’am
. 
I am toying with the idea of entering into politics.
’

‘
R
eally,
’
sniffed the
d
owager
, with just a hint of disapprova
l
.
‘
And
which par
ty
are
you
inclined towards, Mr Lovell?
’

‘
I feel a particular affinity with the Tory party.
I am extremely interested in the measures they are taking to control the wretched Luddites.
’

Eleanor almost dropped her knife and fork in horror. 
‘
You do not mean, sir
,
that you actually agree with the bill declaring machine
-
breaking a capital offence?     Surely one cannot equate the value of a machine to the value of a man’s life?
’

‘
On the contrary,
Lady Eleanor,
’
puffe
d Lovell, not looking at her
,
but
keeping his eyes firmly fixed on his
plate of food. 
‘
These men have no right to stand in the way of progress
.  They should
be made to suffer for their ac-
’

‘
Oh, I think these men are suffering enough already, Mr Lovell,
’
countered Eleanor
. 
‘
Can you tell me how you woul
d like to provide for a
wife and
family
on only milk and potatoes? 
I cannot even begin to think how those poor people-
’

‘
That is enough, Eleanor,
’
interjected the
d
owager
,
setting
down her
own
knife and fork. 
‘
I am sure Mr Lovell will agree with me when I say that gentlemen find it most unbecoming when a young lady engages in
political
conversation.
’

‘
I wholeheartedly agree
, ma’am,
’
declared Lovell, tossing Eleanor a desultory glare. 
‘
Th
ere are some topics which are quite beyond the understanding of
the
female
mind
and politics
is most definitely one of them
.
’