The Scandal of Lady Eleanor (43 page)

Fowler's carriages and those of the Averettes traveled together to London. The rest of the Realm returned individually, spreading out their arrivals to avoid suspicion. James timed his return to arrive shortly after dark on Wednesday. He did not wish anyone to see Ella enter the house so they debarked behind the town house in the mews and entered through the servants' doorway. Ella fidgeted the whole day, anticipating her encounter with Sir Louis on Thursday evening. Nothing James said or did made a difference. Anxiety ruled her mood and her appetite.

“Do you wish to go to Briar House this evening?” James wanted to take her into his arms to offer comfort, but he knew Ella would find it too confining.

She shook her head in the negative. “It is likely Sir Louis will call there to check on my return. He may have someone watching the house.”

“I have someone watching his quarters,” he said flatly. “I will know if the baronet makes any unpredictable moves.”

“Even with our burning Lady Levering's diaries, I still fear Sir Louis's retaliations,” she confessed.

“I will protect you, Ella. I know Louis Levering as well as he does. Between your brother and me, we know what the baronet had for breakfast and how many times he looked out his window today.The man makes no move of which we are not aware. This is what we do, and we were trained to do it well.”

She did not argue with him, but Ella could not shake the feeling of dread spreading through every pore. “I believe I will retire early,” she said softly as she stood.

“Do you wish to sleep alone?” James did not want to be in his own bed, but he recognized her anguish.

“I am not sure I can sleep alone,” she murmured. “Yet, I am not of the mind to deprive you of your sleep.”

James heard the meaning behind the words. “I will see then when I come to our chamber.”

Ella stopped by his chair and leaned down for a kiss. “I apologize for my irritability.”

He made circles with his fingertips on the inside of her wrist. “I understand.” He kissed her palm. “Shall I have Hannah bring you some warm milk, or a brandy, even?”

“No, just ask her to come help with my dress and hair.”

“May I escort you to your chamber?” James stood, extending his arm to her.

Ella looked a bit indecisive, but she wrapped her arm through his. As they entered the main hall, he sent a footman scrambling for Hannah to report to her mistress's room. Outside her dressing room, James paused to open the door for her. “Eleanor, you will be free of all this by the end of tomorrow evening. I know that is hard for you to conceive at this point, but the Realm has a reputation for protecting British citizens, especially women and children. We remove impediments. Leave it all to me.” He kissed the back of her hand.

“Thank you, James.” She slipped into the dressing room. Closing the door behind her, she leaned against the cool wood of the doorframe and let out a deep sigh. Her husband meant well, but he did not know the evil found in Louis Levering. She did—she had experienced it firsthand. The past few weeks at Linton Park, Ella had known contentment; she deceived herself into believing Levering had never existed. Now, her brother and her husband expected her to face the man who knew her most damaging secrets. Tears found the corners of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. When she heard Hannah enter from the other room's door, she quickly dashed away the tears with her knuckles. She would get through this; even if James learned how depraved she had once acted, he would not turn from her. At least, she did not think he would.

 

It was near two in the morning when James heard her stir in her chamber. Although he did not lie with Ella, he remained close.
Knowing what fretfulness did to her, he made a pallet inside her dressing room so he could offer protection if necessary. The clicking sound of the door closing behind her set him on alert. Immediately, James fled through the other door, shadowing Ella in the hallway. Today was only her second time in his house; she might fall on the stairs or hurt herself somehow. Therefore, he moved in unison with her. Surprisingly, she turned into his bedchamber and stopped. Even though her eyes were open, she saw Thorn Hall in her mind.

“Is Mama going to die, Bran?” She glanced at the bed, seeing her mother's figure there. James stepped up beside her, taking on the role of her brother. He knew this scene by heart, having heard Brantley Fowler describe it in many a drunken stupor. “Not much longer, Ella.”

“Why is Papa not here?” she pleaded, clutching at his hand.

James swallowed hard, feeling the grief of the thirteen-year-old Ella in her voice. “I could not find him.” James knew the lie he told. Fowler had found his father making love to a housemaid on the floor of his study while his wife lay dying of the pox he had given her. The Duke and Fowler had fought about it later that evening after Lady Fowler's passing. It was the reason Bran had stormed from the house, never to return while his father lived.

“She is asking for you, Bran.” Ella shoved James toward the empty bed. He sat on the edge, seeing what she saw. “We are here, Mama. Bran is here, and I have sent for Velvet.” Ella dropped to her knees beside the bed and began to say the rosary, her fingers working at the beads that only she saw.

James watched her carefully, stroking her golden hair. He let Ella finish her prayers and have her cry before he bent to help her to her feet. “It is over, Ella,” he whispered as he steadied her shoulders. “Your Mama is one of God's angels. Come, Sweetheart.” James lifted her to his chest, clutching her tightly to him. He carried Ella to her bed and gently laid her against the pillows, arranging her hair across the cushions.

She stirred and opened her eyes for real. “Is something the matter ?” She looked about the unfamiliar room.

“I was just checking on you.” He caressed Ella's cheek with the back of his hand.

She smiled lovingly. “You are too good to me.” Ella lightly kissed his fingertips. “Come lie beside me.”

“Are you sure?” James placed a knee on the bed's edge.

“I want to lie in the safety of my husband's strong arms.”

James slid in beside Ella and pulled her into his body, cradling her head on his shoulder. “I love you, Eleanor,” he whispered into her hair.

“I am blessed by your love, and some day I will be worthy of it.” Ella kissed his chest and wrapped her arm across him. He felt her warmth along the length of his body. She inhaled deeply before closing her eyes to the outside world. He took a steadying breath, filling his lungs with the scent of her. James's fingers mindlessly traced lines up and down her bare arm. He wanted so desperately to make things right for Ella. Tonight his prayer would be for his elaborate plan to work. Maybe if it did, their marriage might bring her the happiness that she had brought to him.

Carlton House glowed with a thousand lights as Thornhill's party entered. Fowler purposely told Sir Louis that his party would leave Briar House at nine when, in reality, they left shortly after eight. That way, frustration would follow Levering to the Prince's private quarters, and the pompous baronet would react impulsively. The duke had instructed his staff to “play dumb” when the baronet fussed about being left behind. Mr. Horace and Murray knew the drill; that is why he had brought them from Cornwall; Thornhill could trust them.

The Averettes, Cashémere Aldridge, and Miss Grace Nelson joined Fowler, the Duchess,Velvet Aldridge, and Gabriel Crowden. The duke ushered them to their assigned seating after they were
announced very royally. To ready them to play their parts in the farce he had concocted, James Kerrington positioned Aidan Kimbolt, Carter Lowery, Marcus Wellston, and John Swenton about the room.

“Are you prepared?” James whispered as he handed his card to the waiting footman.

Ella's voice shook. “Not at all.”

“Let us think of this as our first public acknowledgment of our nuptials. I placed a notice today in the
Times
.You are my wife and countess, and I want the world to know of our love.”

“It is more than a public celebration,” she insisted.

“It is what we wish it to be, Ella, and I wish it to be a declaration of our joining. I shall introduce you to our future king as my wife. As a countess, you hold great sway in this country.” James placed her hand on his arm.

Ella looked chagrined when she said, “I apologize, James. Of course, our first appearance as a married couple should be my focus. You have given me the protection of your name and have done everything possible to wipe away my sins. I can never thank you enough.”

“I have no use for your gratitude, Ella. We are partners in life, and we will see this through together.”

Before she could answer, the captain of the guard announced, “Viscount and Viscountess Worthing,” Almost immediately, well-wishers surrounded them, allowing them to relate the story of his father's illness leading to their rushed marriage. “Yes, Lord Linworth attended the ceremony,” she told one group of acquaintances, as James assured three elderly gentlemen, “We had planned to wait until the end of the Season, but the Earl insisted that we lay the groundwork for my eventual assumption of the title.” Most of the
ton
felt very smug, having recognized Lord Worthing's interest in Eleanor Fowler and her preference for him over the lowly Sir Louis Levering. Ella heard Lady Lucas tell the Dowager Lady Martindale as they returned to their table, “I told you repeatedly Fowler would
never tolerate his sister's alliance with a baronet when a future earl waited in the wings.”

Finally, they made it to Fowler's table. “Phase one is complete,” Crowden muttered as Worthing seated Ella next to his friend.

“Now, we just must wait for the baronet to fall into the trap,” James whispered to his friend, but he shot a worried look at his new wife.

 

“What do you mean the Duke is not here?” A red-faced Louis Levering looked up into the wrinkled chin of Fowler's butler, Mr. Rogard Horace—the man's upper-servant face made of pure granite. The Realm had scripted the baronet's reaction.

“His Grace waited until a quarter past the hour, but he felt he could not keep the Prince waiting longer.”

“But His Grace specifically sent word that we were to leave at nine.”

Mr. Horace kept the smirk from his lips. “I cannot say, Sir. Let me ask Murray.” With a flick of his wrist, Mr. Horace summoned the footman forward. “What message did you leave at Sir Louis's residence today?”

“Sir Louis was not available so I told his landlady what His Grace had instructed me to say. I told her to inform the baronet that His Grace would leave Briar House at eight so his party might be seated at Carlton House
before
nine.”

Levering cursed under his breath. “Now what am I to do?”

“Shall I hail a hack, Sir?” Mr. Horace followed Fowler's orders exactly.

“A man cannot arrive at the Prince's residence in a hired hack!” Levering's face turned a deeper shade of red.

“I suppose not, Sir, but if you do not mind my saying so, it would seem a larger offense, if invited, not to appear at Prince George's gathering. One could always dismiss the hack a few blocks away and arrive on foot.”

Levering jammed his beaver on his head. “Then order the hack immediately, Man.”

Mr. Horace kept a hired carriage already waiting just down the street, having paid the driver well to refuse other fares. Within a minute, the coach pulled up before the residence; Mr. Horace held the door for the baronet, and Levering was on his way to what he thought would be a renewal of his scheme.

Right before Mr. Horace closed the coach's door, Levering asked, “Was Lady Eleanor part of His Grace's party?”

“I did not personally see His Grace's sister, as I was in another part of the house when the Duke departed, but I am of the understanding Lady Eleanor will attend.” As the carriage rolled away, Levering touched the diary he brought as insurance to Ella's behavior. A smile played across his face as the nighttime shadows swallowed him in their grasp.

CHAPTER 16