The Unaccomplished Lady Eleanor (20 page)

‘
I
-I
’m sorry, sir,
’
she stammered. 
‘
I, er, that is my feet are a little,
er-
’

‘
Ah, Viscount Grayson,
’
interjected the
d
owager
cheerfull
y. 
‘
How very splendid.  My goddaughter would be delighted to dance with you.
Off you
go
, Eleanor
dear
.
’

Viscount Grayson’s mouth stretched into a wide grin
, revealing a set of repulsive
, yellowing teeth.  He
regard
ed
Eleanor expectant
ly.  She
flashed
him a fleeting smile then immediatel
y averted her eyes to his shoes
which
,
she noticed
,
were
badly
scuff
ed.  A bubble of panic
swell
ed
in her stomach.  What on earth was she to do?  Dancing around her room with Milly was one thing
,
but dancing in public, in front of hundreds of people, was q
uite another. 
The m
usic to the previous dance ended.  Ladies curts
ied, their partners bowed
.  Couples for the next dance mov
ed
on
to the floor and assum
ed their places. The v
iscount
held
out a podgy sweaty hand to
her. 
Eleanor’s stomach lurched as a
n overwhelming urge to pick up her skir
ts and flee the room surged through
her.  Then, just when she thought things couldn’t possibly get any worse, she became aware of a snide, nasally voice: 
‘
Good l
ord, man,
y
ou’re taking your life in your hands there.  Or should I say your feet.
’
The statement was followed by a despicable drunken chortle.

Startled out of her panic-ridden stupor, Eleanor
whipped around
her head to
find
Derek Lovell, obviously in his cups, escorting a brazen
-
looking woman, some years older than himself and wearing far too much rouge, on
to the dance floor.  His lip was curled upward in an unattractive
sneer as he swaggered
past her, uttering something of amusement to his partner, which made her titter unpleasantly.

Eleanor turned to her godmoth
er, hoping she had witnessed
Lovell’s disgusting behaviour, but the
d
owager
, obviously expecting Eleanor to be on the dance floor by now, had engaged in conver
sation with the matronly chaperon
on her left. 

As Lovell and his partner
took their places on the dance floor, they turned back simultaneously
, threw Eleanor a satirical look,
t
hen burst into
laughter.  Elean
or’s initial horror at her
invitation was completely swept aside by a wave of indignant anger.  How dare Derek Lovell insult her so?  She could dance.  Of course she could.  She had danced quite competently in her r
oom with Milly and
even M. Aminieux had said she was good.  Well,
perhaps
he had not actually used the word ‘good’ but
he most definitely thought
she was improving
.  She would not be sniggered and sneered at by anyone.  She would show them all.  She would dance with this man. 

She forced what she hoped was a pleasant smile on
to her face.
 
‘
Thank you, sir. 
I should be delighted to dance with you.
’

As the obviously elated
v
isco
unt led her out on to the
floor, swaying a little too much for Eleanor’s liking, she was aware of her legs shaking.  For goodness
’
sake, she chided herself
, i
t’s just one stupid dance at one stupid ball.  What could possibly go wrong?  Viscount Grayson took hold of
her
and roughly pulled her to him, causing
Eleanor
to gasp.
At least a head taller than
he
, his eyes were level with her neck.  She flinched slightly as she became aware of his clammy palms upon her and the unpleasant o
dour of his body.
Even M.
Aminieux’s nauseating cologne was pre
ferable to the v
iscount’s more
natural
approach to personal hygiene.  He smelt, in equal measures, of s
tale sweat and whisky.  The orchestra started up and the v
iscount began swaying on the spot.  Eleanor was no ex
pert, but this man, she recogniz
ed immediately, was an even worse dancer than herself.
  Either that or – more likely - he was so
drunk he had forgotten his steps.  Derek Lovell and his painted woman whisked past them
, both titter
ing superciliously. 
Eleanor’s earlier
urge to pick up her skirts and flee
,
returned with renewed vigour.  But she couldn’t.
Not now.
It would cause a scene and her godmother would never forgive her.
Desperately, she tried to redeem the situation by attempting to lead her partner, but the man was so fat she couldn’t
shift him one way or the other. 
They
remained
hovering on the edge of
the dance floor, the v
iscount swaying backwards and forwards, looking like he might empty his account
s
at any moment. 
Eleanor was aware that they were attracting several enquiring looks.  Tears pricked her eyes.  She felt such a fool.  She saw Derek Lovell and his partner waltzing around the room toward
s
them again.  If they laughed at her once more, she doubted she would be able to control her temper or her tears.

‘
Excuse me for cutting in, sir, but may I?
’

Relief flooded Eleanor’s body.  As a mutter
ing, disgruntled v
iscount swaggered back through the swaying couples
, most likely
in search of another drink, James Prestonville drew Eleanor into his arms.  Unlike
the short, podgy limbs of the v
iscount, his were strong and muscular and quite took her by surprise.  As he
began swinging
her masterfully around the f
loor, Eleanor
forgot all about the viscount, all about her dance steps,
all about Derek Lovell and Felicity Carmichael and every other person in the room.
  Every one of her senses
seemed
heightened and focused ac
utely on James: his strong arms,
his broad
chest
,
th
e closeness of his person.  E
ven the smell of him - clean and fresh and overwhelmingly
masculine - was having an
unsettling effect on her, causing something unfamiliar to stir in the pit of her stomac
h.  The sound of his deep voice
brought her
hurtling
back to reality. 

‘
You
have no need to thank me, madam.’

Eleanor was a little taken aback by the arrogance of his tone. 
‘
F
or what exactly
?
’

‘
Why, for rescuing you of course.’

Indignation pulsed through
her
. 
‘
I can assure y
ou I did not need rescuing, sir.’

James
raised his brows. 
‘
That, I can assure
you
, is not how it looked to me
.
’

Unflinching, Eleanor
met his gaze. 
‘
Then
perhaps your eyesight is failing
.
’

His lips twitched. 
‘
Are you implying, Lady Eleanor, that you would rath
er I had not interrupted your
…
dance
with the v
iscount?
’

Her eyes shined defiance. 
‘
It was
somewhat
presumptuous of you
.
’

James
’s eyes narrowed
. 
‘
Was it indeed?  Then I take it you were enjoying his company?
’

‘
And why would I not?  The man was quite … quite …
charming
.
’

‘
I see,
’
he
repli
ed, his features hardening slightly. 
‘
Then in that case, please accept my sincere apol
o
gies for spoiling your even
ing.’  The sarcasm in his tone was obvious.

At that moment the music stopped and he abruptly released his hold of her.  Despite herself Eleanor
experienced
a stab of disappointment.  Observing the usual courtesies, he bowed bef
ore her and she dipped a
curtsy.

‘
I have no need of a protector, sir,
’
she declared, as she straightened. 
‘
I am quite capable of looking after myself.
’
 

James regarded her coolly. 
‘
O
f that I have no doubt, Lady Eleanor,
’
he said, before turning his back to her and strutting purposefully across the dance floor.

Eleanor was pleased with
herself.  Despite
her
relief at not having to spen
d
a
second longer in the repulsive v
iscount’s presence, she was not going
to add to the already excessive
ego of James Prestonville a
nd act like a simpering goose. 
She had shown him that she was a strong, independent woman, in no need of male intervention.  So why then, did she feel so
utter
ly deflated?

‘
Eleanor,
what on earth happened to the v
iscount?
’
demanded the
d
owager
as Elea
nor
approached her chair
alone.

‘
He had to retire, Godmother.  He was a little …
indisposed
.
’

‘
Hmph. 
I do
hope you didn’t discourage
him, Eleanor.  Whether he was
indisposed
or not is of no import.
All men have their litt
le
in
discretions
, girl, as you will soon learn.  The point is that the man showed some interest
in you.  And you could do
worse.  Viscount Grayson is an extremely wealthy man.  He owns several large estates in both the north and the south of England.  Indeed
,
I would go as far as to say that he is swimming in lard.
’

‘
More
like he has eaten too much lard,’ muttered Eleanor.

‘
What was that, girl?
’

‘
Nothing, Godmother.’

NINE

H
alf an hour and two glasses of champagne later, the
d
owager
was sufficie
ntly
befuddled
and pre
occupied for Eleanor to slip away
unnoticed. 
She had no idea where to go only that the atmosphere in the ballroom was stifling her and
she felt in desperate
need to escape it. 

She decided to explore the house
, venturing up t
he branching staircase on
to the fi
rst floor landing.  S
everal doors le
d off the landing, one of which was ajar.  Eleanor app
roached it and peeped
inside.  The room was decorated in green damask and brightly lit.  In the centre was a round table around which were seated four ladies and six gentlemen – among them Dere
k Lovell.  They were engaged in a game of cards, with several players having
large piles of notes and coins in fron
t of them.  Derek Lovell
, however,
did not
.  F
rom the little Eleanor knew about gambling it was clear from the man’s lack of notes and coins and from his fidgeting
,
that things were not going his way.  He held his head in his hands,
weaving
his wiry fingers
through his greasy
pale-
red hair.  As another member of the set, whom Eleanor took to be the b
anker, turned over a card, Lovell
muttered something
Eleanor was grateful she could
no
t hear
.  Then
he dropped his head
on
to the table.  Elea
nor felt no sympathy for him.  The man
was a contempt
ible
toad.    

Decid
ing to put as much distance
as possible
between herself and
Lovell, she made her way back down the stairs, along a corridor and through a small sitting
-
room which had its long windows open to the garden.  For a town house in the centre of the city, the garden was surprisingly large, separated on either side from its neighbours by a tall stone
wall.  The space immediately behind the house
formed a perfect square
with a wall dividing it from the rest of the garden, through which one could enter via an arch. 

Eleanor
decided to explore.  She
made her way across the lawn,
through the archway
, which was
framed
with
sweet smelling jasmine
,
into the second section of the garden.  This led out on to a much larger expanse.  So large, in fact, that due to the
diving wall blocking out most of
the light from the house, she c
ould not see all the way down to the bottom
,
but could only make out the outline of a co
pse. 
Trees also lined the walls a
long either side
, amongst which were
a
number of stone benches.

  Having walked almost to the bottom of the garden from where the sound of the
orc
h
estra c
ould be heard only very faintly, Eleanor sat down on one of the benches, pulled off he
r slippers and wiggled her
bare
toes in the cool blades of grass.  The refreshing feeling reminded her of home.  Propping her elbows o
n her knees, she rested her chin
in her hands and gazed
up
at the stars
in the clear sky.
 

  Suddenly a noise, which sounded exactly like a sob
,
caught her attention.
It came from the copse, completely i
n darkness to the right of her. 
She twisted around but could see nothing.  Someone must be in
distress – hurt even.  She should go and in
vestigate.  She bent down to pull
on her slippers but had
only re-shoe
d one foot when someone swept
past her.  Eleanor jerked
up
her head.  The figure was running toward
s
the house, her body shuddering wi
th sobs.  Eleanor
stifled
a gasp
.  For all she didn’t see the woman’s fac
e, there was no doubting, from
he
r
gown, who she was. 

 
She sat startled for a moment, an
uneasy feeling
wrapping itself
around
he
r
.  At the sound of voices coming from the same direction, she froze.  She could
make out
the outline of tw
o figures but could not see
their faces. 

 
‘
Good evening, sir.  I trust you are enjoying the ball?
’

  A
n ice-cold shiver flashed down
Eleanor
’s spine
as she recogniz
ed
the whining voice of
Felicity
Carmichael
.  She held her breath, not daring to move a single muscle.

 
‘
Good l
ord.  Where on earth did you-
?
’
spluttered James.

 
‘
I was waiting for
a chance to speak with you, my lord. You did imply earlier that you wished to speak to me, did you not?
’
replied Felicity
,
in her usual composed tone.

 
‘
Indeed I did, madam,
’
confirmed James
levelly
. 
‘
I trust that now you have seen fit to inform the Duke of Swinton about my
friendship
with his wife, that this will be the end of your nonsense
.
’

 
‘
Oh
,
believe me, sir,
’ replie
d Felicity contritely, ‘
I did not undertake such a task light-heartedly.
 
I deliberated for quite some time over exactly which words to use to convey my message.  It can be most difficult when one is doing so anonymously.  The
d
uchess, I take it fr
om her little display
just now
, is quite distressed
by the matter.  I believe the d
uke, on the other hand, took the news quite …
maturely
.  I
did think the man might
call you out
, but
he
evidently prefers
to let things lie.
Still
,
quite what he
would do if he were to discover
that the two of you had been alone yet again
-
and right under his nose this time-
’

 
‘
Do not concern yourself, Miss Carmichael
,
’
cut in
James, his voice dripping with disgust.
‘
I can assure
you that
that
is the last time the d
uchess and I shall ever meet alone.
’

 
‘
Oh what a pity,
’
sigh
ed Felicity.
‘
P
articularly when the two of you make such a … dashing couple.
’

 
‘
Your remorse is touching,
’
pronounced James sardonically. 
‘
However
,
as you can see, I have no intention of giving in
to your threats. 
May I suggest that next time you
find a Johnny raw on whom to play your games.
’

  Felicity
gave
a hollow laugh. 
‘
Oh no, sir
. 
You underestimate me.
I
do not give up so easily.  T
he Duke and Duchess of Swinton were only one
of my
many
ideas.  You would, for example, have little choice but to marry me if I chose to inform Society that you had compromised me. 
A
ll it would take would be for
me to tear a little lace here or
there on my gown
and claim you
had
accosted me.’

 
James gave a
snort
of
repulsion
. 
‘
And you think for one moment that
anyone would believe you
?
It is well known that all my mistresses have been diamonds of the first water.  Nobody would believe that I would even look at a bracket-faced dowdy such as yourself.
’

 
‘
Perhaps not. 
However
,
if I was to claim that I was carrying your child …
’

 
‘
That
w
ould
be disproved within
a few months
.
’

 
‘
O
nly
if I were
not
with child.
If I were, on the other hand-
’

 
‘
Don’t be absurd, woman. 
How on earth would you-
?
’

  
‘
Oh, where there is a will the
re is most definitely a way
.  Of course
,
we
would both know that
the
child
was not yours
:  t
he two of us and
obviously
, one other person
,
wh
o would
be paid
a larg
e amount of money to hold his
silence.
’

  James gasped loudly. 
‘
I do believe, madam, that you have quite lost your mind. 
Can you not go
and pr
e
y on some other unsuspecting victim?
’

  Felicity
affected
a hollow titter. 
‘
I
t seems you have forgotten, sir,
that my greatest desire is to be the new Duchess of Ormiston and mistress of Whitlock Castle.  And
,
I must confess
,
hav
ing seen the looks
of envy
awarded Lady Madeleine this evening, I am also desirous of being the centre of such atten
tion and the wife of
what was
England’s most coveted bachelor.  I think the position
should suit me very well
.
Do
n’t
you
?
’

  James’s tone turned
venomous
as he took a step towards the girl, forcing her back against a tree.
Eleanor could not make out the expression on his face
, which was now only inches
from Felicity’s. 
‘
I warn you
,
Miss Carmichael, that
i
f you proceed with any of these ridicu
lous threats, I will
kill you.
’

  Eleanor
was sure she
detect
ed
a thr
ead of terror running through Felicity’s insidious laughter
. 
‘
Oh, how very dramatic, sir,
’
the girl
replied, injecting her tone with a forced lightness. 
‘
Of course
,
I shall keep you abreast of my plans.  When there is anything further to report, I can assure you that you will be the first to know.
’

  Forgetting herself for a moment, Eleanor’s hand shot to her mouth as James raise
d
a clenched fist.  His hand hovered in the air for a few tense seconds.  Eleanor’s eyes widened as she
a
waited
his next move
.
Would he really punch the girl?
even though it was no more than she deserved
.
  Obviously thinking better of it, James dropped his hand then, taking hold of Felicity’s uppe
r arm, he cast her
roughly
aside
.