The Unaccomplished Lady Eleanor (44 page)

She followed her usual route along the banks of the river, having neither the strength nor the inclination to do anything other than hold the animal at a brisk trot.  When she reached her fa
vourite spot – a small
clearing which awarded magnificent views of the surrounding countryside, she dismounted and tethered the horse to a tree before lying down on the grass and staring up at the clear blue sky.  Immediately a vision of James, lying on the grass in Paddy’s Meadow with a blade of grass sticking out of his mouth, flashed through her mind. Was she to be plagued by thoughts of the man forever
?  I
t certainly
seemed so,
when everything around her reminded her of him.

‘
Not fishing today I see, Lady Eleanor,
’
suddenly came a deep voice from behind her.
Startled, she jerked up into a sitting position and swung her head around to
find
James walking towards her. 

All her blood rushed to her head and her heart started to race
. 
‘
James
!
  But how …
I mean … how on earth did you-?
’

‘
Your f
ather told me this was where you would
stop
.
’

‘
My f
ather?
 
But how did you-
?
’

James
sat down alongside her on the grass. 
‘
It seems that your
f
ather is a very perceptive man, Eleanor,
’
he declared, as he appeared to ad
mire the view
.

‘
Perceptive?
’

‘
Indeed,
’
he continued matter-of-factly, still not looking at her. 
‘
Far cleverer that me
for example, for he guessed immed
iately that it was I who organiz
ed the robbery of the Graysons’ coach the day the v
is
count was supposed to offer for
you.
’

Eleanor’s mouth dropped open. 
‘
The coach?  But I don’t understand.
’

‘
Don’t you?
’
  He turned to look at her,
his dark eyes
locking
onto hers. 
‘
I organiz
ed a distraction,
Eleanor
, because I did not want
you to marry Viscount Grayson.
’

‘
But I never had any intention of marrying Viscount Grayson,
’
gasped Eleanor
.

‘
And how, exactly, did you expect me to know that?
 
E
very time anyone said anything the least bit derogatory about the man, you had an annoying habit of defending him.
’

Elean
or emitted an embarrassed chuckle
. 
‘
Well, I can assure you, sir
,
that if that was the case, it was more to protect
my own pride, rather than the v
iscount’s.
’

James
continued to regard her gravely. 
‘
So,
’
he continued, lowering his voice to a level of intimacy which sent her already racing heart beating even faster. 
‘
I hear you have declined that man’s offer too.
’

She immediately averted her eyes from his and focussed them instead on her riding boots. 
‘
Indeed I have,
’ she muttered.
 

‘
So am I correct
in assuming you are still determined that you will never marry?
’
he asked softly.

She continued looking at her boots. 
‘
I will never marry
a man who does not love me, sir.’
 

‘
Then why on earth didn’t
you accept my proposal
?
’
he asked in an incredulous tone. 

She turned to look at him once more. 
‘
Because it was made only out of obligation, sir.  You felt that you had to propose to me because I had saved your life.
’

James shook his head disbelievingly. 
‘
I am extremely grateful, Eleanor that you saved me not only from death, but from a fate
much
worse than death – marriage to Felicity Carmichael.  But if you really believe that that is the reason I
asked you to marry me,
then you are-
’

‘
And because I know that you are still in love with the Duchess of Swinton,
’
she pronounced softly
, averting her eyes to her boots
.

‘
The Duchess of Swinton?
’
he echo
ed in amazement. 
‘
What on earth are you talking about?
’

‘
I saw the way you looked at her at t
he masquerade ball.’

‘
I see.
’

Still staring at her feet, Eleanor stopped breathing for a moment
, t
errified of what he was going to say next.  Terrified that the sli
ght glimmer of hope she had experienced
at seeing him here was
going to
be
extinguished forever by the information he chose to reveal with his next words. 

There was a brief hiatus before he said
,
‘
I trust you know that that liaison is now at an end?
’

Eleanor nodded
. 

‘
I was forced to end it even though I had developed a deep … affection for the woman
,
and she for me.
’

‘
I see,
’
said Eleanor tersely, still refusing to look at him.

‘
Oh, I know it
wa
s wrong,
’
continue
d James, noting her disapproval
, ‘but
hers was not a love match
: i
t was a marriage of convenience. 
She
is deeply unhappy with her husband.
’

Eleanor tossed back her head haughtily. 
‘
H
ow very magnanimous of you
to cheer the woman up.
’

‘
Th
at is not what I meant, Eleanor. 
And talking of looks, for God’s sake, haven’t you noticed the way I look at
you
?  I can barely take my eyes of you.  I was very fond of the
d
uchess but I was never in love with her.  Not the way I love you.
’

She jerked her head round to look at him. 
‘
You love
me
?
But you never said.
I mean how can you-
?
’

‘
Oh, I can quite easily,
’
said James, moving closer to her. 
‘
And I do.  I love you to distraction, Eleanor Myers. I have been going out of my mind these last few days not knowing what to do.  I thought you had not changed your mind – that you never wanted to marry and I had no wish to make another cake
of myself in front of you
.  You
cannot even begin to imagine my
relief
when I received your f
ather’s note.
’
  He lifted his hand to her face, tilting it toward
s
him. 
‘
I can assure you, Eleanor,
’
he whispered, a
s he lowered his head to hers,
‘
that there are a great many women out there like the Duchess of Swinton, but you – you are something incredibly special
.
’
H
e planted a tender kiss on her forehead
.
‘
So
beautiful
.
’
He planted another on her cheek.
‘
So funny.
’
A
nother brushed her lips
.
‘
A
nd so-
’

‘
- unbecoming,
’
they chorused together
,
before breaking into fits of laughter. 

TWENTY
-
THREE

T
he wedding of Lady Eleanor Jane Myers to James, newly-appointed Duke of Ormiston, took place on a perfect July day by special licence in the same parish church in which the bride had been bapti
z
ed some nineteen years and eight months earlier. 

With the exception
of the groom, the bride’s father was the proudest man in the land as he escorted his beautiful, radiant daughter up the aisle followed by a beaming Milly Maguire
,
pretty as a picture in her bridesmaid dress of exactly the same colour as the damask roses which filled the church. 

‘
Of course I alway
s knew that she would make
a good match,
’
Eleanor overheard her stepmama saying as she walked down the steps of the church on the arm of her new husband. 
‘
N
othing but the best would do for her, I made sure of that.
’

As bride and groom were reluctantly forced apart by their guests, all eager to pass on their congratulations, it was Hester’s old Uncle Arthur
who was the first to embrace Eleanor
.

‘
I must admit, my girl,
’
he c
huckled
,
‘
I did have my doubts when Hester came up with that plan for me to feel your leg that evening – just before you went away. 
But
she did make me an offer I couldn’t refuse,
’
he concluded with a wink.

Eleanor gazed wide-eyed at him
,
as the meaning of what he had just said
, sa
nk in. 
‘
You don’t mean to tell me,
si
r,
that Hester
bribed
you to feel my leg that evening?
’

‘
Sworn to secrecy, I was,
’
replied the old man, tapping the side of his nose with a wrinkled finger,
‘
but let’s just say the
bottles
of whisky didn’t half hit the spot.  Hope it didn’t get you into too much bother, girl.
’

Eleanor looked at James, her husband, chatting merrily with Zach
,
the farmer
,
and felt her heart swell with love. 
‘
No, Uncle Arthur,
’
she replied, slipping her arm through his. 
‘
No bother at all.
’

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