‘
That’s right
,’ nodded Eleanor
.
‘
And you are?
’
‘
M
ickey Humphreys, miss
. Local farmer.
’
‘
Well, Mickey Humphreys local
farmer, do you think I could
take
part
in your competition?
’
Mickey removed his cloth cap and scratched his head, which,
in contrast to the hair on his chin, was completely
bald.
‘
I don’t know, miss. Archery ain’t no sport for young ladies.
’
Eleanor’s eyes widened with pleading.
‘
Oh, please, Mickey
.
I am going out of m
y mind with boredom
.
’
Mickey’s mouth stretched into a wide grin
.
‘
Oh, all right then, miss, but just make sure you don’t hurt yourself.
’
‘
Oh
, I won’t. I promise.’
Mickey introduce
d
Eleanor to the
rest of the men
, all of whom were s
hocked
and amused at the unexpected addition
.
Of the group, only t
hree of the farmers and three of the gamekeepers were to take part in the competition
. Straws were drawn to decide names
.
A target was then carved into the trunk of a large oak
tree
. A line of
twigs placed some way
from the tree marked the shooting line.
Each participant was
allowed two shots
. The four participants
nearest
to the target would
then
proceed
to the next round.
Eleanor soon discovered that all th
e men were expert shots.
She
was the last to go. She was used to being observed by Zach and his sons but
,
under the scrutiny of ten strange men, all watching her in amused silence, she
was
extremely self-conscious. Still, she resolved, she
had insisted they let her take part. She
could not
very well back down now.
Taking a deep reassuring breath in
,
she pulled back her bow and released
the string. The arrow flew through
the air
, landing
with a thud bang in the centre of the circle.
A collective gasp of surprise rose from her audience
, f
ollowed by a raucous round of applause and much head scratching.
‘
Well, miss,
’
puffed
an astounded Mickey.
‘
That’s you good and proper through to the next round.
’
Eleanor flashed him a relieved smile.
The next round
involved
a handkerchief with a hole
in
the middle
. The
sh
ooting line was moved back
a foot. This time only the best two
participants
would
proceed
to the next
-
and final
-
round
.
And t
his time they were
allowed
only
one shot.
Two of the men missed the handkerchief completely
, resulting
in much guffawing and name-calling from their audience
, although
Eleanor suspected the name-calling had been tempered somewhat due to her presence. Again she was the last to go. She took her time in lining up the target and held her b
reath as she released the arrow.
She could scarce believe it when it found its target and another round of disbelieving but respectful applause rose from the men.
Now there were only two
participants remaining:
a large stocky gamekeeper by the name of Will
, and Eleanor
. For the final target,
Mickey produced an apple
. Tying it to the tree with a piece of string, Will gestured to Eleanor to go first.
Eleanor’s heart was hammering furiously against her ribcage.
Taking her time again, she released the arrow and to her utter amazement it shot right through the apple slicing it clean in half. Turning around to look
at her stunned audience, she
couldn’t help but giggle at their amazed expressions. Will went next and his arrow just clippe
d the side of the apple. A hearty
round of applause and
a loud cheer came from the group
,
followed by a lot of complimentary back slapping as they
all agreed that Eleanor was the winner
.
‘
Well, miss,
’
declared Mickey, removing his cap and scratching his head again,
‘
the prize goes to you
. That’s a couple of
brace of rabbits
c
aught fresh this morning.
’
‘
Please do forgive me for interrupting, Mickey,
’
suddenly interje
cted a deep voice from behind her
,
‘
b
ut I requir
e an urgent word with Lady Eleanor
.
’
A
startled Eleanor gasped
as James
Prestonville
grasped her up
per arm and steered her
roughly
away from the bemused men
.
Lowering his voice so as not to draw atten
tion to them, he said, as he le
d her back towards the lawned area,
‘
My
a
unt has been somewhat concerned over your whereabouts, Lady Eleanor
.
She asked that I come and find you.
’
Eleanor flushed guiltily.
‘
I,
er-
’
‘
-have been demonstrating another of your alternative accomplishments, I see,
’
he interjected
drily
,
as they came to a halt on the edge of the manicured grass.
Eleanor felt the
now familiar swell of
anger, which always seemed to fill her whenever she was in this man’s presence.
‘
Well I was bored
. And
I like archery and I-
’
‘Save your excuses for my
a
unt, madam,’
cut in
James
, his eyes sparkling with
that t
hing Eleanor couldn’t identify
. ‘I have no idea what she will say when she learns of your behaviour.’
E
leanor stuck out her chin.
‘
O
h, I have a very good idea, sir. B
ut please do not let that detract from your pleasure in telling her’.
Thankfully for Eleanor, just at t
hat moment, a couple of gentleme
n approached James and
,
after greeting
him
with muc
h bowing and hand shaking,
began quizzing him about the fishing rights to the land.
Eleanor slipped away.
In no mood
to return to the
party, she wandered around to the stable block at the back of the hous
e. Spotting a
bale of hay in a quiet corner of the yard bathed in glorious sunshine, she climbed on
to it and made herself comfortable
.
She must have dozed off because when she
awoke
it was to the
sound of voices coming from around the corner – one
of a
male and
one of a female. She recognized them immediately
.
‘
Ah, what a surprise to see you here, my lord,
’
said Felicity Carmichael.
‘
I would have thought your admiring little group of debutantes would not have let you out of their sight for a moment.
’
James Prestonville gave a polite chuckle.
‘
Oh, I can assure you, Miss Carmichael
,
that
any debutante’s
interest
in me
is purely fleeting.
Now
,
if you will excuse m
e, I was just
looking for someone.
’
‘
Of course,
’
replie
d Felicity graciously.
‘
However
I
am grateful for the chance to have a word with you in private, my lord.
’
‘
Oh?
’
said
James
, obviously surprised.
‘
And may I ask why
?
’
‘
It is re
garding my
come
out
which
,
as you know
,
is to take place next week.
’
‘
So I have been informed
,’
said James, his voice now
tinged with amusement. ‘On
several
occasions
.
’
‘
Qu
it
e
,
’
sniffe
d Felicity.
‘
I
f I am not mistaken, I
believe my
mama
’s excitement to be a
source of humour to
you and your friend, Mr Lovell
, my lord.
’
James gave
a snort of laughter
.
‘
I
think it is fair to say, Miss Carmichael,
that your mother makes little disguise of her desire to have me as her son-in-law.
’
‘
Indeed
,
’
said Felicity, tartly.
‘
Well,
perhaps you may find it not quite so amusing, sir
,
to note that I shall be expecting a proposal of marriage shortly after my
come
out
.
’
‘
That does not
surprise me in the least, madam.
Is that not the usual way one goes about things?
’
‘
Oh i
ndeed it is, sir.
But what you are most likely not aware of, is that the offer I
am expecting is from your
self.
’
James emitted a snort of incredulous laughter.
‘
Forgive me, Miss Carmichael
, but I think you
must be all about in your head.’
Felicity gave a hollow laugh.
‘
Oh
,
I hold no illusions tha
t it would be a love match
. T
hat does not interest me in the slightest.
What does interest me is becoming the next Duchess of Ormiston and mistress of Whitlock.
’
‘
I see,
’
muse
d James
.
‘
Well, I am
sorry to disappoint you,
but as you know, I have no plans to marry for the foreseeable future.
’
‘
Perhaps you did not, sir. But, as we all know, plans can quite easily be changed.
’
‘
Indeed
they can. But
only if o
ne wishes to change them.
And I
do not. I’m afraid, Miss Carmichael, that I
have no desire to marry you or anyone else.
’
‘
Hmm,
’
pondered Felicity
.
‘
Well, pe
rhaps
you would feel a lit
tle differently if you had a
… reason to marry.
’