In response to Eleanor’s grunt, Ma
deleine lifted her eyes from her
plate of food and surveyed her critically.
‘
My, my,
Lady Eleanor,
it would a
ppear
that you are
quite
out of sorts today.
I
would have thought that
,
having been the centre of attention
again
yesterday evening, you would have been feeling quite the thing this morning.
’
In no mood to be toyed with,
Eleano
r’s hackles
rose
. She fixed Madeleine with an icy
sta
re,
adding no more warmth to her voic
e.
‘
Are you implying, madam,
that I would risk
my own life in order to gain the
attention
of a set of people in whom I have not the slightest interest
?
’
‘
I am merely saying, Lady Eleanor
’
replied
Madeleine
smoothly,
as she delicately dissected the slice of ham on her plate,
‘
that you do appear to thrive on having everyone fuss about you so.
’
James suddenly slammed down his knife and fork, causing Eleanor to jump and Madeleine to jerk
up
her head.
‘
For God’s sake, Madeleine,
’
he snapped,
‘
what on earth are you talking about now?
’
Madeleine gazed at
him with wide-eyed innocence.
‘
I was simply saying, James-’
‘
Yes, well don’t.
I
am in no mood for your
ridiculous theories.
I
t’s enough that the girl can’t be let out on her own without some disaster or other
befalling
her, than you-
’
‘
I beg your pardon,
’
cut in
Eleanor, gazing at him defiantly,
‘
but none of those
disasters
were actually of
my
doing.
’
‘
So you say,
’
muttered Madeleine under her breath
.
A surge of red-hot rage crashed through
Eleanor
.
‘
Indeed, I do say
. A
lthough quite what any of it h
as to do with you is
beyond-
’
‘
For God’s sake,
’
cried James, his voice now several octaves higher
,
‘
will the two of you be quiet
. I have a thumping headache a
nd the last thing I need is two bickering women
-
’
‘
Oh, so you ha
ve a thumping headache, do you?
’
cut in
Eleanor
tartly.
‘
I wonder what could possibly be the cause of
that
.
’ She glared accusingly at
Madeleine.
Madeleine’s eyebrows shot to her hairline
.
‘
I hope you are not implying, Lady Eleanor, that
I
am the cause of James’s headache.
’
Eleanor stuck
up
her chin defiantly.
‘
Well
,
perhaps
, madam,
if you did
n
o
t accept gentlemen callers to your rooms in the middle of the night, then-
’
Madele
ine’s eyes grew wide
.
‘
How dare you,
’
she
gush
ed, a slight flush appearing on her cheeks.
‘
Oh, I dare,
’
retorted Eleanor,
‘
because it is
tru-
’
‘
That is enough!
’
roared James
.
Madeleine
t
ilted
up
her chin.
‘
It wasn’t
I
, sir
,
who began making wild accusations about-
’
‘
Be quiet, Madeleine,
’
he bellowed.
‘
I am far too tired to suffer any of your opinions today.
’
A
flabbergasted expression
s
pread over Madeleine’s face. Eleanor, on the other hand, was unable to control her tongue.
‘
Oh, I see,
’
she declared mockingly.
‘
So it is
tiredness
that is to blame for your bad
humour,
sir
.
Well
, in that case, might I suggest
that if you stayed in your own bed
, you might
save us all the
unpleasantness
of having to breakfast with you while you are in such a ghastly frame of mind.
’
James regarded her incredulously. ‘And might
I
suggest, Lady Eleanor, that you take a little air after breakfast to clear your head, for
I confess
I have not the slightest idea to what you are referring.’
‘Hmph,’ huffed Eleanor, folding her arms over her chest. Mirroring her action, James did the same. There then followed
a brief hiatus where each furiously regarded the other. Then James suddenly thrust to his feet, threw down his napkin and strode from the room muttering something which Eleanor could only vaguely make out but which most definitely included the words,
‘
damned mad women
’
.
SEVENTEEN
T
wo things happened o
ver the next few days
for which Eleanor was extremely grateful. Firstly, she received a note from Viscount Grayson
informing her that he had
a matter of some import to attend to on his e
state in the north and was unlikely to return for some time. While E
leanor had
jump
ed
up and down with joy at the news, the
d
owager
had
been extremely irked and had loudly
speculat
ed
for
several
hours
on what matter could possibly be of more import than taking a wife.
E
ventually tir
ing of
that topic,
the old lady
had then
resumed her
cursing of
the thieves who had stolen the v
iscount’s carriage at the very moment he had been abo
ut to offer for Eleanor. Were it not for them, she
had
grumbled, she would
be
in the throes of
making
wedding preparations
now,
and Eleanor
w
ould be off
t
he
i
r
hands in a matter of weeks.
But Lady Ormiston’s
rantings did not last long
, for, in th
e
second noteworthy event
that occurred, t
he
old lady
contracted
influenza and took to her bed.
The welcome consequence of this occurrence
was that E
leanor
was, at last, allowed some respite
from the Se
ason’s hectic social whirl and, more importantly, from all the gossip of Felicity Carmichael’s
staged seduction scene
.
By now, of course, the incident would have been embellished with a generous dose of fictional detail and scandalous conjecture – exactly as Felicity had planned it.
A
lthough capable of attending events without the company of his aunt,
James, too,
appeared to have temporarily stepped off the social merry-go-round.
Eleanor
considered this a wise decision
and only hoped the gossips did not look upon his absence as an
admiss
i
on of guilt
in all that they were surmising
. Madeleine,
though,
seemingly oblivious to recent
events
, was evidently unimpressed at James’s decision. H
er constant moaning and whinging at having to stay at home was becoming increasingly tedious.
Indeed, since the Illingsworth
s’ soir
é
e
, and the
ensuing
row at breakfast the following morning
,
relationships
between the various members of the household had become increasingly
s
trained. E
le
anor and Madeleine spoke to one an
other only when necessary
,
or when
one of them spotted an opportunity
to snipe at the ot
her; Eleanor had no wish
at all
to speak to James
,
who was so grumpy
he had
everyone within a
twenty-yard
radius
of him w
alking on egg-shells; Eleanor
w
as avoiding the odious
Derek Lovell
at all costs,
while Madeleine refused to be in the same room as the man
;
and
Madeleine’s relationship with James
appeared to consist of nothing but a
r
guments and bickering
.
With only a few more weeks of the Season remaining, Eleanor longed
for
some normality and found her thoughts turning, wit
h increasing regularity, to
her home at Merryoaks.
The end of the Season was no
t sufficiently in sight
, however,
for the
d
owager
to
allow
Eleanor a repriev
e from her dancing lessons. A v
iscount’s wife
sh
ould
be an accomplished dancer
, she pointed out – a fact which did
little to inspire her goddaughter.
This particular day, i
n an effort to relieve her boredom, Eleanor spotted an opportunity to
make a little mischief
.
‘
May I ask, M.
Aminieux,
if Lady Madeleine has arranged a date to
meet
your good wife
yet
?
’
she enquired i
nnocently
.
‘
Alas,
non, mademoiselle
,
’
replied
the Frenchman,
unable to hide his disappointment
.
‘
I am thinking that the Lady Madeleine is an extremely busy lady,
non?
’
‘
Oh indeed, she is,
m
onsieur
,
’
nodded Eleanor. ‘However, with my g
odmother
still abed and
James occupied with business matters,
Lady Madeleine
should
certainly have
at least one
evening free this week.
’
The
dancing master’s face broke
into
a wide smile
.
‘
Then in that case,
I will be writing a note to her this instant.
’
‘
Oh, we c
an do better than that, M.
Aminieux,
’
beame
d Eleanor.
‘
We shall go and find her at o
nce and arrange it
.
’
‘
Quelle bonne idé
e, mademioselle
,
’
he
nodde
d
,
scurrying after
Eleanor.
‘
Lady Madeleine,
’
announced Eleanor as she
breezed into
the
drawing-
room
to find the older woman sitting in a window seat reading.
‘The very person.
’
Madeleine eyed her suspiciously.
‘
I was just telling M. Aminieux
,’ beamed Eleanor, beckoning to the man to enter, ‘
that I am sure you will have
ti
me to meet his wife
this week.’
Madeleine’s
jaw dropped several inches.
‘
Ah, Madam
e
Aminieux is
so
looking forward to it
,
madame,
’
informed the dancing master, wringing his hands together anxiously
.
‘
How delightful,
’
smiled Eleanor sweetly.
‘
I know that Lady Madeleine is
very much
looking forward to it too
,
monsieur
. Now
,
if I’m not
mistaken, Lady Madeleine, I
do
believe you are free on Thursd
ay evening – the evening of
Lady Thorpe’s ball which James has declined to attend.
’
‘
I
n
- ind
eed,
’
flustered
Madeleine
.
‘
But I’m afraid
, I have
a,
er-
’
‘
Perfect!
’
cut in Eleanor.
‘
Thursday it is then,
mo
nsieur
,’ she confirmed, ushering the man out of the room
.
‘
Shall we say six
o
’
clock
?
’
The following day
,
the
d
owager
,
bored
to distraction
in her bed
, demanded
to
be brought downstairs.
A complicated operation ensued
involving all the
long-suffering
footme
n and two
of the strongest
gardeners. I
t took a
little over an hour
before
she
was safely deposited in the drawing
-
room and
an additional
five minutes
before
the
bellowing o
f
orders
resumed
.
‘
Stevens,
I shall require a tray of tea, some of
c
ook’s fruit cake and the company of my nephew. Inform
James
that I wish
to see
him immediately.
’
Eleanor pick
ed
up her book
and, rising from the sofa,
made to
follow the servant
.
She had no desire to see James, let alone take tea with him.
In fact, s
he had
done
her utmost to avoid
him
for several days now
but, during t
he
handful of times she had encountered him,
it was obvious
his
mood
continued to be as dark as ever
.
No sooner
had Eleanor risen to her feet
, though, than the dowager barked,
‘
And where
do you think you are going
?
’
‘
To the garden, Godmother.
’
‘
Indeed you are not
.
I wish
both
you and James to
bring me up
to
date
with the latest happenings.
We shall all
take tea together.
’
Eleanor’s spirits plummeted
.
‘
I’m afraid I am really not the person to ask. I have scarce
left the house
myself
since you were taken ill
.
’
‘
Well
,
in that case,
’
sniff
ed the
d
owager
,
‘
it is
even more
imperative
that you stay. I am sure V
iscount
Grayson
would
require his wife to be
up
to
date with all the latest
on dits
.
’
Eleanor
suppressed
a
sigh. Her godmother had obviously made up her mind and
consequently
there was no point even attempting to change it
.
R
eluctantly
,
she
resumed her seat and put down her book.
Just at that
moment, James joined them
and
,
after planting a kiss on his aunt’s cheek, dropped into the chair opposite her.
‘
So,
’
began
the
d
owager
, as Stevens
set down
a
silver tea tray on the
table,
‘
do
tell me all the latest happenings, James.
The only thing you talked of when you visited me in my chambers was the blasted weather.
’