‘
Now Eleanor,
’
piped up the
d
owager
, oblivious to the undercurr
ent running between the pair,
‘
I have sent a note today to Viscount Grayson inviting him to call
on us. We must
encourage the man after he showed so much interest in you yesterday evening. After all
,
he was the only one.
’
Eleanor a
lmost cho
ked on her
water.
‘
Viscount Grayson, Godmother
.
But he is - That is I don’t- I have no wish to-
’
‘
And if you persist with
this ridiculous notion about not marry
ing
, Eleanor,
then I shall send y
ou back to your step
mama
this instant. The purpose of you being here is to find a man to take you and Viscount Grayson is quite the catch, is he not
,
James?
’
James had covered
his mouth with his
napkin to disguise the fact that he was ch
oking with laughter. Evidently, under the close scrutiny of both his a
unt and Eleanor
, he could contain
it no longer
. He
collapsed in a fit of hysteria.
Eleanor
g
lare
d at him
. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad being sent home and facing the wrath of H
ester Scones. Could it
be any worse than a visit f
rom Viscount Grayson?
She didn’t have long to wait to find out.
ELEVEN
‘
V
iscount Grayson, your g
race,
’
announced Giles
,
as Eleanor,
Lady Ormiston, James and
Madeleine were sitting in the long, red drawing
-
room early the following afternoon.
At this unwelcome news, Eleanor’s spirits sank to the floor and a
wave of dread
swept
over
he
r. The
d
owager
, obviously delighted at the news, beamed broadly.
‘
Now
,
just a moment, Giles,
’
she instructed, laying down her tambour-frame and striding over to her goddaughter.
‘
Really, Eleanor,
’
she tutted, wrenching the book out of
her
han
ds
,
‘
I did hope you would be wearing your lemon day dress when the man called. It is much more becoming than the lilac you have on. However
,
there is no time
to change. Go and sit over by the window, girl
,
and
smile
. There is nothing more unbecoming than surliness.
’
Aware
that any p
rotestation would be
useless, Eleanor
heaved a heavy
sigh and moved over to the window where she flopped down on
to the green cushioned seat. The
d
owager
scurried over to the doorway and regarded her through her lorgnette.
‘
No, no, no.
The light is too much.
The poor man will have to squint the entire time he is looking at you. No, I think perhaps over by the fireplace would be better.
Come now, Eleanor, don’t dawdle. The man is waiting to see you. We must not keep him longer than is acceptable.
’
With another sigh
, Eleanor
dragged herself
over to the fireplace and slumped down into the wing chair there. From her position at the doorway, the
d
owager
nodded her approval.
‘
Much better. Much, much better.
Now do sit up straight, Eleanor. There’s nothing more unbecoming than poor posture.
’
Doing as she was bid
, Eleanor blew
out
her breath in a huff. The
d
owager
, completely embroiled in her seating arrangements, failed – or more likely ignored – her goddaughter’s blatant lack of enthusiasm.
Standing with her hands on her broad hips, she stood on the thresh
old surveying the room
.
‘
Now,
where on earth shall
I
sit?
’
James and
Madeleine who were seated
by the pianoforte at the far end of the room, had now set aside their books and were watching the proceedings with obvious amusement. James was lounging in a brown leather wing chair, his long legs, clad in tight b
eige
breeches, dangling carelessly over the side. Eleanor hoped desperately that the
d
owager
would banish the pair to the library. Her glimmer of hope did not last long.
‘
You don’t mind if we join you, do you, Aunt?
’
enquired James, his tone rich with amusement.
‘
It is a long time since I have had a chat with
the v
iscount.
’
Eleanor flashed him a baleful
gl
are.
It was returned
with a beatific smile.
The
d
owager
was now
pinning
up
several stray locks of Eleanor’s hair.
‘
O
f c
ourse not,
James.
W
e must make the man as w
elcome as possible. Lord knows
he is our only hope at the moment.
’
‘
Indeed, Aunt,
’
agree
d James, his lips tw
itching
.
‘
Come now, Madeleine. We
,
too
,
will need to be seated.
’
‘
Oh
goodness, James
,’ flustered the dowager
.
‘
You and Madeleine take the sofa. Yes
,
definitely the sofa.
I will
sit in my usual chair and the v
iscount can sit
alongside me,
facing Eleanor. Now come along everyone,
’
she
boomed, satisfied with Eleanor’s hair and
scurrying
to her own seat.
‘
We h
ave kept the man waiting long enough
.
’
Eleanor rolled her eyes. She
was
exhausted already and the viscount
hadn’t even set foot in t
he room yet. She wondered if things
could possibly get any worse, but knew instinctive
ly that they
could.
‘
Ah, Viscount Grayson. How delightful of you to come. And so soon,
’
enthused
Lady Ormiston
as Giles showed the man into the room.
‘
Giles, we will require
tea and
cake.
’
As the v
iscount walked – or rather, waddled - to
wards them, Eleanor’s
spirits plummeted
. The man was even more hideous than she remembered
,
his
tight black pantaloons
s
training against his wide girth.
They all stood up to greet him.
‘
You already know my nephew, I believe,
’
continued
the dowager
, gesturing to James.
‘
And this is Lady Madeleine Bouvray who is visiting us from Hungary for the Season.
’
When the usual
courtesies of bowing and curts
ying had been observed
, Lady Ormiston
gestured to them all to be seated.
‘
Do please sit down, Viscount
,
and tell us how yo
u enjoyed the Carmichaels’ ball.
Eleanor has not stopped talking of you since the event
, h
ave you, my dear?
’
She threw Eleanor an imploring smile
. It
was
r
eturned with a dampening glower
.
‘
Indeed she hasn’t,
’
beamed
James.
‘
I believe
she describe
d you as the
most
charming of all her dance partners
that evening
.
’
Eleanor’s eyes widened in
disbelief as she regarded James: h
ow dare he throw that back in her face?
The v
iscount opened his mouth to speak revealing his revolting set of teeth.
‘
Really?
’
he sniffed
incredulously.
‘
Then I hope to have the pleasure of dancing with her again soon.
’
His voice was much more high-pitched than Eleanor recalled. Indeed, it was so high-pitched that it could more accurately be described as a squeak. Alongs
ide James’s deep, masculine
voice, it appeared even more ridiculous.
He
o
ffered Eleanor a broad smile,
revealing
the full extent of his
lack of oral care. Eleanor recoiled
inwardly.
‘
Ah, yes,
’
added
Madeleine,
obviously
spotting
yet
another opportunity to embarrass Eleanor.
‘
She was just telling me how
she hopes to have the pleasure of your company at the
Stanningtons’ picnic on Saturday, Viscount.
’
The viscount flushed with
pride and gazed expectantly
at Eleanor through his colourless eyes. This really
was the outside of enough,
concluded
Eleanor
.
Whilst
James and Madeleine w
ere
evidentl
y finding the
meeting highly amusing, their remarks were encouraging the
v
iscount to such an extent that Eleanor could
no longer
hold her tongue.
‘
Actually, Lady Madeleine,
I have not yet decided if I am to attend the Stanningtons’ picnic.
’
The
d
owager
waved a dismissive hand, indicating that Eleanor’s statement was not worthy of a second’s consideration.
‘
Don’t be ridiculous, girl,
’
she countered, casting her goddaughter a reprimanding glare.
‘
Of course you are to attend.
’
Her admonishing tone melted into one of pure s
ugar as she then turned to the v
iscount.
‘
May I take it that we
shall
have the pleasure of your company at the Stanningtons’ picnic, Viscount?
’
‘
Oh, of course, ma’am,
’
trilled the v
iscount
,
a little piece of spittle dangling from the corner of his mouth.
‘
I shall look forwa
rd to it. Very much
.
’
A muffled snort of laughter came from the direction of James, which Eleanor
chose
to ignore.
The v
iscount’s visit lasted a total of twenty-eight minutes. Eleanor knew this so precisely because she watched the hands of the gilt timepiece move through every single interminable second of them.
Although the
d
owager
was obviously of the opinion that she was
now
well on her way to successfully completing h
er
project
and
marrying Eleanor off to Viscount Grayson, there
was, unfortunately, no
reprieve for Eleanor on the learning of her wretched ‘accomplishments’.
Consequently,
M
.
Aminieux
’s daily visits to the castle continued
. While
Eleanor
would not go as far as to say that she enjoyed these lessons, they were certainly becoming much easier thanks, in no small part, to Milly’s extra tuition.
As they walked
into the hall after this morning’s lesson and bumped straight into Lady Madeleine, the Frenchman could hardly contain his delight. Wearing a pale
-
blue carriage gown and on her way to the main doo
r, the woman started as the colourful dancing master minced towards her.
‘
Ah, the lovely Lady Madeleine,
’
he gushed, taking hold of her hand.
‘
Madam
e
Aminieux is doing the nagging of me.
She is anxious to meet you,
madam
e
.
’
A fleeting look of panic washed over Lady Madeleine’s face, before being replaced with a charming smile.
‘
You are too kind, M
.
Aminieux,
’
she sai
d, snatching her hand
from his,
‘
however I am so busy I do not have a free evening for the next two weeks at least.
’
‘
Well then,
’
asserted the
d
owager
,
‘
why not plan for after that
?
I must say, Madeleine, that if I had not spoken my own language for several weeks, I would be positivel
y bursting for a good chat
.
’