Someday soon.
Ever yours,
Robbie
Eloise could not stop the tears. They streamed down her face as a deep craving for this man—one she had tried desperately to divest herself of—roiled through her, disquieting her stomach even more than her daily sicknesses did. She bent forward in the chair, taking deep breaths, and tried to steady her head as well as her gut.
The daily sicknesses, which she had at first attributed to a change in climate and diet, had begun to ease as the third month ended without the arrival of her courses. Delie, quick to be aware of the change in Eloise, had done her best to hide the details from the rest of the household, even the point of hand-washing perfectly clean cloths from the basket in Eloise’s dressing room and complaining about her mistress’s heavy flow to the other maids.
But some details could not remain hidden forever.
A debilitating fear gripped Eloise whenever she dwelt on her condition too much, so she sat up, swallowed the remaining bile in her throat, and reached for the third letter. She unfolded it—and dropped it when she saw the first words printed across the top:Christmases Around the World.
No. They would not...
But they had.
The invitation, printed except for her handwritten name, lay on the table, taunting Eloise.
CHRISTMASES AROUND THEWORLD
==========
The Duke and Duchess ofKennet
cordially invite
Lady EloiseSurrey
to join them for theirannual
CHRISTMAS BALL
Friday, 23 December,1825
Ashton Park
Nine O’Clock
An answer isrequired.
Eloise put her hands over her face. Three months. Three months of peace and quiet. Of boredom. Of loneliness. Of feeling abandoned and forgotten.
Shattered in a moment.
Never again.
Eloise wiped the tears away and stood up, the butler’s paper knife still gripped in her hand. She strode back to the servants’ hall, startling the young maids who had gathered around the handsome courier, giggling as he tried to drink his tea. They all stared as she went to the wooden box and pried away the wax seal over the latch. She threw open the lid, revealing dozens of letters, neatly folded and in tight rows. On top lay a recent scandal sheet, and she turned it over to find the item Timothy had circled. Eloise burst into laughter as she read it.
From Satyr to Savior!It has come to this author’s attention that Lord R—A—, our former favorite fop and scandal-ridden rogue, has sought redemption in a most unexpected manner. While most of Society barely recognizes that our streets are littered with wretched urchins, Lord R—has taken any number into his employ—and now seeks to educate them in a school of his own design. While the dragons of thetonhave been wagging their tongues and fingers at such outrageous arrogance, the debutantes have turned many a curious eye at him, thinking a husband who enjoys the company of children might be just the thing to rid themselves of their marriage-minded Mamas. What say you, Ladies? Is a new game on?
Eloise replaced the sheet and closed the lid, scooping the box up under one arm. Time to confront her aunt. She paused a moment, peering at the still silent maids and Saunders, who stared blatantly at her.
“Mr. Saunders, I will have the answers for you first thing in the morning. You may plan to leave after breakfast. And, ladies, please remember that he lives in London.”
Eloise marched from the room, leaving a scattering of giggles in her wake.
*
