“Lady Eleanor, good afternoon! What a pleasant delight it is to my heart to see you here.”
Eleanor looked up, a little startled to see Lord Ashworth beaming at her as if, somehow, she had brought him a great deal of joy simply by being present in Gunters. “Lord Ashworth, good afternoon.”
“And to you also, Lady Catherine.” With a nod to her, he then quickly returned his attention solely to Eleanor. “Might I ask if you are present in this part of London for long? I thought a walk through these busy streets might be quite delightful.”
Exchanging a look with her cousin, Eleanor put a light smile on her face. “We thought to go to the bookshop, Lord Ashworth.”
“And you have no chaperone with you?”
“We have our maids,” Catherine said, a hint of censure in her voice. “That is chaperone enough.”
This, for whatever reason, seemed to make Lord Ashworth all the happier, given just how broadly he smiled. “Capital! Then would you permit me to accompany you both to the bookshop?”
Catherine blinked. “We have not yet begun our ices, Lord Ashworth.”
“I shall wait!” he declared, looking only at Eleanor, even though Catherine had been the one speaking. “I look forward to your company.”
As he walked away, back to his own table, Eleanor let out a slow breath as she shook her head. “Alas, I fear that my father will be greatly pleased with Lord Ashworth’s interest.”
“Oh?”
Eleanor’s lips twisted into a grimace. “Father studied my dance card very carefully last evening, declaring to me which gentlemen were, in his eyes, deemed suitable and which were not. Lord Ashworth was considered to bemostsuitable.”
Catherine’s eyes widened. “He did not say anything about Lord Finchley?”
Eleanor shook her head. “He said something about being near Lord Finchley’s estate, but that he had never met the gentleman himself. Whilst his title was suitable enough, my father seemed to favor Lord Ashworth. Seemingly, he – that is, Lord Ashworth – went to introduce himself to my father purposefully.”
“Then his interest in you is genuine.”
“It would seem so,” Eleanor answered, with a sigh. “I am not in the least bit interested inhiscompany, however, although I will admit that he is certainly suitable.”
Catherine smiled gently. “Because you are still in love with Lord Finchley.”
“Desperately so,” Eleanor admitted, with a soft smile, although her heart twisted at the very same time. “But I am also well aware that my feelings might come to naught regardless of the fact I now know the truth about his stepping away from me… and that is something I do not think I can bear to endure all over again.”
“You may have to,” Catherine said, speaking very quietly as if she did not want to injure Eleanor with her words. “I shallpray that it will not come to that, however. I will pray that you will find happiness with Lord Finchley and that this time, that happiness will linger on into your future.”
Eleanor put one hand to her heart, tears beginning to burn in the corners of her eyes. “Thank you, cousin,” she said, her emotions stealing away the strength from her voice. “That is my prayer also.”
“I must say,I do prefer books such asthese.” Lord Ashworth picked up a book and opened it. “Books that delve intopracticalthings rather than foolish novels.”
Eleanor reached out one hand, turning open the first page. “This one speaks of improvements made to shipbuilding?” It was not a subject that in any way captured her interest, but when Lord Ashworth tugged it away, her brow furrowed. “Lord Ashworth, I was not yet finished – ”
“Oh no, my dear Lady Eleanor!” He stepped back, looking a little horrified. “I could not permit you to delve any further into this book! It is a book for gentlemen only, you understand. Young ladies need not worry their heads about such things as this, for that would put you on the path towards becoming a bluestocking, and I am sure that you do not want that!”
Eleanor had no interest in becoming a bluestocking, but neither did she like Lord Ashworth’s insistence thatheknew what was best for her and would, therefore, take the book away from her. Biting the inside of her cheek so that she did not give him the sharp response that shot into her mind, she forced a smile. “Do excuse me for a few minutes, Lord Ashworth. I must go and look at some of thosefoolishnovels, as you called them, and I am certain you will not want to join me there!”She turned her back on him before he could protest and made her way quickly to the staircase, climbing it swiftly with her lady’s maid following quietly after her. The bookshop was large enough that Eleanor could easily lose Lord Ashworth’s company entirely, and, given the way she had been able to scurry from him, Eleanor hoped she would not have to be in his company again that afternoon.
“What is the meaning of this?”
A loud voice, a yelp of surprise, and the clattering of footsteps caught her by surprise, swiftly followed by a young girl half-throwing herself down the stairs and knocking into Eleanor as she went. Eleanor cried out in fright, gripping the banister with one hand as she flailed, only for a strong hand to catch her arm.
“Eleanor, are you quite all right?”
It took her a few moments to catch her breath, looking up into Lord Finchley’s face and seeing his wide-eyed concern. “I – I am.”
“I am terribly sorry,” he said, his hand loosening now but still guiding her upstairs to the next floor of the bookshop. “I did not mean for that to happen.”
Eleanor looked up at him as he took his hand from her arm, but then threw it through his hair, giving him something of a wild appearance as he began to pace, his eyes darting this way and that. “Who was she, Finchley?”
