There was nothing left for them to discuss and, as the carriage continued to roll on, Eleanor’s heart grew heavier. She had not expected there to be such a weight of expectation upon her shoulders, and she certainly had not thought her father would be so disinclined towards assisting her with such a requirement! Considering this, Eleanor let out a slow, sad breath. She had hoped that her father would have been an active and willing chaperone, as she had seen him be with both her brother and sister before. This time, however, without her mother present, it seemed that Lord Hereford was less inclined towards doing such a thing with any kind of fervency. Instead, he was delegating responsibility to her aunt.
Whom I have not seen in some time,she thought to herself, her stomach twisting this way and that.And what ifheis here?Will I have to explain to her all that has taken place? Or will I be able to contain my reaction to him?
Eleanor did not have much time to consider these things, for they soon arrived at the townhouse. Stepping out of the carriage, she looked all around, only for a squeal of excitement to catch her attention.
“Eleanor! Eleanor!”
Turning her head, Eleanor could not help but smile at the excitement that was splashed across Lady Catherine’s expression. “Catherine, good evening.”
“Good evening to you also!” Her cousin grasped her hand and pressed it. “Are you not tremendously excited for this evening? It is a grand ball, or so I hear!”
“And your first ball, my darling, which is why you are so very excited.” With a calming hand going to her daughter’s shoulder, Lady Cumbria – Eleanor’s aunt – reached out one hand to embrace her as best she could. “How very good to see you again, Eleanor.”
“And to see you both,” Eleanor replied as her father came to join them. “You have just made your debut, Catherine?”
“This afternoon!” Catherine exclaimed, her blue eyes dancing with anticipation. “And now we are here! Here at this wonderful ball where, I hope, I will be able to dance with someexcellentgentlemen.”
“You need not worry about that, for I am sure that every gentleman in the place will be eager to dance with you.” Lord Cumbria, who had come striding towards them, smiled warmly at his daughter and then looked to Eleanor. “And with you also, I am sure!”
Eleanor nodded and murmured her thanks, noting the difference between his response to his daughter and her own father’s lack of interest in her. It was painful to see, but Eleanorforced herself to set that aside, thinking that it would do her no good to hold onto it now.
“It is good to see you all,” Lord Hereford said, one arm spread out towards the townhouse. “Shall we go in?”
“I am so very glad to be here with you, Eleanor.” Catherine, without warning, looped one hand through Eleanor’s as they walked together. “I am very nervous indeed, I confess it, but you have been here once already, have you not?”
Thinking her cousin a little talkative, Eleanor nodded. “Yes, last Season was my first.”
“Then you will be able to help me, I am quite sure.” Catherine let out a breath of relief and came a little closer to Eleanor, smiling warmly. “I do hope we will become friends. I know we are already cousins, but I should very much like to be friends also.”
Eleanor glanced at her cousin, seeing her eager expression, and found herself smiling despite the worry twisting through her. She might very well need a good friend this Season, she considered, and mayhap Catherine would be such a thing. “I should like that too,” she answered, as Catherine beamed at her. “Come then, let us step inside.”
Some hours later,Eleanor was quite exhausted. The ball had been going on for some time, and she had already danced a good many times with still three more to come.
“You look a little fatigued, Eleanor!” Catherine, who had chattered away quite happily throughout the evening and been very pleasant company indeed, looked at her with concern. “Are you quite all right?”
Eleanor nodded. “It is just that I have not been present at a ball for some time,” she replied, as her cousin smiled in understanding. “I am not used to dancing so much! Besides which, my dancing master was a good deal slower than these gentlemen – though that might have been because of his advanced years!”
This made Catherine giggle, and Eleanor chuckled along with her, the nervousness that had been within her fading to nearly nothing. With every minute that passed, with every passing second, she no longer felt as concerned as she once had been. She had not seen sight or sound of Lord Finchley and, thus, she presumed that he was not present. It did not mean that he was not in London, Eleanor knew, but all the same, she was glad he was not here with her at this ball.
“Your father will be pleased that you have danced so often, I am sure.” Her aunt approached, handing Eleanor and Catherine a glass of ratafia. “You have done very well, both of you.”
“Thank you, Aunt.” Eleanor looked at her for a long moment, seeing just how similar she was to her mother. “You are very good to chaperone me, when you already have Catherine.”
A warm smile came across Lady Cumbria’s face. “Oh, my dear Eleanor, I amveryglad to do so, I assure you. It was your mother who wrote to me, in fact.”
Eleanor’s eyebrows lifted.
“She wanted to make sure that you were given the very best opportunity, just as your sister was,” her aunt explained. “I believe she knew that your father has grown a little wearied of society of late and feared he might not do as well in chaperoning you.”
“That is very good of Mother.” Eleanor clasped her hands to her heart, a tightness in her throat. “I did not know that she considered me so.”
“Ofcourseshe does,” her aunt replied firmly. “Eleanor, you must know that she would very much want to be here with you if it were not that your sister’s confinement is expected to begin at any moment. It was a difficult choice for her to be with your sister rather than here with you. She expressed such a thing in her letter to me.”
Eleanor’s eyes filled with tears. “I did not know these things, Aunt. Thank you for telling me.”
“I am glad to reassure you,” came the reply. “I am sure that we will be able to find you an excellent husband, Eleanor, and that your mother will be delighted with him also.”
Making to respond, Eleanor’s eyes caught sight of a brown haired gentleman making his way through the crowd, a young lady on his arm. His profile was familiar and, with a gasp, Eleanor stumbled back, shock pouring into her as her heart began to pound furiously. Her glass of ratafia slipped from her fingers, shattering on the floor, but Eleanor gave it no heed.
