“You know perfectly well,” said the earl at last, “that you will be off on your travels.That was the agreement, that you not be bound.”
“I wasn’t aware I was forbidden to put down roots if I wanted to.”
“You want to stay?”Bewilderment was clear in Lord Stainbridge’s voice.
“I might.”If anything, Nicholas’s tone was nonchalant, and Eleanor found she hated it.“After all, it may well be my child, you know, and I am not altogether sure I would want my child to be raised by you.”
This was said without rancor, but the deafening silence was a scream of reproach.Eleanor found she had raised her hand to her mouth.
“I can’t believe you said that, Nicky.”Lord Stainbridge’s voice was full of pain.
“Kit, we are very different,” Nicholas said, sounding weary.“I will not have any child of mine brought up in the straitjacket of conformity you use to protect yourself.”
“How dare you!”
The strain must have been unbearable, for Nicholas too became heated, almost desperate.“Easily!I claim my right to stay.”
“I forbid it!”
“Go to hell!”
Horrified, Eleanor glanced around the hall, sure the raised voices would soon attract the curious.She couldn’t believe the imperturbable Nicholas had finally lost his patience.
Lord Stainbridge’s voice cracked with intensity and pain as he retorted, “You are not fit to raise a child.Could you drag yourself away from the brothels long enough to pay it any attention at all?”
Eleanor stopped breathing.So he knew.Did everyone?
“Perhaps fatherhood will provide me with a new interest.Don’t make a cake of yourself, Kit.This is simply none of your affair.”
Lord Stainbridge made an attempt to match his brother’s tone.“How, then, do you intend to provide for your child?I don’t know where you find the money to live as you do now.Gambling, perhaps?”
“It can be lucrative.But I see no necessity.”
“Do you not?Well, you may soon.I warn you, Nicholas, I will use the same weapon again.”
“What?”Nicholas’s incomprehension was obvious, and then he laughed.It was not a pleasant sound.“Oh, as you did when you ordered me to marry Eleanor.I was tempted to call your bluff then.Would you really cut me off without a penny?”
“Yes.I want Eleanor and the child.”
“Then you should have married her.I am sure she would have preferred it … at the time.”
“You know I could not marry.Oh, damn you!What are you doing?You don’t want her.You treat her abominably.Give her up, Nicky.She will be happier with me.”
“Do you really think so?Perhaps you forget the way she mocked you earlier.Need I remind you she has no reason to feel kindly toward you?Besides, do you really think you could compete with my abilities and charms?”
Eleanor knew she was turning red at the hateful tone of his voice.
“She has too much spirit for you, Kit,” her husband continued.“I defy you.Do your worst, for I am staying.If you’re correct and I tire of domesticity, then I will happily cede all rights to Eleanor and her child.”
Eleanor bit her knuckle in an attempt to control the anguish, the rage she felt.She would kill him.She would kill them both!
Slowly.
Realizing she was actually shaking, she stumbled back up the stairs to fall weeping on her bed.She was a novelty to him, a new game of which he might well tire.She resolved that if it should come to that, she would never, ever be passed meekly, along with her poor child, into Lord Stainbridge’s care.Somehow she would maintain her independence.
The cynicism of the conversation came back to her like a bitter taste.Her husband was revealed at last in his true colors.He was a clever cozener, a charming rogue.She had seen him manipulate others.How could she have believed she was any different?
Well, there would be an end of that.Let him go to his brothels and his French mistress.Eleanor would maintain the facade, for she had promised him that, but she would have no more of his false attentions.Moreover, if he tried to manipulate her or the child, she would resist him to the end.
