Eleanor nodded, then she recalled her plans.
“Beryl and Philip are leaving tomorrow. I can hardly impose on Lord and Lady Angsley after they leave. I am supposed to look after Rosie for a month. What if I stay out of Maggie’s room except for standing in the doorway?”
Grayson shook his head. “We all know the Angsleys. You will not be viewed as an imposition if you stay here for a little while longer. Maybe Margaret will feel better soon, or, if Rosie shows no signs, perhaps she can come here. All I know is Cam will have my hide if I allow you to show up at Turvey. You know how he is. He dotes on your sister and is already frightened.”
She wanted to weep. If Cam was worried, there was probably reason to be.
“Now you’ve frightened her,” Mrs. O’Connor said to her son. Then she reached out and patted Eleanor’s hand.
“Finish your tea and then go tell them up at the hall what’s happened. They’ll be thrilled to have you stay longer, my dear. Don’t you worry. And my Gray will keep you entertained.”
Eleanor considered what that meant exactly.Was he staying at Angsley, too?
“Mother, I have to—” he began.
“Don’t you gainsay me, lad. If Miss Eleanor had made it to Turvey House, you would’ve kept her company, taking her riding and such. A little chess in the evening, too, I imagine. You can do those things here as easily. They’ll give you a room up at the manor.”
Those were the normal things Eleanor had done with Grayson in years prior, along with fishing, charades, and cards, but they’d almost always been in a group.
More than a little embarrassed at being foisted upon him, she stood again, just as there was a knock at the door.
“That’ll be Miss Phoebe,” Mrs. O’Connor said as Grayson also stood.
“I’ll let her in.” Eleanor reached the door. “Thank you for the information about my sister,” she said to Grayson. “But I don’t need a nursemaid or a court jester to entertain me. I have my books and my sketchpad, and I’ll write letters to my sisters and my mother.”
“Court jester?” Grayson muttered under his breath.
Eleanor smiled at his mother. “It was nice to see you, Mrs. O’Connor.” Then, she let in a surprised Phoebe.
“Beryl is looking for you,” the girl said as she slipped past.
Eleanor strode across the paving stones in front of the old granary lodge.
And all she had wanted was a sweet biscuit!
With her sister fallen sick, everything had gone wrong in an instant. She could still slip away, thwart Grayson, and go to Turvey House, but he was very close friends with Maggie’s husband, the Earl of Cambrey. Like brothers. She did not want the earl to blame Grayson for her disobedience.
Moreover, if John didn’t want her there, he would be angry to see her, and she didn’t like to think of a furious brother-in-law.
At least the mystery was solved. The shadowy horseman, so fanciful and romantic the night before, had turned out to be Grayson come to ruin her entire trip. She had the irrational urge to weep.
“Eleanor,” came his voice, just when her feet left the pavers and hit the damp grass again. “I’ll go to the hall and explain. I was already there this morning, not expecting you up and out so early.”
She shrugged.What could she say?She was an oddity, always up early.
“I should have remembered,” he added. “You are awake with the birds.”
Why should he have recalled such a thing?
“Where did you sleep last night?” she asked when he fell into step beside her. “In the stables?”
“No, this court jester had a cot,” he told her. “I pulled it out from under my mother’s bed and slept in her front room by the stove. I do it as often as I can get over here to see her.”
He rubbed his lower back. “Honestly, a pile of hay in the stables would probably be more comfortable.”
She imagined his tall form curled on a narrow cot and nearly laughed. Then she remembered he had inconvenienced himself for her.
“Thank you for coming to tell me. I’m sorry I called you a jester. You have always been good company, even when Beryl and I were pushed onto you along with all her siblings to give the earl time alone with my sister.”
