As the two walked on, Elinor’s stepmother sighed. “A duke should never act so insolently, ignoring my two girls. I do not know what he saw in you, Elinor. Just do not get in Belinda’s way again.”
Elinor couldn’t even shrink beneath the warning, for she knew that getting in the way was exactly what would happen. But she was not alone in the face of her torment.
Behind closed doors, perhaps, but finally—finally—somebody was seeing her.
As they walked through Hyde Park, Elinor could not fight the smile that kept pulling at her mouth. Nerves and exhilaration tangled together in her chest, a combination she had not felt in so long that she had almost forgotten what it was. Part of her wanted to march home and inform Rebecca that if she had simply allowed Elinor to attend the Morrows’ ball, she would have discovered Belinda’s scheming herself and saved everyone the trouble.
But she held her tongue, not even caring to say anything else, not when their plan had actually worked without much of a hitch.
Not even the remaining stares of those around her as she led Newton on could bother her now. Nothing could, really.
For the first time since her father had left, Elinor felt rather invincible.
Chapter Seven
“So,” he said, “I see you like the flowers.”
The following morning, after avoiding Belinda’s malice and jealousy, Elinor found herself unable to sit still in the parlor.
Opposite her, the Duke of Fairmont held a steady, charming smile, the flowers at his side awaiting a vase.
“They are clematis,” she noted, looking at the pink color. “They are actually my favorite, Your Grace.”
“How could I have ever guessed?” he grinned.
“However indeed,” Belinda muttered from where she sat adjacent to Elinor, on a settee with Joanna, who had yet to say a single word beyondgood morningwhen the duke first arrived.
Next to Elinor, Lady Morland watched them like a hawk, properly chaperoning the morning visit, but Elinor wished she could send them all away.
She wished desperately she could insist they had already been alone together, and nothing improper would happen. Elinor was not inclined that way, and definitely not with this duke.
“They are a flower that symbolizes intelligence,” the duke told her, even though she already knew. “It felt … fitting.”
Elinor ducked her head, fiddling with the doily in her lap. She twisted her fingers around the edge of the lace curves, hoping that her face did not show too much about her pleasure that he had thought about such a thing.
“How peculiar that a short, first meeting gives you that impression of my stepsister,” Belinda cut in before Elinor could find her voice. “I am certain you and I spoke for longer, Your Grace.”
The duke only smiled thinly at her, yet it remained polite. He had now called her intelligent several times, and Elinor wondered if he could be the first man to tolerate her thoughts and opinions, the things she normally had to hide, or if it really were part of his ruse.
“Your Grace,” Lady Morland said to chase away the lingering tension Belinda created. “You must try the scones. My cook is rather well-known for them.”
“Most certainly,” he answered, reaching forward to take one. He caught Elinor’s eye. “May I prepare one for you, too, Lady Elinor?”
“Oh.” She blinked, her focus flitting from the flowers to his face.
She was aware of how terribly she blushed, how flustered she was getting beneath his attention. She needed to keep herself better composed; Belinda’s scowl was already burning holes into the side of her head.
“Come now, Elinor,” Lady Morland laughed. “You cannot keep His Grace waiting. You must accept.”
“It seems she has lost her voice,” Belinda mocked. “A lady must keep her wits about her in such esteemed company, Elinor.”
“You are perfectly fine,” the duke assured her. “I am used to ladies being speechless around me.”
That snapped Elinor back into activity, and she fought back a frown, not wanting to be one of those ladies. “I would appreciate a scone, yes.”
“Cream and jam?”
“Butter, actually,” Elinor countered. “My father used to have his with butter, and I simply follow suit.”
