“Perhaps…” Eleanor allowed gently. “But if not, the necklace will work.”
His arms tightened around her and his eyes flashed. He growled roughly, “I don’t like it.”
“I know. But we need him to expose his intentions. The way he has behaved recently…I think Lord Ackerly might be losing patience. Our ploy could force his hand.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Phin grumbled.
“I’m not,” Eleanor replied with a soft smile.
He issued a deep sigh. “My brave beauty.”
She warmed in reaction to his obvious admiration. The endearment was growing on her.
“I’m going to keep you safe, love,” he murmured thickly. “I promise.”
“I know.”
They drifted to sleep again and the next time Eleanor awoke it was to his good-bye kiss. Before she could fully regain conscious awareness, he was gone. She lay for a while, stretching and sighing into wakefulness. Reliving the most wonderous hours of her life. Thinking. Worrying. Realizing a truth she’d much rather deny. And finally, accepting what couldn’t be changed.
Soon after, she heard Gretchen moving around in her sitting room before coming to wake her. By the time she dressed and made her way downstairs, she was in an oddly pensive but pragmatic state of mind. Despite the endless turmoil in her mind, she’d managed to cocoon herself in a calm outward demeanor. A demeanor that was nearly shattered when she discovered that her parents had returned.
Of course, she didn’t learn of it in the way one might expect to.No. The duke and duchess wouldn’t have thought it necessary to inform their daughter of their arrival. She discovered it by way of hearing her father’s voice echoing down the hall from his study and her brother’s voice coming back in reply. No doubt, her mother was already ensconced in her private suite, where she most enjoyed spending her time while in London.
Curious and perhaps a bit annoyed by the disregard, though she should probably be accustomed to it by now, Eleanor crept toward the study, resorting to her typical method of gathering information—eavesdropping.
She silently approached the closed door and pressed herself to the wall beside it. It took only a moment to recognize the strained tones of a common subject.
“…not be as focused on your duties as you should be,” her father was saying in that subtly accusatory, disapproving way he had. “You are nearing thirty. I was twenty-seven when your mother and I married, twenty-eight when you were born. It is long past time to look to your future. To the future of the dukedom and the future of the Fairchild family.”
It was rare for Eleanor to pity her brother who had so many more freedoms than she was allowed as a woman. But this was one of those times. Though expectations for her were certainly high, for her brother they were impossibly exalted. As the heir, he was expected to shoulder every responsibility and duty of the family without any consideration of his own desires.
As her father continued his frequent and familiar lecture about Ralston’s role in the Fairchild family and his duty to marry and produce an heir, Eleanor thought of Miss Dickson. Though he’d certainly tried to hide it—deny it, perhaps, even to himself—she couldn’t shake the feeling that her brother was quite taken with the woman.
Unfortunately, there was no world in which Eleanor’s fatherwould ever view Miss Dickson as an appropriate choice for the future duchess. The realization of that truth suddenly made Eleanor rather angry.
She slipped from her spot as easily as she’d claimed it and made her way to the front of the house where her brother’s carriage was waiting outside.
It was long past time that someone spoke a bit of sense in this family. If it had to be her, so be it.
She nodded to the footman standing at the door, then smiled at her brother’s groom before bringing her finger to her lips in a gesture to remain silent before she climbed into the vehicle.
She didn’t have long to wait. Her father was succinct, after all.
As expected, Ralston was not happy to see her waiting for him. But she stopped any protest with a lift of a hand. “I need a quick moment, brother. Just a drive around the block, I swear.”
It was clear he wanted to protest. Their father never put him in a very good mood. It wasn’t that the duke was terrible, really. He just never let either of them forget their obligation to the Fairchild family legacy.
Her brother glared at her for a long moment, but she just lifted her chin and held his stare. Then he gave a short nod and instructed his driver to loop around the block.
Eleanor forced a smile despite the tense silence. “I overheard you and father talking in the study.”
Her brother made a rude sound. “Of course, you did.”
Deciding not to let him annoy her, she continued, “I think you should disregard everything he said.”
Ralston expression turned patronizing. “You do?”
“Indeed. It is not unknown to me, or anyone who bothers to look at you with true curiosity, that you have been unhappy for some time.” When he prepped to protest, she continued firmly. “I don’t shame you for your unhappiness. In fact, I’m a bit surprised you’re notmore morose considering all that you are forced to endure as father’s heir. I do not envy you, brother. Not inthat, at least.”
