When her folding table had been cleared of her plate by the butler, Lilly got to her feet. “I must walk some of this meal off,” she said. “I think a walk along the beach would be wonderful. Who wants to come with me?”
Nearly every woman sitting around them raised her hand or smiled and got to her feet. Only Bronwen shook her head. “I’m really not up for it, thank you.”
Eight ladies, including Eleanore, climbed down the wooden steps to the private beach a few minutes later. The sun was sinking toward the horizon, leaving a spectacular display of oranges and pinks. The wind coming off the sea was cool but pleasant. For October it was a warm day. The overcast skies from the afternoon had disappeared.
Nearly every lady hooked her skirts over her arm, although no one removed their boots. Eleanore wondered what it would feel like to have sand squeezed between her toes, although she did not remove her boots, either.
They walked slowly along the beach which lined the big cove. The conversation wandered from one topic to another, many of them domestic.
However, not everything they spoke about was the concern of women. Bridget ran a business in Scotland, creating tweed fabric which was in great demand. Eleanore was surprised to realize she owned several garments made of Bridget’s tweed.
Lilly was the manager of the huge Northallerton estate in Yorkshire. Mairin had been entangled in the affair in Algeria.
Annalies was not at all domestic and her artistic talent led her into some strange areas of society. Sharla and Jenny were the most domestic of all of them, yet even they had strong interest in the business affairs of their husbands.
On that slow wander along the beach, the women spoke freely about subjects which Eleanore had never heard discussed between women before. It seemed that here, within the intimacy of the family, the ladies were free to think and speak as they wanted to.
Eleanore knew the remarks which were made as they wandered the beach would raise eyebrows in London. It was clearly true what they said about the great family. Within the family, people were free to be who they wanted to be. The family kept a united and proper demeanor on show for the world at large.
None of them quizzed Eleanore or asked her about the painting, for which she had been braced. No one pressured her to speak. Eleanore was not sure what she would say if called upon to speak, anyway. Her practiced comments about domestic matters which seemed to interest most women would not be suitable here.
She found the conversation fascinating. It was easy enough to listen and her interest never faded. Before she realized it, the group had reached the little village at the end of the bay and the long rock wall which protected the harbor. The lighthouse at the end had already been lit.
Without discussion, all the women dropped their skirts, so everyone looked perfectly respectable.
It was almost completely dark. Few villagers were still out this late. Of the few who were, nearly all of them waived or nodded at the ladies or smiled at them. It seemed the Innesford gathering was well-known in the village, too.
Lilly looked back at the far distant steps up to the Innesford estate, on the other side of the bay. “It always seems to be such a distance,” she said. “Yet it never takes as long as I think it should to get here. Shall we go back? I am cool enough now that a cup of tea sounds absolutely marvelous.”
Mairin made a soft sound which sounded suspiciously like a snort. “Don’t you mean brandy?”
“I know where Cian keeps his twenty-year-old brandy,” Sharla said. “There is a shelf in the butler’s pantry’s—”
“On the left and two shelves down from the ceiling,” Eleanore finished.
Everyone laughed.
“Brandy it is, then,” Lilly said.
They walked back the way they had come. As soon as they were far enough from the village, they all hooked up their skirts once more.
Eleanore stopped with her boot toes buried in the sand. “I simply can’t stand it anymore,” she said. “I must take off my boots. I want to feel the sand.”
She dropped to the sand and unfastened her boot. She stuffed the stockings inside them and tied the boots together by the laces. She let them swing from her hand as she got to her feet.
“That seems like an excellent idea,” Lisa Grace said. She bent and took off her boots, too.
Finally, everyone took off their shoes. There was much giggling and comments about improprieties, although none of them were serious. By the time they were ready to walk again, it had grown dark. A small new moon showed the way. Its light was weak. The white sand was the only light. They didn’t need more than that to follow the waves around the bay.
The conversation started again, wandering from subject to subject, all of them interesting.
Eleanore watched the waves rolling as they walked. The water looked wonderful. She realized with a start that she was staring at water, at waves, and she was not reacting to them. She laughed gaily at herself. How things had changed!
Jenny glanced at her, puzzled by her laughter. She raised one of her perfect brows. “The waves are amusing?”
The spirit of openness among the women allowed Eleanore to be more frank than usual. “Four years ago I was upon a ship which was wrecked upon rocks during a great storm. I lost my memory for a year and didn’t know who I was. There was another storm and I was so terrified my memories came rushing back. Since then I have not been able to look upon waves, even the smallest waves, without feeling sick. That is, until Cian took me up on his ship and held me as the ship moved through a squall. I thought I would die. Only, I didn’t because Cian was there.”
No one said anything. Instead, everyone stopped and turned to face her.
“Did I say something wrong?” Eleanore asked. “I often do, you know.”
Lilly shook her head. “No, you said nothing wrong. All of us have known for years Cian was hiding something important in his life. Now we know why and why he is no longer hiding it. I had no idea about any of this. There was nothing in the papers. That was the ship wreck in which your father died, isn’t it?”
“Everyone died,” Eleanore said. “Except me. For a year I was considered dead, too. In a way, I was dead.”
“Will you and Cian be married?” Mairin asked.
“Such a direct question, Mairin!” Sharla said.
“Mairin is the queen of direct questions,” Lilly said, with a sigh.
Eleanore shook her head. “I don’t mind direct questions. In fact, I prefer them. Then everyone knows where they stand, don’t they?” She looked at Mairin. “I can’t marry Cian. I have been promised to Prince Ferdinand of Temeswar since I was three years old. And my family hates the Williams.”
The silence this time was longer. “Well,” Lilly said, her tone pragmatic. “That adds one more family to the tally of families who think we’re no good. I would imagine it is because my father was once a convict.”
“That certainly did not help endear your family to mine,” Eleanore said. “Although I believe the original sin was when a Williams court-martialed a Gainford at the Battle of Castlebar.”
“That was over a hundred years ago!” Blanche said.
“Seventy-eight years,” Lilly said absently.
“Society has a long memory,” Jenny said softly. “They do not forgive easily.”
Eleanore sensed Jenny was driven by personal experience to say that. She did not pry, although asking her directly about it would have shifted the subject away from Eleanore. For once, though, Eleanore did not mind being the focus of sharp attention. This was the first time she had been among a group of women without a skerrick of cattiness.
“You are really engaged to a Prince?” Bridget asked.
“I am betrothed to him.”
“There is a difference?” Blanche asked.
“They are both promises,” Sharla said. “Only, betrothals can be arranged by anyone in the family. Engagements must be agreed to by both parties, to be legal.”
“Says the lady living with three l
awyers,” Lilly said, with a smile.
“I did not realize the difference,” Eleanore confessed. “Is it really true I must agree to the engagement for it to go ahead?”
“To be legally enforceable, I believe so,” Sharla said. “However, you must speak to one of the solicitors in my family to ensure you have the correct information. I only live with them and breathe legal briefs for breakfast, so I may be wrong.”
Eleanore’s heart raced. “I had no idea…”
Lilly rested her hand on Eleanore’s arm. “There is legal, then there is society pressure. If your family feels strongly enough about you marrying the Prince, there are ways they can force you to it. Just ask Sharla.”
Sharla grimaced. “It is true, I was forced to marry Wakefield. I was lucky. It turned out well. Only, you are a much stronger woman than I, Eleanore, and these are modern times. I don’t know your family at all. I can’t judge how flexible they may be, although my mother once told me that if your brother proposed I was to accept at once, without question. In that regard, your family’s reputation is sterling. I don’t know what sort of pressure they might put on you to marry the Prince. Only, to have maintained such a reputation for so long, they must know how to avoid scandals.”
“I suppose that is one way of looking at it,” Eleanore said
“There are always many ways to view things,” Lilly said. “Unfortunately, society usually picks only one way and sticks with it.” She turned to study the waves. “I have always thought the sea to be a marvelous place. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be afraid of waves.”
“And the wind, too,” Eleanore added. She reached behind her and tugged at the strings on the back of her bodice. “Could someone help me with these?”
“Whatever are you doing?” Jenny asked.
“It appears she is taking off her dress,” Lilly said.
“Right here?” Blanche asked, her voice lifting.
“How else is she to get to know the waves better?” Lisa Grace asked softly.
Eleanore was pleased. Lisa Grace understood. Apparently, so did Lilly. Hands tugged at the strings on her dress, loosening them. More hands slipped her skirt undone and eased the bustle and petticoats from her hips. Quickly, she was standing in her underdrawers and camisole. The wind felt wonderful against her flesh.
“I really think you must remove your underthings, too,” Lilly said. “You cannot return to the house with wet underthings in your hand and you cannot wear them under your dress, either. The damp will show on the yellow satin.”
Lisa Grace reached around behind herself, her hands moving quickly. “I want to swim, too!”
“I couldn’t possibly remove all my clothes, here,” Jenny said. “I wish I did have the courage. It seems like a wonderful idea.”
Sharla dropped her boots. “Well, I am going in!”
Eleanore waited until they had removed their dresses and all three of them stood in their underwear. She looked at Sharla and Lisa Grace and raised her brow.
Lisa Grace nodded. “Yes, let’s!”
Her heart thundering, Eleanore removed the camisole and underdrawers. Completely bare, she walked toward the waves. Lisa Grace and Sharla walked beside her, one on either side. Lisa Grace caught Eleanore’s hand in hers. She squeezed it. “I don’t think you should dive in,” she said softly.
“Just one step at a time,” Sharla added.
At first, the touch of the water was cold. As it leapt around their knees, though, it was warm—far warmer than she expected for October.
When the water was at their hips, Eleanore sank down until the water wrapped around her shoulders. Her breath pushed out of her in a gasp. It wasn’t the coldness of the water which shocked her but her complete lack of fear. She felt nothing but pleasure.
Sharla turned herself in the water to face Eleanore. “How do you fare?”
“Waves coming,” Lisa Grace warned. They let themselves lift over the waves. The sensation was glorious. Eleanore could remember being lifted and falling down the sides of black walls of waves. The memory was just a memory. This little wave lifted her in a gentle way that made her laugh.
“I believe she feels just fine,” Lisa Grace said to Sharla.
“It is so warm in the water,” Sharla said. “I thought it would be freezing at this time of year.”
“It is like floating in tranquility itself,” Lisa Grace said.
“Very poetic,” Sharla said.
“Yet very true,” Eleanore said.
“I could stay here forever,” Lisa Grace said.
“I don’t think that is a good idea,” Lilly called from the beach. “If we are out here for too long, the men will come looking for us. I am sure you do not want them to find you here like this.”
“Lilly was once a governess,” Lisa Grace said. “Can you tell?”
Eleanore sighed. “Lilly is right,” she said. “Besides, I have met the waves now. We should go back.” She found the sandy bottom with her feet and pushed herself up. The water lapped at her chest. They had floated farther out yet were still not too deep to be able to walk back in. Streaming water, she trudged through the waves to the shore.
Lilly came down the beach, holding out her wool shawl. “Here, you can dry yourself with this. Jenny, bring her underthings over so she can dress quickly. It will be cold now they’re wet.”
The other five women gathered around the three of them and helped them dry off and dress quickly, for Lilly was right. Once the wind touched her wet body, Eleanore felt the chill. She was shivering by the time she had her dress back on. Despite the cold, she felt wonderful. Energy leapt through her, making her nerves spin and making her want to laugh.
As they walked back toward the wooden steps which led to the house, Bridget said thoughtfully, “Just when I think the hijinks can’t get any worse at the gathering, I’m proved wrong. I would say this is one for the record books, only none of us here can talk about it to any of the others.”
“Not for a few years at least,” Mairin added.
“Perhaps not ever,” Sharla said. “I fully intend to do this again next year and the year after that. I had no idea how wonderful it is to float about in the sea at night. I didn’t know the water would be warm. Whenever the men talk about swimming, they always complain about the cold.”
“That is because they swim during the day,” Lilly said. “The colder the air, the warmer the water feels.”
“I should like to go swimming,” Jenny said. “Only, I would not be able to do it unless I had a bathing suit. I think next year I will arrange to have one with me.”
“You have an understanding seamstress, then?” Lilly asked.
“I was going to ask Sharla to arrange it for me,” Jenny said. “She employs dozens of seamstresses.”
The conversation moved on as they wended their way up the stairs. Eleanore could have floated up the stairs or run up them. She was bursting with achievement. The ladies may not intend to tell anyone about this, but she would confess all to Cian. He would understand. Like Sharla and Lilly and Lisa Grace, he would instinctively understand why she had done it.
Much later that night, with her cheek resting against Cian’s shoulder, Eleanore did confess. Cian did understand. He stroked the back of her neck and kissed her temple. “I am in awe of your courage, Ellie,” he said softly.
He said no more about it. Instead, he showed her with his lips and his hands and his soft murmurs of appreciation.
Even later that night, Eleanore woke to see the last of the moon shining through the window. She could hear the waves on the beach and the soft sigh of the wind rustling through the trees in the woods. And she heard Cian’s breathing, beside her. Her heart was at rest, her thoughts peaceful.
This must be what contentment is, she thought to herself.
As she drifted back to sleep again, a stray thought caught her and squeezed her heart. What would James say if he could see inside her heart and mind right now? Would he forgive her?
C
hapter Fourteen
At breakfast the next morning Will and Iefan announced they would be business partners, with Iefan selling wool and Bridget’s tweed across Europe, while Mairin would help sway society ladies by both modelling and discussing the merits of the fabric.
“What is it about our family gathering that inspires everyone to such remarkable decisions and actions?” Elisa asked. “I thought nothing would convince Iefan to live in London.”
“We will live in London, although it will merely be our mailing address,” Iefan replied. “For most of the year we will travel in Europe. One does not associate with prospective customers if one does not go to where they live.”
“And what other extraordinary announcements are there?” the Princess Annalies asked, raising her teacup.
“How extraordinary an announcement do you want, Aunt Annalies?” Cian asked.
“You are speaking to one of the first and foremost bluestockings in England,” Vaughn reminded him. “I suspect there is little which would shock Annalies, anymore.”
“You may say that,” Annalies said. “Only, our offspring seem to be determined to surpass us with greater scandals every year.”
“And what is your shocking announcement?” Raymond asked Cian.
Cian shrugged. “Eleanore has decided she would like to learn how to play croquet. I will wager fifty pounds against anyone who dares pick up the wager that she will win.”
Jasper whistled. “Fifty pounds!”
“Cian, no!” Eleanore whispered.
Cian reached for her hand where it lay on the table cloth, picked it up and kissed the back of it. “I have faith in you.” He glanced around the table. “Does anyone dare?”
Eleanore could feel heat and color in her cheeks. She wanted to slide her hand from his, only he held it firmly, right where everyone could see.
Natasha’s gaze was upon their joined hands. She said nothing.
Rules of Engagement Page 15