The Scandal of Lady Eleanor

by Regina Jeffers

  “Lady Linworth, I do not wish to mislead you. I have not accepted James’s proposal; I have a problem, which could bring me personal shame, and I will not let that hurt His Lordship nor any of you. It would not be the honorable thing to do.”

  “Oh, pooh, Lady Eleanor. You love my brother, do you not?” Georgina ignored Ella’s protestations.

  A hundred possible responses ran through Ella’s head, but she opted for honesty. “Yes, Lady Amsteadt, I do.”

  “Then that is all of which we care, is it not, Mother?”

  Lady Linworth’s eyes misted over. “We want James to know happiness again, and you make him happy, Lady Eleanor. I am afraid you may be stuck with us, my Dear. I cannot imagine James would willingly let you go now that you are at Linton Park.”

  “If I know my brother, he most certainly will not.”

  Another knock came, tentatively, and Lady Linworth moved to answer it. “Well, Daniel, what are you doing here?”

  “Grandpapa wants you. Mr. Lucas told me you were here. Do we have another visitor?”

  Lady Linworth stepped to the side. “Come in for a moment. I have someone I would like you to meet.” The boy eased into the room. He did not look like James, except for his eyes; Ella imagined how much the boy must remind James of his late wife. She felt her heart squeeze tightly, remembering what Lord Worthing had said of his child. “Lady Eleanor, may I present my grandson, Daniel Kerrington. Daniel, this is Lady Eleanor Fowler. She is Brantley’s sister.You remember your father’s friend Brantley Fowler?”

  The boy bowed properly. “Of course, I remember His Grace. It is pleasant to meet you, Lady Eleanor. Will you be staying with us long?”

  Lady Linworth answered for her. “We hope Lady Eleanor will enjoy Linton Park so much she would hate to leave us.”

  “That would be capital. I would enjoy someone else with whom to talk.”The boy shifted nervously from one foot to another.

  “Why do you not show Lady Eleanor the library?” Lady Linworth suggested. “Georgina and I will go see Grandpapa.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.” The boy cleared his throat. “Would you care to see the house, Lady Eleanor?”

  Everything decided for her, Ella joined James’s son, who stood very erect, trying to be a man. “I would love to see some of the house. It is gracious of you to serve as my guide, Daniel.”

  “Right this way, Lady Eleanor.” They walked in silence to the main staircase.

  “Do you like to ride, Daniel?” The words sprang from her mouth when she tried to think of a conversation starter.

  The boy spun around quickly on the stairs. “I love to ride, but Father does not let me go very often.”

  “I am surprised; His Lordship is an excellent horseman. Maybe Lord Worthing will let us ride together. I must wait a day or two for my trunks to arrive, but I would love to ride out across the estate. Of course, I must warn you that whatever I do, I take no prisoners. When we play cards or partake of chess or ride horses, if you can beat me, you must never let me win just because I am a woman. I will never purposely let you win because you are a child. Otherwise, how will you ever become a man?”

  “Would you play me a game of chess now?” Daniel’s eyes lit in anticipation.

  Ella smiled; her instincts were good. She would treat James’s son as she used to treat Bran. “No prisoners.”

  “No prisoners, Ma’am. I promise.”

  “There you are,” James came looking for his son. “Mr. Weston is a bit vexed, Daniel.”

  Daniel jumped to his feet, eyes lowered in repentance. “I am sorry, Father. I shall apologize to him.”

  Eleanor and Daniel had played chess for over an hour, but more importantly, they had talked about everything. James’s son not only had his natural charm, he possessed his father’s intelligence, and Ella thoroughly enjoyed the quiet quickness of the boy’s mind. “Mr. Weston?” Ella’s eyebrow rose in concern, after observing Daniel’s sudden subservience to his father.

  “The boy’s tutor, Lady Eleanor. Daniel has missed a lesson.” James surveyed the scene. She and Daniel building a relationship was part of his dream of Eleanor Fowler.

  Eleanor recognized the problem immediately; she had done the same thing as a child. Daniel wanted to be perfect for James; the boy wanted his father’s love. In her mind’s eye, Eleanor saw herself in the same repentant stance praying she had not displeased her father. If not for her insecurities, she would not have made such poor choices as a young girl. She would not let Daniel Kerrington starve for James’s love. “Far be it of me to tell Mr. Weston what is proper for a young man’s education,” Ella began, “but it seems Daniel did all that was necessary for a budding gentleman. He spent time keeping his grandfather company, and then he and I read several of Shakespeare’s sonnets, debating over the true interpretation of them. For the past hour, we have had a hotly contested game of chess, something, which surely must increase his intelligence as much as working on sums. During the game, we discussed my brother’s new plan for crop rotation and the possibility of crossbreeding a line of horses, both important for a future master of Linton Park.Yet, more importantly, your son kept me company and politely listened to my ramblings, a true sign of a gentleman.”

  James observed how his son raised his head to look at Eleanor. She accepted him, and an instant respect passed between them. Just the picture of Eleanor defending Elizabeth’s son made James love her more. “Well, it seems Lady Eleanor recognizes something neither Mr. Weston nor I considered. A boy learns in many ways. Not all have to be formal lessons in the schoolroom. I suspect it is time I begin grooming you as the future Earl. Would you care to join me in my study on a regular basis to learn about the estate?”

  Daniel’s eyes lit with excitement. “May I, Father? That would be capital; I have so many questions.”

  James smiled at the boy. “Hopefully, not too many questions,” he teased.

  However, Daniel, not used to his father’s attention, immediately began to withdraw. “No…no, Sir,” he stammered.

  Ella saw and came to Daniel’s rescue. “I believe Lord Worthing offered you a tease, Daniel. From what I know of your father, he is unique in that he is able to keep a straight face when he presents a taunt. I will try to teach you what I know of his proclivity in that area,” she said as an aside. “I assure you Lord Worthing welcomes your questions.”

  James reiterated what she said. “Of course, I invite your curiosity. How else will you learn?”

  “Thank you, Father.” Daniel beamed.

  “Would you join us, Lord Worthing?” Ella motioned to the game.

  James nodded, coming forward to look at the board. “Who is winning?”

  “I am, of course.” Ella smiled at him. James sensed his son’s change, and he gave up being master of the house for a few minutes to be a father.

  “Oh, Son, you did not fall in Lady Eleanor’s trap?” James teased again. “You must learn, my boy, to not let a lady’s beauty distract you in the game.” He took Daniel’s chair to analyze the next move. James ruffled Daniel’s hair when the boy moved a hammock to sit beside him. “Of course, Lady Eleanor does not need to cheat at chess; she is one of the best. The London Chess Club should admit her as a member, but, alas, she is too beautiful for membership.” He winked at Eleanor.

  “You mean because she is a woman, Father?” Daniel watched closely as James took up the game. “That does not seem fair. If Lady Eleanor is better than other members, being a woman should not matter.”

  James chuckled softly. “I suspect, my son, that you have just won Lady Eleanor’s heart with those words. The lady does not approve of men who want a woman to be quiet and docile.”

  “No prisoners,” Daniel asserted, looking at Ella.

  “Absolutely. No prisoners, ever,” she declared.

  “I beg your pardon. Did I miss something?” James seemed amused by the interplay between Ella and his son.

  “It is nothing, Father…just Lady Eleanor does not like men who purposely let
her win at games or horseback riding or…”

  “I am well aware of Lady Eleanor’s ability on a horse,” James assured his child.

  “May we all go riding while Lady Eleanor is with us, Father?”

  James smiled at her, thankful that she had opened up lines of communication with his child. “Would you enjoy that, Ella?”

  “To steal a line from Master Daniel, that would be capital.” She moved the piece across the board. “Checkmate,” she announced with a flourish.

  James leaned close as if sharing a secret. “I warned you, Son.”

  Daniel whispered, “Have you heard Lady Eleanor speak of medicine or of the railroad system? She knows so much of both.” The boy was as enthralled with Eleanor as his father was. Daniel, obviously, needed someone besides a tutor and a distant father in his life. James reluctantly realized that he would have to fix this too.

  “I was taken to task by Lady Eleanor regarding the merits of the rail system previously, but I was unaware of her knowledge of healing.” James peeked at Eleanor as he spoke.

  “Lady Eleanor once wanted to be a doctor,” Daniel informed him. “While her cousin read fairy tales and stories of knights and dragons, Lady Eleanor read books about science and what causes people to take ill.”

  “I wanted to cure my mother,” Ella admitted sheepishly.

  James accepted her explanation. “I suspect you should find Mr. Weston now, Son. Later, I will explain to the man that I wish you to have different types of lessons, and that you are to spend more time with me and with your grandparents and with Lady Eleanor, for as long as she is here.”

  “Thank you, Father.” The boy scrambled to his feet. He presented James with a proper bow and gave Ella a separate one. “Lady Eleanor, I enjoyed our game and our talk.”

  “So did I, Master Daniel.”

  Then he was gone, out the library door and taking the steps two at a time.

  “You were quite a success with my son. Thank you, Ella.”

  “Daniel needs to see your love, James, not just hear you say it.”

  “So I recognized; I saw my son quite differently today. A fresh set of eyes showed me how special he truly is—apparently, I looked for perfection, did I not?” His eyes searched hers for the truth.

  Ella glanced away, his stare too intense for her own insecurities. For a moment, she considered keeping her opinions to herself, but she continued, “You knew perfection with Elizabeth, but I cannot offer you that. I am quite flawed.The question is the same for both your son and me. Can you love us even when we fall short of your expectations? And if you can, how will we know? Will you freely show it, or will we forever be trying to please you?” Sickening memories made her throat tighten. “Daniel did not kill Elizabeth. You know it; you even openly stated such, but when was the last time you let your son know you do not blame him for your wife’s death? He was raised in a household of servants whispering of how you could not bear to look at him because he reminded you of your loss and how you left him with your parents as you went off to discover peace in someone else’s misery. And although you never said those words to him, you did nothing to persuade him otherwise. Daniel cowers in your presence because he seeks the love he never knew from you. As much as you proclaim to want to know him better, you keep Daniel at arm’s length, never allowing him the closeness he desperately needs. I suspect it is because you cherish Elizabeth’s memory and do not want to lose your last connection to her, so you protect yourself with a moat of formality, keeping Daniel in close proximity but never in your embrace. When was the last time you hugged your son for no reason except that he is your son? And do not give me that foolishness about men not needing to be hugged.”

  Worthing pursed his lips and thought for a moment. “You learned all this in just a few short hours with Daniel?”

  She narrowed her eyes on him. “Not exactly. I learned it at the hands of William Fowler, a man who never saw me when he looked at me. He saw Amelia Braton, the one woman he truly loved, and there was no room for Eleanor in his heart. As my father could never forget his wife when he looked at me, you cannot forget Elizabeth when you see Daniel.Your son and I are very much alike—fighting the good fight to earn the love of a father who cannot see us for his own loneliness.”

  All teasing sympathies evaporated from his lips; his eyes crinkled with hope as he gazed at her. “Ella, I promise to see only you when I let my eyes rest on your face. I will see a woman who has known pain, but who has learned from it—a woman who has such empathy in her heart that she embraces the insecurities of another woman’s child and makes them her own cause—a woman who would gladly suffer the worst a man can present to protect those she loves. I see a woman I can easily love with all my heart.” He pulled her into his arms and lowered his mouth to her lips. “Ella,” he whispered as he lost himself in her determination to survive. “I love you.” His lips brushed hers.

  Her fingers laced through his dark curls, holding onto the one solid in the liquid mire of her life. “I want to be yours; I want to belong to you completely. I want you to make me clean again with your love; I am so weary of being dirty. Please come to me tonight.”

  His eyes darkened to a deep onyx. “Ella, are you sure?” In his mind, she had already been his wife long ago; making love to her, at last, would be as natural as breathing; but she must give herself freely.

  Ella’s knuckles stroked along his chin line. “You will make me beg, James Kerrington? Here I thought you were obsessed with me.” She nibbled on his bottom lip.

  “Obsessed—possessed—preoccupied—haunted—tortured—maddened—pick your participle, Ella, and it describes your mastery over me. When I thought I had lost you to Levering, I nearly destroyed everything in my study. I wanted to kill Sir Louis for taking you and kill myself for losing you. For the past month, I have been an empty shell—a desert, and then by a miracle, you walked back into my life. If you want me in your bed, it would take an army to keep me otherwise.”

  She slid her hands up his chest, linking them behind his neck and leaving trails of heat wherever they touched. She kissed him gently, very ladylike. “Your official invitation,” she teased.

  In response, he ravaged her mouth with his tongue—the hunger remaining. “My official acceptance.”

  A light knock came at the door. She started to move away, but James refused to loosen his grasp. “This is where you belong, Ella.”

  “James,” his mother did not react to their closeness. “Your father is feeling better today. He would like to meet Lady Eleanor if you would take her up to his room.”

  “Yes, Mother.”

  “And then maybe Lady Eleanor could join me for tea in the blue sitting room.”

  James smiled, recognizing his mother’s ruse. “I will show Lady Eleanor the way myself.” He caught Ella’s hand. “Let us meet the incomparable Earl of Linworth, Ella.” They climbed the stairs, hand-in-hand. “I hope you like Linton Park,” he murmured. “Obviously, my parents do not wish you to leave.”

  “I have no desire to leave, but we must deal with Levering. I will marry Sir Louis before I allow the ton to know what happened years ago at Thorn Hall.”

  “I understand; I am already working on it. I will meet your brother on Wednesday in Northamptonshire. I asked him to bring Crowden and any of the others we need to stop Levering.”

  “Is it possible?”

  James kissed the back of the hand he held.“Mitoonam ke komaketoon konam? Can I help you? I will make it possible, Ella. I will not rest until everything is right for you.”

  They turned to the right and made their way down the long hall to the master chambers. James paused long enough to make sure his father was awake and ready for them before leading Ella into the bedroom. “Look at you,” he called cheerily as they approached the bed. “Sitting up and everything.”

  “I do not often entertain young women in my bedroom,” the Earl’s eyes sparkled. “I could not do so if I looked unkempt. What would your lady think of me?”
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  James brought Ella beside the bed, holding her hand wrapped about his arm. They stared down at the earl. “She might think she chose the wrong Kerrington,” James mocked.

  “Introduce me, James,” the Earl demanded. “I am most anxious to meet the lady. My grandson came flying in here on his way to the schoolroom to announce that Lady Eleanor knew everything about chess and horse breeding and railroads and Shakespeare and medicine. I must meet such a woman immediately.”

  “Well, that is two of the Kerrington men. You are the last hope we have, Father, of not succumbing to Lady Eleanor’s wiles,” James taunted. “However, I doubt if even you are that strong.” James chuckled with the irony of how quickly Daniel had told his grandfather of his time with Ella. “Lady Eleanor Fowler, may I present my father, Martin Kerrington, the Thirteenth Earl of Linworth?”

  Ella curtsied before adding, “Your Lordship, I am honored to make your acquaintance. My Aunt Agatha, the Dowager Duchess of Norfield, speaks so fondly of you and Her Ladyship.”

  “Yes, James shared some of the Duchess’s stories when he returned recently. I was pleased to hear that Agatha thrives. She lost Harold Norris too soon.”

  “She did,Your Lordship.”

  “Here, sit down, Lady Eleanor.” Martin Kerrington patted the place along the bed. “Tell me about your family.”

  Ella stiffened a bit, but James moved to sit on the other side of his father, giving her the confidence to speak honestly. “My mother Amelia Braton was Aunt Agatha’s youngest sister; she married William Fowler, the Duke of Thornhill. Neither my mother nor father are living so my brother Brantley assumed the dukedom some three months ago.”

  “You remember Bran, Sir?” James redirected the conversation. “I spent time with him in Kent recently.”

  “Of course, young Fowler. When you traveled to Kent, James, to help Thornhill with the estate, none of us expected that you would return with such a prize.” The earl directed his attention to Ella again. “You and your brother have different coloring, Lady Eleanor.”

  “I favor my mother, Sir.”