Page 10 of The Duke’s Ultimatum (Unrelenting Lords #1)

CHAPTER 10

“ O h, Eleanor, thank you so much for helping me organize the ball for the children’s charity this coming Saturday. I’m not sure how I would have done it without you.” Caroline beamed at Eleanor.

“Children’s charity?” Hountshire inquired.

“I’m hosting a ball this coming Saturday, and we’re raising money for the children at St. Peter’s hospital, and Eleanor was just a fountain of information and resources. Did you know, she got the Stanley quartet to perform?”

Hountshire looked over at Eleanor, who was currently looking at her feet.

“The Stanley quartet, you say? That is quite the feat; they are quite popular.”

Caroline laughed. “Oh, didn’t you know? Our Eleanor knows positively everyone!”

“Who does our Eleanor know?”

At the sound of his voice, and how he dragged out the word ‘our,’ had Eleanor biting the inside of her cheek to keep from making a distasteful face. Of course, he would have to check in on her, probably to make sure she was doing her due diligence in finding a match.

“Your Grace, hello! It is lovely to see you again.”

“Miss Cottington,” Graynor acknowledged with a tilt of his head. His eyes slid to the Viscount.

“Hountshire,” the Duke bit out.

Eleanor gave him a questioning look. The Duke rarely sounded like he enjoyed conversations, but he usually had some decorum when talking. For whatever reason, he did not seem pleased with the Viscount.

“Your Grace. How are you today?” Hountshire took a step closer toward Eleanor—a tactic Eleanor knew quite well and, honestly, had no time for. If these two men were going to fight over ownership, they had another thing coming. No man owned her. Not yet anyway.

Eleanor was about to shift her weight away from Hountshire when she remembered why she was walking with him in the first place. Drat. Hountshire may her last hope for finding a husband before the month’s end.

She looked over to the Viscount and smiled. He was a bit pedantic and boring, but he seemed like a stable and capable man with a nice smile. At this point in her search, it would have to do. Plus, for many couples, love came later in their marriage. As much as she hated to agree with the Duke, marriages were primarily a business transaction.

When her eyes returned to the Duke’s, she noticed a tick in his jaw. Her smile grew. He must have realized she was not going to step away from Hountshire.

“Yes, Your Grace. I have not seen much of you since the carriage. Are you enjoying the party?” Eleanor let the sarcastic sweetness drip through her words.

“I have been, thank you. I’ve noticed you’ve been making your rounds accordingly. However, I have noticed that your time has been occupied with Lord Hountshire here.” With a forceful hand, the Duke slapped Hountshire’s back, causing the man to cough.

Ignoring Hountshire’s gasp for air, Eleanor squared her shoulders. “I have. He has been a wonderful companion to escort me around the grounds. We’ve been having a lovely time together.”

Caroline’s eyes bounced between the two. “I was just telling Lord Hountshire how Eleanor was able to get the Stanley quartet for our charity ball in a few weeks.”

Graynor didn’t look impressed. “Fascinating.”

Eleanor narrowed her eyes. What a brute! She opened her mouth to respond, but Hountshire laid a hand on her arm. The Duke’s eyes watched the movement.

“It is quite the accomplishment,” Hountshire added after finally catching his breath.

“Hiring musicians for an event is an accomplishment?” Graynor raised an eyebrow.

Eleanor leveled a look at the Duke. How dare he belittle the work she put into the event? She may be just a woman, but her responsibilities were just as important as a man’s.

“Maybe from where you come from it’s not, but I assure you, in high society being able to secure such talent is quite remarkable. I would know. I was born into high society.”

Hountshire’s words hit their mark. Graynor’s face darkened.

While Eleanor was thankful for his defense of her workings, she quickly became afraid for Hountshire’s wellbeing. Between the two, it was safe to say the Duke’s height and muscle were to his advantage. If they were to resort to fisticuffs, there would be no doubt in anyone’s mind who would win.

“Careful with your words, Hountshire. Where I come from, we don’t insult those in higher positions than you. Know your place.” Graynor’s words came out through clenched teeth.

Hountshire scoffed. “I don’t mean any offense, Your Grace. I just assumed you are not aware of how some of society works, being so new to it. The fact that Eleanor can dedicate time to helping those poor children in the wake of having her life upended by the arrival of a new duke, who is a constant reminder of the loss of her father…” The Viscount paused for dramatic effect. “Well, it’s just amazing that she is here at all.”

Eleanor could only blink. She was grateful he was defending her, but the Viscount was making her out to be a complete idiot. Surely, he didn’t think her an imbecile who couldn’t handle life’s many occurrences. This was getting out of hand.

“Gentlemen, I think?—”

Eleanor’s words were cut off by the Duke taking a step forward, putting himself in between Eleanor and Hountshire.

“I’ve warned you once, Hountshire. I am not a man to repeat his words. If I were you, I would worry about your own house before you start judging others.”

Eleanor peeked around Graynor’s body just in time to see the color drain from Hountshire’s face. Whether it was because of the implications of the Duke’s words or if Hountshire finally realized the threatening size of the Duke, Eleanor couldn’t say.

Caroline, on the other hand, looked like she was first row at a Stanley quartet concert. Eleanor loved her friend, but she knew as soon as this altercation was done, Caroline would be the first one to tell others about it.

“How dare you!” Hountshire yelped. The crack in his voice did him no favors. He stepped around the Duke. “Eleanor? I must depart. I refuse to be around such brutish behavior in polite society. I hope we can meet again, perhaps with better company.” His eyes looked in the direction of the Duke with disdain.

Eleanor just nodded, her words stunned stuck in her throat. What did she just witness?

The three watched silently as the Viscount scurried off to the garden to rejoin the party.

“Well, that was?—”

“Carriage. Now.” The Duke cut off Caroline. He reached out and grabbed Eleanor’s arm and yanked. There was no point in fighting, so she threw a quick wave to Caroline as she let the Duke pull her across the garden.

Derek was seeing red. He couldn’t even formulate words during the carriage ride. The last words he spoke were to the footman to gather the others and tell them they were leaving immediately. He shared his carriage with Eleanor, who stared at him as if he were a caged lion and she was afraid to move for fear of being attacked.

Her interpretation was correct.

As soon as they pulled up in front of the house, Derek bounded from the carriage, once again pulling Eleanor along with him.

When he barged into the study, Eleanor finally tried pulling away from him.

“What has gotten into you!” Her voice was shrill and contemptuous.

“Me?” Derek was offended. He was just insulted by a dandy, and she had the audacity to ask him what his problem was.

“Yes, you!” she yelled back, looking at him like he lost all sense. “You’re the one who interrupted a perfectly nice afternoon with my friends. You’re the one who got into a fight with another man—a man who is a potential suitor, I might add. Then, you’re the one who dragged me out of a garden party into a carriage and into my home like a caveman. So, yes, Your Grace, I am asking what has gotten into you?”

Rage and frustration boiled in Derek’s blood.

“I am not the problem, Eleanor. They are.” He pointed to the door he just barged through. “These men and women think they are God’s gift to the earth when all they have is the luck to be born into money. They don’t know what a day’s work is if it hit them on the arse.”

Eleanor sharply inhaled at his language.

Her gasp broke through some of the red haze tinting his vision. “Ah, yes, did I offend you with my common language?” He sneered.

Eleanor straightened. “Both your language and your implication are rude, Your Grace. I do not think less of you because of your upbringing or mine for that matter. We may disagree on how my future should play out, but it is not because I think you less.”

Her eyes did not waver from his, and once again he found himself both impressed and surprised by this gentlewoman. Every aristocrat he had ever met was arrogant and would go out of their way to make him feel small. But this slight of a woman, who had all the proper upbringing the ton had to offer, treated him with respect. Mostly.

Embarrassment washed over him. Derek cleared his throat and nodded his head in acknowledgement. “Forgive me, Eleanor. You’re right, I have acted ill towards you. But I will not apologize for my actions with the Viscount.”

Derek made his way to the bar cart, poured himself a whisky, and threw it back in one swallow. He took a moment to enjoy the burn that coated his throat. It was a much better sensation than the frustration he was currently feeling.

“Well, you should. I happen to like the Viscount, and I think he would be a suitable match for myself.”

Derek barked out a laugh. “I don’t think so.”

Eleanor sputtered. “What? You want me to find a suitor, I do, and you deny me?”

Derek placed his hands on his hips, frustrated with the woman in front of him.

“Anyone but him. He is pompous, arrogant, and not a good fit.”

Eleanor threw her hands in the air. “Show me a man who isn’t any of those things!”

Derek’s eyes darkened. “Careful, woman.”

Eleanor had the good sense to take a step back.

She took a deep breath and pushed it out. “All I’m saying is, he is a good man, or at least, he was until you came up and started things.”

“He started—” Eleanor’s sharp look had the rest of Derek’s words drying up in his throat.

“Please don’t act like a child and say he started it when I was there and witnessed the entire thing. I agree, he shouldn’t have talked to you that way, but he did. How you responded, as being a higher rank than him, was unacceptable.”

Derek shook his head. He understood what she was saying, but it went against every fiber of his being.

“If these pompous aristocrats want to be taken seriously as men, then they should learn how to speak their minds like one. I know what he was insinuating about my character, and I do not appreciate it.”

“I agree,” Eleanor said plainly.

Derek looked at her, waiting for another lecture to start. She simply stared back at him. “That’s it? No ‘but’ or ‘however’?”

Eleanor nodded her head. “No. You’re correct. His manner towards you was highly inappropriate, and he should be ashamed of himself.”

Derek shook his head. “Good. Then we are in agreement on one thing.”

“But you should also be ashamed,” she added, nonplussed.

Derek ran his heads through his hair. “You are giving me a headache!”

Eleanor sighed and approached him. “Your Grace, may I speak frankly?”

Derek chuckled. “This is you being cautious?”

Eleanor canted her head and gave a cheeky smile.

“It seems I may have been a bit harsh with my own approach to you as well. I didn’t lie when I said that I don’t begrudge you of your upbringing, but I feel I may have overlooked it.”

Derek rubbed his face as he sat on the chair at his desk. “And what does that mean?”

Eleanor came and sat in the chair on the other side of the desk. “That I forgot that this,” she waved to their surroundings, “is all new to you. You come from a world where people have to work day in and day out for small portion of what we take advantage of on a daily basis. You’re not used to dealing with high society, and they’re not used to dealing with you. You can’t control them, but you can control yourself.” She looked him over. “At least, I think you can control yourself.”

Derek rolled his eyes. “Yes I can control myself. But why should I? Why do I have to play the game?” he asked as he pointed to himself. “This whole world was ridiculous and wasteful. So much more could be done within this society if people stopped pussyfooting around each other and get to the problem at hand.”

If Derek ran any of his businesses the way the ton operated, he would be bankrupt overnight.

“That’s just it, Your Grace, you have to play the game because we already are. You’re not the only one who has to change the way they behave when it comes to how to act in society.”

Derek shook his head. The idea of acting like the rest of them left him feeling like slime.

“I will not appear weak to anyone.”

Eleanor sighed and slouched back in the chair. He could tell the conversation was just as draining for her as it was for him. Good. Misery enjoyed company.

“Your Grace. It is not a sign of weakness.” Eleanor looked up to the ceiling then brought her eyes back to his, and her eyes lit up. She had an idea.

“You’re a businessman, correct?”

Derek just nodded. The headache brewing behind his eyes didn’t allow for any other movement.

“I’d wager you’ve made countless deals in your career, and based off of your success, I would think you have come out on top in the majority of those dealings. True?”

Derek smiled. “Of course.”

“Well, were you weak and bending to their will?” Eleanor’s voice dipped low. Her body leaned forward, her hands resting on the desk for emphasis. “Or were you manipulative?” Her eyes became hooded. “A mastermind, perhaps? Using your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses against them.”

Derek had to adjust himself in his chair. A flash of Eleanor’s body laying across his desk as she spoke words about business tactics interested him far more than he was willing to admit.

“You make an interesting point.”

A look of pure satisfaction washed over Eleanor’s face, and blast it if she didn’t look absolutely stunning.

“I knew I could get you to see it my way,” she said smugly. “Well, now that is settled, so I shall leave you to your work.” Eleanor stood and walked out of his office leaving a certain air of superiority in her wake.

Derek sighed back into his chair and rubbed his face with his hands. “Definite trouble, that one.”