Page 25 of The Duke’s Ultimatum (Unrelenting Lords #1)

CHAPTER 25

A soft knock sounded at Eleanor’s door.

“Come in.”

The door opened, and Sarah’s head peeked through. “Mind if I bother you for a moment?”

Eleanor put down the pen and pushed her correspondence away. “For my favorite sister, of course.”

Sarah’s eyes brightened. “Oh, I’m holding you to that and will continue to hold it over your head for all future arguments with both you and Beatrice.”

Eleanor rolled her eyes. “What do you want, Sarah?” Eleanor tried not to sigh, but it was getting late, and writing her correspondence took the last bit of energy she had.

Sarah gestured to the bed. “May I sit?”

Eleanor cocked her head to the side. “Why so formal?” It was then Eleanor noticed that Sarah was fidgeting and restless. Two attributes that showed themselves only when Sarah was nervous. That was enough to shake any thought of sleeping anytime soon from Eleanor’s mind.

“You’re not planning on running away again are you?” Eleanor stared at her sister, hoping to appear intimidating. Eleanor simply could not deal with that again—mostly because her dealing with it meant having to interact with the Duke, and that was something she couldn’t do.

Sarah shook her head and waved the question off. “No, of course not.”

Eleanor stood up and sat next to her sister on her bed. “Uh-oh. Trouble in paradise?” She leaned into Sarah, giving her shoulder a little bump.

Sarah shook her head. “No. We’re fine. Just anxiously waiting my season to start.”

Eleanor shifted her weight to sit facing her sister. “Then why is there all this nervous energy around you?”

Sarah took a deep breath and forcefully pushed it out. Eleanor heaved her own sigh. Her sister and her dramatics.

“Do you want to marry Simon?”

Eleanor furrowed her brows. “Of course, I do. What kind of question is that?”

“I think an honest one.” Sarah said plainly.

“But why would you ask me that? Of course, I’m marrying Simon.” Eleanor shifted away and brushed her skirts of wrinkles.

Sarah shook her head. “That’s not what I asked. I asked, do you want to marry him?”

Nerves danced in Eleanor’s stomach. Images of the Duke clashed with Simon in her mind.

“Yes, of course, I want to marry him,” she said with a nonchalant laugh. At least, she hoped it was nonchalant.

Eleanor stood up; she felt the sudden need to move. She walked to her vanity and decided to start her nighttime routine by brushing out her hair.

Sarah watched her sister’s movements for a moment before speaking. “Liar.”

Eleanor slammed her hairbrush down on the vanity and turned. “What do you mean?”

It was Sarah’s turn to roll her eyes. “You wound me, Eleanor. I know you better than you know yourself. Something has been off, and I couldn’t put my finger on it, but you were acting strangely at the modiste, and I just can’t believe its nerves. You live to organize parties and events; you should have no problem working out the details of your own wedding.”

Eleanor’s eyes dropped. She was afraid of this. Their conversation with the Duke at breakfast affected her in ways she was not prepared for. Visiting the modiste right after was torture for her. Her mind kept running away with scandalous thoughts and scenarios so that she couldn’t focus on the task in front of her.

She was surprised her mother didn’t catch on and believed the lie that Eleanor was just overwhelmed with wedding planning. Eleanor looked up to see Sarah staring at her with a knowing eye. She should have known Sarah would’ve caught on.

Eleanor tried to smile. “Everything’s fine, Sarah. Trust me. All is right in the world, and soon I will be married and…” The words dried up in her mouth. She coughed, hoping to clear her throat. “And everything will be taken care of.”

“You speak of duty, but I don’t hear the one thing that should be considered when marrying.”

Eleanor looked at Sarah curiously. “And what is that?”

“Love.”

Eleanor barked a laugh. “Love? Oh, Sarah. We’ve talked about this. The time for love being the reason why I marry has passed. It is not in my stars that I shall marry for love, and I’m ok with that.”

Sarah cast a doubtful look Eleanor’s way.

“What?” Eleanor questioned. “Really, I’m fine with not marrying for love. We can’t all be lucky. Even Mama said that she wasn’t madly in love with Papa when they married. But look at how they ended up. They had a very happy life together. I believe that will happen with between Simon and me.”

Sarah continued to sit there, unimpressed.

“Stop looking at me like that. I wouldn’t lie to you.”

Sarah clucked her tongue. “That in and of itself is a lie, and you know it.”

Eleanor cracked a tight smile. “Fine then, I wouldn’t lie to you about something that matters as much as this.”

Both women were quiet for a moment. Eleanor had begun to think what she said was the end of it, but then Sarah stood and walked to stand behind her at the vanity. Sarah placed her hands on Eleanor’s shoulders and met her eyes in the mirror.

“You know, you do not have to carry this burden,” Sarah noted.

“What burden?”

Sarah raised an eyebrow. “The burden of being married off to some rich man for the sake of the family. This does not have to fall on your shoulders.”

Eleanor’s eyes widened as she laughed. “Of course, it has to fall on my shoulders. I’m the eldest sister. If I don’t marry and set the course for the family, things could go awry very quickly. I will not let that happen.”

Sarah wrinkled her nose. “That may have happened before the Duke came, but now that he’s here, our finances are a bit better. I’m sure we would survive if you had another season.”

Eleanor shrugged. “His Grace wouldn’t allow it. You heard him when he first arrived; his first priority was to marry us off. He gave me to the end of this season. We’re nearing the end now.”

Sarah walked around her sister and knelt in front of her. She took Eleanor’s hands in hers and looked up into her sister’s eyes. “You know you don’t have to do what the Duke says. Contrary to belief, he’s not a dictator. I’m sure if you talked to him and explained you want to marry for love?—”

Eleanor abruptly stood up, breaking contact with her sister. She walked to her bed and stood with her hands on her hips. “And who says I want to marry for love? I’m not like you, Sarah. I don’t have dreams of some great love coming to rescue me. I just need a stable man who can provide for me… for us. I don’t have the luxury to marry for love.”

Eleanor’s words broke her own heart, but she refused to acknowledge it.

Sarah sat on the floor watching her sister. “Is that all you want for your life? To be provided for?”

Eleanor threw her hands up in the air. “It makes no difference what I want. I agreed to marry Simon, so I will marry Simon, and that’s the end of it.”

Sarah sighed as she stood up. “Eleanor, I?—”

Eleanor raised her hand to stop Sarah’s words. “No, Sarah, enough. I’ve grown tired of this conversation.”

Sarah shook her head. “All I was going to say was that I want you to be happy, and right now, I don’t feel as though you are. But if those words are too exhausting for you, I’ll just leave.”

Sarah marched across the room to the door. Eleanor lunged to grab Sarah by the wrist as she passed her.

“Sarah, wait! I’m sorry.” Eleanor took a breath. “Thank you for being concerned over my wellbeing. It is quite sweet of you, and I appreciate it very much.”

Sarah dropped her head before turning to meet Eleanor’s eyes. “You always look out for us; it’s time someone looked out for you.”

Eleanor’s heart swelled. She really was lucky to have a sister like Sarah caring for her. “Thank you. But in regard to my future, I know the path I am to take, and I made my peace with it long ago.”

Sarah bit the inside of her cheek. “I think this world has done you a great disservice.”

Eleanor tried to swallow, but her throat ran dry. “How do you mean?”

Sarah lifted a shoulder. “I feel you think you don’t deserve the happiness everyone else gets because in your organized mind, you separated love and marriage. Marriage has become a job to you instead of the outcome of love.”

Eleanor sighed. “My sweet sister. Someday you will understand. Real life doesn’t happen the way your books say it does. Most often love comes after marriage.”

“What about the other times?” Sarah asked.

“What other times?”

“You said most often love comes after marriage, meaning there are times when love comes first.”

Eleanor nodded her head in acknowledgement. “I suppose so.”

“So, why can’t you be one of those?”

The weight of the conversation was taking its toll on Eleanor. She lifted a weary shoulder. “I’m just not, and I’m fine with that. It’s as simple as that.”

Sarah dropped her eyes. “Life is never as simple as that.”

Sarah turned and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Eleanor stood, processing what Sarah just said. It was simple as that; it had to be. Her whole, no, her whole purpose in life was to be a society wife.

She sat down at her vanity and looked in the mirror. Could she be something more than just a wife? Eleanor turned her head side to side taking in her appearance.

The thought of being something more than just a wife was exhilarating and terrifying. There was a part of her that was relieved that Simon had proposed, and she could finally fulfill her destiny.

Although, she had to admit there was a growing part of her that resented Simon for offering her the life she was told she needed to live. Not that she could see herself being anything else, it was just something about the thought of being a society wife to Simon didn’t sit well with her.

She heard the Duke’s voice drift up from downstairs.

Eleanor followed the voices down the stairs as she continued to dissect Sarah’s words.

What would her life look like if she married for love? What would it look like if she married someone who didn’t care much for propriety or the rules of high society?

Eleanor’s steps lead her to the door of the Duke’s study which was cracked open. She peered inside and saw him sitting at his desk, a tumble of whisky by his one hand. He was looking over paperwork, the look of pure concentration on his face. His hair was mussed up, probably from him running his hands through it. He did that when he was frustrated.

Eleanor blushed at her personal knowledge of him. Yet, she didn’t move. She continued to watch as he thumbed through papers and scribbled on others, never realizing he was being watched.

What would it be like to be loved by someone like the Duke? Someone who, when he focused on something, it became his whole world. Who didn’t care what others thought of him? Someone who didn’t rely on others to do his work for him; someone who was his own man.

Eleanor’s hands became clammy, and her heart began to race. Eleanor took a step back. Thinking these thoughts were no good. With careful steps she tiptoed away from the door, hoping to not call attention to her actions.

She went back upstairs to her room.

Eleanor was right when she told Sarah she had agreed to Simon, so she was marrying him. There was nothing anyone could say or do that would change her mind.

She heard the Duke’s voice again echoing from downstairs.

Eleanor bit her bottom lip. What if the Duke said something to her?