Page 5 of The Duke’s Ultimatum (Unrelenting Lords #1)

CHAPTER 5

T he bright sun made Eleanor’s eyes water. She always enjoyed taking tea in the garden after breakfast, but after last night, she longed for the security walls brought her. Her interaction with the Duke unsettled her and she felt exposed in the open garden.

If she were being honest with herself, it was her own actions that worried her more. Had she actually leaned into him? She brought a hand up to her throat to cover the area where his lips trailed.

Never had she imagined she would be the one to turn her back on years of modesty and discretion for a pair of deep blue eyes and a tall, lean body.

“Ladies! Last night was an absolute success!” Charlotte pronounced with a loud clap. She bounded down from the veranda steps, pride expounding with every step.

Her mother’s entrances were never subtle.

“It was a wonderful night, Mama. Congratulations!” Sarah preened. “I got to dance with Lord Bishop’s son.”

Eleanor couldn’t help but smile. Sarah was so invested in the ton that even waiting one more year for her debut was torture for her.

“That’s wonderful, Sarah. Was he a good dancer?” Eleanor asked.

She knew it was rude, but as soon as she asked the question, Eleanor tuned her sister out. She needed time this morning to process what happened last night. The only way to do that was to be left alone with her thoughts. However, taking tea in a garden with her sisters and mother was not the ideal time, nor place, for any intelligent thoughts to happen.

Luckily, her younger sister was known to blabber endlessly until someone reprimanded her or left.

Eleanor looked around at the table. Sarah was gibbering on about her evening while Beatrice nibbled on biscuits. Her mother sat like a queen on her throne. Unfortunately for Eleanor, her mother’s eyes were glued to Eleanor even though Sarah was talking.

Eleanor sighed. She would not be able to leave the table without partaking in some discussion. Letting her sister ramble on about her evening would have to do.

“I could have danced all night!” Sarah’s voice trickled into Eleanor’s thoughts.

“Speaking of dancing, Eleanor, I saw you were speaking with Lady Marsh. You know, I hear her son is in town again. I heard he wanted to ask you to dance. Did he get a chance?”

Eleanor slouched in her chair. “Oh, not you, too, Mother.”

“What? I know he’s a bit older than you, but your father was older than me, and look at the life we had. We were very happy.”

Eleanor nodded in agreement. Her parents were very happy; in fact, it was their example of marriage that Eleanor weighed every suitor against. Unfortunately for her, and her potential suitors, she could never imagine them creating a life with her that matched her parents.

“I know that, but I just don’t think her son is the one for me, so why try?” Eleanor lifted a shoulder.

Charlotte bristled. “My dear, if that is the way you’re approaching this, you’ll never find happiness. More often than not, you will have to work on a marriage. It never starts off with the perfect mate. Your father drove me batty in our first few outings. But then I got to know him, and that’s when the loved developed.”

Eleanor contemplated her mother’s words for a moment before quickly dismissing them as preposterous. No matter what length of time she spent with Lady Marsh’s son, she couldn’t see herself forming any sort of bond with him.

“What of the Viscount? If we are speaking bluntly, I think he would be a lovely match.”

Eleanor chewed the inside of his cheek. “I didn’t speak with him much.”

“He is rather handsome though; you should give him a try.” Charlotte pointed her stirring spoon at Eleanor.

“Mama, he’s not a dress to try on,” Eleanor exclaimed.

Charlotte only shrugged at her daughter’s response.

“I’m annoyed with the Duke; if he didn’t disappear, I may have had another chance to dance,” Sarah whined as she stirred her tea.

At the mention of the Duke, Eleanor sat up.

Charlotte waved Sarah off. “Sarah stop being dramatic. You haven’t officially debuted. You will have your chance, my sweet.”

“Mama, we had a ball in his honor, and he was hardly even there.” Sarah looked at Eleanor. “We looked all over for him, he popped up out of the blue, said hello to some people, then left. Doesn’t that seem rude to you?”

Eleanor’s stomach dropped. Phantom kisses warmed her neck as memories of the previous night flooded her mind. “I, um, yes. That was unacceptable.” At this point, Eleanor didn’t know if she was agreeing with her sister or reprimanding herself for her actions the night before.

Charlotte raised a hand. “It no longer matters. He was there, people saw him, and all is well in our world.” Charlotte took a sip of her tea before adding in another sugar cube. “We must remember he is an important man; everyone wanted to speak with him last night. He was most likely talking business with other gentlemen.”

Eleanor snickered. He was talking business last night, except it was with a widow and not a gentleman.

“You know he has several businesses that he owns plus now us; the man carries a heavy load.”

Eleanor scowled. She didn’t appreciate being likened to a load.

“What kind of businesses does he have?” Eleanor inquired. “All I hear is that he’s known all around England. For what?”

“I heard he’s a pirate,” Beatrice whispered conspiratorially.

Charlotte gasped. “Beatrice! Where did you hear such nonsense.” She grimaced. “It’s nothing so untoward. He is a very respected business owner.”

“I heard he was commoner,” Sarah said wistfully. Eleanor rolled her eyes. While most of polite society looked down on commoners, Sarah saw them as forbidden fruit. Eleanor caught her reading one too many dime novels about men from the wrong side of the tracks who stole their woman away from propriety. It was total nonsense in Eleanor’s eyes, but through Sarah’s immature ones, it was the epitome of romance.

“A commoner?” Eleanor questioned her mother. “How does a commoner become one of the richest men in England?”

Charlotte took a sip of tea before answering. “His father was a solicitor, but when he came of age, instead of following in his father’s footsteps, he shirked his family’s plans for him and ventured out on his own.” She shrugged as if she were talking about something inconsequential, not the man who was now in charge of their very livelihoods.

“Shirked his family’s plans? Doesn’t that concern you, Mama? What if he decides to shirk his responsibilities regarding us?” Eleanor was appalled that her mother spoke so cavalierly about the man who was responsible for their well-being. What if he grew tired of the responsibility?

“Whatever for? He obviously made the right call. Would you rather have a lowly solicitor running our books, or a man who has four vineyards, three breweries, plus a lucrative export trade going all over the world, including the Americas? Doesn’t sound like much of a choice in my opinion,” Charlotte chided.

Eleanor chewed her bottom lip. “I don’t know, Mama. Something about him doesn’t sit right with me. He feels so…” Eleanor dove into her mind for the right word but couldn’t find an adequate one. She wanted a word that encompassed rude, brutish, rakish, and arrogant all in one.

Eleanor settled with, “… deviant.”

Sarah spit out her tea while Charlotte reared back, and Beatrice giggled.

“Deviant?” Charlotte whispered, looking around to make sure no one heard her daughter’s description.

Eleanor sat straighter, squaring her shoulders. “Yes. Deviant.” Proud of her word choice, she took a sip of her tea feeling victorious. He was a deviant, and being around him influenced her behavior to mimic his. That was the only logical explanation as to why she reacted to him the way she did. It was because of him; he must have coerced her someway.

“Why would you say such a thing?” Charlotte asked.

The smugness shriveled up leaving Eleanor pondering exactly how she could explain why she called him a deviant without calling into question her own deviant behavior.

“Um… well, I just… well, he?—”

“Oh, come now, Mama,” Sarah interjected. “Don’t tell me you didn’t see the way the widow Devin was pawing over him during their dance? Anyone with eyes could see he was appreciating the attention.”

Charlotte shrugged. “He is a man, and she is a very handsome woman. No man can resist her charm. Perhaps he was just being a gentleman and entertaining the widow.”

Sarah giggled. “You obviously didn’t see them then because if any gentleman looked at me the way I saw him look at her, you would send me to a nunnery. I’m sure she was very entertained.”

Eleanor covered the laugh that bubbled up. She didn’t agree with Sarah’s romantic and scandalous view of the world, but it sure was entertaining when she opened the door so others could see it.

“Sarah! What do you know of how a man looks at a woman?” Charlotte reprimanded.

Eleanor could tell her mother was partly embarrassed at her child’s comment yet intrigued by her knowledge.

“It’s the books you let her read,” Eleanor answered.

“I do nothing of the sort. I am very careful with what you girls are allowed to read,” Charlotte defended herself.

Eleanor raised an eyebrow and motioned to Beatrice. “Her, you monitor. Sarah? Not so much.”

Charlotte grimaced. “Beatrice reads books that are too advanced and fill her head with nonsense. Girls, especially young girls her age, shouldn’t worry themselves with such topics like science or world issues.”

Eleanor barked out a laugh. “But Sarah reading about salacious men stealing women away in the middle of the night for the sake of romance is appropriate?”

“Oh, no,” Sarah quipped. “Leave me and my books out of this.”

Charlotte huffed, “If your poor father?—”

“Mama,” all three girls groaned. Whenever a conversation wasn’t going Charlotte’s way, she had a habit of invoking their father’s name. It used to work, but now, it just annoyed the girls.

“Oh, all right,” Charlotte huffed as she sat up to pour more tea into her cup. “All I’m saying is your father and I raised you girls to have a certain level of decorum, imagined or not. Illusion is everything in the ton . If we have any hope of marrying you girls off to respectable men, Beatrice will need put her thick tomes down and learn to have conversations with actual people.”

“Actual people are boring,” Beatrice mumbled into her tea.

“… and Sarah needs to learn not every word or action is done for love or romance regardless of what her books say. And you,” she pointed her spoon at Eleanor, “need to stop calling the Duke a deviant where anyone can hear you. Servants talk, and we cannot handle a scandal.”

There was a moment of silence following her mother’s rant.

Sarah dropped her eyes to her lap. “Why is it so bad to dream of finding a love like you and Papa had?”

“Oh, darling.” Charlotte reached her hand out to lift Sarah’s chin. “I’m not saying that. It’s just those books are not a true representation of what love is. It’s like I was telling your sister earlier. Love like what your father and I had was created between us; we didn’t just look at each other one day and it was magically there. We worked for it.”

Another moment of silence passed between the women.

“So, how did the Duke look at the widow Devin?” Beatrice asked.

Charlotte groaned and gave Sarah a pointed look. “This is another reason why those books are no good.” This time she reached out and patted Beatrice’s hand. “Never you mind, dear.”

“Was it like the way Lady Marsh’s son was looking at Eleanor?”

Eleanor sputtered her tea. “Excuse me?”

Beatrice looked at Sarah who was giggling uncontrollably. “What’s so funny?”

“Eleanor? Did you lie about not dancing with Leonard?” Charlotte inquired, most likely hoping her soon-to-be shelved daughter may have a suitable gentleman calling on her.

“What? No. I had no idea he was even there.” Eleanor shuddered. She couldn’t imagine having to dance with Leonard Marsh. Just the thought of his spindly arms wrapped around her made her breakfast threaten to leave her stomach.

“Oh. It’s a shame. You could do a lot worse than Leonard Marsh,” Charlotte said.

“Yes, but she can do a lot better,” Sarah added, much to Eleanor’s pleasure.

Charlotte sighed. “I’ve had enough of the fresh air for one morning. I must get started on my correspondence for the day. Make sure you don’t stay out here too long. We don’t want the summer sun to freckle your skin any more than it already is.”

She looked directly at Eleanor and motioned to the slight brush of freckles that dusted her cheeks.

The girls all muttered their acknowledgement, grateful for the reprieve from their mother.

Beatrice inspected her biscuit. “What about the Duke? He’s new, and he seems nice.”

Both Sarah and Eleanor looked at her.

“I mean, for a suitor. He’s older, but not Leonard Marsh old, at least I don’t think he is. Could he be a good match for you, Eleanor?”

“He is far from nice,” Eleanor countered.

“How would you know?” Sarah asked.

“Yes, how do you know, Eleanor?” Beatrice added.

Perfect. Walked right into this one. Way to go, Eleanor.

“Well, from everything you ladies said with his behavior with the widow. First appearance in the ton, and he’s shamelessly flirting with the widow.”

Eleanor crossed her fingers that were hidden her lap. She prayed that was enough. She couldn’t possibly bring up what she witnessed the night before.

Sarah’s eyes lit up as she leaned in across the table. “I heard he’s an absolute rake who spends his time hopping from one bed to the next.”

Eleanor groaned. “Sarah. You shouldn’t gossip. Remember what mother said.”

Sarah waved her off. “Who’s going to hear me? Madden?” she asked with a nod over her shoulder to her mother’s elderly butler. “He’s deaf. Anyway, Mary Stevens said she heard her mother talking about how the Duke is known for his penchant for actresses.”

“Oh, how deliciously scandalous,” Beatrice squealed.

“Sarah! You should not be talking about such things, especially in front of Beatrice.”

Sarah rolled her eyes. “Have you seen some of the books our darling little sister reads? If you think my books are inappropriate, you should read hers.” She laughed with a pointed finger at Beatrice. “She may only be fifteen, but she most likely knows more about the human body and its purposes than you or I. I caught her with an anatomy book the other week. At least my books have a plot.”

Eleanor’s eyes flew to Beatrice.

The young girl only shrugged. “Mama likes to think I can’t handle adult topics, so I go out and find information about them. I don’t want to wait until I’m old enough to understand.”

Eleanor’s mind whirled. “But you acted so naive and innocent with Mama. What was all that, ‘how was the Duke looking at the widow’ business?”

Beatrice smiled. “Just that. An act. Mama already doesn’t like the fact that I prefer books over people; if she knew I was actually learning and forming opinions from them, I’d never see the inside of a book again. So, I pretend to be the young girl who is just curious enough to be interesting but not curious enough to cause a problem.” She lifted a slender shoulder. “It’s a balance.”

Eleanor cringed. “What is to become of us when you both enter into your seasons. The world is not ready for either of you.”

Beatrice’s smile widened even more. “I know. It will definitely be a sight to see.”

A sense of dread settled over Eleanor. Between what she learned of the Duke and how unrestrained her sisters were, she worried her bottom her lip, contemplating their future.

“Calm down, Eleanor. It’s not like we’re postulating over what the Duke and widow did when they conveniently disappeared at the same time,” Sarah offered.

Eleanor could feel her cheeks heat. She knew exactly what they did. The memories of it played on an endless loop in her thoughts all last night.

“Wait. They disappeared together?” Beatrice sat up, positively drooling over the gossip. She definitely was a different girl without her mother around. How had Eleanor never noticed this?

Sarah nodded. “Mhmm. I wasn’t going to say anything to Mama last night. I didn’t want her to cause a scene, but Mary saw the Duke go onto the veranda, and the widow followed shortly after.”

Eleanor sat still, her body frozen, afraid the slightest movement would showcase her memories from the interaction last night.

“Eleanor, did you check the veranda last night when we went with Mama to check the parlor? Did you see them?”

Eleanor stuttered. “I, um… No.” She focused on swirling her tea. She found giving her hands something to do settled her nerves. “I did not see her. I did see him by himself, but it was only for a brief moment.”

“Caroline said she found you in the library,” Sarah added.

Eleanor tilted her head in confusion. Found her? Oh no. Did Caroline hear more than she let on?

“Well, she said she heard you, and you told her not to come in because you weren’t feeling well.”

Beatrice eyed her. “You look fine to me.”

Sarah’s eyebrows rose. “Were you in there with him?”

Eleanor’s heart began racing. “No! Heavens no!” She looked at Beatrice. “I went on the veranda to look for the Duke. I saw him, told him about the introduction. He left, and I went back to the ball through by way of the library. I was in there alone,” she said, looking at Sarah.

“The excitement of the day must’ve caught up to me because in the silence of library, I began to feel ill. It was only momentary. I rejoined the ball soon after Caroline knocked.”

Eleanor tried slowing her breath as her sister processed her lie.

“Perhaps he took his dalliance into the shadows of the garden,” Beatrice suggested as she looked over the garden in question.

Eleanor threw her hands up. “Enough of this. I’m with Mama on this one. We shouldn’t talk of the Duke this way. It isn’t proper.”

Sarah huffed. “Of course, you would say that. Everything must be lined up perfectly for our prim and proper Eleanor. No gossip, no scandals?—”

“No fun,” Beatrice ended and caused giggles to erupt between her sisters.

Eleanor was used to the description. She was prim and proper, just as she was brought up to be. She would love to be free with her thoughts like her sisters, but that was not the plan for her.

“Maybe there is a suitor out there that will help you relax,” Sarah said.

“Like Leonard Marsh,” Beatrice remarked.

Eleanor shook her head. “You girls are incorrigible.”

“But you love us.” Sarah smiled at her sister.

Eleanor sighed. “Yes, I suppose so.”

“Enough of the mush. Let’s get back to talking about suitors. There has to be someone for your Eleanor. There’s always the Viscount,” Beatrice offered. “As long as it’s someone other than Leonard Marsh; he’s too old.”

Her comment elicited laughs from Eleanor and Sarah.

“I hope it’s not me who you are calling old.”

Eleanor watched as two sets of eyes lifted up to focus on the man who was standing directly behind her.