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"Give me a moment Nell," Grace said, smiling as she excused herself to see the young Lord on his way.
"Lady Hyde, once again, a pleasure," Lord Conyngham said, a merry twinkle in his eye. Eleanor found herself smiling back at him automatically, a sincere smile to match his own.
"Lord Conyngham."
No wonder Grace enjoyed the young lord's company lately, Eleanor mused. He had similar looks to Lord Brooke, both had the same height and breadth of shoulder, although Brooke's hair was more auburn, but the biggest difference was that Conyngham always had a smile on his face. The rake was dangerous not because he was an obvious predator, but because he could lure a woman in with his smiles and friendly charm before she even noticed that he was seducing her. While she hadn't been able to speak much with him during her dinner, she now knew that he was possessed of a quick and ready wit, although he was never cruel with it that she'd seen thus far, and an obvious admiration for Grace's spirit and disdain for the ton's protocols.
In short, personality wise, he was practically the complete opposite of Lord Brooke who was quite serious and very proper. Although she suspected that beneath that stony exterior, Lord Brooke might be harboring a much kinder and more open-minded person than anyone suspected. After all, he did let Grace do as she pleased whereas another man would have already divorced her or taken... other measures to force her to his will. Grace could have very easily found herself locked away in the countryside.
Eleanor wondered whether it was benevolence or something else on Lord Brooke's part that he allowed his wife to behave as she did.
"Hello darling, do you have time to stay? I'd hoped for a few moments alone," said Grace as she re-entered the parlor and came to sit next to Eleanor on the couch. Her eyes were sparkling and the smile on her face was the first that Eleanor had seen in a long time. She was glad for it, she was, it was just that she had hoped Grace would be willing to quit the city with her. If her friend was happy again then perhaps she wouldn't be.
Had Lord Brooke left London?
"No," said Grace, a vague look of anxiety passing over her face before it was replaced by defiance. Eleanor started guiltily, she hadn't even realized that she'd spoken out loud. "He's still in the city... but Rupert came by a few days ago and we had a long talk and he talked me into going out with him. We went to Lady Poplar's soiree and of course Alex wasn't there."
"Of course," Eleanor echoed, trying to hide her shock. She'd realized that Rupert Conyngham would have entrance to some of the less, ah, proper gatherings of the darker echelons of Society, but she hadn't expected Grace to ever go to any of them. Normally Grace kept to the more acceptable outings.
"I know what you're thinking," Grace said with a sigh, her hands balling in her lap. She looked down at them and then shrugged and looked back at Eleanor, her expression resigned. "But I miss going out. It was so lovely to go somewhere and not have Alex show up... although Rupert is trying to convince me to return to my usual events as well. He pointed out that it's not like Alex actually approaches me."
There was something in Grace's voice that made Eleanor wonder if Grace wished her husband would approach. Although Grace went out on another man's arm, she was sure that she'd seen Lord Brooke with other women on his arm - or in them on the dance floor - when she had seen him in the evenings. Did Grace still harbor some kind of feelings for the man? Did it hurt her to see him with those women?
Goodness... that would explain so much.
"True... although I can't imagine you enjoy seeing him," Eleanor hedged. She didn't want to dissuade her friend from the activities that she loved, but Eleanor's life would be so much easier if Grace agreed to go to Bath with her.
"No." Those dark blue eyes suddenly got a very faraway look as she answered softly. "No I don't."
"Are you still thinking about leaving London?"
Grace hesitated, brushing a strand of raven-wing hair off of her face. Pink lips pursed. "I don't know. I don't feel quite as... trapped as I did before." A slight blush suffused her cheeks. "Knowing that Rupert is willing to escort me about, whether or not Alex is there, is a great help, especially as he can find events where I can enjoy myself without worrying that Alex will suddenly appear."
"I see."
Something in Eleanor's voice must have given her away because Grace looked at her curiously. "Is everything alright?"
"I've been considering a visit to my mother in Bath," Eleanor said.
"Before the end of the Season?" Grace's eyebrows rose in true surprise. "I thought your highest ambition was a Season in London."
"That's also when I thought I would be spending that Season being courted," said Eleanor a little sourly.
But Grace only laughed at her. "You're the envy of half the ladies of the ton, Eleanor. Both married and unmarried. You have a husband who spurns the invitations of any number of women, indulges you with jewelry and dances attendance on you at whatever event you decide to a
ttend. The goal of any Season is to procure a marriage, and yours is a particularly successful one. What on earth do you have to complain about?"
"I don't know," Eleanor said a bit waspishly. Having Grace point out all the things that Eleanor should be grateful for in her marriage only made her more irritable. The problem was that she truly wasn't satisfied with all those things. She wanted Edwin to treat her the way he had been, of course, but she also wanted to know that she had his heart. But it seemed like the wrong topic to bring up with Grace, who, unlike Eleanor, had always wanted to marry for love and whose own marriage was such a travesty. After hearing her friend's story, Eleanor wasn't going to rub bitter salt in the wound.
To her surprise, Grace placed a gentle hand upon Eleanor's. "Don't mind me dear," she said with a trilling little laugh that belied her own hurt. "Alex did all those things before I discovered that he had married to make a deal with my father. I, more than anyone, know that sometimes what looks like perfection is hollow on the inside."
When Eleanor left Grace's she felt more turmoil than ever. Her friend's marriage was a perfect example of a woman assuming one thing only to find out that she was wrong. Which is exactly why Eleanor didn't want to assume Edwin's feelings towards her, she wanted to know. The dratted man didn't seem inclined to just declare himself and while his actions were certainly indicative, they were not conclusive.
So she would just keep testing. The sooner she could get out of the city and away from him for a bit, to see what he would do, the better. Perhaps he would remain faithful… perhaps she would discover that his expressed desire for her and only her was nothing more than locational. Since Grace was no longer an option she would just have to find someone else.
Chapter 14
The dinner celebrating Hugh and Irene's return from their honeymoon was a wild success. Everyone agreed that the food was delicious, the decorations elegant and sumptuous, and the conversation was surprisingly lively. This was due, in part, to the number of Hugh's friends who were unmarried rakes and Eleanor's preferred female friends amongst the ton who were not at all shy about voicing their opinions. Since the older generations were all absent from the city, Eleanor had invited only the younger sets and so the dinner had a very youthful vibrancy about the tableside.
