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CHAPTER13
Henry saw his wife at dinner that night, and he noted something different about her attitude. While she still refused to eat meat, Cook no longer placed any on her plate. Eleanor dined on a smorgasbord of cooked vegetables, and she seemed to greatly enjoy the offerings. When the servants brought around a tray of baked apples she smiled, and Henry could tell that she was genuinely pleased.
They spoke kindly to one another throughout the meal, and Henry felt as though something had altered between them. He didn’t know what exactly, as neither of them had spoken privately or even apologized for their behavior, but this new comfort established itself all the same.
Just as they were finishing the meal, and Henry was set to retire to his billiards room, Eleanor said something that was rather bizarre. “Henry, I was hoping we could talk about…” He was startled by this because in the past Eleanor had never nervously set up their conversations. If she had something to say, she just said it. He was intrigued by this new tone, and he very much wanted to hear what she was about to say, but his grandmother entered the room at that very moment, shattering the pleasant atmosphere.
“Grandmother, I had no idea you were at home. I was given to understand you had accompanied Lady Clay back to her home and that you would be dining there. If I had realized, we shouldn’t have indulged without you,” Henry said, rising from his chair and nodding deferentially toward his grandmother.
She cast a cold stare upon Eleanor and then turned back toward Henry. He was stymied by the look the Dowager Duchess bestowed upon his wife. He knew the two were not exactly seeing eye to eye on all things, but he didn’t think his grandmother had resorted to being downright inhospitable. “I have already dined this evening, my boy. Do have a seat.”
Henry waited for the Dowager Duchess to slide into her own chair, and then he sat once more. He glanced over at Eleanor and noted that the cheerful expression that had been on her face the entire night had now slipped away. It was replaced by a placid mask, as her features were not pleased nor despondent. Henry turned his head slowly back and forth between the two women, wondering what he could have possibly missed.
Suddenly, Eleanor rose and excused herself from the table. “Forgive me. I have a stomachache,” Eleanor said as she left the room. That seemed even further vexing as she had been fine just before his grandmother entered.
“Must be something she ate,” the Dowager Duchess remarked snidely as the doors closed behind Eleanor.
“Grandmother,” Henry scolded, astonished by her tone, “you should not speak to Eleanor in such a way.”
“I wasn’t speakingtoEleanor,” the Dowager Duchess replied cuttingly. “I was speakingofher.”
“There’s hardly a difference,” Henry responded, hurt that his grandmother was behaving in such a fashion so unbecoming. “Like it or not, she is my wife, and you must try to treat her with some respect.”
His grandmother turned her cool stare upon him. “Like it or not… well, I don’t mind letting you know that I do not like this predicament you have gotten yourself into. I am more than a little displeased with your choice of spouse. She is arrogant and she flitters about the manor as though she owns it.”
“She is my wife. It is her home, too,” Henry answered defensively.
“Yes, but I wonder at the way she treats this home. I’ve had it from Lady Clay that during tea just this afternoon you asked Eleanor to be rid of her cats and she denied you. Tell me truly—is this the case?” Henry felt pierced by his grandmother’s sharp eyes. He knew there was no way he could wriggle out of answering her question.
“Yes,” he replied simply. “Eleanor is attached to her pets, and I think the affection she shows for those animals is a boon…”
He was unable to finish his thought as his grandmother hooted a small laugh. “A boon? I’ve never seen anything more unflattering. Our home is positively littered with cats and birds and…” she paused and made a disgusted face, “the excrement that comes along with them. Henry, what are we to do when these beloved pets start tearing at our tapestries? What becomes of our family heirlooms when Eleanor’s animals decide they would like to chew on the Chippendale armchairs?”
“Grandmother,” Henry said in his most placating tone, “I’m sure it will not come to that. All of Eleanor’s pets lived at Barrow Hall and I’ve never heard tell that their home was destroyed.”
The Dowager Duchess huffed. “You’ve never heard tell. As if you’d care, even if you did. I tried to warn you about Eleanor. I tried to tell you what the people of thetonthought of her, but you wouldn’t listen. You insisted upon marrying her.”
“And I’m right glad I did,” Henry boomed, unable to keep his temper from flaring. “She is a lovely woman and…”
“A lovely woman?” His grandmother mimicked, her tone mocking. “No, Lady Rosalin Clay is a lovely woman. She is so polite and amiable. The way she carries herself is unreproachable. And I’ve seen the way she looks at you. She thinks you very handsome, indeed.”
“A pity she’s married then,” Henry retorted sarcastically.
“It is a shame she’s married, but there were many other members of thetonwho would have become your wife willingly and they would have done such credit to the family name. I remember a few of those young ladies, a Miss Stephens in particular, who would have been such a winning match for you.”
“Is that what this is all about?” Henry asked, realization hitting him at last. “You don’t approve of Eleanor because she isn’t the person you picked out for me?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Henry. You could have married anyone,” his grandmother replied offhandedly.
“Yes, I could have wed anyone, and I chose Eleanor.”
“Come now, Henry. Let us not quarrel. What’s done is done and there’s no changing the fact that you acted imprudently and married a woman on a whim. If only you had been more patient and allowed me to introduce you to more ladies of theton. I’m sure we would have found you someone who was your equal match.”
Henry shook his head fervently. “You don’t understand, Grandmother. I didn’t want one of the ladies of your acquaintance. Those women were so obliging, too obliging. I didn’t want someone to fall at my feet and tell me that everything I did was perfect and lovely. I admire Eleanor because of her strength and vitality. I think the way she dotes on her pets is very pleasing. It shows that she is kind, which is something we could do with more of around here.”
“Henry,” his grandmother said, clearly dismayed by his strong rebuke. “I will not have you act as though I have been unkind to either you or your new wife. I have shown her every possible courtesy.”
Henry’s shoulders slumped and he looked at his grandmother mournfully.
In her mind, she believes what she just said. She thinks that she has been nice to Eleanor and that she is only reacting so harshly now because Eleanor has rejected her. She’ll never understand.
But Henry did. He saw his grandmother for who she was—the high-society Dowager Duchess who gossiped with her friends and made merry at balls-- and he loved her all the same. But he also was starting to see Eleanor, the lady who adored animals, nurtured and protected them, and he thought her admirable too. The two women were so different and yet Henry saw how much alike they were, too. They were both fiercely protective of the people and animals they loved, and they were willing to say or do anything to defend others.
“I do hope, in the days to come, to repair this breech between you and Eleanor. We are going to be together, all of us, for a very long time, and it would be best if we could live as a family… happily,” Henry said, and then he excused himself from the dining room and retreated to his study.
