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“What?” Edward Heavenly lifted his hand and blinked at her. “What are you talking about? I didn’t go anywhere. I think I must be coming down with a cold.”
Eleanor folded her arms. She was not in the mood for his excuses.
“Father, I heard you come in about one in the morning. I can smell the drink from here. We know you went out, so don’t lie to me.”
“I didn’t!”
“Oh?” Eleanor nodded at the open window. “And are you going to say the window over there broke because the wind blew too hard when it was working fine yesterday? You’re not a very good liar, Father. And you promised you wouldn’t go anywhere.”
Eleanor had expected Edward Heavenly to double down on his lies and proclaim his innocence, but Edward Heavenly lowered his hands, his eyes closed, and shrugged.
“You know what it’s like, Eleanor. When temptation is too great…”
“No, I don’t know what it’s like!” Eleanor snapped. “Because I’m not a fool.”
Edward Heavenly didn’t respond to that. He knew he had been caught. Eleanor rolled her shoulders, the tension getting to be too much in her upper back.
“Maybe you should go and see Aunt Brenda for a while?”
“What?” Edward Heavenly’s eyes snapped open. “No! She doesn’t drink, and she hates playing cards. That woman is as dull as you can get.”
“And she’s what you need right now. To cut yourself off from temptation before you lose the house in a game, because I’m sure you went to gamble again.” Eleanor sighed. “What did you lose this time?”
“I didn’t lose anything.” Her father protested. “I gained something. Of a sort.”
That didn’t make any sense, and Eleanor didn’t believe it.
“What are you talking about, Father? You’re terrible at cards. You can’t win a hand to save your life, but you refuse to admit it. I’ve never played cards before and I can beat you. What could you have gained from gambling?”
“A lot, actually.” Edward Heavenly shifted to sit up in his chair. “Someone heard that I was in dire financial straits, and he gave me an offer. He’ll wipe my debts clean and give me a fresh start, on one condition.”
Someone was willing to pay Edward Heavenly’s debts? He had to have deep pockets for that. Eleanor couldn’t believe that anyone could offer to pay off substantial debts of someone else they barely knew. Edward Heavenly didn’t know that many people who were wealthy enough to pay off his debts without making a significant dent in their own purse. Something else was going on. It all sounded very suspicious.
“What’s the condition?”
“That I give your hand to a friend of his.”
Eleanor stared. It took a few goes for the words to sink in.
“I what?”
“He said that he has a friend, a close friend, who is in need of a wife and isn’t fussy about who it is as long as he gets a marriage. If I agree to that, he’ll help me out at the same time and put money forward for a dowry.”
This did not sound right at all. Someone was willing to pay off debts in exchange for her to marry someone else? But her father sounded like he believed everything that was coming out of his mouth. Eleanor spluttered.
“You didn’t agree to this, did you? This sounds like a con.”
“It’s no con, believe me. Of course I agreed to it.”
“Father!” Eleanor’s mouth fell open. Shock and outrage warred together in her head. “But I... I never agreed to this!”
“It was too good a chance to miss.” Edward Heavenly rose to his feet, wobbling a little before getting his balance. “We can wipe the slate clean and you can finally get a husband. Someone who can look after you better than I can.”
“Father, the last man who was interested in me was Matthew Leyton. That was more than enough to put me off marriage.” Eleanor suddenly went cold. “It wasn’t him, was it?”
“Leyton? No, of course not. He wouldn’t be able to wipe out the debts.”
“He could be the friend being recommended.”
