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“So, how was it meeting Lord Brixton yesterday?” Edward Heavenly asked. “I would have asked you yesterday, but we were both so busy that I haven’t seen you until this morning.”
“You and I need to have a holiday.” Eleanor smiled.
“If only we could afford it.”
“That is a problem.” Eleanor sighed. “He goes by Captain Reynolds, not Lord Brixton. He prefers it.”
Edward Heavenly blinked. “I thought he was an Earl.”
“He is, but he is also a captain in the British army. One he said that he earned through his own graft and it’s the title he wants to be addressed as.”
That had been a little bewildering, but Eleanor was happy to do it. Nathan didn’t look like an earl at all, and she saw the way he grimaced whenever his mother addressed him as Brixton. She didn’t want to be on his bad side by being disrespectful. From the look on his face when she addressed him correctly, Nathan appreciated it.
You’re not familiar enough to call him Nathan, so stop it.
I can’t help it.
“I see. I must have been misinformed about that.” Edward Heavenly cleared his throat. “How was it, anyway? I didn’t hear any ranting and raving when I got back, so I presume it went well enough.”
“For the most part.” Eleanor moved to sit beside her father. “He’s...decent enough. Very much a gentleman, and easy to talk to. We can discuss a lot of things without feeling completely awkward. I think we can be friends out of all this.”
Edward Heavenly raised his eyebrows.
“I didn’t send you there to make friends with an Earl. I sent you there to acquaint yourself with your future husband.”
“But I’m not going to be marrying the love of my life, am I?” Eleanor pointed out. “I would prefer to be friends with the man I’ll be married to if I don’t love him.”
At least that had been something of a relief. Eleanor had worried that she was being married off to someone who was going to be undesirable. There had to be a reason why Captain Reynolds was still unmarried at his age. Eleanor had thought it was because he was so socially awkward around women, or he was not a very nice man and women steered clear of him. She had even wondered if it might be because - heaven forbid - that he preferred the company of men and needed a cover, so people didn’t talk.
A career soldier as a husband wouldn’t be a problem. But her husband’s problem with what she did with her spare time was still a source of contention.
“Something else is bothering you.”
Edward Heavenly was looking at her with a knowing look.
“Is it that obvious?”
Edward Heavenly smiled and gave her a gentle nudge with his shoulder. “You’re my daughter, Eleanor. I know you.”
Eleanor wished that he didn’t at times. She sighed and looked down at her hands. “He doesn’t want me to work with the children once we’re married. But he expects me to fully support him when he goes back to France to fight.”
“Ah. I see.” Edward Heavenly’s tone said he knew perfectly well. “Well, as you know already, men have a lot more freedom than women.”
“I know, Father, and it’s annoying.” Eleanor stood and began to pace. She couldn’t sit still now that she was getting riled up. “If he thinks he can go back to France and expect me to support that, he’s going to have to put up with me carrying on helping at the orphanage. He can’t keep me locked up like I’m some bird in a gilded cage.”
“I’m sure he could try.” Edward Heavenly folded his arms. “But if he’s as decent as you say he is, I’m sure you’ll be able to make him see sense. Although…”
“Although what?” Eleanor turned to him. “I thought you were on my side, Father.”
“I am, but I can see why he’s concerned with the number of children that have been disappearing.”
“Children can leave whenever they want, although we wish for them to stay and be safe.”
They couldn’t shackle the children to the beds. The children knew London wasn’t the safest place in the world if you didn’t have money. Eleanor shed a tear for them, but she couldn’t stop a child from leaving. Their doors were always open and there was always a lot of temptation.
“Maybe he’s heard about the disappearances and got concerned. It’s getting dangerous there, Eleanor,” Edward Heavenly warned. “There will be a time when I’m going to be urging you to stop.”
Eleanor snorted. “No, there won’t. Because you know it's a good thing for me to do with my time.”
