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“No. He made me uncomfortable.” Eleanor grimaced. “I don’t know what it was exactly that made me nervous, but I wanted to get away from him whenever he came close. I told him several times that I would not court him. Even my father refused to let him into the house after seeing how oddly behaved this man was in public.”
Nathan had thought that something was going on, but that Eleanor had a possessive man who wouldn’t leave her alone after being told several times? That was something else? Was this Leyton? It would certainly explain a lot of things.
“What about his parents? Did they think something wasn’t right?”
“I spoke to them, and they were concerned. They had never seen their son pursue anyone like this, and they were ashamed that he wasn’t listening.” Eleanor swallowed and looked away. “It came to a head one night when he cornered me. I had gone to get some air during a ball, and he cornered me in the garden. He declared his love for me again and asked me to marry him. That he could make me the happiest woman alive. I said no and tried to go back inside. Then he...he grabbed me…”
Her voice trailed off. Nathan went cold. Eleanor had been molested? Having been grown up giving women the utmost respect, hearing this made him feel nauseous.
“Did he…” He gulped. “Did he do anything?”
“No, he didn’t get the chance. I got him where it hurts, and I ran.” Eleanor lifted her head and took a deep breath. “Father chased him off, threatening to castrate him if he did that again.” She rose to her feet and paced away, wandering towards the window. “I felt sympathy for Matthew’s parents, it wasn’t their fault that there was something wrong with their son.”
Matthew. That told Nathan everything.
“Was his family name Leyton, by any chance?”
“It is, actually.” Eleanor turned to him and frowned. “Why?”
“He confronted me at the club this morning. Said that you were his and our marriage was never happening.”
Eleanor’s eyes widened. Then she turned away with a groan.
“Oh, for goodness sake. Can’t he just leave me alone?”
“He’s been bothering you for ten years?”
“Only a year and then he left London suddenly. I didn’t think too much of it at the time as I was tending to Mother. She was very sick.” Eleanor shuddered, wrapping her arms around her waist. “Then when she died, I went into mourning. Even after I came out of it, I didn’t want to go and see anyone. I kept to myself, focused on the orphanage Mother used to help at when she was still alive. Father’s drinking and gambling had gotten worse after her death, and it was the talk of society. Even if I had gone back into society, I wouldn’t have been able to find a prospective husband with little to no dowry.”
So, circumstances had resulted in Eleanor still being unmarried at eight-and-twenty. Nathan thought it was a shame people didn’t look past that and saw the woman at the centre of it. Then he found himself glad about it.
So much for this being a simple marriage arrangement. You just had to get emotionally involved.
He approached her, stepping carefully around her and leaning against the window frame. If he stood any closer to her, Nathan was going to touch her again, and he knew he had pushed the boundaries already. He needed to keep himself with a level head.
Easier said than done.
“Did you ever want to marry?”
“Sometimes. Other times, I figured it was better to be on my own.” Eleanor shrugged. “Now, I suppose neither of us have any choice about it. I feel awful for putting you in this position.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“I feel like it is.”
Nathan smiled. She was far too compassionate.
Even if he could get out of it now - the banns were being drawn up already at Vanity’s insistence - Nathan knew he couldn’t. Eleanor had grabbed hold of his attention more than he anticipated.
“Eleanor, we’re both stuck with something we didn’t agree to, in theory, but I think we can make the most of it.”
“You think so?”
“I’m sure.” Nathan sighed. “I will be arguing with you on your work with the orphanage…”
“And I’ll be arguing about you being in the army and how can that be any less dangerous.” Eleanor shot back.
“I’m fighting for my country.”
