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He was dressed in a blue frock coat with a yellow cravat at the neck. There was no doubt he was a handsome man. The butler stood expectantly by the door.
“It’s all right, Anderton. You can leave us,” she said.
“Very good, My Lady.” The butler left the room, closing the door behind him.
Jackson smiled and looked around him, nodding, before settling himself down in a chair by the fireplace.
“I’m glad to see you,” he said, and Eloise blushed.
She came to sit opposite him, and his eyes followed her across the room, his face still set in a smile.
“It’s kind of you to call on me like this. I must say, I wasn’t sure to expect it,” she admitted.
He looked somewhat hurt at her words and shook his head.
“A gentleman’s word is his bond, Eloise. I meant what I said yesterday. It may sound like a dramatic plan, but it’s one that can work. We must make it do so, though. We must keep up the pretense. That’s why I came to see you this morning. I thought we might go for a walk in Hyde Park together. There’s a delightful route around the Serpentine. That way, we’d be seen,” he proposed, and Eloise smiled.
It was clear he had thought much about this, and she could only be grateful to him for wanting to help her in this way, even as the match was a benefit to him, too.
“Can we really fool people? My father? Your uncle?” she asked, and Jackson laughed.
“We can have a jolly good go. Besides, who are they to tell us if we are or aren’t in love? They don’t know what’s in our minds. They’ll see a happily courting couple together, and once we’re married, there’s nothing more they can do,” he said.
Eloise glanced at the writing table where the half-written letter lay, waiting to be finished. She felt torn between the duty she felt she owed to her sister and the desire – the very real desire – to accompany Jackson on a walk.
One morning won’t matter. I can finish the letters this afternoon.
Eloise was good at denying herself pleasure. She always felt a sense of guilt at any pretext for enjoyment. Whilst her sister was missing, Eloise could not allow herself the distractions enjoyed by other women of her rank and age. When she attended the theater or the opera, walked in the park, or took tea with other ladies, she would feel guilty because her sister was not there to enjoy it.
“You’re right. It’s all a charade, but we must make it look so,” she agreed, and Jackson nodded.
“They’ll all be out riding in their carriages this morning, the ton, I mean. They’ll see us together. We must have been the talk of their morning after the ball last night. When they see us together, well, they’ll know we’re serious in our desire to be together,” he said.
Eloise nodded and rose from her place. He offered her his arm, and she smiled at him. It was an enjoyable fantasy, even if it remained only so. They left the morning room and made their way to the hallway, where Eloise instructed the butler to have Delphine bring her a shawl and a bonnet.
“We’re going on a walk in Hyde Park.” The butler raised his eyebrows.
“Shall I inform His Lordship?” he asked.
Eloise thought for a moment and nodded. She wanted her father to know she was with Jackson. It would help assuage his doubts. She put on her shawl and bonnet and left the house on Jackson’s arm
It was a beautiful morning, the birds singing in the trees, and the sweet scent of summer flowers hanging in the air as they entered the park a few moments later.
“You were right about the carriages,” Eloise said, as several rattled past along the tree-lined avenue, which led to the serpentine.
Eloise could see fashionably dressed women and handsome young gentlemen peering out at the two of them. She could well imagine what they were saying to one another, and it pleased her to be part of the deception.
“There’s Eloise Snowden with the Duke of Kenwood. They were dancing together last night. Did you see them kiss? And now a walk… it must be serious,” they would say, and that was how the myth of Eloise and Jackson’s courtship would spread.
It could not be avoided, and Eloise smiled at the thought of using the ton to her advantage. Usually, gossip was something to be avoided. One never wished to be the object of gossip. But in this case, gossip would be used to their advantage. Everyone would assume they were courting, and that would give the happy illusion they desired.
“They’re delighting in it, aren’t they?” Jackson observed, walking proudly at Eloise’s side.
“How soon can we marry?” she asked, for there seemed little point in delaying the matter longer than necessary.
“We need a period of courtship. It wouldn’t do to be immediately at the altar. It has to look right,” he said, and Eloise nodded.
“We need not wait too long, though. A few weeks, perhaps?” she quizzed.
