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When his snuffled snores began to fill the room, she lifted herself up enough to watch him sleep, relieved to see him resting. Hopefully soon the shadows beneath his eyes would fade.
“You are right, Elliot,” she whispered so quietly that it did not wake him. “We will not let anything come between us again.”
Chapter 28
“Are you ready for this?” Elliot asked, looking down at Ophelia at his side.
“I’m ready,” she said, her voice firm.
Elliot lifted her gloved hand to his lips and kissed the back, hardly caring that the cloth separated them. He had seen that morning the toll that carrying a child was taking on her. Once they returned to London, he would make sure she had the best care from doctors and physicians, even though Ophelia had told him repeatedly that she was well.
I will take care of her and our child.
Taking care of her started with making sure that they would suffer no more intrusions from Gertrude and her nephew. Gertrude’s door was the one he knocked on now, impatiently, banging with his fist.
“What do you intend to do?” Ophelia asked, the lilt in her voice suggesting some nervousness.
“I’m tempted to hit him,” Elliot confessed. “After everything Lord Chester has done to destroy our happiness, that man deserves it.” His voice had darkened. When Ophelia’s eyes widened, clearly worried for his safety, he added, “I won’t, though. As much as I am tempted to. I do not think much good could come from it, other than my own satisfaction.”
They didn’t have chance to discuss the matter anymore, for the door opened to reveal a butler’s face.
“Your Grace.” He bowed to Ophelia at once. “Are you here to see your stepmother?”
“I am. This is my husband, the Duke of Northmore.” She gestured to Elliot, prompting the butler to bow deeply again. The butler seemed anxious, glancing over his shoulder.
“Forgive me for speaking out of turn, Your Grace, but I thought you should know. The argument you overheard the other day has not ended. Lord Chester is still here, and they frequently return to it.” The butler offered an apologetic look.
They may have only met once before, but apparently the discussion they had both overheard between Lord Chester and Gertrude had had as uncomfortable an effect on the butler as it had Ophelia.
“You are kind for telling me. Thank you,” she said with a smile as the butler let them into the house.
Elliot felt a tension rising in him to know that Lord Chester was definitely still here. It made him long to march through the house until he found Lord Chester, shake him by the lapels, and make abundantly clear what threat he would hold over the man’s head.
“This way,” the butler said, and led a path through the hall, heading towards a sitting room on the far side of the building.
As they walked, Elliot felt Ophelia adjust her hold from his arm to his hand, entwining their fingers together. He offered her a reassuring smile, though it didn’t last long. When the door the sitting room opened, they stepped inside to find Gertrude alone, her focus on a teacup in her hand.
“The Duke and Duchess of Northmore have arrived to see you.”
The butler’s words were met with a clattering teacup that fell off the saucer and promptly landed in Gertrude’s lap, spilling tea everywhere.
“Ah!” Gertrude cried, brushing off the teacup and suffering a clear burn from the hot tea. “My heavens…” She trailed off as she jumped to her feet, her eyes wide as they darted quickly between Elliot and Ophelia beside him. When those eyes settled on the clasping of their hands, she waved a dismissive palm at the butler, apparently silently telling him to leave. “Ophelia…” She struggled to force a smile. “What is the meaning of this? I understood you and your husband to be estranged.”
“Of course you did.” Ophelia stood tall at Elliot’s side. “Because that was your intention, was it not?”
“I don’t know what you mean.” Gertrude busied herself with placing the teacup back on a tray on a dumbwaiter table in front of her.
“Then allow me to refresh your memory.” Elliot’s somewhat louder voice made Gertrude flinch and look up from the table. “You and your nephew paid a maid to cause trouble in our household. When that failed, you sought out an actress I had a former association with and persuaded her to lie through her teeth in order to drive Ophelia out of her home. As you can see, we know all, so please do not attempt to deny it.”
Gertrude opened and closed her mouth, blinking so much that the appearance of tears in her eyes was plain to see.
“I think she is about to offer an apology to you,” Elliot said to Ophelia, loudly. “Would you accept it? I’d urge you not to after all this woman has done to make you miserable.”
“Do you think she wishes to give an apology? I thought her expression was more one of shame.”
They ended their rather taunting conversation by looking straight at Gertrude together. That joint glare made the woman flinch a second time.
“I did what I had to,” she mumbled as a tear slipped down her cheek. “You weren’t supposed to elope, Ophelia. The money should have come to me. Then none of this would have happened.”
