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Chapter Fourteen
Eleanor’s stomach did flipflops all through the morning as she waited for two o’clock to arrive. This was it. She was about to find out if she would be a member ofLadies of Grace.
She put on one of her best gowns for the occasion, even though she didn’t think they would go anywhere. Then she spent an entire half hour pacing in the drawing room. She couldn’t sit. All sitting did was make her more anxious. At least when she was walking, she could work off some of her nervous energy.
From time to time, she would look out the window, in case one of the ladies arrived early. She thought it was the fourth time she looked out the window when she saw the Duke of Winnett’s carriage coming down the street. She paused and held her breath. He wasn’t coming here again, was he? Did her father invite him over for another game of chess? Her father hadn’t mentioned anything about him stopping by to visit her again, and she was certain her father wouldn’t allow him to visit while she was expecting the members ofLadies of Graceto stop by.
The carriage went past her townhouse. She nearly collapsed against the window. That was close. So far, she’d received no missives from any of the gentlemen at the ball asking to see her. That was a disappointment. Even if she hadn’t taken a fancy to any of them, they would be better than the Duke of Winnett.
She was about to resume her pacing when she saw Byron walking down the sidewalk. He was on the opposite side of the street from her townhouse, so she didn’t think he intended to stop by. And she was right. He kept on walking.
That was strange. He didn’t live in this section of London. If she remembered right, her father said Byron lived in the poorer side of town.Not quite middle class but not on the streets, either,had been the way he’d worded it. She had no idea where that was, but it couldn’t be anywhere near here.
Curious, she followed the path he was going. His steps slowed, and he went to sit on a bench. What was he doing? She studied him and saw that, while he had brought out the newspaper from under his arm, he glanced over in a certain direction. She was unable to see what had his attention since the window pane was in her way. After a moment, she decided to open the window so she could poke her head outside. To her surprise, the Duke of Winnett’s carriage hadn’t gone much further down her street. It was parked five townhouses down from her residence. Her gaze went back to Byron who, for all intents and purposes, appeared to be interested in the paper.
Except he wasn’t. He was interested in the Duke of Winnett. She brought her head back into the room and closed the window before he noticed her. So the Duke of Winnett was a suspect! It was no wonder he refused to tell her father the identity of the person he was watching. The Duke of Winnett was too close to her father. Her father would never believe the duke capable of harming her.
But she would. Ever since she met him, she’d had an uneasy feeling about him. Now she knew there was something to that feeling. It might not be something she could put her finger on, but something about him was wrong.
She caught sight of the Duchess of Ravenshire’s carriage. With a gasp, she hurried to summon the butler. She didn’t have to think about Byron or the Duke of Winnett right now. She had more important things to tend to. She gave a quick check in the mirror to check her reflection. She had to admit the Duchess of Ashbourne’s advice on what to wear did make her feel pretty.
The butler came into the room just as she turned from the mirror. She instructed him to bring black tea with an assortment of spices that the ladies could use to give it flavor. Then she went to the settee to wait for them. She debated whether she should sit or stand. In the end, she decided to stand. If she sat, it might make them think she had no interest in their group. Standing was the better option. It was certainly better than waiting right by the doorway. If she had chosen that, she’d look pathetic. Yes, she wanted friends, but she didn’t need to let them know how much she wanted them.
The footman brought Tara, Stacey, and Heather into the room.
“Thank you for agreeing to meet with us,” Tara said as the three ladies approached.
“I’m happy to have you here,” Eleanor replied. “Please, have a seat.”
Tara sat next to her on the settee, and Stacey and Heather sat across from them.
“The butler will be coming in with the tea soon,” Eleanor said, hoping they didn’t detect the slight trembling of her hands. “I asked him to bring in a variety of spices. I know black tea can be bland.”
“We’re not hard to please,” Tara assured her with a smile. “Black tea with something sweet is perfect.”
Eleanor felt some of her tension ease. Maybe this afternoon wouldn’t be so difficult after all.
“You might as well come out and tell her the good news,” Heather told Tara after a long moment of silence passed between everyone. “You’ve held her in suspense long enough.”
Tara chuckled. “All right. Eleanor, we are happy to announce that you have been approved for membership into our group.”
Though Eleanor had thought they might say it, she had to resist the urge to do something stupid, like jump up and down and cheer. Fortunately, she managed to restrain herself from looking foolish. “I’m happy to be a member.”
“I can’t tell you how relieved we are to have found you,” Tara replied as the butler came into the room. “We have tried to find a lady who’ll fit in with this group, but it’s not as easy as it looks. We don’t just want someone who meets with the Ton’s approval. We want someone we can get along with. You are the kind of lady we’ve been looking for.”
As soon as the butler was leaving the room, Eleanor began pouring tea into everyone’s cups, careful not to fill them too close to the brim in case she made a mess. She was so excited that she couldn’t manage to hold the teapot steady. When she was done, she set the teapot down and gestured for them to put whatever they wanted into their tea. She, meanwhile, chose to avoid putting anything into her tea, lest she slip at the last moment and get cinnamon or nutmeg on the table. She’d been doing well enough to pour the tea without incident.
“We weren’t always so careful with the membership of the group,” Tara continued. “We used to only look at who had a good reputation, but after we had a couple of members we couldn’t all get along with, we realized we needed stricter requirements.”
Heather nodded while she put some mint into her tea. “You’ll be happy to know that you don’t have to buy an expensive gown and throw it away after wearing it one time.”
“That was only a rule when Lady Eloise was in charge of the group,” Tara added. “We got rid of it after she was forced to leave.”
“May I ask why she was forced to leave?” Eleanor asked.
“Essentially, she spoke out of turn in a public setting, and this ended up creating a scandal that almost disgraced the entire group,” Tara replied. “It took a year in order to regain our good standing.”
“The group is better off without her,” Stacey chimed in before sipping her tea. “I try not to think of that time.”
