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“I know you’ll do your best,” her father replied. “You’re mindful to do as you’re instructed. I’m just not sure the duchess knows what she’s doing.” His gaze went to Byron. “I’ll get my cane then be back.”
Eleanor waited until he was out of the room before telling Byron, “Your sister came by yesterday with Heather. I like her. She seems nice.”
“She is nice.”
“Does she know that my father hired you as an investigator?”
“No, I didn’t specify who your father was when I mentioned you. I don’t give her any details about the cases I work on.”
“I didn’t mention that you were hired to watch over me, either. I suppose she assumes you’re really my suitor then?”
“If that’s what came up in the conversation you two had, then I suppose so. My sister is discreet. She doesn’t go around telling people I’m a Runner. But if you two were to discuss that, it would be all right. She knows better than to go through London warning potential suspects that I’m following them around.”
“Considering the fact that you won’t tell me or my father who the current suspect is, I have no trouble keeping it a secret from her.”
He arched an eyebrow in amusement. “Are you trying to get me to tell you who the suspect is?”
“I don’t need to do that.” Before he could ask her what she meant by that, she added, “It was awkward having her think you are my suitor. Heather was the one who kept going on and on about it. I didn’t bring it up. I am wondering, though, when you’re done with your investigation, will your sister want to talk to me if she thinks I rejected your proposal? Heather made it sound like you were going to propose to me. Of course, we both know this is all a pretense, but no one else does. I hate to say it, but the members ofLadies of Gracethink we will get married.”
Considering how often Piers pestered him about Eleanor, Byron wasn’t surprised to hear that the ladies in that group believed a proposal was imminent. “It is awkward when you are playing a part that isn’t real, but it has to be believable.”
“You’ve done a good job of acting. I haven’t played the part as well as I could have. I suppose you’re better at this because you’re a Runner. You probably have to pretend to be many things in your line of work.”
“Not as often as you’d think. Most of the time, I hide in the shadows and observe people. I’ve never had to play the role of a suitor before.”
“Really? But you’re so good at it.”
He wasn’t so sure about that. It was possible they noticed his interest was actually real.
Eleanor glanced at the doorway then turned her attention back to him. “Don’t tell my father, but it’s not easy for me to pretend to be someone I’m not. He wants to blame the Duchess of Ashbourne, but it’s not her fault I haven’t received any missives from potential suitors. I do my best to act like I’m having a good time at the balls, but I don’t. Deep down, I’m a wallflower.”
“No, you’re not a wallflower.” She was too beautiful and too charming to be a wallflower.
“When I’m not out in public trying to do everything the duchess taught me, I am still a wallflower. It’s hard to play the part of a socially exciting lady. As soon as I come home, all I want to do is retreat to my bedchamber. I prefer to be alone or with a couple of friends. At least then, I don’t feel worn out.” She glanced at the door again. “Tonight is going to be difficult for me to get through. What’s worse is that my father will demand the duchess pay him back if I don’t get someone to take an interest in me.”
“That would put a lot of pressure on any lady.” He used to think ladies were fortunate because all they had to do was wait for a gentleman to approach them. The burden, he had figured, was on the gentleman who risked rejection. Now, however, he realized it was equally difficult for a lady to wait and hope she’d get an offer.
He turned his attention to the doorway as her father approached.
“Whose ball will we be attending tonight?” Byron asked her father.
“The Duke of Winnett is hosting the ball this evening,” her father replied. “You must dance with him twice, Eleanor. It’d be in bad form if you picked someone else over him like you did last time.”
“I don’t want to dance with him,” she argued.
Her father waved her comment aside. “That’s silly. He’s been nothing but kind to you. Also, he’s your only suitor at the moment. You can’t afford to be picky when the duchess has failed so miserably. I can’t have you enter a second Season. It would be embarrassing. If all goes well this evening, you will have more promising suitors to choose from. Then you don’t need to dance with the Duke of Winnett ever again.”
That was little consolation to Eleanor, Byron knew, but her father was either oblivious or unconcerned about his daughter’s plight. No doubt Eleanor’s worry over how things would go this evening had just increased. It was a shame he didn’t have more money to his name. If he did, he might be able to offer her an alternative to the Duke of Winnett. As it was, she had to hope someone else would come along and offer his suit.
Quite frankly, Byron didn’t understand why someone better hadn’t come along already. Was it possible suitors had been trying to make their offers but had been unable to? What if missives were coming but were being intercepted? Could the footman or butler of this household be talked into making sure nothing got to Eleanor or her father?
One way to find out was to see if the Duke of Winnett had any such missives in his possessions. Though some criminals would burn evidence, some weren’t that smart. If Byron did find the missives, that would be a crime he could pin on him. Suddenly, Byron was glad he had to attend a ball this evening.
“Well, I’m ready,” her father told them. “Let’s see if the Duchess of Ashbourne can do a better job this evening.”
Byron offered Eleanor a sympathetic smile as the three left the room.
