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Stacey chuckled. “Piers is relieved you married him. He was afraid you were going to end up with someone else because he noticed all of the attention you were getting at the balls. He even went to Byron to help him woo you.”
“Did he really?” Heather asked.
“He did.” Stacey sipped her tea. “Now that we all know Byron was never really her suitor, I think it’s funny Piers pestered him so much.”
“I think it’s romantic that Byron was only pretending to be your suitor but he fell in love with you,” Heather commented.
Tara smiled. “It is romantic.”
Heather’s eyebrows rose in interest. “What about you, Eleanor? When did you realize you loved him?”
Eleanor wasn’t quite sure. The progression from being annoyed with him to thinking he was all right to falling in love with him had happened gradually. But, if she had to pinpoint one defining moment, she supposed it would be that night at the inn when she had woken up from sleep and talked to him. “He promised me the one thing I’ve always wanted,” she said. “He told me he would give me a place to belong.” She glanced around the room. “And he told me how he decided to become a Runner. All of it made me feel close to him. Before then, he just seemed to be doing his job to protect me. But during that conversation, I felt like I was more than a job to him.”
The three ladies smiled in a way that let her know they were satisfied with the answer.
Eleanor hesitated to ask the question that was pressing on her mind. They had come by to visit, and they were being nice. Obviously, they weren’t ashamed of her. If they had been, they never would have come to visit her. But did that mean they still wanted to be friends with her?
“I hope you don’t think I’m speaking out of turn,” Eleanor began, “but I was wondering how my membership inLadies of Gracewill be affected by recent events.”
Stacey and Heather looked at Tara, so Tara answered, “We gave this matter a lot of thought. You are a lady, so your ability to choose your future is limited. We understand that it’s the gentlemen around us who have the ultimate say in what happens to us. Stacey, Heather, and I don’t feel it’s fair to punish you for something you had no control over.”
“Yes, but I did run to Byron’s home without a chaperone,” Eleanor pointed out. “I didn’t understand the consequences of that decision.”
“I’m guessing you panicked when your father agreed to a marriage between you and the Duke of Winnett, am I right?” Tara asked.
Eleanor nodded.
“We don’t do our best thinking when we panic,” Tara said. “I talked briefly with the Duke of Winnett once. I didn’t care for him. He reminds me a lot of my brother. If I had been you, I might have panicked, too.”
“Byron is much better than him,” Heather interrupted. “We realize that.”
“I wasn’t trying to marry Byron when I came here,” Eleanor protested. “I was only trying to get him to stop the marriage between me and the Duke of Winnett.”
Heather giggled. “And you succeeded.”
Eleanor’s face warmed, but Tara hurried to assure her, “We realize you didn’t intend for things to happen the way they did. If your father hadn’t followed you here, you probably wouldn’t have had to go to Gretna Green. That’s why we figure your father is the one who forced you into this situation. As I said earlier, ladies have little control over what happens to them. I don’t think it’s fair to fault you for that.”
Eleanor relaxed. At least they understood she hadn’t been using her feminine wiles to get out of marrying the duke.
“You still have all of your gowns, don’t you?” Stacey asked.
“I do,” Eleanor replied.
“So you can dress appropriately to events.” Stacey turned her gaze to Tara. “Everyone in London doesn’t keep track of everything a person does. We can slip her into some activities without arousing someone’s suspicion.”
“We can,” Tara said then turned her attention back to Eleanor. “TheTittletattlehas been quiet on what has happened to you. The news floating around London is all about the Duke of Winnett and how he sabotaged your Season. All that’s said about you is that you married Byron, and all that’s said about Byron is that he’s the Runner who put His Grace in prison. I doubt most people are aware of Byron’s financial situation. I had no idea where he even lived until news of your elopement developed. I went to visit your father to find out where your new residence was going to be. I doubt anyone else will care enough to find you.”
In that case, Eleanor supposed it was good she was mostly an unknown lady the whole time she was in London. Only a few people knew her. Only a few cared enough to find out what happened to her.
“You’re still a member of the group,” Tara said. “We just won’t mention your financial standing to anyone, and you’ll wear your expensive clothes to social events like Byron did. No one will be the wiser.”
“If he could get away with fooling all of us, you can, too,” Heather added.
Eleanor was surprised, but also thrilled, that they were willing to let her stay in the group. They not only thought she would be a good addition to the group, but they thought of her as their friend. She had to brush away the tears that came to her eyes before they asked her if something was wrong. Nothing was wrong. She now had a husband and friends. Everything was perfect.
