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Chapter Twenty-Five
“Thank you for letting me come here,” Eleanor’s father told Byron and Eleanor the next afternoon as he stepped into the house.
Byron took her father’s hat and hung it on the hook by the door. He glanced at Eleanor to gauge how comfortable she was with the visit. She had indicated her agreement over seeing him when the calling card arrived late yesterday afternoon, but she hadn’t said anything about how she felt about seeing her father after everything that had happened. He didn’t feel right about prying. If she wanted to share her thoughts with him, she would. She’d had no trouble sharing them in the past about other things. Looking at her now, it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.
“Would you like some tea, Your Grace?” Byron offered.
As soon as he made the offer, he saw a panic in Eleanor’s eyes and knew she didn’t want to be alone with her father. He was ready to suggest she make the tea so she wouldn’t have to be alone with him, but her father shook his head. “No, that’s not necessary. We don’t need to stand on formality. I only wanted to talk to you both.”
“In that case, we’ll have a seat.” Byron gestured for her father to sit in a chair. He waved Eleanor to the settee and sat next to her. He sensed her relax and felt better for her. “What would you like to discuss, Your Grace?”
“I heard you apprehended the Duke of Winnett,” her father began. “I can’t tell you how surprised I was to learn he’d been the one behind the incident with the carriage wheel, the theatre, and the chair. Then he made it so we didn’t know she had prospective suitors.” He let out a heavy sigh and shrugged. “I didn’t realize I was such a bad judge of character.”
“The Duke of Winnett is highly intelligent. He plotted everything out and left no evidence.”
“But you both didn’t trust him. I still don’t understand how you saw something in him that I didn’t.”
“Most of the time, we refuse to see what we don’t want to see. I’ve seen it happen quite a bit in my time as a Runner. Often, the victim knows the criminal, but they like the criminal, so they have a hard time accepting that the criminal is guilty. That’s why proof is so important. In this case, the Duke of Winnett never intended to actually harm Eleanor. He only wanted to embarrass her so gentlemen would avoid her.”
“I suppose the fact that you were with her prevented him from doing more.” Her father offered him an apologetic smile. “I feel like such a fool. I apologize for not doing a better job of listening to you.”
“And to Eleanor?” Byron asked him. “It turns out she knows what she’s talking about.”
Her father nodded. “Yes, I know that now. Eleanor, I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.”
Byron glanced at her, and he was happy to note that she seemed pleased by the apology.
“In light of everything,” her father continued, “I think I was wrong to withhold Eleanor’s money from this marriage. It’s still considered a left-handed marriage, you understand. There’s nothing that can change that. But I have decided to allow you to have her dowry. I trust you’ll do right by it.”
Eleanor’s eyes grew wide, and quite frankly, Byron was just as startled as she was. He hadn’t expected this. He had thought her father had come to apologize for not taking them seriously about the Duke of Winnett, but this put another perspective on the visit. Maybe he was finally taking an interest in his daughter. If that was the case, there was a chance for the two to have a good relationship. It would be good for them both, especially for her.
“I will make sure the money goes to her comfort,” Byron promised him.
Her father cleared his throat. “That’s all I came to say. Byron, I’d like to take you to my bank so we can get the matter of the dowry resolved right away.”
Byron turned to Eleanor. “Is that all right with you?”
“Yes, of course, it is,” she replied. “I just didn’t expect this.”
“I hope of all the things I’ve done that you didn’t expect, this is one of the few things I got right,” her father told her.
A smile formed on her face before she got up from the settee and hugged him. “It is. Thank you, Father.”
“Well, it’s the least I can do after everything that’s happened,” he replied, a slight tremble in his voice indicating that he was holding back some tears.
“All I want is for you to listen to me,” she said as she pulled away from him.
“I promise to do a better job of that in the future.”
“Good. Before you and Byron leave, I want you to stay for some tea.”
“Would you like me to make it so you and your father can have a chance to talk?” Byron asked her.
Her father turned his gaze to her. “We do have a lot of catching up to do. When I think about it, there’s so little I know about you. I’d like to change that.”
“All right,” she told Byron. “I’ll stay here with him while you make the tea.”
Glad to see this new change in their relationship, Byron left the room so they could talk.
