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I rose from my seat at last, explaining that I had promised to take a walk with Eleanor. “You will observe that I am not scurrying,” I said with a slight smile.
The answering light in his eyes warmed me. He rose, too and, because of his superior height and nearness, I was forced to tilt my head up to look at him. “Do you know what I would like to do now, bouche?” he asked conversationally, his eyes on the pulse at the base of my throat. Since my own instincts were urging me to hurl myself at him and tear at his clothing, I must admit I did have a suspicion. But I shook my head. It would hardly be seemly to mention it, I decided. The air between us was thick with longing. Like sexually charged honey. “I would like to run the tip of my tongue upward from the base of your perfect, white neck to the tip of your chin,” he whispered. Instantly, that became the only thought in my head. I swayed toward him with a little gasp. “But I can’t, can I?” He continued, in a brisk tone, “Because you are engaged to marry my brother.” With his unique, wicked grin and a slight, ironic bow, he walked away. I was left alone, quivering with desire and humiliation. In spite of my determination to remain aloof, I had betrayed myself at a mere word from him. How could I have been so blatant and so foolish?
As we walked, I asked Eleanor about Cad’s earlier, brief visit, during which he and Eddie had met for the first time in several years. “I got the impression, from things that Eddie has told me, that their relationship in the past has not been good?”
“No, and it does not appear to have improved with time or distance! Eddie was waiting in the hall when Cad strode in through the door. They shook hands and Cad made a comment to Eddie. It was a throwaway remark, something about not being able to hide forever. But Cad has a way of saying things sometimes. It sounds silly, but it’s like there is a laughing devil deep down in his eyes.” I knew exactly what she meant. “Anyway, Eddie promptly flung out of the house in a rage without speaking. It was like a scene from our childhood all over again.”
“There are certainly some strange undercurrents in your family home,” I commented. “It must be hard for you sometimes to be caught in the middle of it all. Do you ever think of leaving Athal?”
“Of course I do. I don’t want to dwindle here and end up an old maid. But then…” She hurried on without finishing. “In the general way of things, I would be married and gone from here by now. Most of my friends are either wed or betrothed. But my father’s illness this summer put paid to any plans for me to have a London season and find a ‘suitable’ man. And, of course, according to my mother, I am not to be trusted to find my own way in life.” There was a bitter tang to Eleanor’s words that surprised me. Her disposition was generally as easygoing as a sunny Parisian Sunday.
“Your parents would both be sorry to see you leave Tenebris, I think.” We were strolling through the rose garden, which was Lucy’s particular domain. She told me that, in summer, the scent of the massed blooms was heady and the drone of the bees sadly soporific. Now, the bushes were stark and we had to take care to avoid their thorny grasp.
Eleanor sighed and, with one accord, we sat on an ancient bench that, I knew from one of the gardeners, had occupied a similar corner in the old castle grounds. “You don’t know,” she murmured, her head bent to watch her restless hands as they fiddled with the plaited trim on her gown.
“Tell me,” I invited. When she didn’t speak, I hazarded a guess, “Was there someone you were fond of, Eleanor?” Lilylike, her head drooped into a nod. “But your parents didn’t approve?”
“They could not approve!” It was an anguished whisper. “It was wrong, but we couldn’t help ourselves.” Her voice was so low that I had to strain to hear. She risked a glance at my face. Gaining confidence from the fact that my expression was sympathetic rather than shocked, she continued, “It was the most wonderful thing I have ever known. But every time we made love, we promised afterward that it wouldn’t happen again. Then, whenever we were alone together once again, we couldn’t resist.” Her face had a faraway, ecstatic look that was curiously disturbing. “One day, she found us…”
