“Lord Cambolton?” Lady Bolger asked.
He blinked at her in surprise.
“Are you well?”
“I—I think I need to get myself a drink,” he replied.
“Do! You look very pale,” she said. “You should have a seat.”
“Yes,” he agreed, walking over to the refreshment table. There was a loud ringing in his ears. Luckily, he made it over to a seat, sitting down heavily.
* * *
Diana was awoken in the night by Eleonora’s cries. She sat up, wondering what time it was. When she looked, the sky was just beginning to turn gray and the birds were singing.
Quickly, she got up, putting on her slippers and dressing gown and then running lightly down the hall. When she opened her sister’s door, she found Eleonora alone in the darkness.
Diana walked over to Eleonora’s bedside table, where she lit a match. Eleonora was sobbing, broken-heartedly. Diana sat down on the bed beside her, taking her hand.
“What’s the matter, Eleonora?” she asked, smoothing her hand over her sister’s hair, checking her forehead to see if she was feverish.
“Diana,” she sobbed. “I remember the house…and the man…”
“What do you remember, exactly?” Her pulse raced. Diana wondered if she was going to get more answers.
Eleonora sniffled. “I remember the house, where we would meet,” she said. “There was a nice little fire. But…on that night, it was dark. The door was thrown open, and a man in a hood stood there.” Her grip tightened on Diana’s wrist.
“What are you talking about?” Diana searched her sister’s face. Her eyes were wide and fearful.
“He attacked us.” Her sister spoke with dead certainty. “He hurt us. Diana, it wasn’t just an accident.”
“Eleonora?” Diana didn’t know what to think. Her stomach churned. If there was someone behind it, then they were looking for a criminal. But…Eleonora had nightmares all of the time. A dark, hooded man figured prominently in them.
“He attacked us. I didn’t fall at all. We were meeting, and he hurt us.”
“Who did? Do you know him?”
“The man in the hood. I don’t think I saw his face. He moved like a ghost.”
“Where’s Sarah?” Diana asked, suddenly realizing that they were alone. There was no sign of Sarah, who often slept on a small pallet in Eleonora’s room. She had, every night since the accident.
“Sarah? Where is she?” Eleonora’s eyes darted around the room, as if her lady’s maid was somewhere to be found. She went several shades paler than she had been.
“I’m sure there’s some sort of explanation.” Diana got up and rang the bell, but when the door opened, it was the housekeeper, Mrs. Donovan. “Is Sarah down in the quarters?” It had to be the only explanation—that the lady’s maid had gone to her own room, to fetch something.
“No, it’s just me, My Lady.” Mrs. Donovan seemed sleepy, as if they’d woken her. Her silver-streaked brunette hair was loose over her shoulders, and she wore a simple housecoat and slippers.
“She’s gone. The hooded man took her,” Eleonora said angrily.
“Eleonora, darling. It’s just a dream,” Diana soothed. “It’s all a bad dream.”
Eleonora sniffled, shaking her head. “It seemed so real, Diana, as if I’d lived it. I’m not stupid, you know.”
“I don’t think that you are,” Diana assured her. “You just had a very hard knock on your head, and it confuses you sometimes. Surely, you would have remembered it sooner if it were true.”
Diana held Eleonora’s gaze firmly. Her sister nodded, her face falling. “Yes, you’ve got to be right, of course. You’re so good to me.”
“Now, darling. I’m going to find Sarah. Can you wait here, for just a little while?”
“Yes,” Eleonora said, slumping back against her pillows. “Then you bring her here, and we can figure everything out.”
“Exactly.”
Diana and the housekeeper went down to Sarah’s room in the servants’ quarters, which was empty. The housekeeper opened up the tiny armoire that sat in the room.
“It looks like she’s gone, My Lady.”
“How could she?” Diana wondered. “How could she leave Eleonora like this?”
“My Lady, not every young girl who’s in service can take it,” she pointed out.
“But she’s been here for so long,” Diana said. “Why now?”
“It happens more often than not,” the housekeeper assured her.
Diana sighed. She would have to return to her sister and explain everything. The thought of telling Eleonora broke her heart. She left the housekeeper and walked back up the stairs. When she arrived back in Eleonora’s room, she had fallen asleep.
Diana sat down beside her sister’s bed. In the past twelve hours, it seemed like everything had fallen apart. She had the feeling that her father planned to end her courtship with Elijah. Eleonora seemed to recall the night of her accident. And Sarah had abandoned them when they needed her the most.
* * *
Elijah slept in late the next day. He had been up until the early hours of the morning, seeing his guests off. When he awoke, he knew that the one thing he needed to do was to go and see Lord Lutterhall. If only to clear the air.
He got dressed and ate breakfast slowly, so that he could plan exactly what he was going to say. By the time that he was ready to ride over, Hanby came in. “Lord Lutterhall is here to see you, My Lord.”
Elijah’s heart did a flip in his chest. “Show him into the parlor,” he said. “I’ll be down in a minute.” He stared at his own reflection in the mirror, steeling himself for what was about to come.
He would apologize, and then explain to Lord Lutterhall that he was in love with Diana. Surely then, he would understand. In his mind, her face, smiling up at him, as he asked her to marry him. He had been so happy, so full of hope. It all rested on this discussion.
When he entered the parlor, Lord Lutterhall was standing at the window, looking out over the gardens of Cambolton House.
“My Lord,” Elijah said. “I planned on coming over to Lutterhall Manor this morning.”
Lord Lutterhall turned toward him. He was frowning, his lips set in a grim line. “There will be no need for that, My Lord,” he replied. “I have allowed this to go on for as long as I can stand it.”
“My Lord,” Elijah said. “I believe that you misunderstand.”
“I have already lost two daughters,” Lord Lutterhall replied. “I have lost Lady Caroline in her infancy, and now Lady Eleonora, when she stooped to folly. I will not lose Lady Diana, as well.”
“Lady Diana has never been in danger, My Lord,” Elijah said, slowly. “I would never place her in any situation that would be unsafe.”
“Running off to be alone and unaccompanied, in the middle of a ball?” the Earl stated doubtfully. “No, I don’t believe that you were thinking at all. It has been my plan for a while now that Lady Diana will make an advantageous match. While she herself believes that you are her best option, I find that I highly disagree.”
“Do you think so little of her opinion, My Lord?”
“Clearly, my trust in her good decision-making has been misplaced,” he snapped. “Consider the courtship ended. I have made my decision, and it is final.”
“You cannot mean that.”
“Oh, believe me. I do. Good day, Lord Cambolton.” Lord Lutterhall put his hat on his head, then marched out of the room.
Elijah could only stand there, in shock. He had never thought that he wouldn’t even be able to apologize. He’d never expected not to ask the Earl for his permission to marry his daughter.
He sat down on his settee, staring out the window. From where he sat, he could see the millhouse. He knew that Diana would come. But he didn’t know what the point would be.
With her father clearly so against her marrying me, what can we do?
He was devastated and he didn’t yet know if he could dare to hope
that perhaps Lord Lutterhall could be shown reason. His mind could hardly come up with any sort of solution to his current situation.
I need to see her. At least, one last time.
* * *
Eleonora opened the door of the cottage. He was standing with his back to her. She watched as he turned toward her. He smiled, those green eyes lighting up as he saw her. She pushed back the hood that she wore, covering her auburn hair.
“Darling,” he said, walking over to her. She locked the door behind her, going to him. His arms wrapped around her, holding her close. He kissed her.
She allowed herself to be pushed back, toward the bed that was in the corner. He kissed her, his hands moving over her. She turned, and he began to unbutton her gown. He slid it down, revealing her body.
When she turned toward him, he kissed her. She allowed her lips to fall open, and he dipped his tongue inside. She moaned softly, her hands gripping his shirt.
She awoke, breathing heavily. In the early morning light, she looked for Sarah, but the pallet on the floor was empty, neatly made as though waiting for the maid to return.
Who was he? Why did I allow him to undo me like that?
Tears coursed down her cheeks. She felt even more hopeless than she had before. Eleonora was confused, scared. Though she couldn’t say why. All of the answers were in that dark, blank space in her mind.
She wiped at her eyes with her hand. She didn’t want to start crying. She felt the copper tang of fear in her mouth. She knew that there was danger. There had been some truth to the stories that Sarah had told her. Though Eleonora wasn’t able to tell which was true and which was imaginary.
If I stay here in the house, I’ll be safe.
After all, her father had his men, who always watched over the house at night. She heard them, walking through the hallways in their heavy boots.
* * *
Diana sat in her room, her hands folded in her lap. She felt positively sick. After her father’s declaration the night before, Diana didn’t know what to expect from him. He had been forbiddingly silent during breakfast, and then he had gone out.
There was a soft knock at the door. Mary paused in her work, and went to open it. Diana wasn’t surprised to see the butler there.
“My Lady,” he said. “Your father wishes to see you, in the drawing room.”
She swallowed. “Thank you.”
He bowed and then left. She stood up, her legs shaky. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she began to walk to the drawing room. She expected the worst. She would rather be pleasantly surprised than to anticipate the best, only to be devastated.
It was her hope that Elijah had convinced her father otherwise. Given her father’s anger the night before, she was absolutely terrified that he had done something irrevocable.
The walk felt like it took a lifetime. The only sound was the soft pat of her own shoes on the thick dark carpet runner. Her stomach roiled, and she placed her hand on it, in an attempt to calm it, to no avail.
She entered the drawing room, where she found her father, standing by the fireplace. He had been staring at the painting that hung over it. Diana glanced over, to see the familiar face of her mother, looking down at her.
Lady Caroline Lutterhall, the late Countess of Lutterhall, had Eleonora’s auburn hair and brown eyes. In the painting, she wore a pale blue silk gown, in a style that had gone out of fashion ten years prior. Her hair was piled luxuriously on top of her head. Around her neck, she wore the gold heart locket that now belonged to Diana.
“Sit down,” he said, turning toward the grouping of armchairs that were situated by the fireplace. She did as she was told, then folded her hands in her lap. “I have formally ended your courtship with the Viscount of Cambolton,” he said, pouring himself a drink. “I will begin the search for a suitable husband for you.”
She was devastated. She couldn’t believe that he would do this to her. The one gentleman who she was falling in love with, and her father saw fit to end the engagement!
“I will never—”
“You will,” he stated, cutting her off. “I will see to it.”
“Why can’t you just let us be?” she asked. “Why can’t you let us be happy?”
“First of all, he has seen fit to persuade you to go off with him in the middle of a ball,” he began. “He flirts with your ruin. Secondly, he is the son of a murderer.” He sat down across from her in one of the armchairs, crossing his legs.
“That’s a rumor.” Her mouth had gone dry. She was trying her best not to cry, but was failing. One large tear fell from her eye, slipping down her cheek. She wiped it away, just in time for another to fall.
“I will not allow my daughter’s reputation to be tarnished,” he said, clearly not swayed by her tears. “I cannot stand by and watch you throw away your one chance to raise your own prospects.”
“It’s my life, Father.”
He stared at her, completely unmoved. “This is not up for discussion. You may go now.”
Diana felt like she had been slapped. She had certainly been dismissed. She stood up, and left the room. She found Aunt Clarabelle in the hallway. They both stared at each other.
“Can’t you do something?” Diana asked, desperate for help.
“I don’t know,” she replied. “It would have been much easier had you not been discovered sneaking off.”
“I love him,” she said. She turned and walked down the hallway, dissolving into tears. She needed to leave, to get to the millhouse to meet Elijah. She needed help.
The only person she could think to ask was Mary. Her only hope was in trusting her lady’s maid. It was what Eleonora had done.
This could all go horribly. Or, I’ll never see Elijah again.
Chapter 22
After Lord Lutterhall had left, Elijah had gone up to his father’s study. He reached into the drawer, pulling out the bag that he’d been given from the constable.
He hadn’t thought much about it in the months since his father’s death. These were the personal effects that his father had on him when he had been found, murdered.
Inside, there was some money, his golden pocket watch, a purse, a snuffbox, and a key.
Elijah’s interest was in the key. He suspected that it was for the cottage door. It was old, tarnished. He was going to have to make a trip there.
I wonder if there are any clues. Anything that has been missed.
He wondered if the constable had found any new clues, of late. When Elijah had spoken to him, nearly seven months prior, he had been at a dead end. He had apologized profusely. Elijah wondered if he had come to find anything further.
He sat back in the chair. What was the point? If he wasn’t going to marry Diana, then what was the point of anything? He didn’t even know if she was going to show up at the millhouse, as planned. He wouldn’t put it past Lord Lutterhall to keep a close eye on her. Particularly after what had happened with Lady Eleonora.
Lord Lutterhall would likely find her a gentleman that he approved of, and then Diana would marry him. He wouldn’t be able to stand by and watch it all unfold. The thought of running into her, married to another gentleman, was an arrow to the heart. He considered what to do.
I’ll have to leave the countryside. Go to London, where I can while away my time at the townhouse and throw myself into managing the businesses.
He would never be able to marry. That much was clear. After experiencing real love, he could never marry for anything less. The thought of it made the ache in his chest worse.
Elijah knew that he wouldn’t be able to stay away from the millhouse. He stood up, and left the room. He needed to go there, to see if she would show up. It might be the last time that they were able to be together.
I wouldn’t miss it, not for the world.
* * *
Diana had never been so nervous in her life. She closed the door to her bed chamber. Her lady’s maid was straightening her things. She glanced up when Diana entered, then curt
sied.
“My Lady,” Mary said, noticing her tears. “Are you well?”
Diana sniffled, shaking her head. “No, not at all.”
Mary handed her a handkerchief. Diana wiped at her eyes. “Thank you.” Her lady’s maid’s small kindness touched her.
“Is there anything that I can do, My Lady?” Mary offered.
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