Page 25 of The Duke's Forbidden Bride
“I do, my dear. And now I must ask, what doyou see in my brooding brother?” Charlotte muttered as she returned to her seat.
The Duke cleared his throat, drawing Eleanor’s attention. “How strange. I see your lips moving, Sister, but no intelligent words are coming out.”
He arched an eyebrow with such a charming arrogance that, for a moment, Eleanor could only gaze at him, struck. Not just by his handsome face, but also by the way he had responded.
“Do not fret, Sister, for thisbrooding brotherof yours only gave up his travels to assume his duties and oversee your care. It was nothing at all.”
“You did what big brothers should do,” Charlotte quipped with a mere flick of her hand, laughing. “We shall focus on the matter at hand, Eleanor. We are going to be sisters! Heaven knows this place needs livening up. I believe Spencer could bring about winter with just one glare. Let us bring warmth back to Everdawn.”
“I find him warm enough,” Eleanor mumbled, averting her gaze.
The Duke coughed as he sipped on his wine.
Charlotte glanced between them, no longer suspicious but as though they were a game that she could not wait to play.
“Regardless of your terrible opinion, you must tell me your plans for the wedding!”
Once again, the Duke—Spencer, Eleanor thought privately—answered smoothly, “There are few plans. It will be quick and simple. I will handle it all. Lady Eleanor should simply focus on settling in. I’ll take care of the rest.”
Eleanor glanced at him, recognizing the double meaning of his words.
“Oh, you are so unromantic!” Charlotte protested. “Eleanor, are you certain this is the man you wish to wed?”
“I am certain,” Eleanor said, not sounding it at all.
Charlotte gave her an unconvinced smile. “Well, if he insists on being so unromantic, then you must tell me what the Caribbean is like! I’ve heard that it is ever so exotic, with cerulean blue waters. Is that true? And life with your aunt must have been lavish, no?”
Eleanor carefully chose her words. As the Duke had done, she replaced fact with fiction, and perhaps that helped her separate herself from the pain of the past. This could help her process the misery of her life for the last three years.
“My aunt was…”Sister Martha was a horrid creature. “… strict about prayer and propriety. That’s why I was sent to her. But the Caribbean itself…”
She thought of the convent, the hours she had spent in the garden—her brief reprieve.
“It was beautiful enough, and I met some people here and there. My aunt… often secluded me. I baked, though. Gardened a great deal, too.”
“Didn’t your aunt have bakers and cooks?” Charlotte frowned. “Surely, she has influence enough to have staff.”
Eleanor blanched, but the Duke cut in—once again rescuing her. “I believe Lady Eleanor opted to busy herself with such things to keep her mind off the life she had been torn from. Otherwise, I imagine she would have been bored to death.”
He caught her eyes with a knowing look. A strange fondness, a moment of consideration. He understood that shehadneeded those things to distract her.
“Charlotte, perhaps let your friend settle in first. She has endured a lot to come back here,” he added.
“Of course,” Charlotte conceded after a moment. “I am rather excited, though I should not push you. I am sure you will be able to tell me more over time.”
I hope I can.
The urge to just spill everything right there and then bubbled up inside her. Belgrave and Follet, the convent’s cruelty, her parents’ shame and eagerness to sweep her away like a problem.
But she could not. Not when Belgrave could come for Charlotte. Not when a loose tongue could put her in danger.
“I wish to have a normal life again,” Eleanor breathed. It was not a lie. “I wish to forget everything that happened and focus on my future.”
“We shall toast to that,” the Duke said quickly, lifting his glass.
“—and of course, Lady Bexley fainted again, but this time it was into the Earl of Camden’s lap, which led to a proposal no one saw coming,” Charlotte giggled over her glass, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
Dinner progressed smoothly, with Charlotte animatedly recounting every social happening that Eleanor had missed in the last three years, as she savored her first proper meal in a few years.
