Page 20 of Her Duke in Shining Armor
“Yourself.”
Eleanor woke up just as the last flickers of the lamp’s light vanished away. The book she had under her arm was digging into her skin, cold air was rushing in through the cracked window and worry aggravated her mind.
“Rescue me…from what?”
“Yourself.”
What was her mind trying to tell her…and why did it feel so troubling?
* * *
Honestly, Aaron was amused. He had been from the moment he had seen Lady Eleanor’s look in the Vauxhall Gardens. The look on her face was somewhere between shock and wariness, and maybe there was a dash of envy before it had gone paper blank. He had to give it the lady, she had control over her emotions few others had.
But what had she been envious about, if, in fact, that was truly what he had seen? Lady Darcy Sutherland was an engaged woman, the prospective bride of his best friend Julius.
By standing order of Julius, Lady Darcy had reached out to him whenever she needed a chaperone in town as he was the only one Julius trusted to be near his beloved. Their engagement had hit its second year but that was only because Julius was trying to get out of the dangerous brouhaha of the field and behind a desk before he married her. And if he gained the Superintendent position that Aaron knew was his, he would be set.
Eighteen hours after Vauxhall, he was still amused, but as time winded down, concern took over his amusement. Looking back, Aaron analyzed her face and the look in her eye…dare he say it was…loneliness? Was Lady Eleanor suffering that way too? Did she feel all alone in the world?
More than likely,he mused,if she turns away all companionship because she believes that all men are liars or…was it, hypocrites…she must be lonely.It’s a cycle. She has put herself in a box that she cannot come out of and then when faced with her self-instigated pain, rationalizes it with some philosophy and starts the cycle all over again.
He had vowed to stay clear of Lady Eleanor as she did not want to see him and he was no glutton for punishment. She, as Julius had said, did in fact intrigue him, but there was no way he could learn more about her. The more he mused over Lady Eleanor, the more he realized that her brilliance was like a cloak. It was what she used to justify her every decision and act.
What lies beneath her cold exterior, I wonder?
“Your Grace,” a footman said after knocking on his door. “You have a visitor.”
“And who—”
“Oh, just let me in,” Lady Darcy huffed and ducked around the servant to stride in the room. “Aaron, darling, how are you?”
“I think it is best for you to limit such endearments to your fiancé,” Aaron drawled while his eyes lit when he saw the picnic basket she had in her hand. “What do you have there?”
She rested the basket on his desk and tugged her grey kidskin gloves off. “My famous Cottage Pie.”
Instantly, Aaron’s hunger flared. Lady Darcy had perfected the humble peasant’s dish and turned it into pure deliciousness. He did not know what she used to turn the filling from mere food to ambrosia but he was not going to ask. He reached out for the basket but her hand slapped his away. “None of that, clear the space on the floor where I can spread my blanket. If it is a picnic, we must try to make it look like one.”
His eyebrows danced up, “My lady, it is cruel for you to tempt a man with such promises and then to deny him.”
“Mypromisescome with a clause,” Lady Darcy grinned. “Now, get to work.”
Huffing under his breath, Aaron went about moving the coffee table so she would have space. When she tugged out the blanket from the basket the heady scent of beef and cheese wafted in the air to give him an intoxicating high.
“Hm,” Lady Darcy mused. “It’s passable.”
Resting the basket in the middle of the floor, she sat with the delicacy of a queen, opened the basket and then fished inside. Aaron who had sat beside watched amusedly as she laid the bowls of golden-baked perfection before him. Handing him a fork she smiled into her own bowl.
“To what do I owe this pleasure?” Aaron said while digging in.
“A thank you for yesterday,” Lady Darcy smiled. “You were wonderful at Vauxhall.”
Nodding with acceptance of her kind words, Aaron could not shake the feeling that she was fishing for something. He did not mind though and worked through his pie. “I must say it was good. The high rope walkers did stun me though.”
“Hmhm,” she hummed around her mouthful, “and the jugglers spinning those teacups in the air almost frightened me to death. I remember breaking my Aunt Gladys’ china saucer one day and I swore she became a hound from hell.”
Finishing the last bite of the spiced meat and smooth potato crust, Aaron did away with his fork, “That’s good and all but I know you have another reason for coming here. I must admit though, whatever you do want from me, bribing me with this pie was a marvelous idea. You are halfway into me saying yes.”
“That was not the bribe,” Lady Darcy grinned mischievously. “As you so elegantly put it…” she reached into the basket again and produced two sweet buns, dripping with melted sugar. “Thisis the bribe.”
