Page 15 of Her Duke in Shining Armor
“No,” Aaron huffed in annoyance. “I may not hate her but I do not like her either.”
“Then try to apologize to her, that usually calms their ire,” Julius said. “Take the higher road, Oberton.”
* * *
Eleanor did not know how much more of her father’s dark ranting she could take. Dinner had finished hours ago, and they had sent Lord Greenville off in good temperament but then, with him gone, the lecture began.
“The nerve of Oberton,” the older man grated. “How can he just show up and demand to see you?”
“Father, he did n—”
“And to think that he believed that he could usurp your attention from Lord Greenville?” he ranted. “I cannot believe his impertinence.”
“Father—”
“Greenville is not your future husband but at least I know that you have the attention of the men around you,” Fenton fumed. “At least—”
“Father!” Eleanor snapped.
His dark blue eyes flew over to her and his face darkened with her interruption. “Eleanor? Did you interrupt me?”
“I am tired, Father,” Eleanor’s voice dropped to show her fatigue. “I understand that the Duke of Oberton’s arrival was not ideal, but we cannot change what happened. I am tired. Can we discuss this tomorrow?”
His lips flattened, “I will not be here, Eleanor. I must return to Brisdane early on the morrow.”
Even better.
“I’m sorry to hear that…”Not really.“But I really need to rest, Father.”
“Very well,” he huffed. “But Eleanor, what was Oberton going to apologize for?”
She stilled as her mind ran over like carriage wheels, “I reminded him of the day we met, how he insulted me and he glossed over it. I suppose he came to apologize for that.”
It was the nearest thing to the truth that she could conjure. Her father snorted, “You cannot let go of an old grudge, can you? The boy was a greenhorn and did not know how to address you. Go off to bed, Eleanor, we’ll see what we can do about Greenville in the days to come.”
Thankful that she had evaded her father’s question, Eleanor went off to her bedroom. She did not need help undressing and she disrobed efficiently. While brushing her hair out she wondered which transgression Oberton had come to apologize for.
Pinning her auburn tresses back, she slipped on her silk cap and pulled back the sheets. A soft warmth radiated from under it and she realized that Maria had slid a warming pan inside.
Such a thoughtful child.
Tugging the sheets over her, she tried to not worry about what Oberton had come for but went to sleep with it in the forefront of her mind anyway.
* * *
Julius, I hope to God you’re right.
Aaron approached the Stanley House with faint hope he would get to speak to Lady Eleanor this time. It was three days after his first aborted attempt. He was not sure what he would do if he got turned away again. Perhaps he would mark it as a lost cause and move on, but then again, would his conscience allow him to do so?
The foyer with the twin stairs that seemed to float up to the ceiling never failed to impress him. The butler bowed, “Good evening, Your Grace. Welcome to the Stanley home.”
Tugging his coat off, Aaron’s astute ears caught the faint sound of music. “Mr. Ambrose is it? Is His Grace home?”
“No, Your Grace,” the butler replied while taking the coat. “It is just Lady Eleanor, Miss Malcolm, and a few other servants here today.”
“Hm,” Aaron said while tilting his head and listening keenly, and as he did a smile tugged at his face. He knew that song, it wasThe Tempestfrom the master Ludwig van Beethoven and its tragic power was used as the background music of Shakespeare’s play of the same name. He knew who had to be playing that concerto.
“That is the infamousDer Sturm,theTempest…and is Lady Eleanor playing it?”
