Page 90 of Her Duke in Shining Armor
“Um...” she still did not look completely sure but tugged the door in further, “Come in.”
Maria’s mother’s home was a tiny one-bedroom with a bed and a cot on the floor surrounded by a firepit and a rocking chair, a few cupboards of food and a barrel of clothes. Sarah sat up from her bed and squinted in the low light, “Lady Eleanor?”
“Yes, Sarah, it’s me,” Eleanor replied and swallowed over her tight throat. “I n-need to stay here for a while.”
“You’re more than welcome,” Sarah’s voice sounded free of congestion. “We don’t have much but whatever you need you may have.”
Eleanor turned to Mr. Wilcox who was scanning the room with a practiced eye. “I will be fine, Mr. Wilcox. Thank you for bringing me here. I’ll be safe until Aaron comes for me.”
Mr. Wilcox nodded but then handed over a pistol, “You need to be prepared anyway. Take this.”
She had never held a pistol in her hand before and the weight felt heavier than she expected. She cocked the safety and twirled the gun over and felt the smooth grain of the wooden handle. Deftly, she flicked it up to hold the barrel. “I think I know the mechanics of shooting but if not, it might make a great club too.”
Mr. Wilcox laughed, “It can. Be safe Lady Eleanor. I am sure Aaron will come for you as soon as he can.”
With a bow, Mr. Wilcox left and Maria latched the door behind him. Eleanor sat and opened the basket, “Maria, Sarah, have you eaten already?”
Maria shuffled up closer, “Not since breakfast this morn, My Lady.”
Smiling, Eleanor took out the meat pie and used the knife to cut in generous thirds and handed a piece to Sarah and then Maria. She began to eat but could only stomach a little and soon her appetite disappeared altogether.
Placing the fork on the side of her share, Eleanor sat against the wall and watched the two eat. She still wanted to cry but held herself together. When the two had finished eating, Eleanor handed over her piece to be split in half.
“Are you sure, Lady Eleanor?” Sarah asked.
“I am,” she replied. “Please, have it.”
The room began to get cooler and when Maria got up to light the grate, Eleanor was asked to join Sarah on the bed.
“The ground is hard, Lady Eleanor,” Sarah said. “It will pain you up in a few hours.”
Shedding her coat, Eleanor draped it over the basket and toed off her slippers. Joining the older lady on the bed took a little adjusting but they finally got to lay side by side. Sarah plucked at her short haircut. “Is there a new style this season that I don’t know about?”
“No,” Eleanor smiled softly. “I did it for a disguise.”
“You are so much like your mother,” Sarah sighed. “She always found a way to be individual even when she was pressured by society to fit into the lines drawn for a Duchess.”
“I know…I know how she died,” Eleanor’s voice was a half-sob. “My father poisoned her, didn’t he?”
The deep lines around Sarah’s mouth deepened, “That was a dark day in my life, Lady Eleanor. I remember Her Grace running to me, coughing up blood and then your father stormed in and demanded that I leave. I did not want to, but he got abusive and told me that if I did not leave there would be dire consequences, so I ran.”
Sarah’s lips folded, “I have never told anyone but I stayed at the doorway to look on. Your father was holding her and was saying something but I couldn’t hear what it was. Your grandfather had come earlier that day he and your father had a loud argument and he left.”
A soft frown creased Eleanor’s forehead as she tried to make any correlation between the elements of that day. She soon gave up as twisting them over and over in her head only made her more confused.
Shaking her head, Eleanor whispered, “I’ll get justice for my mother, I will not let her death go in vain.”
* * *
These are the times that try men’s souls.
Days had passed since Aaron had been discharged from the hospital and had gone home. There had been no shattering revelation from the cutthroat who had tried to kill him about the identity of the man who had hired him. The man had not uttered a word to any of the constables and had not caved under the pressure the officer had used on him.
Aaron was severely tempted to go down there and shove a pistol into his face.
There was no word from McGowan and Aaron felt as if he was in the land equivalent of a sea’s doldrums. He still did not dare go see Eleanor as he was afraid of being followed to her last hiding place but that did not stop him from thinking about her every hour of every day.
How was she faring with Maria? Would she be all right when he saw her again? She must be needing supplies by now—food, clothing, money, a hairbrush?
