Page 18 of Courting the Earl
Lydia, of course, was popular and much sought after. One man in particular seemed intent on winning her hand, and it wasn’t the man to whom she was betrothed. The Earl of Stanley had been at every event they’d attended and went out of his way to single out Lydia.
The same couldn’t be said for Lord Hargrove, whom Eleanor had only seen at two events, both of them balls. He’d asked her to dance both times, but neither occasion had been a waltz and she hadn’t been able to say more than a few words to him, let alone thank him for his generosity at Hatchards.
He’d waltzed with Eleanor that first evening because he’d wanted to broach the subject of ending his betrothal to her cousin. After speaking to Lydia herself on the matter during their outing in Hyde Park, he wouldn’t need to speak to Eleanor about it again. Still, it was nice to be asked to dance.
But today Eleanor would be visiting Hatchards again. She’d made it through all the books she’d borrowed—she had to occupy her time somehow while Lydia was entertaining suitors.
She’d been filled with expectation all morning. She told herself it was because the bookshop was a center of calm during the whirlwind of the social season. But when she walked into the store, her gaze swept over all the customers currently browsing.
She could no longer deny that she’d been hoping to see Lord Hargrove again. The likelihood of running into him a second time was slim, of course, but that didn’t stop her from ensuring her visit was planned for the same time as last week’s. He’d mentioned that he liked to frequent the shop, and a small part of her mind had filed away that information. Short of making arrangements with the man to meet her, it was the best she could do.
She stopped first at the main desk to return the books she’d borrowed last week. That task completed, she headed toward the reading room at the back of the shop. She hadn’t ventured that far last week and wanted to explore. And if Lord Hargrove was there, she’d finally have the chance to thank him.
Her first impression of the room was that it was larger than she’d expected. Like the front room, the reading room was filled with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. But interspersed throughout the room were several seating arrangements.
Tucked away in one corner was a group of women who were chatting about one of the books she’d just finished reading. Eleanor was tempted to join them, but then she spotted Lord Hargrove. He was standing before one of the bookshelves and seemed to be scanning the titles.
A smile spread across her face and she took a step in his direction. She froze in place, however, when he leaned down to speak to the woman who was standing next to him. The woman laughed, amused with what he’d said, and linked her arm through his.
Eleanor’s stomach hollowed at the sight, and she couldn’t help but feel foolish. It seemed that Lord Hargrove made it a habit to charm women in bookshops. Eleanor wasn’t special at all.
She needed to turn around and leave now before he saw her. Instead, she found herself rooted in place, unable to look away from the two people before her. Was this woman the reason Hargrove didn’t want to marry Lydia?
The pair turned, and Eleanor’s eyes immediately settled on the woman’s rounded belly. Her gaze took in her appearance, and she realized this must be Lord Hargrove’s sister. The woman’s eyes were the precise same shade of blue.
When she looked at Hargrove again, he was smiling at her as though he’d read her thoughts and was amused.
“Miss Pearson, it is good to see you today,” he said when she approached. “Allow me to introduce you to my sister, Baroness Cranston. Abigail, this is Miss Eleanor Pearson.”
The baroness’s curiosity was evident as they exchanged greetings. “I thought that perhaps you were the other Miss Pearson.”
Eleanor couldn’t tell whether Hargrove had told his sister about the betrothal. If he had, surely she wouldn’t have confused Eleanor for Lydia.
“My cousin has other interests outside of reading, but I keep hoping that perhaps one day I’ll find the perfect novel that will entice her over to our way of thinking. She believes reading is dreadfully boring.”
Lady Cranston laughed. “Then clearly she hasn’t been reading the right books.”
“I’ve told her as much, but it is difficult to convince her otherwise. It doesn’t help that my aunt and uncle would never approve of the majority of what I read.”
Hargrove chuckled. “But they did approve of the volume of poetry you borrowed?”
“Of course. They know nothing about Byron or they might have thought differently.”
Lady Cranston smiled. “I think you might just have convinced me to give him a try.”
The subject turned to the novels she’d read, and she was surprised to find that Hargrove had, indeed, read Ann Radcliffe’s novel. She’d convinced herself that he was just being polite last week when he’d recommended it. It was one of those books everyone seemed to have heard of even if they’d never read it.
Eleanor caught the way Hargrove’s sister kept glancing between the two of them, her curiosity evident, and tried to ignore it. She knew Hargrove’s motivation in continuing their acquaintance was purely selfish.
For her part, she enjoyed his company. She might have envisioned him as the hero in more than one of the books she’d read, but she’d go to her grave before she admitted that fact. And if he did marry her cousin, they’d be seeing each other often. There was nothing untoward about her being on friendly terms with her cousin’s husband.
Lady Cranston turned to her brother. “I think I need to sit for a few minutes. Would you mind terribly if I stay here while you finish?”
He took one of her hands and helped her to an overstuffed chair covered in green velvet. “Are you feeling unwell? We’ve been out too long. I’ll ask for the carriage to be brought around to the front so you won’t need to walk far.”
Lady Cranston patted his hand before settling into the chair. “Nonsense. I just need to rest for a few minutes. Run along now. I’d like to get to know Miss Pearson better.”
He frowned down at her from where he was standing next to her chair, and Eleanor knew he wanted to argue with his sister.
