Page 36 of Courting the Earl
Lydia shook her head, her blond curls dancing about her face. “No, everything is fine with Lord Stanley. My father has agreed to end the betrothal.”
The knot in her stomach began to ease. At least she wouldn’t be living in a world where she would have to see the man she loved married to her beloved cousin. But her cousin’s words made no sense. “Then what happened? Why are you so distraught? You should be happy.”
The drawing room door opened, and Uncle walked into the room. “There you are, my dear. Has Lydia told you the good news yet? She’s to be married to Lord Stanley.”
“She did, Uncle, and I’m overjoyed for her. Lydia’s happiness is very important to me.”
Lydia grasped her hand and squeezed it as though she were trying to impart strength to Eleanor, which only added to her confusion.
“Well, now that Lydia’s future is taken care of elsewhere, we still have the matter of Lord Hargrove to settle.”
“I’m sure he will understand,” Eleanor said, choosing her words carefully so as not to betray her personal interest in the man’s future. “He is still young himself. I imagine he will have no difficulty in finding a countess.”
The words were harder to say than Eleanor had expected. She only hoped she would never have to meet the woman who’d get to spend the rest of her life with the man that Eleanor loved.
Uncle shook his head. “Now that Lydia is to wed someone else, we must still secure a match between our two families.”
“I don’t understand,” Eleanor said.
Her uncle’s smile widened. “The agreement between the old earl and I can still be fulfilled if he marries you.”
Eleanor’s whole world turned upside down at those words. They made no sense. She turned to her cousin. “Did you know about this?”
Lydia shook her head. “Not until after Father accepted Lord Stanley’s suit.”
She turned back to her uncle. “I am of age, Uncle. You cannot force me to marry him.”
Those words might have been the most difficult ones Eleanor had ever had to utter. She would love nothing more than to marry Geoffrey, but she couldn’t force him into the union. He would hate her, and she couldn’t live with that. It was far better to live with a broken heart than be hated by the man she loved.
Chapter 22
Geoffrey hadn’t wanted to leave her, but he couldn’t bring Eleanor home. He’d arranged for his carriage to take her home and then made his way to his house on foot. He was grinning like a fool the whole way.
He was surprised to find a note from Lord Appleby asking he call as soon as possible. He had a moment of worry, but he brushed it aside. Appleby wouldn’t have requested his presence if he wanted the betrothal agreement to stand.
His first visit to Grosvenor Square at the beginning of the season had left him feeling frustrated. But today would put an end to the betrothal agreement. He didn’t know if the solicitors would need to become involved, but after today he would be able to continue seeing Eleanor. He wouldn’t have to worry that her guilt about betraying Lydia would put an end to their affair.
He was no innocent and had been with other women, but there was something unexpected about being with a woman you considered a friend. Someone he respected and admired for reasons that went beyond her beauty.
Eleanor had a quick mind and a kind heart, always willing to sacrifice her own desires so that her cousin would be happy. After today she wouldn’t have to. She could be selfish, and he was the lucky man who would benefit from her exploration of what it was to be a woman. He very much looked forward to being her tutor on that journey.
He hated that at the age of twenty-five, she thought herself too old to capture a man’s attention. She was just entering her prime and had a confidence and wisdom about her that was missing from the younger women who were newly out in society.
Thoughts of the pleasures they’d experienced that afternoon played in his mind as the carriage rattled over the cobblestones, and he tried to consider other reasons to excuse her absence from her uncle’s town house in future. He couldn’t expect his sister to act as a go-between even if she wasn’t heavily pregnant with child. It was clear she hoped for more than a love affair between him and Eleanor, and he didn’t want her to become disappointed in him. She’d already had far too many upsets in her life.
Would it be too conspicuous to increase their weekly visits to the bookstore? Ideally he’d like to see her daily, but he could only do that if he decided to make his interest in her known to her family. And once that happened, he suspected that Eleanor would no longer be free to meet with him at all. Her excursions would be monitored from that point on.
But perhaps, if Lydia and her mother were busy planning her wedding to Stanley, it wouldn’t be too difficult for Eleanor to slip from the house and meet him more often. He was already beginning to feel anxious about when the two of them could be alone together again.
It occurred to him that he could marry Eleanor, but he shied away from that unexpected thought. He’d just gained his freedom. Did he want to turn around and bind himself to another woman?
But his heart told him that it wouldn’t be just any woman. It would be Eleanor.
It was almost impossible to hold back his grin as the butler opened the door. He expected to be shown into Appleby’s study again, where he’d met with Lydia’s father to discuss the possibility of ending their betrothal. Instead, the butler informed him that they were expecting him in the drawing room.
His steps faltered when he found Appleby waiting, seated in an armchair, along with Eleanor. She was on the settee and was staring down at her hands. Surely this was a coincidence. Appleby couldn’t have learned about their tryst that afternoon.
Pushing aside the thought, he entered the room and greeted the two occupants.
