Page 2 of Assisting Lord Richmond
“I am clerking for the Earl of Sunderland, so I came to Town with him just before the opening of the current Session. We were surprised not to see your father. I do hope he is well.”
“Oh yes, quite well. He should be in attendance quite soon. There was some trouble on the estate he had to attend to, but he and Jeffrey should be along within the next fortnight.”
“It must be terrible trouble for Lord Hanley to not take his Seat.”
Ellen felt heat growing in her chest. She had perhaps been an inconsiderate beast. She hadn’t given thought to how out of character it was for her father to remain at home when Parliament was in session. It was true, never in her life had it happened before. It had actually been a point of contention within the family that he had never missed a sitting. He had missed plenty of other things – family things – but never a sitting of the House. Ellen bit her lip. She ought to have asked more questions.
Somehow she managed to get through the dance. Ellen was reasonably sure that she smiled and nodded and made appropriate sounds in all the right places. She had been raised for this moment and knew what to do almost instinctively. But her mind and heart were elsewhere. She only hoped it wasn’t terribly evident to the gentleman and that she caused no offense.
She must have done a semblance of a good job going through the motions of social niceties or else he was the most kind and charming fellow, and she was even more of a beast for not having paid him more mind. He didn’t seem to have noticed or he hid it well as he bowed over her hand and thanked her quite handsomely for the dance when he delivered her back to her mother’s side at the end of it.
“Are you unwell?” Mama’s question wasn’t as solicitous as the words implied. She kept her voice low, but her fury was clear to be heard, leading Ellen to suspect that she hadn’t hidden her inattention from her mother, at least.
“Quite well, thank you, Mama.” She hoped her mother wouldn’t pursue her irritation any further. “I have a question. Ought we to have remained at Hanley to assist Father in whatever is wrong with the flock? It has been remarked upon how very unlikely it is for him to be late to Parliament.”
To Ellen’s dismay, she felt the clog of tears welling in her throat, and she swallowed it down forcefully. It would certainly not do her any favours to be seen bursting into tears in her first ballroom. She pinned a practiced smile to her face even as she awaited her mother’s reply. Despite being the youngest child, Ellen had never considered herself to be spoiled and hated to think she had been selfish in coming to Town without her father and brother.
“Do not be more ridiculous than necessary, my dear. Of course, we shouldn’t have stayed at home. Of what use do you think you or I could be to the poor sheep?”
Ellen blinked and then grinned. She couldn’t really fault her mother’s reasoning. Before she could think of another way to ask her concerns, their hostess was bringing another gentleman to introduce to her, and she was again swept out onto the dance floor.
In between dances with what felt like dozens of eligible gentlemen, Ellen also had the opportunity to meet several of her fellow debutantes. The gentlemen were all varying degrees of pleasant and kind, even if they weren’t all exceedingly enthusiastic about meeting her. Those less delighted to make her acquaintance seemed to be gentlemen determined to maintain their single status. It amused Ellen to no end. Less amusing were some of the ladies she met. Ellen couldn’t have explained quite why she found the women more alarming than the men; perhaps it was her own knowledge of her sisters and what it would mean if their faces held just such an expression.
One such introduction was to Lady Constance. She and her mother curtsied politely to Ellen and her mother. Ellen had the impression Lady Hanley was already acquainted with Lady Constance’s mother, Viscountess Moore, but they didn’t appear overly friendly. That too put Ellen on edge even without taking into consideration the other debutante’s perfectly arranged tight curls that appeared to be defying gravity in the artful arrangement they had been placed in. Ellen refused to allow her hand to lift to ensure her own were remaining where they ought to be.
Having curtsied and exchanged pleasantries for a few seemingly unproductive minutes, Ellen wasn’t disappointed when the interlude came to an end as Constance and Ellen were both claimed for the next dance.
The evening was flying by. Despite the dilemma of being constantly addressed as Lady Eleanor, and besides the concern niggling at the back of her mind about her father’s absence, Ellen was managing to have an excellent time. She was having a successful start to her Season indeed. What a relief.
“Lady Eleanor? How strange.” The smirk on the face of the man currently bowing over her hand let Ellen know that he was teasing her and not actually saying that she was strange.
In an effort to curb the conflicted feelings that engulfed her at her first sight in four years of the man who stole her heart, Ellen widened her polite smile into one she hoped appeared genuine. Hugh Turner. Or rather, Lord Richmond, had always been the most handsome man she’d clapped eyes upon. But she couldn’t allow herself to become tongue tied no matter how well he looked. She might not appreciate the latest female fashions, but the men’s fashions certainly suited the viscount in front of her.
“Isn’t it though? Who’d have thought they would be so foolish as to announce me by the name given me at birth.” She knew the wide grin she was offering to him was making her silly dimples show, but she couldn’t seem to stop her instinctive reaction to her seeing her brother’s friend. “How are you, Hugh? Or rather, I suppose I ought to call you Lord Richmond now, shouldn’t I? I was so sorry to hear about your father and brother. I never knew your father, but I couldn’t believe Peter would ever be caught in a boating accident. How are you holding up?”
His face was tight, but he nodded and smiled a little before he bowed gallantly over her hand with an elegant flourish that rather belied the serious moment.
“Thank you, my lady, I am well.” He quickly turned the subject. “Where is Jeffrey? I would think he’d be dancing attendance on you just as he did with Theodora. It was the most amusing thing in the world to watch your brother hover over his sister like a mother hen. Seeing you here, I was hoping for a good laugh at Jeffrey’s expense.”
“Actually,” Ellen began, lowering her voice so he had to bend his head to hear her over the loud hum of the assembled crowds. “Could I talk to you about that?”
Hugh frowned. “Do you expect privacy? Because despite our long friendship, I do not think it would be considered acceptable for us to be seeking a private conversation.”
Ellen flushed at his words but didn’t retract her own. Never mind the effort it took to ignore the memory of a time when they had sought private conversation.
“Shall we dance? This next one sounds like it’s to be a minuet. We should be able to exchange a few words without anyone paying a great deal of attention.”
Ellen was relieved that he was going to speak with her. Despite his saying they’d had a long friendship, Ellen had never thought he considered her or her sisters anything but a terrible nuisance, except that one summer Ellen refused to think about. But it had been several years since she’d seen him, even though she knew Jeffrey kept in touch with all his old friends from school.
“Thank you, my lord,” she said shyly as she stepped into his arms. It felt strange being in grown up Hugh’s arms. She had, of course, danced with him when she was young. Jeffrey’s friends had all been enlisted into helping their friend’s three little sisters practice their steps. But Ellen was no longer a child, and Hugh was certainly a grown man.
Ellen couldn’t have said why being in his arms felt any different than any of the other handsome men she had danced with that evening. Perhaps it was the air of familiarity between them, she thought. It certainly couldn’t be that she found him any more attractive than any of the other gentlemen. Hugh was Jeffrey’s friend. And he had just come into his title quite suddenly. Despite his presence in Town for the Season, surely he wasn’t looking for a wife at this time. Was he even old enough? Ellen rather thought all of Jeffrey’s friends wished to put off getting leg-shackled as they called it as long as humanly possible. And him in mourning besides.
She glanced at his black arm band. In fact, it was a little odd that he was even present that evening. Ellen couldn’t remember the dates of their deaths, but surely Hugh ought to still be at home on his newly acquired estate. It had certainly not been a full six months yet. A frown started to form on her forehead.
“You had wished to speak with me?” he prodded. “I’m certain that wasn’t some sorry attempt at making me dance with you.”
The laughter dancing in his eyes along with their long knowledge of each other kept Ellen from getting angrier with him than his teasing warranted. Besides, he was right, she did wish to speak to him, and she shouldn’t allow the strange sensations coursing through her to distract her from her intentions.
