Page 18 of A Marriage of Convenience with a Rake
He stared. It was indeed Eleanor—she was standing on the lawn, wearing a white dress in simple linen, her hair tied out of her face with a cord. She was holding a shovel and digging in the earth with apparent strength.
She heard him approach and looked up, startled. When she saw him, she scraped her hair away from her eye with a pretty, but dirty, hand.
“Good morning,” she greeted him briskly.
“Eleanor,” he repeated, and blushed, realizing it was the first time he’d used her first name to refer to her. “What are you doing?”
“Digging,” she said curtly. He laughed.
“I can see that,” he chuckled. “But...well, I wouldn’t let the chief gardener catch you. He’ll be incensed when he sees what you’ve done to the lawn.”
“He’ll be pleased when he sees daffodils growing around this tree,” she countered, not seeming perturbed.
“A flowerbed of daffodils.” Sebastian repeated. He blinked, not sure if he’d imagined what he saw, and the entire conversation to boot.
It was too strange.
“Yes. Is it breakfast?” Eleanor asked, not even slightly ruffled.
“If you wish to eat breakfast, then yes. It is usually served at eight o’ clock,” he explained. “If you would like to come in, I can show you the breakfast room?” He gestured to the house, feeling his heart twist. She had been here for hours—almost a full day’s worth of hours—and yet he had barely shown her the house or the garden. He swallowed hard, looking searchingly at her.
“I would...” she began, but they were both interrupted by the sound of wheels crunching on gravel, and then, just a few seconds later, feet running on the path towards them.
“Mr. Elstone. What is it?” Sebastian asked, as the butler ran up to them.
“My lord! A visitor. Just arrived.” The older man, who must have been at least two decades Sebastian’s senior, was having a hard time drawing a breath. Sebastian lifted a hand, tryingto indicate to the man that he should pause and gather himself before telling them more.
The butler paused, drawing a few deep breaths, then began again.
“My lord. A visitor. The coach just drew up now.”
“Did you see who it is?” Sebastian asked, his frown deepening. It was only eight o’ clock in the morning. Who could possibly be visiting at such an hour, and unannounced? It was most unprecedented.
“It is your aunt, my lord. Lady Waddingham.”
“Oh, for...” Sebastian caught himself before he swore. He glanced at Eleanor.
“My lord?” she asked, sounding concerned. Sebastian frowned.
“We should go in at once,” he replied, feeling his heart thud. Aunt Tessa would doubtless disapprove of Eleanor being outside in the morning, wearing an old dress, with no cloak to warm her and sturdy, mud-encrusted boots; working in the garden. He spoke so quickly, it was only when he was turning his horse that he thought, first of all, that she had called him “my lord”. Secondly, he realized that he was riding, but she was walking. He stopped at once.
“Would you like to get on?” he asked, gesturing to the horse. “I can ride with you to the house. It’ll be faster.”
She stared up at him, her green eyes skeptical. An expression like horror crossed her face, her gaze becoming more nervous as she eyed his horse.
“No. No, thank you,” she said, walking briskly towards the house. “I’ll walk.”
“Wait,” Sebastian called, laughing disbelievingly. “If I’m riding, you can’t just walk.”
She carried on, striding up the path and Sebastian halted, jumping neatly down from the horse.
“What are you doing?” Eleanor demanded as he walked up to her, Starburst walking beside him. She looked over at Starburst like she might eye something dangerous.
“Being a gentleman,” he said, in a light tone. She looked at him, one brow cocked, and he elaborated. “A gentleman cannot ride while a lady is on foot. It is not seemly.”
She held his gaze, her own green and confused and supercilious, all at once. He grinned to himself.
“Well, if you say so,” she agreed.
