Page 17 of A Marriage of Convenience with a Rake
The bath arrived and two maids carried in buckets of hot water to fill it. Eleanor undressed and slipped in, shutting her eyes and almost falling asleep. The water smelled of lavender and was blissfully warm. She drowsed in it until she felt it getting cold, then slipped out. Miss Whitford had left a nightrobe on the bed, and she slipped into it, then went to sit by the fire to dry her hair. She found her eyelids drooping and she was almost asleep when she heard footsteps outside. She tensed, heart thudding in fear. It was him. He was coming to the room. He was going to do...to...
“My lady?” the familiar voice of Miss Whitford came through the door, flooding her with relief.
“Yes?” She hastily stood, hurrying to the door to open it.
“My lady, a note from his lordship. And your nightgown. I unpacked your luggage in the wardrobe room.”
“Thank you,” Eleanor said at once, taking the note from Miss Whitford. Her maid went into the room and put the nightgown on the bed, then tiptoed out again.
My dear lady,she read in swift handwriting.I am still keptbusy with estate accounts. I do not know how much longer it will take. Please forgive me and take dinner in your chamber. I will have the butler send a meal up to you so you may retire to bed. Thank you, your Sebastian.
She let out a sigh. He was delayed. He was not coming.
She cleared her throat. “Please have dinner sent up to me now?” she asked, noting it was already dark outside. Her stomach was rumbling, and she longed to have something to eat.
“Yes, my lady.”
The dinner arrived and it was delicious. She ate and then washed her face and mouth and slipped into bed. She lay there in the half-darkness of the room, the fire flickering in the grate, the lamp on the mantel still blazing.
The church clock chimed again, and then again while she lay there, awake and nervous, and she shut her eyes.
He is not coming, she told herself firmly. Relief was strong, but she couldn’t help feeling a little confused, a little ashamed. What was wrong with her, that he would choose to consider estate business over the most pressing business of his marriage? Was she so repellent that he could not bear to join her? Was this arrangement solely to please his father, and not because it pleased him?
She swallowed hard and rolled over.
“Go to sleep,” she told herself firmly. She had a lot to find out the next day.
Chapter 7
The morning air was scented with dew, the clouds low on the horizon, the first real chill of autumn making the mist settle along the riverbank. Sebastian gripped the reins tightly, glad of his thick coat, and rode towards the manor. He had woken with a headache after a few brief hours of sleep and gone for a ride to clear his head before breakfast.
“I’m half starved,” he told his horse, Starburst, as they rode. His horse, a black thoroughbred with a white blaze, snorted as if in sympathy. Sebastian leaned back, slowing the horse from a canter to a trot. “Yes,” Sebastian added, patting his horse’s neck gently. “I know. You need breakfast too.”
He leaned back a little more, slowing the trot to a walk. He was tired, his head pounding. The garden appeared slowly as they rode down from the river to the lake and he stared at it, his eyes—tired from a long night without much sleep—taking in the trees and bushes around the house.
“No flowers, eh.”
He grinned to himself. Eleanor had been quite particular about that—her first and only comment on the house and grounds at Ramsgate.
He swallowed hard. He felt a little guilty. He’d rushed off without much explanation, on her first day at the house. He would have liked at least to take dinner with her, but urgent business from London—as brought to him by Mr. Fulmore, his solicitor—had kept him busy almost the entire night. He stifled a yawn and blinked, sliding a little forward on his horse.
Best get indoors soon, he told himself firmly. I’m almost asleep in the saddle.
He could find her and have breakfast with her, at least. Histhoughts drifted to Eleanor. She had looked quite lovely in her white gown. She was not a society beauty, but with that strong, handsome face, she was undeniably appealing.
She probably hates me; he thought a little remorsefully. It was his own fault—he couldn’t help teasing her a little whenever they spoke, just to watch her heartfelt and annoyed response to all the little irritations he threw her way. She had a magnificent temper, and he enjoyed seeing it flare.
He leaned forward, increasing their speed to a trot again, and they hurried up the path.
Ramsgate was set in extensive grounds, and they rode down through the prolific growth of oak trees, down past the north lawn—good for playing lawn bowls in the summer, but very shaded in the colder, darker months—and then past the hedges that enclosed what had been planned to be an Oriental Garden. As they neared the house, Sebastian frowned.
A distinct, metallic sound drifted over the hedge to him. It was the sound of someone digging. He frowned.
“He’s busy early,” he commented to his horse, who snorted at the sound of the noise. It was unusual to hear a gardener starting his work before nine o’ clock in the morning. Sebastian rode down the path, looking around to catch a glimpse of the industrious fellow.
His eyes scanned the garden, looking for the source of the noise. As he let his gaze move, he caught sight of a form. Someone was near the big oak tree, digging in the lawn. He frowned, his eyes focusing on the figure he saw there.
“What in...” he murmured, and leaned forward, trotting swiftly ahead. “Eleanor!”
