CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

NEXT MORNING AT GROSVENOR SUARE

Eleanor was at breakfast with Lady Susan and the girls when Prout entered and presented Eleanor with a salver on which was a large package.

    ‘This was delivered by hand a few minutes ago, Miss Wellesley,’ Prout said. ‘I did not see who delivered it.’

    ‘Thank you, Prout,’ Eleanor said, taking the package which was quite heavy, and laid it on the table.

    ‘Well, aren’t you going to open it?’ Cecilie exclaimed. ‘It might be from a secret admirer.’

    Eleanor smiled. ‘I doubt that.’

    Dorothea craned her neck to take a closer look.

    ‘The seal is quite large,’ she observed. ‘And it has an interesting looking stamp on it. Oh, open it, do!’

    Eleanor looked more closely at the seal. In the centre of the sealing wax was the mark of a stamp forming a large letter Q.

    Mr Quipp! Eleanor snatched up the packet and with trembling fingers broke the seal and unfolded the parchment.

    Inside were legal looking documents and she recognised the deeds and other documents of ownership belonging to CharnockPark. Mr Quipp had kept his word.

    ‘Lady Susan, look!’ Eleanor exclaimed in high excitement. ‘The documents of ownership of CharnockPark; I have them back! My home is once more mine.’

    Lady Susan looked astonished. ‘But how have they been recovered?’ she asked. ‘I thought they were lost to you for ever.’

    ‘They would have been,’ Eleanor agreed. ‘Were it not for my very good friend, Mr Quipp. He is a remarkable man.’

    ‘Well, this is very good news,’ Lady Susan said. ‘And most gratifying.’

    ‘I must consult with Lord Birkett,’ Eleanor said. ‘I am certain all is in order, but Lord Birkett can confirm it. Oh, Lady Susan, I am so happy!’

Eleanor sought Lord Birkett later and found him in his study. He was as astonished as Lady Susan had been.

    ‘Undoubtedly everything is present and in order,’ he said on examining the documents. ‘To be on the safe side I will ask my man of law to examine them this afternoon. Congratulation, Eleanor. Your father’s property has been restored to you.’

    ‘Yes, it’s wonderful!’

    ‘A word of caution, though,’ his lordship said seriously. ‘Managing the several estates entailed in these deeds will be a task for a man, Eleanor. You cannot hope to do this yourself.’

    ‘I am aware of that, my lord,’ Eleanor said. ‘But for the time being I can think only of returning to my home, the only one I have ever known.’

    ‘Then when the time comes or until you marry,’ Lord Birkett said. ‘Do not hesitate to ask for my help.’

In the early afternoon visitors arrived. Lady Pike was announced by Prout together with her eldest daughter, Annabella.

    ‘Phoebe, how well you look,’ Lady Susan greeted her oldest friend, Lady Pike. ‘And you, Annabella, are absolutely sparkling.’

    ‘That is because Annabella is betrothed to me,’ Jeffrey Warburton exclaimed merrily as he walked in on the ladies’ heels.

    ‘Good gracious!’ Lady Susan said, staring. ‘How very wonderful. Does your father know?’

    ‘Not yet,’ Jeffrey said gleefully. ‘I have beaten him to the post. He is yet dithering and the Season is almost over.’

    ‘Congratulation, Mr Warburton,’ Eleanor said. ‘Annabella is a lovely girl. I know you will be very happy together.’

    Annabella and the twins were gathered at the piano, giggling.

    Lady Susan looked their way with a rather mournful expression.

    ‘Poor Dorothea,’ she said. ‘Jeffrey is right, the Season is almost done, and still she is without a suitor. I cannot for the life of me understand it.’

    ‘In some years the Season lasts until mid August,’ Lady Pike volunteered. ‘There may yet be time although I hear that many of the better families are already leaving London.’

    ‘And by August the pickings will be very slim,’ Lady Susan said dolefully. ‘All the titled gentlemen will have been snapped up.’

    ‘How is Uncle Ambrose today?’ Jeffrey asked.

    ‘He is much better and on his feet,’ Lady Susan said. ‘He is using the small sitting room to receive visitors.’

    ‘I will have a word with him,’ Jeffrey said, waving a folded broadsheet. ‘I have some surprising news for him.’

    ‘Well, what is it?’ Lady Susan asked.

    ‘It is not fit for a lady’s ears,’ Jeffrey said and left the room.

    ‘What on earth could it be,’ Lady Susan remarked to Lady Pike.

    ‘I think I know,’ Lady Pike said in a low voice. ‘It is that woman, Mrs Vallentine. It is said that she has given up her rooms in Brunswick Street, and has left London altogether.’

    ‘No! Where has she gone?

    ‘Well, that’s just it,’ Lady Pike said. ‘No one knows. From what I have been told she seems to vanish overnight.’

    Lady Susan sniffed. ‘You can be sure there is a man behind this disappearance. Where she is concerned, there is always a man.’

    Eleanor was thoughtful. How would Ambrose take the news that his lady-love had deserted him? It seemed so callous of her when he had suffered so much defending her honour.

    Eleanor suppressed a sob. It was no good thinking in terms of love where Ambrose was concerned. She already knew what he thought of her.

‘You look much improved, Uncle Ambrose,’ Jeffrey opined as he entered the sitting room. ‘I wonder you do not join the ladies in the drawing room.’

    ‘Susan says I am not a fit sight for polite society,’ Ambrose grumbled. ‘So she has banished me here, with only Hugo and Birkett for company.’

    ‘That is a shame for I would have you meet my fiancé, Miss Annabella Pike.’

    ‘What? You are betrothed,’ Sir Hugo exploded, rising to his feet. ‘Well not before time, I say. Now, that is good news indeed.’

    ‘Yes, I have beaten you, Father,’ Jeffrey said with some relish. ‘And you never thought I would.’

    ‘I had every faith in you, my boy,’ Sir Hugo said. ‘Every faith.’ He stroked his chin thoughtfully. ‘I must leave soon.’

    ‘You had better hear the news first,’ Jeffrey said hurriedly, as he unfolded the broadsheet. ‘There is a story in this rag which will interest you all, especially you Uncle Ambrose.’

    ‘What is so important?’

    Jeffrey tapped the sheet with his finger. ‘It says here that the dead body of Lord Langdon was found early this morning in his coach in the yard of the Phoenix Club. He had been shot through the heart.’

    ‘The devil he was!’ Lord Birkett said. ‘Well, no one can suspect you, Ambrose. You have been lying here abed half dead all night.’

    ‘So Langdon is done. Well, it is no more than he deserved,’ Sir Hugo said. ‘Now, I must depart for I have urgent business of my own to contract. See you anon.’

Eleanor’s scruples had been bothering her since she had received the news earlier that her home had been restored to her.

    In all good conscience and fairness, she could not now continue to take advantage of the allowance settled on her by Ambrose.

    She would receive a living from the CharnockPark estates. Perhaps it would not be lavish, but it would maintain her in some comfort.

    Had they not quarrelled so bitterly she would have had the courage to approach him before this, but the very notion of standing before him, knowing what he thought of her, made her tremble.

    When Sir Hugo had made his departure and Jeffrey and Lord Birkett had come to sit in the drawing room with their visitors, Eleanor knew that she must face the wolf in his lair.

    She knocked at the sitting room door and entered. Ambrose was seated in a chair near the window, reading a broadsheet. When he saw who his visitor was he leapt to his feet, rather unsteadily, Eleanor thought.

    ‘Pray, sit, sir,’ Eleanor said rather timidly. ‘I do not wish to tire you.’

    ‘I will sit when you do, Eleanor,’ Ambrose said evenly.

    Concerned for him on his feet, Eleanor hastily sat.

    She looked at him. His face still seemed raw and swollen and bruises of many colours had now appeared. Her heart ached that he was in such pain, and all for a worthless woman.

    Eleanor checked her thoughts. She must remain calm and courteous, she warned herself.

    ‘You seem better in yourself, sir,’ she ventured.

    ‘I am much restored, Eleanor, thank you. And I am so much moved that, despite my previous boorish behaviour towards you, you have come to see me.’

    Eleanor swallowed. ‘I have come, sir, on a matter of business.’

    ‘Oh!’ Was there a touch of disappointment in his tone?

    Eleanor faltered. She had sounded so cold and uncaring.

    ‘Although, of course, I am concerned for your health,’ she added hastily.

    ‘You are?’

    ‘You went through a dreadful ordeal,’ Eleanor said sincerely. ‘And I am sorry that you suffered so.’

    ‘I understand you had an ordeal of your own,’ Ambrose said grimly. ‘And when I discover who the swine was who put you through that I will tear his head off!’

    ‘Please, sir, I beg you,’ Eleanor exclaimed in alarm, almost rising to her feet. ‘That matter is closed and over. I wish to speak of it no more.’

    ‘As you wish,’ Ambrose said more calmly. ‘But Eleanor, I think we know each other well enough for you to call me Ambrose. You are no longer the employed chaperone. You are my equal.’

    Eleanor wetted her lips, feeling her heart pound a little.

    ‘Thank you...Ambrose.’

    Eleanor could not stop a deep blush coming to her cheeks as she used his name out loud for the first time. To her consternation she saw he noted the blush and smiled widely.

    ‘Your blush does you credit, Eleanor. A woman is never lovelier than when she blushes. It goes straight to a man’s heart.’

    Eleanor felt a little breathless. Was he flirting with her? She felt confused. She had come to talk business but he was making the meeting so personal.

    ‘Sir, I...’

    ‘Ambrose, please,’ he said. ‘You promised you would all me Ambrose from now on.’

    ‘I promised no such thing!’ Eleanor responded hurriedly.

    ‘Your blush promised it,’ he said, his voice softening. ‘Promise too, that you will blush only for me.’

    Disorientated at the tender look in his eyes, Eleanor rose swiftly from her seat and Ambrose rose too.

    ‘No, no, sit...Ambrose, please,’ she exclaimed worriedly, just as quickly resuming her seat. ‘I came to speak with you on a business matter but you are making it very difficult for me.’

    ‘I am finding it very hard to think about business at this moment,’ Ambrose said frankly. ‘No, I don’t want to think about business. I want to think about your blush and the loveliness of your eyes.’

    ‘Ambrose!’

    ‘May I not mention your eyes? Very well, I will speak then of the temptation of your lips.’

    ‘Ambrose, I am trying to make matters right,’ Eleanor said desperately.

    She was in confusion. She could not look away from his face, damaged though it was it was still handsome and beloved to her.

    No! She must not think like that. He was just teasing her, the way men of his kind did. She lifted the fan that dangled from a silk cord around her wrist, and opened it, and began fanning her face vigorously. It was growing very hot in the room, indeed!

    Ambrose smiled.

    ‘My father’s estates have been restored to me,’ she said hurriedly.

    ‘I have been told about it,’ Ambrose said, again smiling that brilliant smile of his.

    ‘Yes, well!’ Eleanor swallowed as she regarded that smile, and felt a little weak. ‘I will be returning to Northamptonshire shortly, so I will not need...’

    ‘Must you?’

    ‘Must I what?’

    ‘Leave me for Northamptonshire.’

    ‘It is my home. Ambrose, you are confusing me.’

    ‘My home is in Cornwall as you know,’ he said. ‘It is very beautiful there. It is just the place to live and raise a family.’

    ‘I will have the revenue from ChurnockPark estates to live on,’ Eleanor persisted in a small voice. ‘So, as obliged as I am to you, Ambrose, I shall no longer need an allowance from you.’

    ‘Oh, but I think you will,’ Ambrose said stoutly. ‘What sort of a husband would I be if I did not bestow a generous dress allowance on my wife?’

    ‘Ambrose, I am serious.’

    ‘So am I.’ He got to his feet and taking her arm drew her up too. ‘Kiss me!’ he said.

    ‘What?’

    He put his arms around her drawing her close. ‘Kiss me, woman!’

    ‘Ambrose! What are you doing?’

    ‘Eleanor, for pity’s sake! I love you. I want you to be my wife. Don’t deny you love me in return. I know you do. Blushes never lie.’ His arms tightened around her. ‘Now, kiss me!’

    Eleanor was lost. And without knowing what she did, her arms encircled his neck, and drawing him closer, she surrendered herself to the ecstasy of the moment.

    After a long moment they drew apart, although he still held her firmly to him.

    ‘I never knew love could be like that,’ Eleanor whispered.

    ‘Oh, Eleanor, my darling, I have a lot to teach you about love.’

    ‘Begin,’ she murmured, reaching her face up to his.

    They were thus engaged when, without their knowing it the sitting room door opened.

    ‘Grand Sakes!’ Lady Susan exclaimed in a shocked voice. ‘What have we here?’

    Eleanor would have sprung away from him in guilt, but Ambrose held her tightly.

    ‘It is nothing improper, Susan,’ he said, laughing. ‘Eleanor has consented to become my wife. I may kiss my wife, surely? We will marry before the year it out.’

    Lady Susan clasped both hands over her heart.

    ‘Ambrose! I am so delight that at last you have found a wife in Eleanor, such a dear friend of mine. Oh, I think it indeed heartening news. I must tell Lord Birkett.’

    Lady Susan rushed away leaving the door open.

    ‘Susan has such an overextended sense of propriety,’ Ambrose said.

    ‘Yes,’ Eleanor said as though in a dream. ‘Never mind the door, Ambrose. Next lesson, please.’