The Scandal of Lady Eleanor (22 page)

Ella gritted her teeth, but she managed to say in a civilized tone, “That would be very pleasant, Sir Louis.” Ella could feel the look of confusion storming across her family's faces. More than once, they had all expressed their contempt for their neighbor. They would have questions. Placing her hand lightly on the baronet's proffered arm, she forced herself to give him a smile of welcome.

They walked in silence over a quarter of the room. “I do not see Lord Worthing present this evening,” he noted with some smugness.

“I believe His Lordship had other obligations.” Ella would not discuss James's absence.

Levering clamped his arm to his side, bringing Ella closer to him. “I had hoped you sent the man packing as I asked,” he hissed.

“I have had no opportunity to do so, Sir Louis.”

He mimicked Crowden's kiss of her hand, keeping her knuckles close to his mouth for an few extra seconds. “Join me on the balcony, Lady Eleanor.” The normalcy of his tone frightened her, and Ella considered refusing; but a shake of her head indicated her agreement, and Levering led her onto the darkened terrace. Finding a place where they might speak privately, he guided Ella to the balustrade overlooking the Donne's garden.

“What exactly do you want from me?” Ella demanded, unable to control her need to know the worst.

“Well,…” Levering stammered. “I was prepared for niceties before our negotiations, but if you prefer to meet my demands right away, then let it be so. As others suspect, my father's passing left me with a pile of gambling debts and unsavory loan connections, but he also left me among his personal effects something more valuable:
my mother's diary, written in her own hand. I assumed he originally kept it for sentimental value, and it proved beneficial to both of us. Imagine my surprise to find my parents' intimacies described in such detail. One never knows one's parents, does one?” he half smirked.

“When I first discovered my mother's
musings
, I spoke to the late Duke, and he and I came to an understanding. He paid me for my silence, and things went well initially.Your father's
contributions
, as I called them, kept away my creditors and allowed me some freedom to enjoy my own pleasures. Unfortunately, your father fell ill, and my source of additional income faltered.”

Ella interrupted, “If it is just money you need, I have a small income. I will pay you to forget this.”

“Ah, Lady Eleanor, you do have a kind heart, my Dear,” he feigned compassion. “And there was a time I might have considered such a solution, but I no longer look so kindly on the prospects. First, my own indulgences caused me to rethink how I meet my obligations. I thought, before your brother's return, that I might have a kindred spirit at Thorn Hall; your Cousin Leighton shares some of my proclivity for the finer things in life, but His Grace's succession eliminated that point of union.”

Levering paused to give her time to fathom the depth of what he would propose. “So, all this leaves me with few choices. I need money, and I need it quickly. As your brother has such strong connections with those in the government, I cannot conceive he would be willing to negotiate for the sale of my mother's diary. Your brother holds a reputation for his rashness; it is likely he would simply allow Thornhill to suffer. He has thumbed his nose at Society on more than one occasion. But I believe your dowry will go a long way toward making Huntingborne Abbey debt free.”

“You expect me to marry you?” Ella stood agape. She had anticipated having to pay Levering for the diary; she had never thought he would demand her personally.

“I insist that you marry me, my Dear.” He touched her cheek with his fingertip. “I found myself quite aroused upon reading my mother's account. I decided I wanted to taste you myself. A woman of such wanton ways can be very stimulating, and I mean to have you—to use you over and over again.” His voice became menacing, as his finger dipped into the cleavage displayed by her gown's low décolletage. “Your brother and his friends have treated me with a certain amount of contempt. It will be extremely satisfying to see Worthing suffer, knowing you are my wife, and I have rights he will never hold.”

“Eleanor,”Velvet's voice came from some ten feet away, “Aunt Agatha requests that you join her.”

Neither Levering nor Ella said any more, but a satisfied smile played across his face. Ella simply turned to follow her cousin into the crowded room, while Sir Louis remained in the darkness.

“Ella,”Velvet hissed, “what were you thinking?”

Ella had plenty of which to think, but she hid her feelings. “The baronet and I were simply speaking of Kent and our parents. I lost track of time is all.”

“Explain it to Bran.”

Ella would love to explain it all to Bran and let him handle the baronet, but she suspected a certain amount of truth in what Levering said. Bran would try to stare down the
ton
, daring them to defy what he said, while they all would know of what she did to convince her father to love her. “I will not answer to my brother or anyone else. If I choose to keep company with the baronet or any man, it is my prerogative. Bran brought me to London against my wishes so I might meet a variety of suitors. Sir Louis saved my life, and now he wishes to call on me. I should, at least, give him the benefit of the doubt.”

“What of Lord Worthing? ”Velvet resisted what she saw as Eleanor's unreasonableness.

Ella stopped suddenly, needing to convince her closest confidante. Like a yawning, gaping hole, James Kerrington's absence
produced a physical pain—a hurt that Ella was not sure she could survive, phoenix or not. “It is likely His Lordship will be in Derbyshire for some time—either nursing the Earl back to health or dealing with his father's passing. Am I to become a recluse just as the Season is becoming its most active, simply because Lord Worthing deals with family responsibility? That hardly seems fair. Besides, it will give me an opportunity to see if Lord Worthing is truly a proper choice or whether I look at him through rosecolored glasses.”

Velvet looked doubtful. “But you love Lord Worthing!”

“I love the idea of Lord Worthing,” Ella corrected. “His absence will allow me to decide if I might find other men equally agreeable. I believe I am acting quite responsibly.”

“If you are sure, Cousin.”

They reached the Duchess's side. Ella stood tall, daring any of her family to defy her before they had even expressed their concerns. She needed time to somehow figure a way out of this mess, and she did not have the patience to deal with their allegiance to Lord Worthing. My goodness, did she not also hold an allegiance to the man? But she needed to protect herself. She noted that Velvet gave Bran a warning shake of her head as they approached, and, fortunately, her brother swallowed his objections and made no comments.

As she hung back in a large palm's shadows, she replayed the entire conversation with Sir Louis. He needed her dowry to vanquish the debts of Robert Levering, as well as the baronet's own accounts. Sir Louis also knew in what she participated as a young girl, and he now demanded that she allow him liberties a gentleman would not request of his wife. If she married the baronet to save her family, such perversions would be the norm. The thought of it sent a shiver down her back. How could she tolerate the baronet's touch after the love she experienced in James Kerrington's arms? How could she live such a life? She would be dirty again. Her past would soil her future. Fleetingly, she considered running
away—going to America or Australia to lose her identity in the wilderness—or even going to the extreme of ending it all, taking her own life—but Bran and Velvet and Aunt Agatha, and even James, would continue to suffer. The baronet would see to that if she tried to foil his plans by removing herself from the picture. No! She would face this and persevere.

CHAPTER 8

THE NEXT DAY, TO HER FAMILY'S DISMAY, Ella rode out with the baronet in the afternoon during the fashionable hour, but she offered no explanation as to what brought on her extreme change of heart. She refused to read Worthing's note; it remained tucked away in a pocket inside her evening reticule. Ella knew that if Kerrington spoke of his love, she would never be able to deal with Louis Levering's demands.

“Thank you for accepting my company, Lady Eleanor.” The baronet maneuvered his curricle through the busy London streets.

Ella stared at the buildings, refusing to look at him. “Did I have another option?”

“Please do not sound so bitter, my Dear.” He took her hand, placing it on his arm. “Despite what you might believe at this moment, we will do well together.”

Ella left her hand on his forearm, but kept the muscle taut, in reality, barely touching him. “I am not what you think, Sir Louis. I was a young girl seeking the love of a difficult parent. My naiveté does not make me the type of woman of which you speak.”

“However, such affections are not foreign to you.Any man would welcome a gentlewoman willing to accept her husband's desires.”

“If I do all you ask, will you turn over the diary to me?” It was time for her own negotiations.

Levering paused as if debating over what she asked. “I would have you and your fortune; I would have no need of the diary any
longer.” Eleanor wondered if she dared to believe him. He turned his carriage into the main gate to Hyde Park. “We will make one pass through the park, Eleanor.” She tried not to cringe with his use of her given name. “I expect you to give me the proper attention. Now, smile, my Dear.”

Although she did not trust him explicitly, Ella took some comfort in his acknowledging he would meet her demands. They spent the next hour greeting acquaintances. Most of their acknowledgments were met with badly disguised shock or curiosity. A duke's daughter would rarely consider a baronet a good match. Taking five steps downward in peerage simply was not done unless theirs was a love match, and that was not likely. Plus, the
ton
wondered what had happened to Lord Worthing. He had been paying exclusive interest to Eleanor Fowler, and now, it was rumored, he had left town.

“Just yonder is where I reined in your horse.”The baronet broke their silence, pointing off to the left.

Ella placidly nodded, thinking how it was all so ironic. She wished desperately that that day had never happened.

He leaned close to give her a mocking smile. “You were never in any danger.”

Ella looked confused when she turned to where he sat.

“I only meant to frighten you,” he confessed.

Quickly, the truth registered on her face. “You arranged my attack?”

“It was not an attack, my Dear—simply a way for me to renew our acquaintance. Of course, your friend Lord Worthing created a real hubbub with his misplaced pursuit, but it all worked out.” He gestured to a passing acquaintance. “I wanted you to know that although your brother is a duke, he does not hold all the power, and even someone like me can wield revenge.”

“Revenge?” she whispered, her movement suspended by the menace in his voice.

“You never asked, Lady Eleanor, how my mother died.” He scowled in remembrance.

Eleanor swallowed hard, afraid of the answer he was likely to give. “What caused Lady Levering's demise?”

“I suspect my mother's death had the same source as did your mother's. Her relationship with your father and mine cost my mother her life. The great pox—although truthfully, I prefer to call it, as did William Blake, ‘the youthful harlot's curse'—is the enemy of both our families, but the initial source of our losses is your father's baseness.”

“As much as I despise that for which my father stood, I must protest the premise of your accusations. My father never forced your parents to participate in his entertainments. They made the choice as adults to enjoy those pleasures. My mother loved my father, and she wanted children; she knew her duty as a gentlewoman of the aristocracy, and despite her awareness of the risks he took in his personal life, my mother chose to accept him into her bed. Those were my mother's reasons. I cannot explain why Lady Levering chose to join your father in his pursuits. She, obviously, had her seducements. Can you honestly say, Sir Louis, you know your mother's thoughts? From the excerpt you so ‘kindly' shared with me, Lady Levering experimented not only in your father's earthy pleasures, but also his opium habits. My father never found a need for clouding his senses.You may charge my family with the downfall of yours, but you will be in error, Sir.” Ella braced herself for his retort.

However, Levering said nothing for several minutes, letting his cold silence invade her thinking. “I can see you are no milksop, Lady Eleanor—a fact I will savor as our relationship progresses—yet, I must warn you, I will not tolerate impudence in public. You will behave as I instruct you.” He did not finish the threat—his tone filled with danger. “I will give your logic points, my Dear, but emotions do not bow to reason. My mother was the only one who ever truly loved me. For some unexplained reason, I was a disappointment to my father. I will retaliate in her memory in the only way available to me.” They finished their turn through the park,
and he edged his team out into the street traffic. “So, as you can see, I possess several legitimate arguments for seeing this through: my mother's death, my mounting debts, and Society's snubs.”