Tenacious Trents 01 - A Misguided Lord (14 page)

They didn’t need to know he wasn’t
pursuing her for marriage. It would serve no purpose if her
reputation was damaged. If they knew what he knew, they wouldn’t
consider her as a potential wife either.

*

Eleanor wasn’t sure exactly how it
occurred, but she soon found herself quite alone in a small boat
rowing around the lake with Bentley. Of course it was Bentley who
rowed, smiling at Eleanor while she remained beneath her parasol,
far from reclining. She half believed Drake set them up, given the
odd smile on his face as he pushed them off, apologizing that the
remaining boat could hold only two.

“
I believe he is determined
we become friends.” Bentley rowed further into the lake and away
from the other boats.

“
It is what I suspected as
well.” Eleanor stared past him and not at his broad shoulders and
arms as they strained to row.

She couldn’t help but admire the
material stretched over his arms. She shifted her eyes back to lake
beyond him.

“
I am rather glad for the
opportunity to speak in private. I would like to apologize for my
error in judgment.”

This statement brought Eleanor alert.
Had he found out the truth after all? “Which truth might that be,
Lord Westin?”

He grinned at her. “For calling you
frivolous.”

“
What makes you believe
that I am not?” She asked with narrowed eyes.

“
I did witness you hanging
laundry, did I not?”

Most other young ladies would have
been embarrassed but Eleanor was not ashamed of the way she and her
family lived, or that her day consisted of several domestic duties
that would be performed by servants in the homes of the rest of
Drake’s guests. “An impoverished person can’t be frivolous?” She
lifted her eyebrow with the question and bit back a
smile.

“
No, I am sure they can be.
It appears you are not however. I judged you wrongly in
London.”

“
I am sure that I was the
only single lady of my age who had a house and family to return to
and take care of.” She wasn’t going to make his apology easy,
especially since he still believed Jamie was her son.

“
I, in turn, misled you as
well.”

“
But I never misled you,
Lord Bentley. You assumed all on your own.” Eleanor smiled sweetly.
Bentley slightly colored. Had she embarrassed him? How delightful.
She didn’t think it was possible.

“
I did intentionally
mislead you and would like to rectify the matter.”

“
Let me guess, you are not
nearly as somber as you would have others believe.” Eleanor
couldn’t help herself for she had never seen him truly
uncomfortable and she was going to enjoy every moment.

“
No, Miss Westin.” Bentley
frowned at her. “I am a most somber and serious gentleman, I can
assure you.” If his lips hadn’t slightly quirked at the end of his
statement she might have believed him. Perhaps Lord Bentley wasn’t
as bad as she believed. After all, he had formed an opinion based
on what she had shown in society. He too could be hiding his true
personality from society as well. Was it worth pondering
though?

“
Then pray, tell me. What
did you mislead me on?” She leaned forward, elbows upon her knees
as if he was about the make the largest revelation she had ever
before heard.

Instead of answering, Bentley brought
the boat into a shallow cove where willow tree branches brushed the
water’s surface. Stepping out, he held out a hand to assist Eleanor
before pulling the boat onto the grass further. He then offered her
his arm. Eleanor simply raised an eyebrow. Had she been wrong about
him? Bentley had intentionally rowed away from the others and now
they were virtually alone on this small strip of beach and she
began to have misgivings. What was he about?

His eyebrow seemed to arch higher, as
if daring her to take his elbow so they could walk. Was he testing
her somehow, to see if she was the fallen woman he believed her to
be? Not that it mattered. It wasn’t as if she was ever going to
marry anyway so what could it hurt? Placing her hand on his sleeve
they turned to walk along the shore of the lake. They were quite
out in the open. Any one of the other boats could go by at any time
and would see that nothing untoward was occurring.

“
I admired your opinions
and straightforwardness in our arguments in London,” he
stated.

Eleanor wasn’t expecting the
compliment.

“
No one has ever spoken to
me the way you did,” he continued.

Elle looked up at him
skeptically.

“
Did you know your eyes
darkened, a small frown would play between your eyes and your
cheeks would heighten in color each time you were displeased,
especially when we debated education of the poor?”

“
I did not.”

“
You are quite lovely in
your anger, Miss Westin.”

“
I am so pleased you found
enjoyment in baiting me.” Her tone turned icy. Two compliments. She
would not let him sway her.

“
See, even now you are not
trusting me and I know that look of indignation too
well.”

“
Why are you telling me
this?” Eleanor turned to look straight ahead so he couldn’t see the
emotions in her eyes.

“
Because I don’t wish for
you to think me the ogre I appeared to be in London.”

“
Ha. I find that hard to
believe as you played the part so well.” Eleanor retorted, pleased
with her reply.

“
I told you I own two
separate mills.”

She turned to look at him this time.
“Yes.” She recalled well his opinions on how workers were to be
treated.

“
I bought them a few years
ago. The first thing I did was add more windows, and several other
improvements for safety.”

“
How do I know you are
telling me the truth?” She asked, not really trusting him and not
sure of his motives for telling her this.

“
I would be happy to give
you a tour. It is only a short ride from here.”

“
In the
country?”

“
Yes. The air is better
quality and we don’t have to ship the raw wool as far. I would like
to show it to you so you can see that I am telling the
truth.”

“
Perhaps.” Would he offer
if it weren’t true?

“
Only male orphans work in
the mill.”

“
Do you not wish to employ
female orphans?” He couldn’t be that good.

“
Yes, of course I do, but
they work in the kitchens and laundry.” Westin shrugged. “Our work
days are ten hours long and only five on Saturday.”

“
Why only Saturday?” Elle
wished she wasn’t so interested. She did not want to be interested
in anything he had to say.

“
Orphan boys should have
play time as well as any other boy, don’t you think?” He looked
down at her.

“
And the girls?” Perhaps
they weren’t given an opportunity to play.

“
They are free Saturday
mornings, while the boys are working. They return to work when it
is time to get the evening meal, about the time the boys are
released from their chores.”

“
Ah.” Elle stated. “You
wish to keep them separated.”

“
Not at all.” Bentley
insisted. “It just works best this way.”

“
What of education?” She
had to ask

“
They are all required to
attend church services on Sunday. Only illness is an excuse to be
absent. Then, they spend the rest of the day in study.”

“
I admire your forward
thinking, Lord Bentley. If more lords thought as you, life would be
better for many.”

He turned and stopped before her, a
smile on his lips. Before Eleanor could comprehend what he was
about, his lips were on hers.

If they were not on a beach, out in
the open, he would drag her off somewhere private, and seduce her
until she cried out his name. Why did he want her so badly? No
woman had ever threatened his self-control, but all Clay could
think about was lifting her skirts and sinking into her moist heat.
Lust was a strong emotion and he was lucky to have not experienced
it so strongly before now. Who knows what mistakes he could have
made as a younger man.

Eleanor pulled away from him before he
could deepen the kiss. Turning, she walked away. “I would like to
thank you as well, since we are being honest.”

Clay slowly strolled behind her. Now
was not the time to press his suit. It would take some wooing and
courtship to bring Miss Westin to his bed and he didn’t doubt that
it would be well worth the effort. “I can’t image what you are
referring to, so may I ask exactly why you feel the need to thank
me.”

“
I went to London to obtain
a wealthy husband.”

“
Again, why are you
thanking me?” He asked with a smile as he stopped before
her.

“
I didn’t really want one,
but I felt I no longer had a choice.” Miss Westin sighed. “I could
no longer manage my step-father’s debts and was concerned with how
my family would survive. So,” she shrugged. “The only option
remaining open was marriage.”

“
My offer freed you from
the need to marry?” He asked for clarification.

“
No, your payment released
me and I was able to leave London and return home.”

Inwardly he cringed at the tone of her
voice and reference to payment. Still, they were talking, which was
helpful to his cause. “Then I am glad I could be of some service.”
What else could he say?

A smile formed on her face. “I was
very angry with you that morning. I probably still am and shouldn’t
admit this, but I can’t seem to help myself.”

“
Are you afraid I will
judge harshly? I assure you that I will not.”

Miss Westin actually chuckled.
“Actually, I was thinking you would feel more like a
fool.”

Clay raised an eyebrow. Had she duped
him somehow? Was this yet another trap?

“
I had every intention of
releasing you that morning. I knew what my grandfather would insist
upon, and I waited to reassure you that I wanted nothing from you
and that you needn’t feel any obligation to marry me.”

“
You never indicated as
much.” She would have been a fool to do so and Miss Westin was no
fool. Was she playing a game and could he trust her? It didn’t
matter. He wanted her regardless. Having her in his bed was
becoming as important as eating and breathing.

“
Exactly when did you give
me the chance before flinging insults about me and Jamie?” She
lifted a challenging eyebrow.

Clay paused, recalling the
conversation. No, he had never given her a chance to say a word. He
had simply demanded and ordered and she had capitulated. “If that
was your intention, you took the money quickly enough.”

She shrugged. “You had angered me and
I thought it justified at the moment. It also freed me.”

Clay felt the pull of a smile. “Yet
you took the money.” He reminded her.

“
I needed the money and it
is an amount that you probably haven’t even missed.” She glanced
down. “You wish repayment?”

He chuckled this time. In the end he
knew she would cost him much more and she was well worth the price.
“No. It is my own fault for not allowing you to speak
first.”

Her face and shoulders relaxed. He had
seen her home and knew how she lived and had probably spent every
shilling already. How could he justify asking for it back? Besides,
he had gotten out of the betrothal with half of what he was willing
to pay. Of course he would never tell her that, for fear of adding
additional insult. It was best forgotten at this
juncture.

“
Shall we return to the
others?” Miss Westin asked as she began walking back to the
boat.

“
In a moment.”

She turned to look at him.

“
Now that we have
established that I insulted and you profited to benefit your
family, I would like to start anew.”

Miss Westin quirked an eyebrow at
him.

“
Again.” He
bowed.

Clay couldn’t blame her for not
trusting him, given his behavior toward her in London, but he would
show her he could be a decent man, and an indulgent protector. He
held out his hand, deciding to proceed cautiously. “For Acker’s
sake.”

Miss Westin studied him for a moment
before offering her hand. “For Drake.”

Though he would like to pull her to
him and kiss her again, Clayton refrained. In good time she would
be his.

*

When Eleanor arrived the following
day, the party was preparing for departure. Some were going into
town to see what the shops had to offer. Another group wished to
explore the ruins and picnic at the base of a long ago castle. Lord
Bentley stood by a curricle as if waiting. Instinctively she knew
it was for her. Eleanor had no desire to venture into the town she
knew so well, especially on the arm of Lord Bentley. There would be
too much speculation in a town this small. Nor did she particularly
wish to frolic among the ruins. Already she had been gone for two
days, maybe she should return home. Heaven knew there were enough
chores to do.