The Unaccomplished Lady Eleanor (38 page)

Curiosity overcame Eleanor as she pulled a slice of
t
oast from the silver rack before her. 
‘
May I ask to whom you are referring?
’
she enquired smoothly.

Madeleine flashed her a contemptuous glare.
‘
T
he Duke of Swinton of course.
’

Ele
anor dropped her toast
. 
‘
The Duke of Swinton?
’

‘Of
course,
’ sniffed Madeleine, placing her hand on James’s forearm.  ‘
There is no one else who could possibly wish ill of James.
’

E
leanor
dragged her eyes away from Madeleine’s tiny hand and so
ught out the butter dish as a pang of now familiar jealousy pierced her
.
 
‘
Perhaps not, Lady Madeleine,
’
she replied coolly. 
‘
However the Bow Street Runners
will
require proof before they are in a position to accuse anyone.
’

  
‘
Pho
o
,
’
scoffed Madeleine, removing her hand from James’s arm and flourishing a dismissive wave. 
‘
If they want proof then I shall go out and find some.
’

   Now that,
Lady Madeleine,
mused Eleanor, is a
n
excellent idea. 

Quite what drove Eleanor to Derek Lovell’s bedchamber in her first search for clues, she could not say, other than she had always been in possession of that elusive, intangible quality known as
‘women’s intuition’
.
  It proved as reliable as ever as,
in the minute it took for her to peep her head around the man’s empty
bedchamber
door,
a
crucial piece of
the
p
uzzle
slotted magically into pl
ace. 
In order to find the
next
piece, she
would need to meet aga
i
n with
Dick and Sam
– the two men who had left the message for Derek Lovell.  And the sooner she met with them, the bett
er.

Thankfully for all concerned, the
d
owager
, still in her sickbed, had apparently heard nothing of the shooting episode
– and James wished it to remain so.  He had ordered
the servants
not to talk about the matter a
bove stairs.  Downstairs, though,
it was dou
btful the talk would be of
little else – with particular focus on who had been holding the gun.   

Indeed
it was
that matter
which occupied
everyone’s minds, particularly when it was revealed t
hat the Duke of Swinton – the prime suspect -
had retired to Bath with his wife, several days before the incident.

Lady Madeleine
, however,
refused to be swayed.
‘
It is not unheard of, James,
’
she observed over dinner that evening,
‘
for gentlemen to pay a lackey to carry out their dirty work.
’
  

‘
I hardly think, Lady Madeleine,
’
Eleanor had retorted,
‘
that a man who has been awarded a medal for bravery in the Battle of Vittoria would stoop so low as to pay a lackey to dispose of his wife’s lover.
’

Madeleine had
glared menacingly at her,
while James had toyed with his food before making his excu
ses and leaving the table
.   

After dinner, Eleanor paid a visit to her godmother
.  Despite visiting her
three times a day,
she still found the
experience a little unnerving, expecting the woman at any time to open her mouth and roar for Stevens.  Having read
her
another chapter of Mrs Edgeworth’s
Castle Rackrent
, Eleanor made the
d
owager
comfortable and was
about to leave
t
he room when she asked blithely,
‘
Oh, I was just wondering, Godmother
,
if you have received a reply from Lady Neilson in Hungary
yet?
’

The
d
owager
shook her head
.  E
xactly the response Eleanor had expected.

The following morning, Eleanor
was outside the castle gates at exactly the same time as the previous day.  Just as she had hoped, the two men
she was awaiting cantered into view
shortly afterwards
. 
Eleanor
kicked her horse to a ga
llop and thundered towards them
.

‘
Good morning, Mr Dick.
Mr Sam,
’
she said graciously,
determin
ing
not to show the men any hint of her
nerves. 

The men
doffed their scruffy hats. 
‘
Morning, miss,
’
said
the older man.
‘
I’m taking it you’ve seen Mr Lovell and he’s got the money ready for us?
’

Eleanor pulled a rueful f
ace. 
‘
I’m afraid
I did not have the
, er,
pleasure
of meeting Mr Lovell at all yesterday
. 
The man’s social life is quite …
active
and he is rarely at home.
’

The two men sneered knowingly.  Eleanor ignored them
, launching in
to the
speech she had been rehearsing
for
several hours now. 
‘
I have however,
another mission for the two of you if you
are
interested
; o
ne
which would pay very well
. 
But
, should you wish to accept the task, you must both assure me of your complete confidence.
’

A lop-sided smirk app
eared on the younger man’s
face. 
‘
Oh, you can have as much confidence as you like, miss,
so long as the price is right.
’

T
he other man nodded
. 

‘
Very well then,
’
said Eleanor authoritatively.
‘
W
hat I shall require you both to do is this …
’

Eleanor, James and
Madeleine were
in the drawing-
room later that afternoon when Giles appeared
with his
silver tray on which lay a note. 
‘
This has been delivered for Lady Ormiston, ma’am’ he informed
Eleanor
gravely.  ‘H
er grace
has requested that it
be passed to you
rself
for reply.
’

‘
R
eally?
’
Eleanor
w
rinkl
ed
her forehead. 
‘
Bring it here
please
,
Giles.
’

Whipping the envelope from the tray, Eleanor
dismissed the
servant
with
a nod, before reading
the note.  A large smile spread across her
face
as she did so.
‘
Oh how charming.  W
e have all been invited to a ball at Carlton House.
’

Evidently unimpressed,
James merely grunted
, not raising his eyes from his book
. 

Madeleine
, though, could scarce contain her excitement. 
‘
Carlton House?
’
she repeated
, setting aside h
er embroidery
tambour.
‘
Oh, h
ow wonderful. 
Who has i
nvited us?
’

‘
Oh my word,
’
declared Eleanor, press
ing a hand to her chest.
‘
N
one other than the Countess Lieven.
’

‘
Countess Lieven?
’
squealed
Madeleine
.
 
‘
We
ll in that case we
simply
have to
go, James
.  B
ut … oh my goodness … what on
earth
shall I wear?
I shall have to have a new gown
. 
I must go to London tomorrow and
order a new one. 
When is the ball, Lady Eleanor?
’

‘
Next Thursday,
’
replied Eleanor smoo
thly, before adding
,
‘
And
I think perhaps you will be required to wear Hungarian dress, Lady Madeleine.  The ball
, it appears,
is in honour of the Hungarian
ambassador
and his family.
’

As the smile
slipp
ed from Lady Madeleine’
s face, the woman turned a
curious shade of green. 

TWENTY

‘
M
illy
, d
o you know if your mother has any rat poison left in the cottage?
’
asked Eleanor the following morning.

Milly
gasped in horror and spun around to face
Eleanor. 
‘
Oh
no
miss,
don’t be telling me them
pesky
r
ats have moved in here now.
’

Eleanor,
seated o
n the blue sofa in her dressing-
room, couldn’t resist a smile at   Milly’s aghast expression. 
‘
No
,’ she explained calmly
. 
‘
It’s nothing like that.  I just need a little for an … experiment.  A
ctually, Milly, I’m going t
o need your help too – and Ed’s.
’

‘
What on earth are you doing, girl?
’
enquired Derek Lovell
as,
later that afternoon, he came across Milly on all fours, on the stone floor of the corridor
,
her blond
e head stuck under an old
church pew.

‘
Rats, sir,
’
she declar
ed solemnly.

‘
Rats
?
’
he repeated in a disgusted tone. 

‘
That’s right, sir
. 
Lady
Eleanor swears blind she saw the biggest rat of them all creeping about last night.  Looked everywhere on her floor
,
I have
,
and everyth
ing is pointing to them nesting
here.  Going to have to search all the room
s,
I am
, otherwise Lady
Eleanor ain’t going to get no sleep, sir
.  Not ’
til she knows they’re gone.
’

Lovell pulled a repulsed expression. 
‘
How very
…
interesting
. 
And what exactly are you planning on doing with them when you find them?  I do hope we’re not going to have traps going off at all hours of the day and night.
’

‘
Oh no, sir. 
I’m not messing about with t
raps.  Going to kill them
with poison
.
  That’ll get rid of them once and for all. 
Nice and quick and no mess
.
’

Lovell raised an eyebrow
. 
‘
Really?
 
Hmm.  Well,
um,
get on with your work, girl.  I’m sure Lady Eleanor will be needing you soon to help with her hair or something
of such import
.  Oh, and if you absolutely
must
go into my room, don’t steal anything
,
’
and with that, he turned on his heel and marched along the corridor towards the stairs.

Milly pulled her head out from under the bench and stuck
out
her tongue at the man’s arrogant retreating back. 

‘
Oh, Milly, well done,
’
declared Eleanor, slipping out from her hiding place behind
a
suit of armour, just as Lovell disappeared around the corner. 
‘
You did so well
.
’

Milly straightened up. 
‘
I wasn’t half bad, was I, miss?
’
she said, glowing at the compliment. 
‘
Maybe I should be one of them actresses in
t
he theatre.  Might even nab myself a rich lord or something.
’

Eleanor raised her hand to her mouth in mock horror.  
‘
I can just imagine my
g
odmother’s reaction if I told her
that
was what yo
u were planning
.
’

They both giggled before Eleanor said
,
‘
Now come on.
We’d better be quick in case Lovell
or his valet come back up.  Give me the box of poison, Milly
,
and I’ll go and put it in his room.
’

Milly handed her the box.
‘
I’ll whistle if anyone comes, miss,
’
s
he said, evidently relishing
her importance in their secret mission. 

Eleanor nodded
, before c
racking open the door
and slipping inside. 
Derek Lovell’s bedchamber
was
so obviously that of a man, with none of the delicate touches normally evident in a female’s room.  Eleanor placed the box of rat poison on the window seat.  There was
only a
little left, which would
, she hoped,
give Lovell the impres
sion that Milly, having most likely
opened a new
box
, had forgotten to take the almost
empty one with her.  Having successfully accomplished her mission, she slipped out of the room. 

Later that evening
, Eleanor, James and Madeleine had convened in the saloon just before dinner
,
when in swaggered Derek Lovell.

‘
Good God, Lovell,
’
declared James, his long legs stretched out before him as he slouched in the armchair normally occupied by his aunt,
‘
don’
t tell me you are joi
ning us for dinner this evening.
’

Lovell came to a halt in front of the fireplace and bowed a greeting to them all.   Madeleine, seated in the chair opposite James, speared the unexpected dinner guest with a contemptuous glare before moving on to study the rings on her fingers. 

‘
Didn’t think it was right that I’d deprived you
all of my company for so long. 
Not a problem is it?
’

James didn’t reply
.  In
stead
, he
addressed himself to the footman in attendance. 
‘
Stevens,
s
et another place for Mr Lovell.  He will be joining us for dinner.
’

‘
Aren’t we the lucky ones,
’
muttered Lady Madeleine, still toying with her jewelled fingers. 

Ja
mes flashed her a reprimanding glare. 

The footman
was about to take his leave of the room when Eleanor
added,
‘
Oh
,
and Stevens, I would be most grateful if you could then go down to the kitchens and arrange a mustard plaste
r to be taken up to Lady Ormiston
. She requested it earlier but it quite slipped my mind.
’

‘
Of course, my lady
,
’
said the servant
with a bow
.  He exited the room
i
mmediately, leaving Lovell looking a little disgruntled. 

‘
Hmph,
’
he huffed, surveying the almost empty glass James was cradling
. 
‘
Suppose I’d better hel
p myself to a drink then
’
.

‘
Yes, I suppose you had,
’
replied James coolly.

Lovell took a few steps towards the drinks
tray, coming
to an abrupt stop at the side of James’s chair.  
‘
Looks like you could do with a
top up
, Prestonville
,
’
he said, holding out his hand to take James’s glass.

James handed the item over to him without saying a word and, still in his slouched position, plunged both hands into his breeches’ pockets.

‘
Thought I might go into London later,
’
prattled Lov
ell, his back to the rest of the group
as, amidst much clinking of glass, he
poured the liquor
. 

‘
Really?
’
sniff
ed Madeleine. 
‘
Now that
would
make a change, Mr Lovell.
’

Lovell emitted
one
of his irksome sniggers as he
turned
, carrying two brandy glasses.  He h
anded the
one in his right hand to James
,
befor
e turning his attention to
Madeleine. 
‘
Why Lady Madeleine,
d
o I detect a hint of sarcasm?  Or
are you perhaps a little put out
that I have not
invited
you to accompany me?
’

Madeleine gave a snort of contempt. 
‘
If you think that I would consider such an invitation for even a second, then you are more of an imbecile than I thought you, Mr Lovell
,
and
that
would be quite a feat for any man.
’

‘
That it enough, you two,
’
snapped James
.

Madeleine pursed her lips and
,
sticking her chin in the air, turned her head away from Lovell and towards the fireplace
.

This resulted in another grating titter from Lovell, who proceeded to seat himself at the far end of the sofa to Eleanor. 
‘
Cheers then, Prestonville,
’
he
beam
ed, raising his glass in a toast. 
‘
Here’s to an argument-free dinner.
’
 

James mirrored the gesture
,
but before he had a chance to raise the glass to his lips, Eleanor leapt from the sofa,
sprint
ed across the room and snatc
hed the brandy glass from hi
s hand. 

‘
What the-
?
’
began James, jerking into an upright position. 

B
efore
he could continue
, the door to the saloon burst open and in entered Giles
,
followed immediately by M
.
Aminieux and a colourful, plump lady, dressed in
a riot
of pink and orange. 

Giles
appeared
even more p
erturbed
than usual.  
‘
Begging your pardon, sir,
’
he began curtly,
‘
but-
’

‘
That’s quite all right, Giles,
’
cut in Eleanor, now standing in front of the fireplace
with J
ames
’s glass
. 
‘
I instructed Monsieur and Madam
e
Aminieux that they were to follow you to the room and not wait to be announced.
’
  She turned her head to Madeleine and affected an innocent smile. 
‘
W
e did not wish to spoil your surprise, Lady Madeleine.  After al
l, we
know how upset you were at having to miss the Aminieux’s on Thursday
a
nd how much you are looking forward to conversing in your own language.
’
 

Madeleine looked completely askance as Eleanor then turned h
er attention back to the butler. 
‘
Thank you for adhering to my instructions, Giles
. 
We shall call if we require you again.
’

As a perplexed Giles left the room, cl
osing the door behind him, it was not only
Madeleine
who was
speechless
:
James and Derek Lovell
appeare
d equa
lly as flabbergasted as they gawp
ed at the colourful, beaming visitors
hovering by the door
.