at her lack of a family. But her insistence that Eleanor attend her before James came home... Could Ruth have discovered something about the attacks?
Eleanor considered her options, eager to hear what Ruth had to tell her. If she waited for Aunt Lucy—out shopping, with Sir Horace as her escort—to return, she would surely insist upon accompanying Eleanor to visit Ruth. Whilst that might be the sensible thing to do, would her aunt’s presence prevent Ruth from being completely honest?
Also, the longer she delayed her visit, the more likely it was that James would return whilst she was there. Therefore, the sooner she went to Ruth, the better.
She could send word to one of her ‘guardians’, but the same objections to Aunt Lucy’s presence applied equally to them. Ruth would be unlikely to speak openly in the presence of anyone else, particularly a man.
Which left Eleanor to rely upon her own resources, much as she had done for the past three years.
She would go in the carriage, right to the front door. She had her footmen. She would take her pistol. With James away from home, what possible danger could there be? Her mind conjured up the image of the stranger she had seen watching her. She had not seen him since that time outside the house. And Ruth would be there, after all.
She made up her mind. She would go and, if she sensed the slightest threat when the door was opened to her, she would simply refuse to go inside. She rang the bell.
‘Pacey, I am going out in fifteen minutes. Can you send for the carriage and ask Lizzie to attend me upstairs, please? And tell three of the footmen—whoever you can spare most easily—they are to accompany me.’
‘May I know where to, my lady?’
‘To call upon Mrs Weare,’ she replied. ‘When Lady Rothley returns, please tell her where I have gone and what time. And tell her not to worry, for I have protection with me.’
Pacey hesitated. ‘My lady, should you not wait until—?’
‘Now, Pacey.’ The butler bowed and withdrew.
Eleanor went to her bedchamber to change into her sprigged-muslin walking dress and to load her pistol. If James was the culprit, and he returned home unexpectedly, she would be ready for him. Lizzie helped her into her pomona-green spencer and bonnet, and she carefully placed the pistol into her matching reticule, ignoring Lizzie’s gasp of horror.
‘Come, Lizzie, fetch your coat, please. I wish you to attend me on my visit to my cousin’s house.’
‘Very well, milady.’ Lizzie was stiff with disapproval.
As they trod down the stairs to join William, Timothy and Peter, who were awaiting them in the hallway, Eleanor pushed her qualms aside.
Instead, she chose to focus on her satisfaction that the decision of whether or not to continue waiting for Matthew had been taken from her hands.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
