Page 66 of The Duke and His Cinderella
Phineas sighed. “If only we had spoken sooner, so much heartache and trouble could have been saved.”
“I hope you know now that you can always trust me, Phineas,” Nicholas said. “I’m on your side. You’re one of my closest friends, and that will always be true. Whatever I am able to do for you, I always will. And if I had known of your feelings for Lady Hannah, and hers for you, I would have done all I could to assist the two of you much sooner. As it is, I’m very glad that it’s not too late. I can’t wait to watch you say your vows. I’m sure you’ll be very happy together.”
“And what about you?” Phineas asked. “I know you didn’t want to marry her, but what will become of you now that my affairs are going to be settled?”
“I can’t say for sure,” Nicholas said. “But I’ve fallen in love with Lady Eleanor. That much is very true.”
“I knew it was she who you’d met with in the garden,” Phineas confessed. “I knew the moment you mentioned the scar on her hand. But I couldn’t tell you, because I wasn’t sure she would want you to know. I had to allow my friend to keep her secret if that was what she desired.”
“I quite understand,” Nicholas assured him. “I’m glad you didn’t betray her trust. And I’m equally glad that I know the truth now. I only hope that I can prove myself equal to the task of winning her affection. If I’m able to do that, you and I might both find ourselves very happy very soon—that’s what I hope will happen.”
“You deserve it,” Phineas said fervently.
“I don’t think it’s possible to deserve the love of another,” Nicholas said. “But I hope she chooses to bestow hers on me all the same.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
“It seems to me,” Eleanor’s father said, “that we all have a lot to talk about.”
Eleanor was sitting in her father’s study with both of her parents and the duke. The door had been closed, so at last they were getting a bit of a respite from everyone else at the party. Eleanor was so exhausted by the revelations of the day that she felt like closing her eyes and allowing herself to go to sleep. At the same time, though, she couldn’t help feeling intensely excited by everything that was happening. She knew the duke was about to ask her father’s permission to court her—was there the slightest chance he might say yes to that?
She didn’t know. Anything at all could happen in the next few minutes. One way or another, though, her life was about to be changed forever.
Eleanor’s mother was still fuming. “I never would have believed that something like this could take center stage at my daughter’s engagement party,” she said rather huffily.
“I’m very sorry to have disrupted the party, Lady Crestley,” the duke said humbly. “I do owe you quite the apology for that, of course. And I’ll apologize to Lady Marina as soon as we have a moment alone to speak.”
“Marina doesn’t mind,” Eleanor spoke up, both out of loyalty to her sister and a desire to see the duke reassured. “She just wants me to be happy.”
“Eleanor, for heaven’s sake, do shut your mouth,” her mother said. “Everyone has heard more than enough from you for one day.”
“Now, Sally, to be fair, we’ve actually heard very little from Eleanor,” her father said. “We’ve heard what the duke has to say, and we’ve certainly heard what Lord Codfield thinks about everything that’s happening, but we haven’t take much time to speak to our daughter. That’s what I’d like to hear. I want to know how Eleanor is feeling right now.”
He looked at her with expectation. Eleanor was stunned—she hadn’t expected her father to ask this question. “You want to know how I’m feeling?”
“Yes, Eleanor,” her father said. “The duke has said he wishes to court you. What do you think of that?”
“Well, I…” Was it a trick question somehow? “I didn’t realize that it mattered to you what I wanted in terms of my own courtship, Father.”
“But I do want to know the answer,” her father said. “Do you want a courtship with this gentleman?”
“If I say no?”
“That’s something I’ll have to take into account.”
“Do you mean to tell me that…” Eleanor swallowed. “Are you saying that I could always have said no? To anyone you chose for me? If you picked a gentleman I didn’t like, would you have allowed me to turn him down?”
“I care for you, Eleanor,” her father said. “I know this is a difficult time for you. I know you’re not sure what your future is going to look like, and the last thing I want is for you to feel forced into a situation in which you’re going to be unhappy.”
Eleanor didn’t know how seriously to take what her father was saying. It seemed to her that he was probably only speaking for the benefit of the duke, to persuade the duke that he was a certain kind of man—a kind of man that, in fact, he probably wasn’t. He really had no intention of allowing Eleanor to turn down a request for courtship. That idea was laughable, she thought—it was impossible to imagine him permitting it. If she said no, he would force her into it anyway and use the moment to demonstrate to the duke how powerful he was. It was probably his way of trying to gain some sort of upper hand.
And it didn’t matter, she realized. There was no chance of her turning down his request. Once she’d realized how real it was, there had never been any chance of it.
“I’m interested in his offer,” she said. And then, because apparently they were playing games, she added quickly— “I’m sure it’s something you want for me as well, isn’t it, Father? You’d like to see me courted by a duke. This must be your preference. I’m sure it’s what you’ve been hoping for this whole time.”
Her father’s face colored slightly. “Of course the duke makes a fine match for my daughter,” he agreed. “I think any father would be happy with such a match. You’re quite right to say so, Eleanor.”
Eleanor smiled. She had gotten the better of him and she knew it, even if he was trying to play innocent about it. He couldn’t pretend to be mild and humble, caring only for what suited his daughter best. It was clear to all of them that what he really wanted was to see her in a profitable marriage that would advance her social standing.
