Page 155 of Oddity of the Ton
“As soon as I heard you’d gone,” he said. “A week after Christmas.”
“That was months ago!”
“And you waited this long to come?” Mr. Staines said. “Hardly the act of a man in love.”
“I didn’twaitto do anything, you fool!” Montague said.
“Then what have you been doing?” Mr. Staines sneered. “Occupying yourself with doxies in London, no doubt. Why come here now to disturb Eleanor’s peace?”
“If you must know, I’ve been looking all over the country,” Montague said. “With the help of Lady Marlow…”
“Lavinia?” Eleanor said. “But Papa promised he’d tell nobody! Is there nobody in the world I can trust?”
“You can trustme,” Mr. Staines said. “I won’t ruin you then abandon you.”
“I did no such thing!” Montague growled.
“Eleanor may have given herself to you freely, but she knew no better.You, on the other hand, knew exactly what you were doing. Then you abandoned her to the ridicule of others, no doubt to carry on with your profligate existence.”
“Devil’s toes—shetoldyou?” Montague asked. “Did you hear how she screamed my name as I showed her what it was to make love?”
Mr. Staines flinched, his cheeks reddening.
“Aha—I see what’s afoot, reverend,” Montague said. “You want her for yourself.”
Eleanor’s heart sank as Mr. Staines’s blush deepened.
“What I want is immaterial,” he said, “but Eleanor came to Sandcombe with a broken heart and her world in turmoil. She’s now at peace, and if you have not come here pure of heart, then you should leave, rather than shatter her peace again.”
“You love her,” Montague said.
Mr. Staines inhaled sharply. “Why would you ask such a question?”
“It wasn’t a question.”
“What if Idolove her?” Mr. Staines cried. “At least I didn’t take advantage of her for mere gratification. Are you here to break her heart again, because you didn’t break it properly the first time?”
“No I’m not, you pompous arse!” Montague said. “I’m here because I cannot live without her!”
“If you can’t live without her, why didn’t you come in December when you discovered she’d gone?”
“Oh, you really are a numbskull, aren’t you, reverend?” Montague replied. “Has a lifetime of pontificating and preaching addled your wits? I didn’t know where she was! I triedeverything—bribery, threats—but her father refused to say where she’d gone. So I’ve spent the past three months wandering up and down this godforsaken country, trying to find her!”
He wiped his brow and sighed, the anger fading from his expression, and moisture swelled in his eyes.
“Y-you’ve been looking for me?” Eleanor asked.
He nodded. “Lady Marlow gave me a list of all the places you visited as a child. Brighton, Wells, York… I spent a fortnight in the Lakes because she couldn’t recall the name of the village where you’d stayed.”
“Braithwaite,” Eleanor said quietly.
“Yes, I know thatnow. The innkeeper recalled a Mr. Howard visiting with his family some ten years ago.”
“You went to all that trouble—for me?”
He took her hands in his. “I’d go to the end of the world to find you.” He gave a wry smile. “I almost did, but I decided to save that trip for last.”
“The end of the world?”
