Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

" Y ou seemed to enjoy our last outing to the market," Phillip remarked as he and Eleanor surveyed the latest repairs the builders had done in the greenhouse.

Eleanor stopped to examine the fountain at the center and then glanced at him. "I did, though I admit that the excursion to look for a dress for the King's ball was quite exhausting."

"Then next time, I shall ask Mr. Beaufort to come to the house instead." He rested his chin on her shoulder. "Do you like the fountain? I had them model it after the painting of Diana The Huntress that you liked so much."

She leaned into him with a smile, shivering as his breath tickled the side of her neck. "I do like it. It looks beautiful with the water finally flowing as it was intended to."

"Indeed, though I must admit…" He put his hands on her hips and straightened, pulling her into him. "The Goddess of The Hunt cannot compare with the beauty standing right here in front of me."

Eleanor blushed. "You give me more credit than you should."

He laughed. "Someday, you will see yourself the way I see you, and you will know I am not exaggerating."

"Perhaps." She turned to look up at him. "When do you want to go to the market?"

"I thought we would go now while I have a few hours to spare. We can look for some hats and ribbons to go with your new gown. It would be a shame if you only wore it once after all."

"And then?"

Phillip never stopped at the small, cheap trinkets when it came to her. She'd learned that already.

He smiled. "I thought we might stop at the pastry shop this time for something small to eat."

"Nothing else?"

"I figured we would play it by ear."

"Very well. I would enjoy some time with you out of the mansion."

Phillip wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her outside and around to the front of the house. The carriage was already waiting for them.

Eleanor shook her head with a laugh. "You always seem so certain of my agreement."

"What can I say? I know you well enough to guess by now."

She let him help her into the carriage. Shortly after they were settled, the driver kicked the horses into motion, and the countryside began passing by in hills of sun-drenched grass and fields dotted with sheep. "The countryside is really lovely this time of year." She turned to look at Phillip. "Do you have a London residence you return to when Parliament is in session?"

"I have one in case I must stay for prolonged business, but I dislike the city," he replied. "So, not really. I spend most of the year here, whether it's snowing or raining. Besides, until recently, I was not a part of Parliament."

She returned to watching the countryside pass by. "I have never been out in the countryside during the winter. My father much preferred London or his estate near it year-round, unlike the rest of the nobility. Is it beautiful here during winter? London is quite dreary in the winter months."

"It is lovely, for all the cold. There would be nothing but pristine, sparkling white snow as far as the eye can see at the estate, and you would often see children out sledding or skating near the pond by the village."

"I look forward to seeing it all, then. It will be a new experience for me."

"I look forward to having you by my side."

The two of them lapsed into companionable silence as the carriage sped towards the village market. Phillip enveloped her hand with his, lacing his fingers through hers with a gentle smile but not breaking the silence. She leaned into him and listened to the birds singing as they rode along the trees.

When they finally arrived at the market, she almost wished their trip hadn't ended. The peace and quiet with Phillip was something she wanted to savor, but there would be the return journey, she reminded herself.

They wandered through stalls of hats and ribbons, looking over everything. Phillip found himself a new pocket watch in the process, replacing the old, scratched one he always wore with something a little nicer. Together, they picked out some green ribbons for her hair and a few hats. Green had quickly become Phillip's favorite color on her, it seemed.

A few hours later, he guided her into the pastry shop and bought a tart for them to enjoy. She took a seat at one of the small shop's windows and watched as people went about their day, running errands, shopping for leisure or simply enjoying the warm weather and sunshine. Others were hard at work in the shops or stands, selling their wares or working to create new items for sale. Eleanor had no doubt that the rest of the village was already hard at work in the fields to supply the produce being sold here.

Phillip returned with two small white plates and the raspberry jam tarts.

Eleanor ate hers in small bites, savoring the flavor. "I am surprised you remember this is my favorite."

His lips curled up at the edges. "I remember a great many things when it comes to you, Eleanor. We may have been denied a formal, open courtship, but I spent the time we did have observing and memorizing every bit of information I learned about you. Now, I can be open about my courtship and my enjoyment in indulging your interests and tastes."

He never ceased to amaze her with his generosity and kindness. Many men would care very little about what their wives did or did not like. She married a man who viewed it as his duty to do his best to make her happy, and she understood it was her duty to return that love with her own respect, love and obedience. She had never imagined she would find that duty a delight rather than a drudgery. "We are married, Phillip. Courting me is no longer necessary."

He chuckled. "It most certainly is, the more so because I was not permitted to do it before we were wed. A man should never cease courting his wife's affections if he wants a warm, happy home and an equally happy marriage. My father taught me that, and I have never forgotten it."

Eleanor finished off her tart, noticing that he'd already finished his. "Your father must have been a special man."

Phillip's smile dropped. "He was. I loved him dearly, even if he drove me mad at times."

"That used to be how it was between my father and me," she murmured sadly. "I am glad that at least one of us is still able to fondly recall their relationship with their parents."

"He is long gone, Eleanor. I will not hold grudges against the dead, and I prefer to remember him for all the good he did and the way he treated me and my mother with kindness." He rose and took their plates back to the counter before returning to her and offering his arm. "There is one last place I would like to go."

She eyed his smile and frowned. "Why do I have the impression I will have reason to object?"

He grinned. "Why, I could hardly guess, my dear. Come, we are only going next door."

"The jeweler's again? Phillip, I told you that I do not need expensive baubles. I meant it in earnest."

"I know. I just think we ought to browse. No woman's dress is complete without some pretty trinket to go with it."

"I have more than enough pretty trinkets at home." Eleanor let him guide her next door without any resistance, though.

Phillip pulled the door open and gently pushed her inside. "Humor me?"

"Oh, very well. I suppose it cannot hurt to look. Only look, though, Phillip."

"We shall see. I make no promises."

The elderly man who ran the shop greeted them with a broad smile, likely remembering the handsome sum he'd been paid the last time Phillip had taken her there. "Is there anything I can do for you, Your Graces?"

"We merely wish to look, Mr. Hanson. Thank you." Phillip took her hand and guided her to a display of finely worked necklaces. "Do you see anything you would like to try on, my love?"

Eleanor bit her lip. If she tried anything on and Phillip knew she liked it, he'd probably end up buying it for her, and she really didn't need anything else to wear.

"If you do not choose, I shall choose something for you." He put his hands on her waist and pulled her back against his chest. "What about this one?"

He reached past her to point at a necklace made of a dark green emerald in the center with wings extending from it and more small emeralds hanging from the bottom edges. The whole of it reminded her of something they might see in India or Egypt.

She glanced up at him. "We are only trying it on, right?"

"For now. Let us see how it looks on you."

The shopkeeper joined them by the display, took the necklace out and handed it to Phillip. "A wonderful choice, Your Grace. The hue of the emeralds compliments Her Grace's eyes beautifully."

Eleanor reached out to take the necklace from her husband's hands, but Phillip shook his head. "Allow me. I want to put it on you like last time. I find I rather enjoy doing so."

She hid her face behind the fan she'd bought to ward off the heat to cover the blush she could feel spreading from her cheeks to the tips of her ears. When she glanced at Phillip, she saw an uncustomary blush on his cheeks as well, though he seemed less concerned with hiding it as he slipped the necklace around her neck and fastened it.

The shopkeeper made himself scarce as the two of them looked at the necklace around her neck in a small mirror. The woman Eleanor saw looked nothing like her. She had a gleam in her green eyes and a deep flush to her pale cheeks as the sunlight filtered in through the shop windows to glance off her dark hair.

"You are a vision, my love." Phillip ran his fingers over the emeralds as he stood behind her. "Can you not agree, looking at yourself like this?"

Eleanor bit her lip, meeting his gaze in the mirror.

His smile dropped, but he didn't release her. "I want to buy this for you, Eleanor. Please, do not argue with me on this."

She looked at herself again in the mirror and saw why he persisted. The shopkeeper had been right about the color of the emeralds complimenting the color of her eyes. The two were well-matched. "As you please, Phillip."

"Thank you." He left her inspecting the necklace and went to pay the shopkeeper before returning to her side with that serious look still on his face. "Eleanor," he murmured. "I need to tell you something. Something I should have admitted long ago."

Her heartbeat sped up, and she turned to face him, afraid that it would be bad news and that the fairytale might come crashing down just as she was beginning to believe it would go on forever. "Long ago?"

"Well, properly, that is. The truth is, Eleanor, I have liked you from the first time we met, and you occupied my mind constantly in the days before our wedding. I hated myself for what I had to do to have you, but I wanted you so badly that I was persuaded that the grief I would cause you could be healed. I hope that I was right, though I know it does not make up for what I did." He took her hands in his. "I know you may not remember, but I did admit the first fact when we were at our first ball as husband and wife. I thought I should tell when we are both sober."

Eleanor clung to his hands tightly, relieved that it wasn't anything dreadful. "Oh. That is all?"

"No. If I am honest, Eleanor, what I feel for you now goes far beyond what I felt then. I simply cannot look at you without a rush that leaves me feeling half-giddy as though I were drunk or running high on opiates."

She flushed and glanced around, but the shop was empty, and the shopkeeper had gone to the back out of earshot. "I… I feel the same."

Phillip leaned closer, pulling her into his arms. "And I must confess, while I am making confessions anyway, that each day that passes, it becomes harder to wait for the right moment to make you fully mine."

A shiver worked its way down her spine and ended in an ache deep in her belly with an accompanying longing in her chest. "Perhaps there is no right moment, Phillip."

"Perhaps not." He dipped his head so that his forehead touched hers. "But there are many wrong ones. But there is more you should know, Eleanor. The money and my desire for you weren't the only reasons I took the deal your father offered. He made me swear not to tell you, but I cannot bear to keep it from you and let you hate him any longer. I?—"

The shop door flew open, and a man rushed inside. He spotted Phillip and made his way to them quickly. Eleanor stepped out of her husband's arms, her cheeks warming at being discovered in public like that.

Phillip frowned. "Can I help you with something, Sir?"

The man nodded and pointed to the other side of the shop. "I come bearing news, but I think it is not the news a lady ought to hear, Your Grace."

Phillip nodded and followed the man to the other side of the shop. Eleanor watched the Duke's face closely as the messenger imparted the news. Phillip's expression turned grim, his lips pressing into a thin line and brows drawing together. He returned to her and took her hand. "We need to go back at once, my love. I am sorry."

"What? But why?"

He hurried her out of the shop and to the waiting carriage where the driver was already awaiting his instructions. "There is no time to explain right now, my love. Besides, this is something that you will need to be present for, and all will become clear then."

She let him help her into the carriage.

"Where are we going?"

He climbed in beside her and said, "To your father's house."