Chapter 17
Eleanor nearly passed her husband without stopping when she saw him that afternoon. She had just turned into the corridor when Julian appeared at the far end, already walking toward her.
"Lady Harrowby."
"Lord Harrowby."
She expected him to continue. He did not.
"Will you dine with me this evening?"
The question came plainly, and she immediately stopped.
"Is it for any particular reason?" she asked, not masking her surprise.
"No."
A small pause followed.
"I wish to dine with my wife," he continued. "Is that something requiring a reason?"
Eleanor considered him a moment longer. In most circumstances, she would have agreed that there was no need for an explanation, but it was unlike him. She might have pushed it further, if not for the fact that she rather liked such a shift.
"Very well," she said. "I will come."
"Thank you."
The exchange ended there. He inclined his head and moved past her, as though nothing unusual had occurred at all. Eleanor remained where she was for a moment, then continued on her way, though the question lingered far longer than she would have liked.
Dinner was laid for two that evening. The candles softened the room just enough to take the edge off its usual formality, though nothing about it felt casual.
Julian was already there, and he smiled at her when he saw her. He drew out her chair for her, and she looked at him curiously.
"Thank you."
She sat, smoothing her skirts lightly before looking up at him again.
"This still feels unnecessary."
"Then you are free to consider it so."
He took his seat opposite her. The distance between them remained, but it felt more noticeable now that there was no one else to fill the space.
"Did your friends enjoy their time here?" he asked as the first course was served.
"Indeed they did. They were quite surprised to see how well we are doing, given the circumstances, but they liked to see it all the same. They also adored your dear sister."
"And she was happy to see them. I do not– I do not know why she has changed so quickly since your arrival, but she has."
"Well," Eleanor noted, "she is growing up. One day, she shall be a lady too."
There was a pause then that stretched. Wine was poured, and Eleanor took a sip, then set the glass down again, her attention returning to him.
"You have made an impression on the household," Julian said.
"I had not realized I was being assessed."
"You are always being assessed."
"That sounds exhausting."
"It is necessary. It is vital that my staff are given the best possible circumstances to work in, and of course that means finding a good lady of the household."
Eleanor glanced at him over her glass.
"You find necessity in a great many things."
"Perhaps," he said after a moment.
She watched him a moment longer, then let it go. The conversation shifted again.
"You avoided the drawing room earlier," she said.
"I had work to attend to."
"Of course you did."
"That is not an unreasonable excuse."
"No," she said. "Only a predictable one."
A faint pause.
"And you," he said. "You seemed occupied."
"I was," she replied. "Your sister ensured that."
"She is very capable of that. I speak from experience."
Eleanor smiled slightly.
"She has plans for tomorrow."
"I have been informed. She cornered me and told me all about them."
"And will you attend?"
"I have not yet decided."
"Why not? Surely you do not have so much work that you cannot spare a few hours?"
"I… no, you would be correct in such an assumption. I suppose that I can make the time for you both."
The words were light, but something in them lingered. Julian’s attention remained on her a moment longer than necessary. Eleanor felt it. She reached for her glass again, if only to give herself something to do.
"You are in an unusually agreeable mood this evening," she said.
"Am I?"
"Yes," she said. "It is almost disconcerting."
"That was not my intention."
"And yet here we are."
The moment held. The evening was not effortless, but it no longer felt like something that needed managing at every turn. Eleanor found herself laughing more than she had expected. Julian, if not laughing, remained closer to it than usual.
Neither of them seemed inclined to acknowledge the fact that the distance between them was lessening. Eleanor certainly did not want to, for it would have led to questioning it and she did not want to. She simply wished to bask in the enjoyment that she felt in spending time with her husband.
Eventually, the remains of the meal had long since been cleared, the candles burning lower as the room settled into a softer kind of stillness. Julian rose without warning.
"Should I be concerned?" Eleanor asked.
"No."
That was all he offered. He stepped away from the table, pausing only briefly as if expecting her to follow. Eleanor hesitated for half a second, then stood.
"Very well," she said. "I trust this is not an abduction."
"Is that to say you are happy to follow?"
"That depends entirely on where you intend to take me."
"You will see."
He continued briskly toward the doors, and Eleanor followed. There was not an ounce of hesitation in it, only curiosity at what she was about to see. He led her to a balcony, holding the door for her once again. It was strange to not have servants following them, but it was nice; more intimate.
The night air was cool, and the sky above them was clear and open. The stars covered the deep night, and for a moment Eleanor could not focus on anything but how bright it all was.
Julian moved to one side, where a telescope had been set, already positioned. Eleanor glanced at it, then at him.
"I did not know you entertained such interests."
"I do not," he said. "But I found it, and I thought it might be of interest."
"Then I am even more intrigued."
He adjusted it slightly, then stepped back.
"The sky is clearer here," he said. "There is less interference."
Eleanor stepped closer, bending slightly to see through it. For a moment, she said nothing. The moon filled her view, closer than it had any right to be, its surface sharp, and impossibly detailed.
"It is very clear tonight," Julian said.
"Yes," she replied, still looking. "It is."
She straightened slowly, turning back toward him.
"That is… it is all so lovely."
He did not respond immediately. Eleanor studied him, something lighter returning to her tone.
"I had not taken you for someone who brings people outside to admire the moon."
"I have made an exception."
She tilted her head slightly, watching him. "
Perhaps you are not quite as cold as you would like everyone to believe."
Julian did not deny it. Instead, his attention shifted away from the sky and to her.
"It is almost romantic," she added, softer now. "You should take care."
"Why?"
"You may develop a reputation, which of course would be devastating," she said lightly. "What would become of your carefully constructed image?"
Julian’s gaze remained on her.
"I imagine it would survive, if that was what I wanted."
A faint pause came as Eleanor waited for him to clarify that it was, indeed, not what he wanted, but the night stretched around them silently.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"For what?"
"For showing me all of this."
The words settled between them, carrying more than they should have. Eleanor did not look away, neither did he, and for a moment, neither of them seemed entirely certain what would come next. They stood close without remarking on it.
Eleanor leaned forward once more, her hand resting lightly against the edge of the telescope as she adjusted it with care.
"It is clearer now," she said softly.
Julian stood just behind her, near enough that he could see the slight shift of her movement as she steadied the telescope again.
"I was beginning to think you had misled me," she continued.
"I do not wish to make a habit of that."
"And I appreciate that," she replied, smiling. "It is one of very few things about you that has been unpredictable."
"You would not like it if I were."
"You seem very certain of that."
"I am."
She remained there for another moment, looking, taking in the detail before finally stepping back. When she turned toward him, she did not put distance between them.
"The evening has taken a direction I did not expect," she said. "You have brought me outside, showed me the sky, and yet you expect me not to draw conclusions."
"I expect you to draw whatever conclusions you wish."
Her gaze lingered on him as she dared herself to say what she was thinking.
"It feels almost romantic."
Julian did not answer immediately. His attention remained on her, focused in a way that made the space between them feel smaller than it already was.
"What happened in London?" he asked.
The question came low, without any attempt to soften it, though it carried none of the sharpness it might have earlier.
Eleanor stilled. For a moment, she did not move, and she did not speak.
The faint trace of amusement that had lingered in her expression faded without resistance.
She could have deflected, but she did not.
"There was a man," she said.
The words came slowly, as though she had not intended to say them aloud and now could not take them back.
"He paid me attention," she continued. "Not in a way that was improper, of course.
It was careful, and exactly what it should have been.
I thought I understood what it meant. I thought he was choosing me, in the way one is meant to be chosen.
There was no declaration, but it was built gradually.
He sought me out. He listened. He said things that made it seem as though I mattered to him. "
Eleanor’s gaze drifted past him, fixed somewhere in memory rather than the present.
"I allowed myself to believe it," she continued. "I did not question it because I wanted it to be true. That is the part I find most difficult to accept."
Her throat tightened slightly, though she continued.