Chapter Twelve
E leanor had never been so busy in her life.
Running the estate had kept her out of trouble, attending benefits and fundraisers and making sure everyone knew what was to be done.
Renovating the estate, on the other hand, was proving far more work, overseeing everything every day, making sure no mistakes were made.
And it was becoming increasingly inconvenient.
She barely saw Danni all week, which, in theory, really should have been a relief.
Instead, for reasons Eleanor really couldn’t for the life of her discern, it was irritating.
Every morning, she woke up to find the farmer already gone.
Every evening, when she returned from a long day of overseeing the renovations, Danni was already asleep on the couch in the kitchen, or out somewhere.
Presumably doing something ridiculous and reckless.
Not that it should matter. Not that it did matter.
It wasn’t as if they were real spouses who needed to check in with each other.
It was almost like living alone, and Eleanor knew that she should appreciate that.
Still, though, she found it annoying that their paths barely crossed.
After all, the reason she had her house at all was due to Danni.
And the reason Danni had a farm to run was because of her.
The least they could do was have a civil conversation now and again.
And then Saturday arrived, rather sooner than Eleanor had planned on it coming. So soon that she was very nearly late getting dressed and got downstairs just in time to see Danni picking up the truck keys.
“We’ll take—” Eleanor began.
“No. We’ll take the Land Rover,” said Danni. “I’m tired of being chauffeured around. You’re the princess here, not me.”
“Not a princess,” Eleanor said as she followed Danni out of the house.
The mistake was clear from the beginning. The Land Rover smelled of hay, and there was a very suspicious-looking stain on the passenger seat that forced Eleanor to sit faintly lop-sided, so that every time Danni took a turn, her stomach lurched in protest.
“I could have driven, you know,” Eleanor muttered, gripping the door handle and hoping that it didn’t come off in her hand.
“I know. And I told you. I’m not a princess. I don’t need a chauffeur. Nor do I want one. Anyway, that sports car of yours is a death trap, we’re far better off and safer in this.” Danni patted the steering wheel affectionately.
“Mmm,” groaned Eleanor as Danni took another turn.
“Relax, Princess,” Danni said cheerfully. “I’ve only crashed into one thing this year, and that, technically, was your fault.”
“It was not,” Eleanor said, before realizing that she was being goaded. She let out an exasperated sigh and turned to stare resolutely out of the window.
“YOU ARE GOING to behave yourself,” Eleanor said, more as an instruction than a question.
“I’ll be fine,” said Danni. “Besides, your gran loves me.”
“Please don’t call her gran,” groaned Eleanor.
“What should I call her then?” asked Danni as they walked up the stairs to the Retirement Home’s door. “Izzy? Iz? Bel?”
“Your Ladyship will be just fine,” said Eleanor grimly as she opened the door for Danni to go through.
The home had private dining rooms to allow their inhabitants to entertain both family and friends, and they were shown into a small but tastefully decorated room with a table set for three. Isabella was already waiting, and she stood as they arrived.
“My dear,” she greeted Eleanor warmly, kissing her cheek, before turning to Danni. “I’m not at all sure we’re on kissing terms yet, my young farmer,” she said.
Danni grinned. “Probably not, to be honest, Your Ladyship. There’s nothing wrong with a good old-fashioned handshake, though.”
“My thoughts precisely,” Isabella said, grasping Danni’s hand and shaking it. “And less of the Ladyship business. Isabella will be just fine.”
To Eleanor’s horror, Danni turned and stuck her tongue out in Eleanor’s direction, a gesture that Isabella missed as she seated herself again.
“I do like a nice, firm handshake,” Isabella was saying.
Danni grinned at her. “You don’t have to worry about any wet fish handshakes from me. I can’t bear them.”
“Nor can I,” said Isabella. “The Duke of Dawley used to have a handshake that was like gripping a flaccid sea cucumber. Most unpleasant.”
Eleanor sank into her own chair, a sinking feeling settling into her stomach as she realized what was happening. Her wife and her grandmother were getting along far too well.
And it set precedent for dinner, which was a disaster.
Not because of Danni, but because of just how well Danni did.
Eleanor had been braced for crude jokes or inappropriate comments, or Danni’s trademark sarcasm.
Instead, Danni was effortlessly charming.
She listened intently to Isabella’s stories, asked intelligent questions, even made Isabella laugh.
Eleanor wasn’t at all sure what to do about that.
Except, perhaps, to watch in growing fascination as she began to realize that Danni was a truly entertaining and well-mannered young woman.
Danni’s smile lit the room up, just being around her was a pleasure, and Eleanor began to feel a tingle of something in her stomach, a tingle that had something, somehow, to do with Danni .
“What about Eleanor’s parents?” Danni said, as dessert was cleared away.
Eleanor cleared her throat, ready to jump in and rescue the situation. But to her astonishment, Isabella actually answered.
“You would have liked them, I think,” she said. “Jonathan was a sweet boy, and Mirabelle was the perfect match for him. They were… unpretentious, I think the word is, and very much in love. Perhaps too much, since they sometimes seemed to forget that there was anyone else in the room with them.”
“Awkward,” Danni said.
Isabella smiled. “Occasionally, yes.” She folded her napkin neatly to one side. “My husband and my son never got along,” she added matter-of-factly. “Edward thought the boy was too soft, too much of a dreamer. You know how men can be with sons.”
Eleanor blinked. “Grandmama…”
“He grew up to be a kind man, though,” Isabella continued. “Too kind, perhaps. He always wanted to fix things, but never quite had the spine to stand up for himself.” She paused and turned to look at Eleanor. “You have his smile, you know.”
Eleanor’s breath got caught in her chest. She hadn’t known. She had never, ever heard her grandmother talk about her father like that. But then, she’d never asked. Not really.
Sensing a shift in the air, Danni pushed her chair back and excused herself to find a bathroom, and Eleanor had to take a sip of water before she could speak.
“You’ve never told me any of that before,” she said quietly.
Isabella picked up her wineglass before she answered. “You needed a mother figure, not a friend. You had grief of your own and I wasn’t about to burden you with mine to carry alongside it.”
“And now?” asked Eleanor. “What’s changed?”
“You’re an adult,” Isabella said simply. “A married woman. And I happen to think that Danni is good for you.”
Eleanor stiffened. “This isn’t real.”
Isabella smiled knowingly and Danni returned, putting any thoughts of further private conversation to bed.
Talk shifted to safer topics, namely the investor letters.
“You need to find out who this person is,” Isabella advised them both. “Better a devil you know than one that can take you by surprise. While neither of you may have any intention of taking up the offer, you should know who’s behind it in case they’re minded to make more trouble.”
Eleanor nodded, the advice was sound. “We will.”
And Danni, for once, agreed.
AS THEY LEFT, walking out into the cool evening, Eleanor decided to offer Danni a compliment. Not something she did often, but frankly, she thought Danni deserved it.
“You did well tonight,” she said.
Danni stopped in her tracks, turning to look at Eleanor with a raised eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
It was clear from her tone that she’d taken the compliment as an insult. Eleanor tried to back-track. “I just meant—”
“Oh, no, please. Do elaborate,” Danni said, crossing her arms. “What? Did you think I was going to start throwing food? Eating dessert with my hands?”
Eleanor sighed. “I was trying to be nice.”
“Well don’t,” Danni snapped. “It’s patronizing and unnecessary. I’m fully aware of what you think of me, and I don’t need a gold star just for not embarrassing you.”
“I don’t think—” Eleanor began, temper flaring, but Danni was already stomping off toward the Land Rover, leaving Eleanor fuming behind her.
She took a deep breath, reminding herself that none of this was real.
None of this really mattered. In fact, she shouldn’t be getting close enough to Danni for it to matter.
She shouldn’t be getting close at all. She should have precisely zero feelings for Danni.
Her business partner, because that’s what she was.
When it came to Danni, she shouldn’t be feeling anything about her at all.
And yet… she did.