Chapter 14
14
ELOISE
It is an acknowledged truth that when you are denied a thing, it becomes all the more imperative to have it. Cook batting your hand away as you reach for a freshly baked biscuit because their vanilla butteriness makes you salivate. Your mother refusing to allow you a dog because it will inevitably leave hair and muddy paw prints on the expensive, upholstered furniture. Or your father insisting that the handsome and outspoken man that you have developed strong feelings for is not a suitable match.
Eloise wanted Daniel Thornbury because his obvious intelligence and strong desire to self-educate intrigued her. She was also attracted to his handsome features and the broad, muscular torso that resulted from the physical work he undertook. But she wanted him most of all because he appeared completely indifferent to her.
He may have been a lowly factory worker but there was something about the way that he said what he thought, particularly to people whose station in life might be considered above his, that made him appear powerful. Mrs Banbury said the father was not much better and had argued publicly with the vicar, which was not a wise move, regardless of your stance on the existence of God. The vicar had the ear of the Fletchers, and the Fletchers employed him. Eloise sympathised with the Thornburys, however, as someone who had increasingly strong opinions on various subjects herself. The difference was, she knew when to bite her tongue. She also knew, if she wanted to attract the attentions of young Daniel, that it would take time and she would have to be patient.
One glorious summer evening, she spotted him walking across the green with something rolled up under his right arm. Thrilled at this serendipitous encounter, she called a cheery hello and waved, expecting him to respond. But he didn’t walk across the grass to talk to her, or even wave back. She felt slighted. Manners dictated that he should at least reply. There was merely a dip of the head in acknowledgement and then he went on his way.
It was three weeks before she encountered him again. That was the problem with people who worked for a living; they were always, well, working. But one sticky August Sunday, she left church early, feigning a headache because she was bored by the hypocrisy of the vicar’s preaching. As she slipped through the gothic oak door, she saw Daniel walking towards Cotton Lane – a small road that led out of the village. She followed, curious as to where he was heading, and even more so when he entered the grove of decades-old sweet chestnuts that bordered the Bran. The grove led nowhere, as the only way to cross the river was the low Norman stone bridge that had given the village its name, half a mile eastwards.
Her steps were tentative as she picked her way through the knee-high bracken and leafy branch-strewn mulch of the woodland floor. The tree canopies were dense with leaves and covered in clusters of the bright-green prickly fruits, but Daniel was nowhere to be seen. Had he veered off on some path she’d overlooked? Or had his long strides simply outpaced her?
‘What do you think you’re doing? ’
The voice, loud and clear, came from the heavens, and she briefly wondered if God Himself was speaking to her. Her own thoughts had been along similar lines. What was she doing? Tracking him like a hound after the fox, when surely it should be the young man pursuing her.
‘…Because, if I was to hazard a guess, I’d say you were spying on me.’
She looked up and was startled to see a pair of worn leather boots and two long legs swinging ten feet above her head. He was a grown man of perhaps twenty-five and yet was sitting on a wide bough of the sweet chestnut like a boy. It was a further example of him doing exactly what pleased him, without worrying about convention or the opinions of others, and this thrilled her.
‘Not at all.’ Her face flushed hot and she tried to regain some composure. ‘I’m taking a stroll through the grove, hoping the fresh air will relieve the headache brought on by this morning’s ponderous sermon. But I should like to know what you think you’re doing?’ She flung his initial question to her back at him.
‘Climbing a tree because it offers me a splendid view of the surrounding landscape. I feel like a king, sitting up here and surveying the land. It also reminds me that man did not create the world and nor does he own it. Such a view is humbling and empowering. Not that you would understand.’
‘Why? Because you think I wouldn’t join you, or that I lack the imagination to contemplate anything beyond my own existence?’
‘Have you ever climbed a tree?’ He looked faintly amused and this both excited and annoyed her. She hadn’t, but would not admit as much to him.
‘I hope the bough has room for two.’ She hitched up the front of her skirts, tucking the hem into her waistband and scandalously exposing her white woollen stockings. She placed her right foot on the lowest limb and heaved herself up. This particular tree had two low, wide branches fanning out from either side of the trunk, and then further boughs at convenient intervals, each one as thick as a man’s leg, making it a perfect choice for climbing. But it was useless. She was not, and had never been, a tomboy. She stepped back onto the ground and accepted defeat.
‘You’re an interesting girl, Eloise. You have spirit, and I admire that, but suspect you’re one of those girls who likes the idea of not conforming until it comes to taking action. You wanted to stay and talk to me at the cricket match back in May but couldn’t be seen to slight Lady Fletcher. Tell me, was her conversation so much more engaging than mine?’
He was quite correct; she had done as Lady Fletcher insisted because everyone had been watching, and her mother would never have forgiven her had she not. But she didn’t want to discuss her failings; she wanted to climb the tree and show him that she was indeed spirited.
‘It would be manageable if I didn’t have these stupid skirts and petticoats. I’m of a mind to remove the lot just to prove that I can climb this ridiculous tree.’ She moved to unbutton the back of the skirt.
Daniel’s face became more serious.
‘Oh no you don’t, missy.’ He slid both feet onto a lower branch, twisted his body around to hug the massive trunk, and dropped to the ground beside her, scooping up what she could now see was a rolled-up linen towel. ‘It’s all right for you, but if anyone happens upon us and you’re in a state of undress, it will be me who gets blamed and shamed. Girls like yourself don’t think through the consequences of your rash actions.’
‘Someone wears a chip on his shoulder,’ she muttered. He definitely displayed an antagonistic attitude towards anyone who had more in life than him .
‘And I suppose you’ll be the one to knock it off?’ he challenged. ‘You strike me as spoiling to do battle.’
His face was inches from hers and the blood racing through her veins was making her feel giddy. What was it about this young man that had her all of a tither? Had a lifetime of unconditional adoration from her father given her a desire to seek out love that was more of a challenge? The tobacco smell, combined with his considerable height advantage, sent an unexpected flush of heat through her body.
Overcome with recklessness, she leaned forward and clasped her arms about his neck, jerking him towards her and tilting her lips up to brush her mouth briefly against his. She felt him tense immediately and he raced for her wrists, snatching them apart and holding her hands firmly away from his face. His expression was dark and his tone severe – which only served to arouse her further.
‘I’m not interested in your games, Eloise. Don’t you know that it is the gentleman who courts the lady. Not that your behaviour today is that of a lady. Go back home to your parents. You don’t need to climb trees to feel like royalty, because they already treat you as such.’
He shook his head as he dropped her hands, turned from her and walked away.
But she’d read enough romance novels to know that there was always a clash between hero and heroine: a locking of horns before their true feelings were acknowledged. He liked her; she was certain of it. He admired her spirit; she was surely like no other girl he had encountered. All in all, she was an attractive proposition. It only remained for her to get him to admit it.
‘Eloise, we need to have words. ’
She stepped into the dining room and her father’s face wrinkled into a frown. He placed his newspaper on the breakfast table, and she was alarmed by the tone of his voice. He rarely got cross with her and she couldn’t think what she’d done to rattle him so, until she saw her mother’s flared nostrils and red cheeks. Something had upset her mother and her father had been ordered to deal with it.
‘You were seen with the Thornbury son in the sweet chestnut grove after you left church yesterday.’
She slid into the chair opposite his and reached for a slice of freshly toasted bread.
‘I don’t know what you mean. I came straight back after the service.’
‘You were seen,’ he reiterated. ‘And I distinctly remember you returning with dirt on the hem of your skirts.’
‘Eloise!’ her mother reprimanded.
‘We barely exchanged three words?—’
‘He was holding your hands,’ her mother interrupted. ‘Do not insult us by pretending the two of you were discussing the weather. This obsession with the young Mr Thornbury has to stop. The man is a progressive, when he is hardly in a position to voice his extreme views. I will not have your head filled with silly notions about the equality of all when we are in the process of elevating ourselves above such people.’
Eloise had never been one for book learning until she’d met Daniel but now that she had begun to study the subject, she understood the hypocrisy of her parents’ views. They had moaned when they had been the ones affected, but their good fortune had apparently rendered their previous beliefs redundant.
‘You are not to encourage him, do you hear? I don’t want you mixing with his sort, and if I find out you’ve disobeyed me, I shall make it known that he has been forcing his inappropriate attentions upon my daughter.’
Eloise scraped a curl of butter across her toast and bit at her lip.
She felt bad for her actions in the grove. Her behaviour had been unacceptable and she had acted impetuously. Daniel had been right – he had been blamed when she knew that the attentions had come entirely from her.