Chapter 22

'There's someone at the door for you, Your Grace,' Mr Potts announced two days later while Eleanor sat in her study, reading a dashing tale of two lovers in fair Verona. Shakespeare's works were fast becoming a favourite of hers and she couldn't seem to ever put down his books.

Except, of course, when they were planning their next move in the revolution or when her husband whisked her off to the bedroom.

Eleanor put down the book and looked up at her footman. 'Who is it? Could you please ask His Grace to attend to him? I believe he is in his study. I'm afraid I'm quite preoccupied at the moment.'

'He seems to be asking specifically for Your Grace. Says he has a letter and that he was instructed to give to Your Grace and Your Grace only.'

Letting out a soft whimper of frustration, much to the amusement of Mr Potts, Eleanor got up and smoothed her skirts. 'Very well. Take him to the visitor's parlour, I will be there shortly.'

Mr Potts bowed and left, leaving Eleanor to follow after him, irritated at being interrupted when she had just arrived at the most interesting part. She only hoped her irritation wouldn't show when she greeted the man.

She walked into the parlour a few minutes later, to find a tall, scraggly-haired man standing in one corner, clutching a top hat in one hand and a letter in the other.

'Greetings, Your Grace,' he said on her arrival.

Eleanor tilted her head in greeting and motioned to the settee. 'Please, sit down.'

The man shook his head vehemently. 'Oh no, Your Grace,' he said. 'I've to be off.' He then took out a letter from his coat and held it out to her. 'I was instructed to hand you this letter.'

She took the letter from him and frowned at the blank envelope before looking back at the man. It was quite odd that there was no address. 'And who exactly was your instructor, may I ask?'

'The Marquess Gresham, Your Grace,' he replied.

'Gresham?' a new voice questioned from the door. Eleanor turned to see Nathan come stand next to her. 'That is a name I have heard before.' He had an incredibly confused expression on his face much like one someone has when they are trying to remember something and no matter the fact that it's on the tip of the tongue, they still can't quite grasp it.

Eleanor's mind however made the connection immediately. 'Yes, of course, the Marquess Gresham! He was the kind gentleman who helped me find my way the day I was lost. Remember, dear? When I was lost two days back on the way back from the market. After my carriage broke down.'

Nathan's face lit up in recognition. 'Ah, yes, Gresham!' he half-shouted, snapping his fingers. 'Of course!'

'Well, if that will be all, Your Graces,' the messenger said, sounding quite nervous.

'Yes, you may go,' Nathan replied, signalling the man's retreat.

Eleanor began to open the envelope as soon as the man was out of sight but Nathan stopped her. 'Not here. We'll do it in my study.'

'Alright,' she replied and they hurried to Nathan's study, both eager to reveal the contents of the letter.

Once they were in the safe confines of the study, Eleanor wasted no time in reading the letter.

Her Grace

Duchess of Wolverhampton

Huntington Estate

Bombay

7 September, 1875

Your Grace,

I hope this letter finds you well and that you have reached the estate safely. I did regret to leave you alone with your coachman and my mind has been torturing me ever since, wondering if you were safe or not. God forbid something happened to you!

If it was no trouble, I hope you will have tea with me come Thursday. That is, of course, if the duke permits. It would be my honour to host Your Grace at my humble abode.

Do let me know if Your Grace accepts my invitation.

Yours truly,

Lord Mathew Gresham

Marquess of Gloucester

'Well, of all the nerve!' Nathan exclaimed in outrage. 'Inviting my wife to tea but conveniently leaving me out of the invitation. Does his hospitality only stretch to married women?'

'Well, judging by the contents of this letter, it appears so,' Eleanor replied, perplexed that this man had had the audacity to invite a married woman to his house sans husband. 'But what could he possibly gain from inviting me to tea? Do you think he has an ulterior motive?'

'What could he possibly have?' he asked in response.

Eleanor's next words were in a nervous lowered voice. 'Do you think he knows that we are onto him?'

Nathan made a noise of indignation and waved his hand. 'Hardly. How could he?'

'Well, if you think about it, it is what makes most sense. A gentleman such as himself in his right mind – and he most certainly seemed to be sane – would never think of inviting a married woman without her husband to tea while he himself is unmarried.'

Nathan pondered over it for some time. 'Well, that does make sense. But what is the reason for the invitation?'

Eleanor shrugged. 'Maybe he thinks that he might be able to get information out of me. I am your wife after all.'

'Maybe. Or maybe he simply wishes to entice you.'

'Either way, does it not help our cause?' Eleanor said, standing up. 'We – I – could use this opportunity to learn his strengths, weaknesses, what exactly he's plotting – this could be our saving grace, Nathan.'

Nathan clicked his tongue as he pondered and a mask of worry settled over his face. 'Well, it would help but it is also exceedingly dangerous for you. What if he finds out what we are up to and harms you? I could never bear if something were to happen to you.' He came forward and encircled Eleanor in his arms, laying hic chin atop her head.

Eleanor returned the gesture, finding deep solace in his arms. She was not exactly sure why but the scent radiating from him and his very presence soothed her nerves and brought her to a state of calm mind, something she found incredibly odd. How one man could set her nerves aflutter while also managing to bring her peace, she could not fathom.

'Do not worry, my love,' she whispered into his chest. 'I will be careful. He will not find out.'

Nathan pressed her closer as he said, 'Dear God, I hope so.'

Eleanor nestled in his arms for a few more moments before she revealed to Nathan something that had been bothering her for quite some time now. 'Nathan, I do not know why but I feel like I have heard the name Gresham before he told me. It might be nothing but...there is something oddly unsettling about that name.'

Nathan pulled her slightly away so he could look down at her. 'You know, I was thinking the same. But I thought I must be mistaken. Hearing it from you too, I think we may be right.'

'But I can't seem to figure out where I've heard it before,' Eleanor said, moving to sit on one of the chairs. 'It is like I am right there, at the tip of a cliff, and the answer is trying to push me in and I can see it, from the corner of my eyes but every time I turn around, its vanished!'

Nathan laughed heartily. 'Very eloquently put, my darling. I believe you might give Shakespeare a run for his money!'

'Oh, stop!' Eleanor said, irritated at her husband's incorrigible teasing. 'This is a serious matter, one not to be trifled with.'

'Alright, I won't jest,' he replied, sobering up. 'Darling, I have correspondence to take care of. Do you want to sit in here while I finish up with that or will you be going?'

Eleanor got up, dejected that she couldn't seem to figure out who Gresham was. 'I will leave. Romeo and Juliet call out to me to finish their tale. I will be in my study if you need me.'

'Alright, love,' he replied, settling behind his desk with a stack of letters in front of him. 'If you figure out who Gresham is, let me know immediately.'

Eleanor nodded in reply. 'Shall I reply to his letter accepting his invitation then?'

Nathan grimaced, prompting a smile on Eleanor's face. 'Yes, as much as it pains me to say.'

She laughed, amused. 'Alright, darling,' she said, leaving the study and closing the door behind her before heading to her own study to finish her book.

And as much as she tried to concentrate on Romeo's declaration of love for Juliet, she couldn't shake the unsettling feeling off of her.

'Oh, by the devil!' she swore and threw the book onto the table. She was glad she was alone and no one had heard her – a lady – curse. Why, oh why, could she not remember where she had heard of him? It bothered her to no end and the feeling was like an itch she desperately wished to get rid of.

In a nervous fit, she began to clear out all the things that were cluttered on her desk – letters, pens, ink and the like. While doing so, she happened to come across the letter Gabby had sent her a few days back and she smiled, remembering Gabby, her smile and the mischief the both of them had come up with when they were younger.

She missed Gabby terribly. Of course, Nathan always kept her company and didn't let her go lonely but she lacked any female companionship, something she dearly missed. Gabby had been the perfect friend and sister and now that she was married and apart and Gabby, too, was getting married, she doubted they'd have any more chances at meeting up like they used.

Eleanor frowned as a thought suddenly hit her. Gabby was getting married. But, she couldn't exactly remember the name. He was a marquess, she remembered. But, could it be?

She hurriedly opened the letter and scanned the contents of the letter, her eyes widening as she took in each word.

The door to her study suddenly slammed open and she looked up to see Nathan, panting, his hair windswept from running, no doubt, and a piece of paper clutched in his hand.

'I know who Gresham is,' he managed to get out in between pants and walked forward. 'Lord Mathew Gresham, the Marquess of Gloucester. He recently gambled away his entire fortune a few months back. He managed to procure a bride, the daughter of an earl, but apparently she does not have as big a fortune as he needs to get his lands up and running again. He recently put in a request for a loan but I declined seeing the state of his ventures. There is absolutely no way he can repay me if I did, unless he has a marvellous stroke of luck.'

'Yes, but Nathan,' Eleanor interrupted. 'Gresham is also engaged to my dearest friend, Gabrielle Addington. She is the bride you just referred to. I had received her letter a few days back in which she had told me. I had not given much mind to the name but as soon as he told me his name, I knew he sounded familiar. Oh, Nathan, she does not know,' she added with a nervous frenzy. 'She does not know he is broke. She's excited! They're to be wed next spring.'

'Yes, Gresham kept it a secret from the ton. No one knows he is penniless. I doubt he'd have told Earl Addington either. He must have hoped to gain money from her dowry but seeing that it isn't enough to build his fortune again, he moved the wedding to spring while he comes to India and regains the money by supplying the Viceroy with mercenaries.' Nathan shook his head in disgust and sat at a chair.

'Nathan,' Eleanor moved forward, placing a hand on his shoulder. 'We need to inform Gabby. She is ready to tie herself to a man as vile as Gresham. I cannot let her do that, even if it means revealing to her the nature of how we found out about him.'

'No, I shall write a letter to the earl explaining Gresham's misdeeds,' Nathan replied. 'Killing innocent men and women for the Company – it is not illegal as the Company can do whatever it needs to keep the people in line. But duping a woman into marriage is not right. If the earl still wishes to give his daughter to him, there is nothing we can do about it. But, I'll let him know in such a manner that what we are doing here isn't revealed.'

Eleanor nodded. 'Alright. But please, make sure that letter reaches them as fast as can be.'

Nathan smiled and got up, placing a hand on Eleanor's cheek. 'Of course, my love.'

'I love you,' Eleanor whispered, walking forwards to wrap his arms around him.

'And I love you, dear wife.'

**********

It's been a long time, folks. Sorry, but I was just really caught up with college. Architecture is no joke, let me tell you.

Now that we're all quarantined due to corona, I have more free time to write and I'm going to try pushing out as many chapters as I can but I make no promises because I still have online classes and loads of work to do.

Well, here's hoping I can complete this book during the next 3 weeks because India is on lock-down until April 14. Plenty of time to finish writing the book but we'll see.

Stay safe everyone!