Eleanor And The Duke (Berkshire Brides Book 1) by Margo Maguire Read Free Book Online

and keep track of Eleanor, but he did not care to be seen hovering. He could spend a pleasant afternoon in the outdoors with these people, and he admitted being very pleased to see Robert Gedding again.
    He decided his best course was to learn a few things he did not know about Eleanor by keeping his mouth shut and listening.
    The picnic was a simple affair, and Andrew suspected it had been arranged quickly for Eleanor’s benefit, to welcome her home. His regard for the Stillwaters increased immensely at the thought of it. They’d made it a casual outing, and early as was often done in the country, so as not to violate Eleanor’s obligation to her father’s memory.
    The Stillwater daughters were all talking among each other and a few other neighbors, their animation and excellent deportment a credit to their elders. Andrew noted a warmth about them as they interacted with each other, something that was noticeably missing from many of society’s most fashionable families.
    Two of the sisters played badminton on a flat stretch of lawn near the picnic site. Jessamine and Lucy sat opposite their mother, chattering together as though they had not seen each other in a long time.
    Lady Stillwater smiled at him. “We were so pleased to hear that you brought our Miss Easton back to Berkshire.”
    “I would like to take credit, ma’am, but it is not exactly true,” Andrew replied, turning his attention to the Stillwater matriarch. “Lord Derington’s heir took occupancy of the London townhouse on the day after the funeral. Miss Easton and her aunt came out to Primrose Manor on their own.”
    “Ah,” she said, though her tone and expression implied numerous questions, unasked.
    Andrew did not intend to explain. His business with Eleanor was his own. And hers, of course.
    Andrew heard Eleanor’s soft laughter, and every inch of his body clenched in reaction. They’d enjoyed many mirthful occasions, though he remembered one especially, when he’d discovered an exquisitely ticklish spot on a superbly naked Eleanor.
    Andrew cleared his throat and gave a distracted nod.
    “Do you plan to attend the races, Beck?” Gedding asked.
    “Yes,” he replied, turning his attention to his old friend. “And you?”
    “Of course. It will likely be my wife’s last outing before her confinement.”
    Andrew noticed the young woman was indeed slightly thick around the middle. “Congratulations, Gedding. When do you anticipate the happy event?”
    “In late October. Once we return home, I don’t believe my wife will be able to make the trip again from Richmond until after the child is born.”
    “No, surely not.” So often Andrew had imagined Eleanor’s body growing large and round with their children. He had counted on years with her as his duchess, raising their family at Beckworth Park, with the occasional visit to Primrose Manor and the house in London. He was bound and determined to make it happen.
    He managed to resist stealing a glance in her direction as he accepted the glass of lemonade from Lady Stillwater. He burned with questions about Parris. “Tell me,” he said, unable to resist asking, “when was Miss Easton engaged to Mr. Parris?”
    Robert’s wife spoke up. “Oh they were never truly engaged, Your Grace. It was only a childhood fiction.”
    “Fiction?”
    “Of course,” Mrs. Gedding said. “Ellie was ten years old. Her mother was ill, and her father in far off places. She had no one but us, her childhood friends.”
    Andrew was dumbfounded. “What do you mean – no one but you?”
    “The child was lonely, Your Grace,” a neighbor remarked. “Lady Derington was bedridden most of the time, and could barely see herself through a day.”
    Lucy wrinkled her nose. “And that horrid Miss Chilcott—”
    “Who?” Andrew asked, as the conversation seemed to take on a life of its own. He realized how little he actually knew of Eleanor’s early life.
    “Ellie’s governess,” Mrs. Gedding explained.
    The