Viscounts and Vampires

Chapter Six

The next day, Eleanor went to visit Dee again and was able to convince her to host a dinner the following night. Mister Franklin was to be invited, giving Eleanor the otherwise improbable opportunity to be introduced to him. The invitation of course included the rest of the family. Robert had begun speaking to Eleanor again, albeit in shorter sentences than normal. He even invited her to go on a walk in the park with his wife and son, an invitation that Eleanor accepted. Walking through the park, she found herself beside Rose.

"Are you feeling better?" Rose asked. "You seemed out of sorts after the picnic yesterday."

"Much better," Eleanor answered. "I'm not sure what was wrong with me. I normally love picnics."

"It was a pleasant change from London," Rose said. "I never had quite the same love for this city as some people seem to have. I've always preferred the quiet of the country." She knelt down to look at something that Henry ran up to show her and then sent him off with his nurse again.

"That must be why you and my brother get along so well. I believe the last few months here have been torture for him."

"I can't say you're wrong. We will both be very happy when the season is over. Your mother seems to be enjoying herself though."

"She always loved London. I would come with her and my father sometimes when I was younger, but they couldn't bring us to the balls and dinners, of course. I used to like the excitement of the city but I think I've been away for too long."

"Has that much changed?" Rose asked.

"Oh, no. I must have changed, I think. It's odd coming home and realizing how alien everything seems."

"Your brother included. Do not look at me like that, I know you have been fighting. I'm afraid I may be to blame for that."

"You're not," Eleanor said. "Robert and I have always had...different perspectives, about a lot of things. Me leaving with father didn't help."

"Robert can be very stubborn," Rose said. "Especially when he thinks he's right. But he cares about you very deeply. Do remember that."

"I will try," Eleanor promised. She looked ahead to where Robert was walking with another gentleman. She knew that promise would be difficult to keep.

Dinner that evening was a dreary affair. The rain that had held off during the last week returned in full fury, leaving the guests damp and disgruntled as soon as they arrived. Eleanor removed her shawl and made her way along with the rest of the guests to the main visiting room at the back of the house. Robert lead the way, with one arm offered to Olivia and one to Rose.

"I have not been here in years," Olivia commented as they entered the great room. "I had forgotten how fine it is." Lydia Clawson had had the great fortune of marrying an Earl, and a wildly rich one at that. Even Eleanor had heard some mention of the marriage over thirty years after the fact. Apparently Dee had been a young woman of countless accomplishments but little rank or fortune and had somehow managed to win the heart of London's most sought after bachelor in the course of a few weeks. How she had done so was still up for debate.

"Dee, I mean Lady Knightley, said that she knew you and father," Eleanor said. Her mother looked at her and Eleanor thought she saw something like sadness in her eyes.

"Yes, she did. A long time ago. But I'm afraid we fell out of touch when we moved to Holloway."

"Did you miss London?" Eleanor asked, in a rare rush of curiosity.

"No." Olivia made the statement with certainty. "I had you and Robert, how could I miss the city with my children with me?"

Eleanor was at a loss for how to respond and allowed Robert to chime in and carry the conversation they waited in the receiving line in silence.