The music came to an end. Mindful that others were watching, he gave her a smile and thanked for a wonderful dance. She, however, ignored him and headed straight to her father. Hiding his frustration, he retreated to the side of the room. This just might be one of the more difficult cases he had to tackle.

  Chapter Five

  “You have a visitor, Lady Eleanor,” the butler said.

  Eleanor looked up from the book she’d been reading by the open window in the drawing room. She wasn’t expecting a visitor. She didn’t recall her father telling her that someone sent a request to see her. Before she could reply, Mr. Tumilson appeared in the doorway of the room.

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “I didn’t ask to speak with you today,” she told him.

  The butler’s eyes grew wide, and he shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “Would you like me to tell him to leave?”

  “You can’t do that,” Mr. Tumilson told the butler. “What I have to say is important.”

  The butler glanced between them uneasily.

  She let out a frustrated groan and slipped the metal tag in her book so she wouldn’t lose her place. “Very well.” She gestured for the butler to leave. “You may go. I’ll deal with the insufferable oaf myself.”

  Mr. Tumilson waited until the butler left before he turned his attention back to her. “Insufferable oaf? I take great offense to that.”

  She stood up and walked over to him. “I don’t know why you should since all you do is criticize me.” The second dance they’d had hadn’t been any better than the first. All he’d done was harp on the fact that her father had a right to be concerned as if she was too stupid to know when her life was in danger or not.

  “I wasn’t criticizing you. I was merely pointing things out. You haven’t solved cases before. I have. I know what to look for.”

  “So you said during the second dance.” Over and over. “Why are you here?”

  “I’m here to resolve the matter of your foul mood.”

  “Foul mood?” She put her hand on her chest. “You think I’m the one with the foul mood?”

  “Well, your attitude isn’t helping anything.”

  She gritted her teeth. She would not throw the book at him. It was a good book. It didn’t deserve the abuse.

  He shook his head. “I’ve never had so much trouble with someone I’ve been hired to protect. I’ve been a Runner for sixteen years. I’m not a novice at this. You would do well to heed my advice. It’ll make this a lot easier.”

  Before she could reply, her father came into the room. “The butler said you were here.” He went over to Mr. Tumilson. “Did you find out something?”

  Mr. Tumilson’s attention went to her father. “Yes, I did. Your daughter is not cooperating with me. Unless that changes, it will make it more difficult for me to figure out who intends to harm her.”

  “You can’t put the blame on me,” Eleanor argued. “I’m more than willing to cooperate so as long as the person I’m dealing with is reasonable.”

  Mr. Tumilson looked insulted. “I’m completely reasonable. There has never been a time in my life when I haven’t been diligent in everything I’ve said and done. I’m not prone to rushing into things like most people are.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “I didn’t do anything wrong last evening.”

  “You refused to smile while we were dancing.” Mr. Tumilson turned to her father. “I don’t know if you noticed, but your daughter didn’t pretend to enjoy my company like she was instructed to.”

  “It’s hard to pretend to be with someone when that person is high in the instep.”

  Mr. Tumilson gasped. “I am not haughty. I’ll have you know I’m one of the humblest people you’ll ever meet.”

  She gave her father a pointed look. Surely, now her father would realize he’d made a terrible mistake when he hired Mr. Tumilson. They would be better off with another Runner.

  Her father rubbed his chin in a thoughtful manner. “I did get the impression you two didn’t get along all that well, but I figured it was a light matter.”

  “It is not a light matter,” Mr. Tumilson said. “If she doesn’t cooperate with me, it’ll hinder my work.”

  Her father glanced her way. “He makes a good argument. How can he find out who’s trying to kill you if you don’t follow his advice?”

  She didn’t hide her irritation as she went over to her father. “I wouldn’t mind following his advice if he could manage to be civil while giving it.”

  “I was perfectly civil at the ball,” Mr. Tumilson said.

  “No, you weren’t,” she replied. “You treated me like I lacked intelligence.” With a groan, she directed her attention to her father. “He kept criticizing me because I happened to look his way from time to time while I was dancing with other gentlemen. One would think I was telling everyone that you hired him by the way he kept talking about it.”

  “We hadn’t danced yet,” Mr. Tumilson told her. “If we had, others would have assumed you were hoping for another dance with me. As it was, they probably figured out we already knew each other.”

  “I was with my father when he greeted you at the ball,” she reminded him.

  “While that’s true, the length of time you stared at me was highly suspicious. I can only hope the person who’s seeking your harm didn’t notice.”

  “Who’s to say someone won’t think I was staring at you because I was looking forward to my first dance with you?”

  “Because nothing in the way you stared at me indicated you were anticipating it.”

  “They might. No one can know what someone is thinking just by looking at them.”

  “That’s not true,” he said. “I can figure out a lot by the way someone is looking at someone else. The look you gave me last night was of someone who was aware that they were being watched. Toward the end of the evening, it was obvious you thought it was pointless that I was even there.”

  Her father glanced her way. “I can’t tell you how glad I am to have him helping us. Listen to all of the good things he can pick up that others miss.”

  She should have expected this. Her father already believed her life was in danger. Of course, he would jump to Mr. Tumilson’s defense. But she still wished her father would at least consider her viewpoint. At the very least, he should have told Mr. Tumilson that he should be less critical of her. According to Mr. Tumilson, she didn’t do anything right.

  “Will you still be her escort at the dinner party Ladies of Grace will be having?” her father asked.

  Her eyes grew wide. “No! I don’t want him to be my companion for the evening.”

  “It could be beneficial,” Mr. Tumilson argued. “If the person who wants you removed is a member of the group, I need to know. At this point, I can’t rule anyone out.”

  “He will be your escort, but I will be there when you both arrive and leave the Duchess of Ravenshire’s residence,” her father said. “You won’t have to worry he’ll unwittingly tarnish your reputation. No one will think he’s taking liberties with you.”

  She nearly gagged. Like she would ever let Mr. Tumilson close enough to take any liberties with her.

  “There is one thing I hope you don’t mind me bringing up, though your daughter will probably take it as a criticism,” Mr. Tumilson inserted.

  Her father gestured for him to speak.

  She narrowed her eyes at Mr. Tumilson, sure she wasn’t going to like what he had to say next.

  And she was right, for in the next second he said, “I think one of the reasons she hasn’t attracted any suitors is because she doesn’t pay attention to her appearance.”

  Her father’s eyebrows furrowed. “Are you saying my daughter is ugly?”

  “No, not in the least,” Mr. Tumilson said. “She’s actually quite attractive. One can tell that when she takes the time to smile. But since she rarely does and since she’s contrary, she needs help. She would benefit from a lady who knows how to be beautiful and pleasant.”

  Mr. Tumilson glanced her way, so she narrowed her eyes at him. He had, indeed, criticized her. Again.

  Her father sighed. “I suppose I have been remiss on allowing a qualified lady to help prepare for the Season.” He turned his gaze in her direction. “If your mother was here, she would know what to do. Of all the ladies I’ve ever met, she was the most beautiful one.”

  Eleanor relaxed. She supposed in light of her father’s comment, she didn’t feel so bad that he was so agreeable with Mr. Tumilson.

  “Good,” Mr. Tumilson said. “I will inquire about a suitable lady and send her here. When is the dinner party?”

  “It’s in three days,” her father replied.

  Mr. Tumilson nodded. “We don’t have much time. I will seek a lady to help your daughter right away. I think once this lady takes care of your daughter, your daughter will start attracting suitors.”

  She rolled her eyes. One could only hope. But she wasn’t sure anyone could help a wallflower like her.

  Her father, looking very happy with the direction the conversation had gone, led Mr. Tumilson out of the room. At least Eleanor could now return to her book in peace. She went to her chair, retrieved the book, and slipped back into the story.

  Chapter Six

  “I hope you don’t mind that I’m here,” the Duchess of Ashbourne told Eleanor the next day as the two had tea in Eleanor’s drawing room. “I usually help match couples up for marriage, but when I learned about your situation, I thought it would be fun to see if I could offer assistance.”

  Eleanor surmised that Mr. Tumilson picked the duchess for the task of making her more appealing to potential suitors because the duchess was a beautiful lady. She was older, too. Eleanor guessed the duchess might be in her late thirties. Beauty and experience. What more could anyone ask for when helping a naïve lady who was failing her first Season?

  Eleanor’s father had been delighted when Mr. Tumilson sent the missive telling him the duchess had agreed to help her. “The Duchess of Ashbourne is one of the finest ladies in London,” her father had remarked. “I know her husband. He’s a member of White’s. Her reputation is flawless, and she’s had great success in helping many ladies find husbands. I’ll send a missive to her right away.” Then her father had hurried out of the room as if this was the best thing that could ever happen to her.

  Eleanor sipped her tea then asked the duchess, “May I inquire as to how you know Mr. Tumilson?”

  “I don’t know Mr. Tumilson,” the duchess replied. “However, I do know Lady Reddington. Her husband is friends with Lord Davenport who happens to know Mr. Duff. Mr. Duff is Mr. Tumilson’s brother-in-law.”

  Eleanor tried to keep up with the progression of people the duchess mentioned, but she’d only heard of Lord Reddington, and that was only because her father had mentioned him. “You will not dance with any gentlemen who are prone to scandalous behavior,” her father had told her. “Take Lord Reddington, for example. He convinced a newly widowed lady to run off to Gretna Greene to marry him.” Eleanor was surprised her father allowed the Duchess of Ashbourne to come here since the duchess was connected to someone who’d caused the Ton to go into what he termed an uproar.

  The duchess chuckled. “London is a small place. Eventually, you encounter someone who knows someone you know.”

  Perhaps that was true, but Eleanor didn’t think she’d ever come to think of London as a small place. It was overwhelming at times. Eleanor cleared her throat. “What will you do with me?”

  The duchess put her cup down and turned to her. “My job is to enhance what already makes you appealing. You have a quiet beauty. We just need to draw it out so gentlemen notice it. You’d be surprised how a few small changes can make big differences. I have a feeling that you’ll turn gentlemen’s heads when I’m done with you.”

  Eleanor wasn’t convinced that the duchess could perform such a monumental task, but she was willing to let her try.

  “The first thing I need to do is see what you already have,” the duchess continued. “Can I see your clothes, jewelry, and hair accessories?”

  Since the lady looked at her expectantly, Eleanor hurried to nod then set her tea down. “Of course.” She rose to her feet and escorted her to her bedchamber.

  The next hour was surprisingly long as the duchess held up different gowns to Eleanor. The duchess said she wanted to find the right color for Eleanor, but Eleanor had no idea what that meant. Afterward, the duchess tried out several hairstyles on Eleanor while Eleanor’s lady’s maid was in the room. The duchess offered the lady’s maid advice on what she deemed to be the best styles to use. Then she took considerable time in evaluating every piece of jewelry Eleanor owned.

  In the end, the duchess wrote down things to add to Eleanor’s wardrobe, and Eleanor was stuck shopping with her. Eleanor was relieved the duchess picked out the things to buy. If Eleanor had to make those decisions, she would have panicked and begged her father to send her back to the country estate. She didn’t have the slightest idea of what was fashionable in London.

  Upon returning to the townhouse, the duchess removed over half of the gowns in Eleanor’s armoire. Then she summoned a maid in and instructed the maid on what modifications to make to the gowns that were left behind. There were only two gowns the duchess felt were already suitable to wear, and those were gowns Eleanor hadn’t worn yet. The gowns were quite lovely, but her father had insisted she wear the others instead.

  When the afternoon came to an end, the duchess looked very pleased. “That is a good start. I’ll be here tomorrow afternoon.”

  Confused, Eleanor hurried after her as she left the bedchamber. “You mean there’s more?”

  “What we did today was give you a foundation to work with,” the duchess said. “How you look is only half of what it takes to attract gentlemen. The other half is in how you present yourself. That will take more time. We’ll start those lessons tomorrow.”

  Eleanor didn’t know what to say. She had no idea that attracting gentlemen could be so complicated. But, considering the fact that she didn’t have a single suitor, she wasn’t all that surprised. She was a wallflower. The Duchess of Ashbourne was going to teach her how to stop being one. It was the only way she was going to succeed in finding a husband. Like anything in life worth doing, the effort would pay off in the end.

  “All right,” Eleanor said when they made it to the entrance. “I’ll be ready tomorrow afternoon.”

  The duchess turned to Eleanor as the footman opened the door. She offered Eleanor an encouraging smile. “I know all of these changes are a lot, but I think you’ll like the results when your biggest challenge is picking which of your suitors to marry.” With that said, she left the townhouse.

  ***

  The next afternoon when the Duchess of Ashbourne arrived, she gasped as soon as she stepped into the drawing room. Eleanor’s eyebrows furrowed in concern. She thought she had picked out one of the gowns that met with the lady’s approval, and she was sure her lady’s maid had created an attractive hairstyle and selected the right jewelry to go with her outfit. But maybe they had missed something.

  “I can’t believe I’m looking at the same person I was with yesterday,” the duchess said as she moved forward. “You look like a different lady. Did your father recognize you when he saw you this morning?”

  Eleanor relaxed. Thankfully, the duchess wasn’t upset. “Of course, he recognized me. I’m his daughter.”

  The duchess offered her an amused smile. “I didn’t mean it that way. Did he say anything about how wonderful you look?”

  She wasn’t sure what the lady was hoping for, but she told her the truth. “My father said he didn’t think even the most reputable of gentlemen deserved me.”

  The duchess seemed satisfied with that, so Eleanor sat on the settee. The duchess sat next to her. Eleanor was sure the duchess didn’t mean to intimidate her, but it was hard to get comfortable with someone who exuded so much confidence.

  The duchess waited for the butler to pour tea into their cups before she said, “You’ll have no trouble drawing gentlemen to you.” She chuckled. “I think you’re going to be surprised when you realize just how pretty you are.”

  The compliment was a nice one. Eleanor thanked her and took a sip of her tea.

  As the duchess requested, the butler shut the door, leaving them alone. She turned to Eleanor. “The way we conduct ourselves is just as important as how we look. Today, we’re going to work on how you mingle with other people. One thing I noticed about you is that you tend to avoid eye contact.”

  “I do?”

  “I know you aren’t aware of it. You’re just shy. It’s difficult for you to connect with other people. Your father told me you grew up at his country estate. It’s understandable why you’re uncertain when it comes to social engagements. Fortunately, this can be overcome with a few little tricks. One trick is looking people in the eyes. The other trick is in how you hold yourself. Put your shoulders back and lift your head.”

  Since the lady paused, Eleanor straightened up and made eye contact with her.

  The duchess nodded. “That’s much better. You already appear more confident, and you didn’t even say a word.” She picked up her tea and paused for a moment. “I’ll tell you a secret. People love to talk about themselves. If you can get in the habit of asking them questions, you won’t have to do much talking. All you’ll have to do is smile or laugh when they say something funny, or you will offer a sympathetic expression if they say something sad. You don’t have to be the most talkative person in the room to appeal to others.”

  “I don’t?”

  “No, you don’t. A lot of ladies think they do, which is why they ramble on so much, but if you pay careful attention, most of what they say is meaningless. It’s my personal opinion, of course, but I think most gentlemen prefer a lady who is willing to listen to them. In my years of coaching ladies, the ones who mastered the ability to sincerely listen to gentlemen married quicker than those who did most of the talking.”