the matter. Because they had become friends, Tessa
explained to Eleanor what Jeffrey’s information meant to her. After
listening to the full explanation, the older woman put her arms
around Tessa’s shoulders. “How sorry I am this happened to you. You
did nothing at all, and your life was completely changed. I wonder
that you don’t hate us all.”
“I could never hate you,” Tessa assured
her.
The faint emphasis on the word you was not
lost on Eleanor, and she turned down a side path among rows of
pinks just coming into bloom. Stooping to pull a weed from between
them, she slapped the dirt from her hands.
“I don’t approve of Jeffrey’s actions,” she
told Tessa, “but then, men often do things we women would not do,
because they think only in the direction of a goal. I believe that
women, who are not given credit for much intelligence, are actually
better at examining all the results of an action, while men simply
choose the action that suits them and accept its consequences. Our
deliberations may make us seem indecisive, but men often seem cruel
when they ignore what may happen to others as they act
decisively.”
Tessa didn’t respond. Knowing that Eleanor,
though she might criticize Jeffrey’s actions, also loved him, it
was safer to keep quiet. Turning, Eleanor faced Tessa with serious
purpose. “Because of Jeffrey, I suppose you are now a woman of no
reputation in Scotland?”
“Yes. It will be assumed he…dishonored me,
and no man will want me as wife. Not that anyone did before,” she
said in a burst of honesty.
“Why would no man ask for a beautiful,
clever girl like you?”
“I’ve a brassy manner and tomboyish ways,”
Tessa confessed, using the terms her mother had often employed to
describe her. Humiliated to admit her faults before this woman she
admired, she waited for the shocked reaction.
Instead, Eleanor laughed, a warm, lovely
sound, and once more put an arm around Tessa. “I believe I know
exactly what you have suffered!” She put her face close to Tessa’s,
her eyes dancing. “They said the same of me once. It’s the reason I
am married to William Brixton!”
“I don’t understand.” Tessa frowned, shaking
her head. How could this paragon be considered unladylike?
The paragon’s face was full of mischief. “As
a girl, I preferred riding to sewing, being outside to learning
wifely chores. I had prospects, but I said too much of what I
thought, and men were offended by it.”
“Why that is what my mother said of me!”
Tessa exclaimed in wonder. “My face should have been my fortune,
she told me, but my tongue ruined all.”
Eleanor’s face grew solemn. “Could it be our
parents who were wrong, and you and I merely more independent than
some might wish their children to be?”
Tessa laughed. “Father used to say I had too
much spirit for the local boys. But after he died, my mother hoped
to marry me well to ease her path in life. I was a disappointment
to her with my wild ways.”
Eleanor nodded. “Because she couldn’t
control you as she wanted to. My father, a very stern man, found me
too outspoken. My mother died when I was four, and without her
influence, I did grow up rather wild. Once he bothered to notice
me, Father became determined I would be taught how to behave
properly. At ten I was sent to a convent where I was trained—” here
her eyes turned hard and she folded her arms as if a chill passed
over her. “—sometimes with force, to become a ‘suitable’
female.”
Tessa gasped, but Eleanor went on calmly.
“In addition, my father searched long and hard for a strong husband
who would quell what he saw as my rebellious nature. He found
William Brixton, heir to Brixton Hall—” Here her voice became
bitter. “—who sought only a wife of great beauty. We never spoke
until the day of our wedding. Jeffrey was sent to interview me and
appraise my suitability, since William was newly Lord Brixton and
too busy with his affairs to take the
explained to Eleanor what Jeffrey’s information meant to her. After
listening to the full explanation, the older woman put her arms
around Tessa’s shoulders. “How sorry I am this happened to you. You
did nothing at all, and your life was completely changed. I wonder
that you don’t hate us all.”
“I could never hate you,” Tessa assured
her.
The faint emphasis on the word you was not
lost on Eleanor, and she turned down a side path among rows of
pinks just coming into bloom. Stooping to pull a weed from between
them, she slapped the dirt from her hands.
“I don’t approve of Jeffrey’s actions,” she
told Tessa, “but then, men often do things we women would not do,
because they think only in the direction of a goal. I believe that
women, who are not given credit for much intelligence, are actually
better at examining all the results of an action, while men simply
choose the action that suits them and accept its consequences. Our
deliberations may make us seem indecisive, but men often seem cruel
when they ignore what may happen to others as they act
decisively.”
Tessa didn’t respond. Knowing that Eleanor,
though she might criticize Jeffrey’s actions, also loved him, it
was safer to keep quiet. Turning, Eleanor faced Tessa with serious
purpose. “Because of Jeffrey, I suppose you are now a woman of no
reputation in Scotland?”
“Yes. It will be assumed he…dishonored me,
and no man will want me as wife. Not that anyone did before,” she
said in a burst of honesty.
“Why would no man ask for a beautiful,
clever girl like you?”
“I’ve a brassy manner and tomboyish ways,”
Tessa confessed, using the terms her mother had often employed to
describe her. Humiliated to admit her faults before this woman she
admired, she waited for the shocked reaction.
Instead, Eleanor laughed, a warm, lovely
sound, and once more put an arm around Tessa. “I believe I know
exactly what you have suffered!” She put her face close to Tessa’s,
her eyes dancing. “They said the same of me once. It’s the reason I
am married to William Brixton!”
“I don’t understand.” Tessa frowned, shaking
her head. How could this paragon be considered unladylike?
The paragon’s face was full of mischief. “As
a girl, I preferred riding to sewing, being outside to learning
wifely chores. I had prospects, but I said too much of what I
thought, and men were offended by it.”
“Why that is what my mother said of me!”
Tessa exclaimed in wonder. “My face should have been my fortune,
she told me, but my tongue ruined all.”
Eleanor’s face grew solemn. “Could it be our
parents who were wrong, and you and I merely more independent than
some might wish their children to be?”
Tessa laughed. “Father used to say I had too
much spirit for the local boys. But after he died, my mother hoped
to marry me well to ease her path in life. I was a disappointment
to her with my wild ways.”
Eleanor nodded. “Because she couldn’t
control you as she wanted to. My father, a very stern man, found me
too outspoken. My mother died when I was four, and without her
influence, I did grow up rather wild. Once he bothered to notice
me, Father became determined I would be taught how to behave
properly. At ten I was sent to a convent where I was trained—” here
her eyes turned hard and she folded her arms as if a chill passed
over her. “—sometimes with force, to become a ‘suitable’
female.”
Tessa gasped, but Eleanor went on calmly.
“In addition, my father searched long and hard for a strong husband
who would quell what he saw as my rebellious nature. He found
William Brixton, heir to Brixton Hall—” Here her voice became
bitter. “—who sought only a wife of great beauty. We never spoke
until the day of our wedding. Jeffrey was sent to interview me and
appraise my suitability, since William was newly Lord Brixton and
too busy with his affairs to take the
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