Too Bruised to Stand, She Collapsed at the Ballroom—Until a Duke’s Gentle Hands Changed Her Fate
Chapter 9
Reginald was arrested before sunset.
Blackwood followed the next morning.
The Vale estate was placed under Eleanor’s control.
But freedom did not arrive all at once.
There were still whispers.
Still gossip.
Still people who believed a woman could not possibly have defended herself without a man’s influence.
Eleanor heard all of it.
For the first time, she no longer lowered her eyes.
She returned to Ravensmere House while the legal proceedings continued.
Julian never asked her to stay.
That mattered.
Instead, he gave her the choice.
“You may return to your estate whenever you wish.”
Eleanor looked at him.
“And if I stay?”
“That will also be your choice.”
She smiled.
“You make everything sound so simple.”
“It should have been simple.”
One afternoon, they walked through the gardens.
The spring roses had begun to bloom.
Eleanor stopped beside a stone bench.
“I used to think kindness was something weak people offered because they had nothing else.”
Julian looked at her.
“And now?”
“Now I think it takes extraordinary strength to be gentle when the world expects cruelty.”
He smiled.
“Who told you that?”
“No one.”
She looked at him.
“You did.”
Julian became quiet.
Eleanor’s heart beat faster.
She knew the rules.
A duke could not simply marry a woman whose fortune had been threatened by scandal.
A duke could not ignore the whispers of society.
A duke had obligations.
She expected him to retreat.
Instead, he said:
“Eleanor.”
It was the first time he had used her given name.
She looked up.
“I have no wish to become another man who decides your future for you.”
Her breath caught.
“So I will ask.”
He paused.
“Would you allow me to court you?”
She stared at him.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“The Duke of Ravensmere?”
“I believe the title has already been established.”
She laughed.
Julian smiled.
And for the first time, she saw how handsome he truly was.
