Chapter 14

Eleanor stood back against the bookshelves and watched the chaos in the room. Men came and went, reporting to the Count, who sat in a large chair with Annora on his lap. He was older than Eleanor had expected, his grey hair showing only a touch of the blond tones that his youngest daughter had. Nannies carried the sleeping children off to the nursery, the older children pounced on the trays of tarts and pastries that had been brought up. A healer was in attendance with a calming brew for Honora, who apparently had a habit of fainting when she was confined in a small room for too long. The other women sat on the sofa’s fanning themselves until maids came to see them to their rooms. Fann exchanged words with some of the guards and teased the older lads. He seemed to be far more relaxed than the other men in the room and even laughed a little now and then. Every time he looked in her direction Eleanor blushed and looked at the floor, the memory of the liberties she had taken was too shar