Chapter 12

That evening, Eleanor was waiting for her Father to escort her to the banquet. While she knew no one would dare say anything to her face, people would still be looking at her with pity. She wondered if the vassals saw her the same way that Margrite saw her: a burden to the Valen family. 'No, it must be just Margrite. I've known most of the vassals since before Mother died, they wouldn't think that way about me. Would they?' She felt doubt growing within her. She shook her head trying to get rid of the doubt and anxiety gnawing at her. 'I'll be leaving here soon anyways, and I'll become a Duchess. Me, a Duchess. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect that to happen. Once that happens no one will ever be able to tell me again that I am a burden on my family. In fact, they will say that my presence uplifts my family's name. While Father is a Marquis, having his only daughter become a Duchess is a huge deal. I guess I understand why people thought that Michael would marry one of the princesses. He's now technically marrying beneath him. But he isn't going to marry a princess, he's going to marry me.' Eleanor kept repeating this over and over in her head, so that when she got to the banquet that would help her get through the night.

As she sat there in her beautiful light blue gown, trying to quell the anxiety building inside of her, there was a knock on the door.

"Eleanor, it's your Father. I'm coming in."

Lord Valen opened the door to her bedchamber. As soon as he entered Eleanor stood up to greet him.

"Ah, once again, you look lovely, my dear."

Eleanor smiled at her Father.

"Now, come. We should head to the banquet hall. Everyone is waiting to celebrate the return of your brother and the end of this war."

She took her Father's arm and walked with him to the banquet hall.

"Eleanor, I know that the rumors are continuing to spread, but I need you to bear with it for just a little while longer."

Eleanor nodded.

"You'll be sitting next to me, so no one would dare say anything to you about the situation."

She once again nodded. 'He's doing his best. I know he's worried to tell others about the letter because he is afraid that it is false. He doesn't want people to think that he is covering up the situation by making claims that have not been announced publicly. That's why he is waiting. I get that, I just wish it weren't the case.'

When they entered the banquet hall, everyone rose. When her Father took his place in front of his chair on the dais, he raised his filled goblet. Everyone else reached for theirs.

"Thank you all coming here on such short notice to celebrate the return of my son, Elliott, after being gone for over two years fighting in the war. And to all the others who fought in the war, especially those who died, let's raise our cups in honor of them. To honor and glory!"

"To honor and glory!" Everyone responded with a resounding cheer.

"Please enjoy this banquet!"

At that, Lord Valen sat down, and everyone else followed suit. Soon the hall was filled with lively chatter. With the war over, other husbands and sons of the vassal families had also returned, and luckily there had been very few deaths among the vassals. People were happily catching up with each other while the food and drink were served.

Eleanor enjoyed the food and drink in front of her, and while no one addressed her, she could occasionally hear the whispers of people talking about Lord Kent and his feats. Which led to the discussion of the rumor, this would be followed by pitying glances her way. Eleanor did her best to pretend not to notice that anything was happening.

After about two hours, Lord Valen stood up and announced to the room, "I shall be turning in for the night, please stay as long as you like. Rooms are available for those who wish to stay the night."

Eleanor stood up as soon as Lord Valen touched her shoulder and escorted him out of the banquet hall.

"Thank you, my dear. Tonight, I'll escort you to your room; I can make it back to mine on my own."

She nodded at his words.

'He doesn't want to risk one of the vassals running into me.'

Lord Valen kissed her goodnight on the cheek once they were outside her door, then waited until she shut the door to her bedchamber. Clara was there waiting for her.

"Let me help you into something more comfortable, my lady."

Eleanor nodded, and let Clara undress her. As she looked around her room, she noticed that there were trunks pulled out, and that there were dresses and accessories laying about.

'Is she packing while everyone is at the banquet, so that others won't notice?'

Eleanor tapped Clara, who stopped undoing her corset, and gestured around the room while looking at her questioningly.

"Oh… his lordship wanted the packing to begin tonight, and to be as secretive as possible. I apologize if it looks a mess. I can clean it up as soon as I'm finished."

Eleanor shook her head.

Clara looked at her, slightly confused, "My lady?"

"Pa…k. P…P…Ple…pa…k…" Eleanor rasped out while her throat constricted on her.

Clara smiled at her, "Of course, my lady, I will continue packing once I'm done getting you ready."

Eleanor smiled back at her. After Clara helped her finish getting ready for bed, Clara went back to packing, with Eleanor following behind her.

"My lady?"

"I…I…h…h…lp."

"That would be wonderful, you can let me know what you want to take with you," Clara responded excitedly.

For the next few hours Eleanor worked with Clara getting most of her stuff packed, then moving the trunks back into her closet. As she laid down in bed for the night, Eleanor felt exhausted, but she could feel the excitement building in her.

~~~~~~~~~~

Over the next two days, Eleanor spent almost all her time in her room helping Clara pack. She only left her room for meals, to take a stroll in the garden once a day, and to check in on her Father. Elliott would also come check in on her once a day around lunch time, always telling Clara to make sure something was added to the trunks.

On the morning of the third day, they were all eating breakfast when the steward rushed in.

"What is it?" asked Lord Valen.

"Lucas Kent is here, my lord. He's seeking an audience with the family."

Eleanor looked across the table at her brother, who smiled at her, then glanced at Margrite who was smirking at her.

'It's time.'