Eleanor was about to tell Jasper when she was interrupted by Cook's voice.
"Cook", he said sticking his hand out, "nice to meet you".
She wanted to laugh at the pleasantry demonstrated by Cook.
No 'I'm fucking Cook mate', no 'Piss off', just a plain and simple nice to meet you.
Jasper tentatively stuck his hand towards Cook and they shook hands.
"You two know each other?" Jasper asked looking between the duo.
"He's an old friend", Eleanor told him.
Cook let out a light scoff at her choice of words.
"Yeah we know each other real well, don't we Eff?" He said while giving her a suggestive glance.
There's the Cook she knew.
"Your Highness, don't you think we should be going soon?" Jasper said looking at Eleanor. "You've had a long day."
If only he knew why.
Cook looked towards her with pity in his eyes and she even thought she caught a hint of guilt for a second. That's when she noticed his state. He was obviously drunk, slightly swaying, and his knuckles were bleeding and there was some dark red blotches on his shirt.
"Picking fights again are we?" She asked trying to meet Cook's eyes.
"I thought it would help stop the noise", he said quietly.
Jasper looked confused at the answer but Eleanor knew exactly what he meant.
Freddie.
His voice, his laugh, it was all haunting. It was like a ringing that just wouldn't go away. And on this day it always got louder.
It was her turn to look at him with pity in her eyes, and some guilt of her own. She always wondered if she hadn't gotten involved in Freddie's life, if would he still be here.
Compared to Cook, she looked like a put together model citizen. He was a mess.
"Okay time to go", she told Jasper, who looked as confused as ever.
She looked into Cook's eyes and could see he was a little bit hurt at her sudden departure but trying not to show it.
"You're coming with us", Eleanor stated, not giving him a choice in the matter.
Jasper looked hesitant, but continued to call the car around.
The driver pulled up to the back corner and she motioned Cook into the car along with her.
Cooked laughed a little. The old Effy would have hated this, drivers, bodyguards, people knowing every move she makes. Although, judging by what he's seen, she still not the biggest fan of anything royal related.
They shut the door and Jasper told the driver to head back to the Palace, still wondering how this new mystery man knew Eleanor and why she seemed a little bit content when she was around him.
A/N
Sorry this chapter was really short, I promise I'll make them longer in the future. Also thank you so much for reading. :)