Eloisa's Adventure

by King, Rebecca

  The sickening thuds of flesh meeting flesh made Eloisa’s stomach churn. She was already shaking so much she could barely stand up. Each time she looked at the men, there seemed to be more and more cuts and bruises appear. Both men were liberally smeared with blood but neither of them seemed inclined to stop. She knew that if they continued to fight, they were likely to beat each other to death. Unfortunately, she had no idea how to get them to stop and listen to reason.

  As she watched, she caught sight of a flash of a hand at Simeon’s side. It didn’t register on her what was happening at first. It was only when the hand reappeared holding what looked like a gun that she screamed. Before she could move, a shocking blast from the wicked looking object shattered the silence. It was so loud in the small space that it made her ears ring, but that was nothing compared to the sheer terror that swept through her.

  Outside the folly, several crows screeched their protest with a flurry of feathers as they raced for safety. Inside, Simeon slumped to the ground with a low groan. Eloisa stared in horror at Renwick. Before he could do anything else to Simeon, she kicked his hand as hard as she could and watched the gun disappear into the brambles. Rather than take her eyes off the man at her feet though, she lifted her foot again and kicked him hard between the legs. His howl of pain was as satisfying as Simeon’s stillness was worrying. Anger and disgust, and fear for the man whom she knew now held her heart, refused to allow her to surrender. She raced across the narrow confines of the folly and picked up the gun.

  “Stay there,” she snarled at Renwick who was still curled up in a tight ball with his hands clutched protectively around his groin. His breath came in short pants, but Eloisa didn’t really care. “I should have kicked you there twice,” she ground out.

  “Eloisa,” Simeon whispered, and made a strange gurgling noise. He rolled over until he was lying on his back staring at the ceiling.

  Eloisa gulped and swiped angrily at the tears that coursed down her cheeks when she saw the large red stain that was rapidly spreading across his chest.

  “How could you do that to your own cousin, you callous oaf?” she snapped. When Renwick didn’t speak, and just continued to pant heavily, she kicked the back of his hands.

  “Don’t do that,” he grunted through clenched teeth.

  “You deserve it,” Eloisa gasped. She glanced around her for something she could tie him up with but couldn’t see anything other than the belt that secured Renwick’s breeches. While she didn’t want to get that close to him, she knew it was the only way she could stop him being a danger to either her or Simeon again. She closed her eyes on a mental prayer and pointed the gun at Renwick’s head while she quickly undid his belt.

  “You are not going to check for yourself,” Renwick growled as he looked down at his manly parts.

  “You should be so lucky,” Eloisa snapped disparagingly. It was satisfying to yank hard on his belt and feel it fly free of its material restraint. Before Renwick could offer even a token protest, she tied a loop in one end and tightened it around his wrist.

  “Roll over,” she ordered.

  “Go to hell,” Renwick spat.

  With a low growl, Simeon sat upright and pushed to his feet. The fist that landed square in the middle of Renwick’s face had such force behind it that blood exploded everywhere, and Renwick was rendered silent.

  “Tie him up,” Simeon ordered in a voice that was nothing more than a whisper. He flopped back down onto the ground and willed himself to stay awake.

  “Good,” he muttered in relief when she had finished.

  “Are you able to get up?” She needed to get him back to the castle so she could see how bad his wound was. Having never had to deal with a gunshot injury before she had no idea what to do, but was certain that Simeon would tell her.

  “I can. Just give me a hand, will you?”

  Simeon felt the room swirl, but gritted his teeth and forced himself to remain upright. He couldn’t let her down now.

  “It’s just a flesh wound,” he growled when she asked him which way the village was. “It hurts like the very devil himself is chewing on it, but it is just a cut. It needs to be bandaged. It will be fine, sweetheart. There is no need to traipse all the way into the village. My friend should be here in a day or so anyway.”

  “Really?” she asked hopefully.

  “My friend, Jeremiah, said that if I wasn’t back in three days he would come and find me. He is a good man and will be true to his word. I expect him to be here tomorrow.”

  “Thank heavens for that,” she whispered in a voice that was charged with emotion. Having said that though she wasn’t sure whether they were tears of relief at the thought of rescue, or regret at the thought that her time with Simeon was coming to an end.

  “I am sorry, Eloisa,” he murmured gently.

  She shook her head and gave him a chiding look. “Let’s get you into the kitchen. Then I can take a look at that wound and see if I need to find a doctor.” Eloisa was terrified at what she might find beneath his heavily stained shirt. The paleness of his face was alarming which, together with the sweat on his brow and the large lump on his temple, didn’t bode well for him.

  “Do you think Renwick will be all right in the folly all by himself?” she gasped when she finally helped him stagger across the kitchen toward the fireplace.

  When he had slumped down into the chair, he looked darkly up at her. “Do you want to go back and check on him?” The thought of her being attentive to any other man annoyed the hell out of him, and he couldn’t prevent the glare he gave her.

  Eloisa stared at him and wondered what she had done to make him so mad. “I just don’t want him escaping again, that’s all,” she said pertly. “After all, I think you have had enough of a bashing for one day.”

  “I am sure my cousin will survive,” he warned meaningfully, to which Eloisa nodded. “Don’t go back to that folly.”

  “I won’t,” she replied waspishly.

  “I mean it, Eloisa. He is dangerous.”

  Eloisa sighed and shook her head, but resolutely remained silent. She poured some water from the pale on the table and went in search of the linen cupboard to look for some strips of cloth she could use for the blood. When she returned to the kitchen, the sight that greeted her left her momentarily speechless.

  While she had been gone, Simeon had torn his shirt off and now stood, naked to the waist, in front of the fire. Bathed in the golden glow of the flickering flames, he looked like a bronzed God. She had no idea what he did in life, but whatever it was had honed the muscles of his back to toned perfection.

  Her gait slowed as she walked toward him. She couldn’t tear her eyes off the rippling movement of his back as he dropped the shirt onto the floor at his feet. He must have sensed her approach because although she hadn’t made a sound, he turned toward her. Her gaze quickly darted away from the broad expanse of his hair smattered chest and landed on the torn wound on his left shoulder. However, she couldn’t do anything about the tell-tale blush that stole over her cheeks as the need to touch him became impossible to ignore.

  “It’s just a flesh wound,” he warned when he saw her awkwardness, and misread it as worry over his wound. “I think the bullet must have nicked my skin as it passed me. It just needs bathing.”

  She studied the wound. A part of her was appalled that she should be having such extraordinarily wanton thoughts about him when he was injured and in need of help. Giving herself a stern mental shake, she turned her attention toward bathing the wound so they could see it properly, and willed her senses to settle so she could behave normally again.

  “Sit down,” she ordered quietly. “You are too tall for me to reach you.”

  Simeon dutifully sat. He was immensely relieved that she was looking at his shoulder and not at the clear evidence of his interest in her. To say the atmosphere between them was sensually charged was a bit of an understatement. One word, one look, was all it would take for either of them to pass the point of
no return.

  “Turn around, I can’t see with your head in the way,” she chided when he turned to watch her dab tenderly against the jagged flesh. Although she could see pink skin beneath, the wound was a graze and not deep like she had feared. Still, it looked incredibly painful, and was something that undoubtedly needed attention if he was not to fall ill from it. To her consternation, rather than face the other way as she had ordered, he turned his steady gaze on her.

  “You are so beautiful, Eloisa,” Simeon whispered.

  “No, I am not,” Eloisa replied quietly. She dropped the strip of cloth she was using into the pale at their feet and went in search of something she could find to cover the wound. “I don’t think it needs stitches,” she declared as she disappeared into the linen cupboard again. “We can bandage it for now and see how it is once this storm subsides.”

  He waited for her to look at him with an impatience that began to rankle. His fingers clenched tightly as they rested on his knee. It seemed to take an age before she was satisfied with her handiwork but she still didn’t look at him. When she eventually tried to move away, he just couldn’t resist temptation any more, and placed his hands on her hips to stop her.

  “Thank you,” he whispered. He waited until her gaze met his.

  “Let me see to your face,” she murmured.

  “My face?” he frowned.

  “The cuts and bruises,” she explained and began to dab at the myriad marks that covered predominantly his chin.

  By the time she had finished sweat had broken out on his forehead. “Thank you,” he croaked.

  “You are welcome,” she replied gently.

  There was something in his eyes that held her still. She looked into the hypnotic depths of his steady gaze and felt herself drawn toward him. This was something that she knew was incredibly foolish to indulge in, but she could not deny the sensuality of the intimate moment.

  “Eloisa,” he murmured.

  She took a small step backward when he stood. When he bent down and swept her off her feet, she gasped and stared at him in shock.

  “Y-your shoulder,” she protested weakly.

  “It is fine now,” he replied, completely unconcerned about it. Now that the damaged flesh had the bandage to support it, the discomfort had been reduced to nothing more than a little soreness. He was more than capable of carrying her up the sweeping flight of stairs toward what he now considered was their bedroom.

  “How do you like the castle?” he asked softly when he finally carried her through the bedroom door and kicked it closed behind them.

  “It’s beautiful,” she replied, unsure why he chose to mention it at that moment. “Although I could do without the secret passageways and the mad cousin,” she admitted a little ruefully.

  He smiled at her but remained quiet as he lay her tenderly on the vast bed. Rather than ease away and leave her to rest, he followed her down and settled beside her.

  Before she could speak, Simeon lifted a finger and traced the delicate curve of her soft lips.

  “What about Renwick?” She whispered hesitantly.

  “What?” Simeon frowned and leaned back to look down at her.

  “Renwick? What are we going to do about him?”

  Simeon shrugged. “Leave him. He is tied up and going nowhere.”

  Eloisa nodded and welcomed him when he dropped a tender kiss on her lips.

  “Tell me to stop, Eloisa,” he pleaded softly.

  “Stop what?” she asked, a little bemused by his tender request. She could deny him nothing and suspected that he knew it.

  “It will be too late in a moment for me to stop at all,” he warned her as his gaze left hers, and began to travel slowly down the length of her. Each dip and hollow was starkly outlined beneath the soft material of her silk dress and was such sweet temptation that he struggled not to just plunder.

  “Don’t then,” Eloisa challenged. She didn’t know where her daring came from. She couldn’t ignore her curiosity or need. Something within her was urging her to take what she wanted; what she needed because this was Simeon. Everything would be alright with him in her life; she just knew it.

  “You don’t know what you are asking from me,” Simeon growled but leaned over her anyway.

  Eloisa felt his weight press her down into the soft mattress, but welcomed him. Her hand trembled slightly as she lifted it and traced the gentle sweep of his cheekbone beneath a liberal smattering of stubble. The coarse hairs teased the tender pads of her fingers, but she revelled in the unfamiliar feel of him.

  She smiled when his eyes closed and his head dipped toward hers, and welcomed him with a very thorough kiss.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  The following morning, Simeon moaned softly when he rolled over in bed and his sore shoulder protested against the movement. His eyes popped open when he realised that someone was thumping on the front door.

  Suddenly, the reality of his situation slammed into him with such force that his head whipped around on the pillow. He stared in horror at Eloisa’s bare shoulder and closed his eyes as a blistering curse escaped him.

  Keeping one eye on her, he quietly slipped out of bed, gathered his clothes, and hurried out of the room. Before the door closed, he looked at the wild cascade of her tangled hair across his pillow, and swore again as the memory of the intimacies he had shared with her last night came flooding back.

  “What the hell were you thinking?” he snarled to himself as he ran down the stairs and stalked angrily across the hall.

  She had been untried yet he had taken advantage of her like she was an experienced harlot. While she hadn’t uttered a protest, and he had ensured she had enjoyed every moment, he still should never have touched her. His anger was fierce by the time he yanked the door open. He almost relished the possibility that it might be Renwick’s friend returned to give him a second offer.

  “I’ll tell him where to stick his offer,” he snarled as he yanked the door open and glared at the man on the doorstep.

  “Thank the Lord you are still alright,” his friend, Jeremiah, sighed only to stare in shock at the bandage on Simeon’s shoulder. “What on earth have you been up to?”

  “Thank God the cavalry has arrived,” Simeon growled. “I need your help,” he added.

  Before Jeremiah could demand details, he pushed him out of the doorway and nodded toward the woods. “Come with me, I have a job for you.”

  He quickly tugged his shirt over his head and tucked the ends into his breeches as he stalked across the garden toward the folly. Sensing Jeremiah’s steady gaze on him, Simeon briefly recounted what had happened, apart from the intimacies of last night.

  “Is she still here?”

  “Yes. She is still asleep, as far as I know,” Simeon reported. He deliberately kept his gaze straight ahead as he went in search of Renwick.

  “Where is he?” Jeremiah asked with a frown when he poked his head into the folly and found it empty.

  Simeon’s curse was bitter when he prised the bramble apart only to find his cousin had vanished. “He has gone.”

  “Are you sure it was Renwick?” Jeremiah asked with a frown.

  Simeon nodded but was already on his way back to the castle. “Let’s get back. I don’t want to leave Eloisa alone while Renwick is on the loose.”

  “What do you want to do now?” Jeremiah asked when they reached the front door again.

  “I need to find my horse. One of us needs to get Eloisa home while the other goes to find the magistrate. There is a killer on the loose in these parts,” Simeon growled.

  “Oh good: hunting,” Jeremiah drawled obliquely as though they were discussing chasing down nothing but foxes. “There is a horse in the top field, you now, at the end of the driveway.”

  “A black one with a long, shaggy mane?”

  “Aye, that’s the one.” Jeremiah eyed Simeon’s bandage. “I will go and fetch it if you like?”

  “Can I use your carriage to get Eloisa home?”

&
nbsp; “Of course, help yourself,” Jeremiah called. He stopped suddenly and turned to face his friend. “I’ll go and fetch the magistrate and will meet you back here.”

  Simeon nodded and reluctantly turned toward the door. He looked up at the space where one of the gargoyles had once sat before he quickly let himself into the still and silent confines of the castle.

  The walls echoed with the sound of his booted footsteps as he marched across the hallway and ran up the stairs. He didn’t want to do this, but he had to get Eloisa home before Renwick reappeared.

  “You must have been out of your mind to take advantage of her,” he muttered angrily.

  He let himself into the bedroom quietly and closed the door behind him with a quiet click. He remained where he was for a moment and studied the beautiful sight she made lying serenely against the pristine white sheets. If these were better and more appropriate times, he would have joined her in bed, and spent the rest of the day there. As it was, time was of the essence. He should never have left Renwick overnight in the folly in the first place. If the man had left the area, he already had several hours’ head start on Simeon. It was going to be a challenge to find him again given that he didn’t know any of Renwick’s haunts.

  Somehow though, Simeon doubted that Renwick, or his associate, would give up so easily. Not after the lengths they had gone to already to steal the contents. The documents he had pushed at Simeon to sign last night had been prepared at great expense. It was difficult to think, even for one second, that Renwick would just shrug and walk away. Danger still lurked around Mitchelham and, until that danger was put firmly behind bars where it belonged, Simeon had no business offering a future to a wonderfully desirable, yet innocent young woman like Eloisa.

  He drew in a deep breath and pushed away from the door. His journey to the bed brought about a transformation in Simeon that left the tender lover of last night firmly tucked away. In its stead was somebody who was cold, aloof and distant, and more like the sinister stranger who had rescued his damsel in distress.