Eloisa's Adventure

by King, Rebecca

  “Eloisa?” The softness of her breath against his cheek threatened to break his resolve. He gritted his teeth and valiantly tried to ignore the surge of his wayward body, but it was a struggle. It took every ounce of effort he possessed to turn his gaze hard as he looked down at her. Although his eyes were fierce, his heart was not, and clenched painfully as he watched her. “Eloisa? It’s time to get you home.”

  Eloisa rolled over and sighed. She relished in the delicious warmth of the wonderfully soft sheets for several moments while consciousness gradually returned. Memories from last night suddenly came flooding back and turned her cheeks pink with pleasure. Although her smile dimmed a little as the memory of the wanton things she had done with Simeon resurfaced, she just couldn’t regret them. Last night had been wonderful; sublime even. It had been everything she had anticipated it would be, and more besides. Although it had been wrong given that they weren’t married, she didn’t regret a single moment of it.

  “Eloisa?”

  When she opened her eyes, she found herself staring adoringly up at the man who had ravished her so thoroughly, and stolen her heart completely.

  It took a moment for the scowl on his face to register on her. When it did, it had the same effect on her as a bucket of cold water. Fear quickly replaced joy and made her stomach clench nervously. She clutched the sheet protectively against her chest, suddenly vulnerable and wary of the dark and unwelcoming look in his eye.

  “What is it?” she whispered in alarm. “Is it Renwick?”

  “No,” Simeon growled. He swallowed harshly and forced himself to ignore the delectable sight of one rounded breast she had unwittingly given him beneath the sheet. He turned his attention toward the brilliant sunshine outside of the window and stood upright. “The storm has gone. It’s time to take you home,” he said coldly.

  The hurt in her eyes nearly undid his stern resolve. He daren’t cave in though. To do so would be selfish of him.

  “What?” she asked in confusion. A world of hurt crashed down upon her. She watched him in stunned disbelief as he gathered her clothing and dropped everything onto the end of the bed without looking at her. Tears gathered on her lashes, but she daren’t let them fall. He wasn’t going to know how cheap, used and foolish she felt for allowing last night to happen.

  “Simeon?” she whispered.

  “Get dressed,” Simeon ordered. He couldn’t give her the opportunity to say anything else. He stalked toward the door, wishing that he had serving staff in the castle to take her home in his stead. Unfortunately, now he had seen the delightful sight she made in his bed, it was damned difficult to do what he knew he must. “I am going to take you home.”

  Questions hovered on her lips but Eloisa didn’t get the chance to ask them before Simeon closed the door behind him. The quiet click of the latch propelled her into motion. She lurched out of bed and dragged her clothes on with a speed that left her slightly breathless. Fear drove her toward the door in search of him so she could find out what she had done that was so wrong.

  Did he think she was there to amuse him? Did he think so little of her that he would use her and then cast her aside the morning after like she was nothing? Fury warred with fear, hurt and confusion. She didn’t know what to do, what to think, but desperately needed answers.

  “Simeon? What’s gone wrong? What’s happened?” She asked when she found him waiting for her beside the front door. His eagerness to get rid of her was evident from the impatient way he was pacing backward and forward. To say she was offended was an understatement. His behaviour seemed to underscore the fact that he regretted what they had shared last night and had been using her to satisfy his sexual hunger.

  “Nothing’s wrong,” he snapped. “It is time for you to go, that’s all.” He yanked the front door open and waved her out.

  “Renwick?”

  “He has gone. He is around here somewhere though,” Simeon bit out. When she moved to stand beside him, he steeled himself against the urge to hold her and soothe her hurt away. “Reinforcements have arrived this morning.” He nodded to the carriage. “The storm is over. I can get you home now.”

  Eloisa stared at him for a moment and felt a deep sense of betrayal steal all trace of joy from her heart. She couldn’t quite work through her stunned disbelief at how different he was this morning. Gone was the tender lover who had so gently whispered endearments to her last night. In his stead was someone who was a cold-hearted aristocrat in command of his castle.

  If it wasn’t for the soreness of her body, she would have believed that she had dreamt what they had shared. As it was, she knew that what she had experienced with Simeon had been very real, and most probably the biggest mistake of her life.

  He had to keep his face averted from the hurt on her delicate features. He had to remind himself that if he allowed any ounce of weakness to filter through his own hurt he just wouldn’t be able to let her go. In an attempt to keep the awful charade going, he glanced up and looked at the trees. The thought of Renwick hiding in them, posing a danger to Eloisa’s life, was something that he just couldn’t ignore. He had to let her go, even for a short time, no matter how much it hurt either of them. Unfortunately, he knew her well enough to be certain that if he explained that he had to go and hunt Renwick down, she would insist on staying. Not only would that put her at risk, but Simeon had no idea how long it would take him to catch his cousin, or how far he would have to go to ensure that justice was served.

  “Let’s go,” he growled and turned his attention to dropping the step of the curricle so Eloisa could climb aboard before she could speak.

  She ignored the hand he held out to her and climbed aboard feeling cold, alone, and more miserable than she had ever felt in her life. She sat in stoic silence while he circled the carriage and climbed onto the seat beside her. To her dismay, stilted silence settled over them as he steered the conveyance toward the drive, but she was too busy battling the tears that loomed to do anything about it.

  If he wanted to be surly and horrible this morning then that was fine by her, she thought morosely.

  The carriage turned into the long sweeping driveway. In an attempt to keep her gaze carefully averted from him, she looked at the huge stone building where so much of her life had changed. It really was rather beautiful when bathed in early morning mist. If it hadn’t hidden such sinister secrets within the walls, she would have quite liked it there. Now, however, she would be relieved if she never set eyes on the place ever again. It held such bittersweet memories for her that she knew she would never forget it for as long as she lived.

  She rather suspected that the old Eloisa, who had arrived just days ago, had died somewhere in that building. In her stead was someone she barely recognised but just didn’t know how as yet. Right now, she couldn’t think about anything other than getting home so she could have a good cry.

  In the end, the journey didn’t take half as long as she thought it would. By the time she saw the familiar sight of her village in the distance she was cold and hungry. Throughout the journey she had felt Simeon glance at her several times, but neither of them made any attempt to speak. She had used her last few moments with him to steel herself for their inevitable parting. If it was the very last thing she ever did, Simeon wasn’t going to know just how deeply he had hurt her with his behaviour this morning. She had too much pride to allow him to see how far she had fallen for him in such a short space of time. It gave her the determination to battle her tears with all of the strength she could muster.

  “Not long now,” Simeon growled as they approached her house. His fingers clenched almost painfully on the reins against the need to reach out to her. When she didn’t reply, he gritted his teeth with the sheer bloody minded effort it took not to force her to look at him.

  Eloisa nodded and turned her gaze away. Her thoughts turned toward Cissy, and she felt such a wave of yearning sweep through her that the end of the journey suddenly couldn’t come quickly enough.

  W
hat had she made of Eloisa’s disappearance? She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down a little. Cissy would almost certainly know that something had happened between her and Simeon if she saw her like this. Right now she didn’t want to have to endure her sister’s questions, because she didn’t have any answers for herself. She rather suspected that she never would because she couldn’t bring herself to ask Simeon what had happened that had brought everything crashing down around them.

  It took all of the steely resolve she possessed to force her features into the cool mask of indifference that was in place by the time he pulled the carriage to a stop.

  By the time she stepped onto the pavement, she looked up in time to watch Cissy yank the front door open and race toward her. The unadulterated joy on her sister’s face crumpled Eloisa’s resolve, and a sob escaped her before Cissy yanked her into a fierce hug.

  “Oh, Eloisa, thank the good Lord you are alright,” Cissy gasped as she enveloped her sister in a perfumed embrace that made it difficult for either of them to breathe.

  “Oh, dearie me. We thought we had lost you,” Mrs Jackman declared as she swept out of her house and hobbled toward Eloisa. As soon as Cissy had released her, Eloisa was swept into the older woman’s arms before both women stood back to study her carefully.

  Eloisa watched in dismay as their joy slowly faded, and was replaced with watchful concern.

  “Mr de Lisle has been beside himself. He has called by Lord Aldwich’s house so many times that I think Lord Aldwich has offered to put him on his payroll. We have had half of the village looking for you,” Cissy chided as she glanced curiously at Simeon. “Where on earth have you been?”

  “Cissy,” Eloisa croaked, suddenly lost for words.

  Cissy looked down at the ruined state of Eloisa’s dress. “What is it, dearest? Whatever has happened?”

  Eloisa looked deeply into her sister’s eyes, and gave her one of ‘those’ looks that warned her sibling not to say too much with so many people present. Cissy nodded, but worry clouded her eyes as she looked over her shoulder at the tall, handsome man who remained stern and silent just a few feet behind Eloisa. He too looked worried, but there was something else in his eyes; something dark and almost wounded that warned Cissy he was partly responsible for her sister’s disappearance, and obvious upset.

  “I take it that you are responsible for this?” Cissy demanded and motioned to the state of her sister.

  “I am,” Simeon replied stoically.

  “He rescued me,” Eloisa interjected when she saw a flash of anger in Cissy’s eyes. “It isn’t his fault. It is the idiots who took me in the carriage. They are the ones who were driving like lunatics. I just landed on Lord Pendlebury’s doorstep. He has been kind enough to give me a roof over my head while we waited out the storm.”

  She dreaded having to do this. She would have much preferred to go inside the house, close the door, and never have to see or speak to Simeon ever again. As it was, dubious though it may be, he had given her his hospitality and a relatively dry roof over her head when she had been stranded and had nowhere to turn to. If he hadn’t crossed her path, heaven only knows what would have happened to her. Now, she wasn’t entirely sure that he had saved her. She rather considered that she would have been much better off taking her chances with the intruder by herself.

  “Thank you for your kind – hospitality,” she murmured quietly without meeting his eyes. “I hope you manage to resolve your difficulties.” She was relieved at the calmness in her voice, especially when everything inside her felt as though it had been shattered into a thousand tiny pieces.

  “Eloisa,” Simeon growled when she turned away. There was so much he wanted to say to her but couldn’t.

  When it was over though, and the worst of the gossip had died down, he promised himself as he studied her and tried to commit as much of her to memory as possible.

  He bowed politely. “Eloisa,” he persisted.

  She couldn’t help it. She looked at him one final time.

  “I need to find Renwick, and get his issues resolved. Then, when everything has quietened down, I should like to call upon you, if I may? Just to check that everything is alright,” he asked quietly.

  Eloisa knew that he wouldn’t, but nodded politely.

  “I am sure that you are most welcome to call by whenever you are available,” Cissy added when Eloisa remained uncomfortably silent. She threw Eloisa a worried frown, and Simeon an askance look, but neither of them seemed inclined to speak.

  “I am afraid that I haven’t been the best of hosts,” he explained to her. “I was only at the castle to collect a few papers so was ill prepared for company. As a result, I think that Eloisa could do with a seat before the fire, some good food and plenty of rest. It has been a difficult and trying time.”

  He looked so lovingly at Eloisa that Cissy gasped and stared at him in shock.

  “I will bid you farewell, Eloisa,” he murmured, willing her to look at him again. “For now.”

  When she merely nodded again, he had no choice but to turn around and climb aboard the carriage. He wished now that he had handled matters differently between them.

  As soon as Renwick was dispatched back to the army, he had a lot of making up to do with the woman who had laid claim to his heart. First though, he had to find a way to get her to talk to him again. He glanced over at her as he turned the carriage around and made his way past them but she didn’t look up.

  To his bitter regret, he rather suspected that he had just lost her.

  Eloisa watched him go, and turned to nod her thanks to several of the locals who came to offer their good wishes. It was a relief when she was finally able to get inside the house, and away from the curious eyes and plethora of questions.

  “What happened?” Cissy asked quietly.

  Eloisa shook her head and promptly burst into tears.

  “You have to tell me what happened dearest,” Cissy murmured when the worst of Eloisa’s crying had subsided, and been replaced with dejected misery. She frowned absently out of the window while she listened to Eloisa recount what had happened, minus the details about last night.

  “Well, I am sure that he will want to see how you are when he has dealt with his relative. This Renwick Calversham is a no-good wastrel from what you have told me. It is understandable that Lord Pendlebury will want to deal with him quickly, especially with the family’s reputation at risk.”

  “I know,” Eloisa murmured despondently. She knew that Cissy didn’t understand because she didn’t have the full story, and offered her a sad smile.

  “I saw how he looked at you. I am positive that your Lord Pendlebury will be back,” Cissy declared encouragingly.

  From what she had seen, the devastatingly handsome man was smitten with Eloisa, and was a Lord nonetheless. She was stunned, shocked, and didn’t quite know what to make of the latest turn of events. At least Eloisa was alive which, for a while had looked doubtful. Cissy sighed and looked at her sister again. She sensed that Eloisa wasn’t telling her everything but quickly closed off the thought of what could have happened between the debonair nobleman and her beautiful sister while they had been together – alone – in his home. She closed her eyes and coughed uncomfortably. Right now, Eloisa looked almost fragile, so now was not the time to ask.

  Later though, Cissy promised herself. When I have had time to consider how best to handle it.

  Eloisa shot her sister a dour look. “I hope he doesn’t come back,” she replied quietly. She desperately wanted to see him again, but then didn’t.

  “He is a lord, my dear. Far beyond our status, I know, but he seemed a kindly man. I am sure that he will either write to ask about your welfare, or will drop by if he happens to be passing this way again. I am sure of it.”

  Cissy saw the heartbreak in Eloisa’s eyes, and could understand her younger sister falling for such a wonderfully handsome man. However, sisterly love forced her to warn her younger sibling of the folly of expecting
anything more from the man than manners.

  Eloisa knew what Cissy meant, and offered her a sad smile. “I know.”

  “You didn’t get to your ball dearest,” Cissy declared sadly after several moments of thoughtful silence.

  “What happened to the carriage driver, and the footman?” Eloisa asked thoughtfully as she stared absently into the fire. She didn’t really care; she just needed Cissy to think of something other than Simeon for a while.

  Cissy took a moment to make some tea before she took a seat beside Eloisa. Once they each had a cup she leaned back and gave Eloisa a dark look.

  “Well, Mr de Lisle waited and waited for you at the ball. When the carriage arrived, the coachman was barely coherent. The horses ran away with him, you see. They had run so fast that the carriage had been damaged. The coachman hadn’t just lost you but he had lost the footman off the back as well. He, the footman, turned up the following morning, quite badly injured as a matter of fact. Lord Aldwich was not best pleased from what I can gather.”

  “I take it that the footman is alright?”

  “Recovering, I think. Lord Aldwich ordered his staff to try and find you but nobody had any idea where the driver lost you. He tried to get to his friend’s castle, which is on the route you took, but they couldn’t get anywhere near the place because the roads were awash. So trying to find you has been a little bit like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Your disappearance been the talk of the village, I can tell you, not least because half of the village have been out looking for you as well.”

  Eloisa didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “All because I wanted to dance,” she whispered mournfully. If she could go back and change things she would never have mentioned dancing in the first place.

  “Lord Aldwich has asked for you to attend his next ball, as an invited guest this time, as an apology for the carelessness of his staff,” Cissy declared excitedly. “Now that we have fulfilled the terms of the will, we can afford to buy you a new dress.”

  Eloisa grimaced and threw Cissy a dark look. “I absolutely refuse to go to another ball,” she declared firmly.