Eloisa's Adventure (20 page)

“You are
supposed to be dead,” Eloisa countered. “George was told you had
been killed in battle.” Not for the first time since her arrival at
the castle, Eloisa wondered just what on earth she had stumbled
into, and wished she hadn’t sought refuge here at all. The only
highlight in her ordeal was Simeon, only where he had gone, heaven
only knew.

“I don’t
know what you are talking about.”

Sudden
movement behind Renwick caught her attention, but she daren’t look
at it. She couldn’t bring herself to tear her gaze away from the
man who had caused both herself and Simeon so much trouble. When
the familiar whiteness of Simeon’s shirt teased the periphery of
her vision, she heaved a sigh of relief. Simeon had found them. She
knew then that everything was going to be all right after
all.

“You are
Renwick Calversham.” She stared clearly, just in case Simeon hadn’t
heard her the first time. She was aware that Simeon was staring at
her, but she couldn’t give his presence away to the invader by
sparing him a glance.

Simeon
studied the man before him and considered Eloisa’s declaration. He
knew she was right. He had seen the evidence with his own eyes.
When the man lunged toward Eloisa, Simeon knew that he would get no
finer opportunity to bring his intruder to justice. He hefted the
poker and, with all the frustration and fury he had endured over
the last several weeks, bashed his cousin on the head.

Eloisa
watched the man’s eyes roll back in his head seconds before he hit
the floor with a resounding thud. Once she was sure that he wasn’t
going to move again, she flew into the safety of Simeon’s
arms.

“Are you
alright, darling?” Simeon demanded. He stepped over the unconscious
man and barely threw him a glance as he wrapped Eloisa in a warm
hug.

“Are you
all right?” she demanded and pushed at his shoulders so he would
release her enough for her to look at him.

“I am
fine. What about you? Did he hurt you?” Simeon growled as he
peppered her face with tiny kisses.

“I am
fine,” she whispered, then promptly burst into tears.

“It’s
all right. It is over now,” he murmured gently as she wept against
him.

“I am
sorry; I don’t know what’s come over me,” she replied after several
moments of self-indulgence.

Simeon
leaned back and looked down into her watery eyes. He opened his
mouth to speak only to curse when the man beside them started to
groan.

“If you
are going to be all right for a minute, let me see to him. We need
to tie him up. Then we can get to the bottom of what has
happened.”

When she
nodded, he reluctantly released her and rolled the man over so they
could both study his face.

“This is
Renwick Calversham,” he confirmed with a sigh.

“How can
that be? He is supposed to be dead.”

Simeon
shook his head. “I don’t know, but he isn’t going anywhere until we
find out what’s been going on.”

He stood
up and hefted the man into a sitting position. Minutes later, he
dropped Renwick into an unceremonious heap on a chair in the side
room, and tied him up with several strips torn off one of the
curtains.

“Should
you be doing that?” Eloisa gasped as she watched him.

He
grinned at her. “It’s my house,” he replied, completely unperturbed
at the waste of the fine fabric.

There
was nothing she could say to that and remained quiet while she
watched Simeon finish tying Renwick to the chair.

“Come
on, Renwick. It’s time to wake up,” Simeon growled as he shook the
man roughly by the shoulder. The answering groan assured them both
that there was no lasting damage done, and that it was just a
matter of time before their intruder was able to talk.

“Should
we leave him for a while?” Eloisa asked with a frown.

“I am
not leaving him,” Simeon countered flatly. “Given his penchant for
stalking these halls, I am not taking my eyes off him until I have
some answers.”

Several
sudden raps in the far recesses of the house made them both
jump.

“Who is
that?” Eloisa gasped, only then realising just how daft her
question was. “Are you expecting any guests?” She mentally winced
at the audacity of her question. His business was nothing to do
with her, and she really had no place asking him, but Simeon didn’t
seem to mind. He was busy staring at the doorway
thoughtfully.

She
stared in horror at the poker he handed her and turned to watch him
leave the room.

“Where
are you going?” she gasped and threw a horrified glare at the still
unconscious man beside her.

“To see
who it is,” he replied. “Stay here and keep an eye on him. If he
speaks, don’t answer. Stay by the door if it makes you feel any
better. He is secured tightly, so won’t be any threat to you. I
will be back as soon as I can.”

She
opened her mouth to argue with him only to stare at the empty
doorway. By the time she got to the corridor, he was gone. Scared,
and feeling more out of her depth than ever, she tentatively made
her way back into the room to keep guard.

Simeon
yanked the front door open with a frown and stared at the small man
on the doorstep. It was still pelting down with rain but that
didn’t appear to have even registered on his new, uninvited
visitor. The man blithely stared back at him, clearly waiting to be
invited inside.

Determined not to have any more uninvited intruders in his
house, Simeon stared back.

“Yes?”
he growled in his most unwelcoming voice when the man didn’t
speak.

“Lord
Pendlebury?” The man stepped forward as though he expected Simeon
to step back to let him through the door.

Simeon
pulled the door closer toward him in an unwelcoming gesture and
folded his arms defensively. “I don’t have any appointments lined
up for today. What do you want?”

“Oh, no,
I don’t have an appointment, sir. I was just passing by and
happened to see the turrets over the trees. It’s a beautiful
castle, isn’t it? Has it been in the family for long?”

“It’s
not for sale,” Simeon growled. “If you wish to know anything else,
contact my solicitors: Kembleton and Brewick in London.” He didn’t
wait to hear anything else the man had to say. He was no innocent
and knew a scoundrel when he saw one. Although he had no idea where
the man had come from, or what he truly wanted, Simeon had no
intention of wasting time on him now.

“Please,
if I could have a word with you?” the man called when Simeon
started to close the door.

“Go
away,” Simeon growled darkly.

“I will
make you a good offer for the castle and its contents,” the man
called before the door closed completely.

Simeon
scowled when the door suddenly rebounded back at him. He turned
around to ram it closed, only to stare down at the booted foot that
blocked its closure. The urge to stomp on it was so tempting that
for a few seconds he actually lifted his foot up to do just that.
At the last moment, he yanked the door back open and glared at the
intruder instead.

“I told
you it isn’t for sale,” he growled. “Now get off my property before
I send for the magistrate.”

“I know
you don’t have any staff here at the moment,” the man declared
somewhat calculatingly. “I hear from the villagers that nobody has
lived here since the old master passed on.”

Simeon
studied the deviousness in the man’s eyes and wondered if he was
connected to Renwick in some way. Not sure whether that theory made
any sense, he snorted disparagingly.

“Been
around this house much then have you?” He challenged
thoughtfully.

Being
the focus of Simeon’s full attention seemed to unnerve the man a
little because he suddenly looked awkward and
uncomfortable.

“It’s
highly unusual for the master of the house to answer the door
himself, isn’t it?” the man countered.

“I will
do as I damned well please in my own house and don’t have to
explain myself to you. Now it is not for sale, so I suggest you go
about your business and stay off my land. If you don’t, I shall see
to it that you are arrested for trespassing.”

“I am
prepared to offer you a good price for the castle and contents,”
the man called, as though realising that Simeon was about to slam
the door in his face.

He named
a sum that Simeon knew was far below the market value. He snorted
and threw the man a disparaging glare.

“I don’t
know who you are working for but I think you had better go and see
if you can fleece someone else. You and I both know that this house
is worth considerably more than that, even in the state it is
currently in. Go back to whoever sent you here and tell them to
think again. This house isn’t for sale.”

When the
man still didn’t move his boot, Simeon kicked the man’s shin hard.
The boot was suddenly snatched away and gave Simeon the opportunity
to slam the door in the small man’s face. The heavy thud of the
bolt being slid across sounded loud, and was somewhat satisfying to
hear, but he didn’t stop to savour the moment. He was painfully
aware that he had left Eloisa with Renwick and hurried back to the
garden room. He could only pray that nothing had gone wrong while
he had been away.

“Are you
not going to talk to me now?” the man drawled.

Eloisa
remained in the doorway and continued to stare down the corridor
after Simeon. She didn’t want to speak to Renwick, or even
acknowledge that he was there. The way his eyes swept insolently
over her gave her the chills. The last thing she wanted to do was
give him the opportunity to make her even more
uncomfortable.

“Thank
heavens above,” she whispered when Simeon appeared in the doorway.
She knew from the deep scowl on his face that the news wasn’t good
but daren’t ask him for details with Renwick listening. Instead,
she threw him a warning look as he approached, and nodded into the
room beside her.

“He is
awake?” he asked ask he skirted around her and stalked into the
room.

“Yes he
is,” she replied.

“Renwick
Calversham, as I live and breathe,” Simeon drawled as he stopped in
front of the bound man.

“Simeon
Calversham, the golden boy of the Calversham family,” Renwick
snorted.

“You
know that deserting the army is a crime, don’t you?” Simeon
challenged and knew from the way that Renwick’s face changed that
he had just hit on the truth.

“You
know nothing,” Renwick spat.

Simeon
took far longer than necessary to select two chairs from the pile
of furniture behind Renwick. He placed them all too carefully a few
feet away from the man and motioned to Eloisa to take a seat. With
almost clinical precision he placed them a foot apart, close to the
hallway door, yet far enough from Renwick that he wouldn’t pose a
threat to either of them if he happened to break free.

“Take a
seat,” he drawled, and held the chair while Eloisa dutifully
sat.

She
looked across at him and bit back a smile which immediately
vanished when she looked at Renwick. He appeared to be taking
pleasure in unnerving her by looking at her so insolently.
Determined not to allow him to worry her, she tipped her chin up
defiantly and met his gaze for a moment before she pointedly looked
away.

Simeon’s
lips twitched as he watched the interplay. He mentally applauded
Eloisa for her cool determination to put the intruder in his place
and watched the flash of anger on Renwick’s battered face with a
smirk of satisfaction.

When his
stomach rumbled alarmingly, he decided to push matters along a bit
so they could get Renwick dealt with and have something to
eat.

“Now,
given that we are not here for a social chat, I suggest that you
tell me why you are in my house,” Simeon said quietly.

“It’s
not your house,” Renwick challenged. “I am George’s son. By rights,
this house belongs to me.”

Simeon
was already shaking his head by the time Renwick paused. “I have
seen George’s will, written in his own hand, shown to me by his
solicitor. It clearly states that I am the sole heir to everything
that he owned, apart from a few minor ornaments and the
like.”

“I am
his son,” Renwick snarled. “Do you seriously think that you can
steal my inheritance from me?”

“You and
I both know that you despised your father, Renwick,” Simeon
snapped. “George was embarrassed about you. All you did was take
money from him, right up until the time you were sent off to war.
Even then, you couldn’t be bothered to write to him, and
disappeared from his life for years. The last time he heard about
you, he received a letter from the army informing him that you were
dead.”

Renwick
snorted and looked at the floor. “You know nothing.”

“I know
that George was pleased you were gone. He was relieved that you had
died a relatively noble death fighting in a war rather than in some
whore’s arms. For someone who spent his life in whoredom to his
gambling, and who cast the family name into disrepute on several
occasions, it was a bloody miracle to all of us that you had died
fighting a worthwhile cause. Now it is obvious that you have even
buggered that up,” Simeon snapped in disgust.