Eloisa's Adventure (25 page)

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?”

“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.

“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.