Eloisa's Adventure (7 page)

“Were
you going to a masque?”

“Pardon?”

“Were
you going to someone’s masquerade ball?”

Eloisa
shook her head. She debated upon the wisdom of telling him. It
really was none of his business but, given that he had helped her
out, it felt a little churlish not to tell him. She sighed again –
deeply.

“My
father passed away several months ago.”

“I am
sorry,” Simeon murmured quietly.

She
peered up at him and wished she could see his face. However, not
being able to see any defining features made her feel a little more
comfortable in confiding in him. At the moment he was just a hat
with a chin, and not really a person.

“There
was a stipulation in his will that required my sister and I to
learn a specific skill over a period of two months. It could be
anything we wanted as long as we learnt a new skill we could take
into the future.”

“Go on,”
he urged when she lapsed into thoughtful silence.

“My
sister, Cissy, adores sewing. She took some lessons in needlework
from a Frenchwoman in town.” Eloisa pointed to the fine stitching
on her now soiled gloves. “Cissy did these.”

Simeon
nodded. He couldn’t really see the detail in the gloom, but knew
from the how small the decoration was that it must have taken
considerable time and effort.

“What
did you choose?” He prompted when she lapsed into silence and
stared blankly into the distance.

“Dancing
lessons,” Eloisa said ruefully. “I have always loved to dance. It
has been my biggest wish to be able to go to a ball. You know, the
kind that Lords and Ladies to go. So I took some lessons from Mr de
Lisle. He arranged for me to go to a ball tonight.”

“Mr de
Lisle?” Simeon stared at Eloisa in disbelief. He knew the small,
dapper little man, and had seen him on many occasions at numerous
social functions in and around London. He turned his thoughts to
the ball that Eloisa should have gone to. “This ball of yours; it
wouldn’t happen to be at Lord Aldwich’s house, would
it?”

Eloisa
looked at him in surprise. “You know of it? Were you supposed to
go?”

“I had
hoped to yes, but I cannot remember ever seeing you at any of Lord
Aldwich’s balls before.” He would most definitely have
remembered.

Eloisa
looked a little uncomfortable. “Oh, well, I wasn’t on the guest
list,” she admitted.

“You
aren’t on the guest list?” Simeon’s brows lifted as he studied her.
“How did you expect to be at the ball then?”

“Mr de
Lisle arranged with Lord Aldwich for me to dance outside. Because I
had been learning, Mr de Lisle said that I could dance on the
terrace and not embarrass myself.”

Simeon’s
temper started to rise. The way she spoke about the awful
arrangements was so matter-of-fact, so awestruck, that it irked
him. Nobody should have to steal into a ball through the back door
just to be able to dance; especially someone as beautiful as
Eloisa. Although her dress was not in the height of fashion, she
wouldn’t pose any threat to the debutants who were there to hunt
for a husband.

Why in
the hell had Arthur Winterton, Lord Aldwich, agreed to such a
ridiculous scheme? He knew Arthur and his son, Rafael, well, and
wondered what was going on. Simeon looked down at her and wondered
how much she was not telling him.

“What
did your father do for a living?”

Eloisa
frowned. “Oh, this and that,” she replied vaguely. If she was
honest, she really had no idea what her father had done with his
time. He had spent many hours in his study, and had invested his
wealth wisely, but had that taken all day every day? She didn’t
know, and would never get the opportunity to find out
now.

“What
was his first name?”

“James,”
she whispered.

“I am
sorry; I didn’t mean to upset you,” he replied when her chin
quivered.

She gave
him a somewhat wan smile. “You haven’t. I was just looking forward
to tonight.”

“What
happened? I mean, how did you get from Hollywell to the middle of
my fields?”

Eloisa
explained about the carriage ride and her catastrophe out on the
road.

“Were
you hurt?” He looked down at her soiled and tangled dress, and
couldn’t honestly say he would be all that sorry to see the back of
it.

“I ache,
that’s about all. There are a few bumps, bruises and scratches but
nothing was broken thankfully.”

“The
damned idiot could have killed you.”

Eloisa
merely nodded, but there was no anger in her eyes. Now that she
thought about the ball a little more, she wished that she hadn’t
mentioned it.

“Maybe
the next time Lord Aldwich has a ball, you can go to that one,” he
suggested darkly. He made a mental note to have a word with the
Arthur about the competency of his employees the next time he saw
him.

Eloisa
smiled but doubted she would get another opportunity like the one
she had lost tonight.

Simeon
studied the shadows in her eyes. “You don’t think you will be
invited again?”

“I see
no reason to continue with the dancing lessons now,” she sighed.
“There doesn’t seem much point now.”

There
wasn’t much Simeon could say to that. He could have a word with
Lord Aldwich and suggest that the next time he has a ball he should
invite Eloisa; as a kind of apology for his coachman nearly killing
her. Unfortunately, because she was not supposed to be at the ball,
Lord Aldwich may not even know that his carriage was being used for
her. He might cause her more strife by interfering.

For now,
he decided it was best to keep his mouth closed and focus his
attention on his own problems instead. He studied the back of the
property when they arrived at the stables at the rear of the
castle. It disturbed him to realise he had been so focused on the
woman in his arms that he hadn’t noticed they had
arrived.

He swung
his leg over the horse and jumped down. Unsurprisingly, before he
could help Eloisa down, her silk skirts aided her slide off the
horse.

Her gasp
locked in her throat as she slid to the ground in a horrifying
rush. To her surprise, she was hauled against his chest before her
feet touched the earth.

“That
dress is downright dangerous,” he growled as he lifted her into his
arms and carried her toward the house.

“It is
my ball gown,” she whispered as she studied his chiselled jaw and
the sharp blade of his lips.

Simeon’s brows lifted. He wanted to suggest that she should
check the latest fashion the next time she made a purchase, but he
wisely kept his opinions to himself. He wondered whether her
financial situation allowed her to purchase the very best in haut
couture. Somehow, he doubted it. It wasn’t that she was crass, or
ill-bred in any way. It was just that there was an innocence about
her that would not last a second in the cynical ballrooms of
the
ton.
With her
wisdom and logic she was, by far, the most intriguing person he had
met in a very long time, and that appealed to him.

Eloisa
tried not to stare at him but every fibre of her being was focused
on the man who carried her. This was the first time she had seen
him standing up, and he was considerably taller than she had
realised. He was so tall in fact that the top of her head barely
touched his shoulder, but she didn’t feel threatened by his
towering presence – even though he was broad and powerful. Held
securely in his arms, she felt rather protected; cosseted almost,
and infinitely more feminine than she had ever felt in her entire
life.

“Eloisa,” he murmured softly as he studied the gentle curve
of her moistened lips. He watched a rivulet of rainwater meander
down one wind-flushed cheek and itched to be able to trace it with
his finger. He suspected, even without touching her, that she was
as soft as she looked, but he wanted to touch her anyway – just to
make sure.

The
limpid gaze she turned on him brought about an awareness that made
his body hard, his control weaken, and his desire for her
impossible to ignore. As quickly as the lightening flashed across
the sky, he knew that he wanted this woman in his arms.

“Let’s
go inside before we get struck by lightning,” he murmured
gently.

It was a
physical wrench to release her when he stepped away from her and
forced his feet to move toward the barn. “I need to get the horse
into the stable. Go and stand in the doorway while I see to him.
Then we can get out of this rain.”

Eloisa
nodded and did as he suggested. A strangely intimate atmosphere had
settled over them and left her a little bemused and, if she was
honest, she wanted a few moments to herself. She had never felt
this connection; this invisible link to anyone before. It was a
little shocking, especially because she had yet to see all of his
face.

In an
attempt to get her mind off him, she turned her attention to the
huge castle in front of her. Up close, the house appeared every
inch as macabre and sinister as she had first thought. Two enormous
turrets sat on either side of the property which was adorned with
horrible gargoyles located half-way up each facade. The weather
vanes on the top of each tower stung wildly in the wind and made a
screeching noise that was carried hauntingly on the
winds.

The
building itself was made of stone so dark that it looked like
slate. It was broken only by narrow slits of windows, and cloister
doors at the front and back of the property. The tangled and
overgrown garden had clearly not been tended to for some
considerable time and looked as cruel and inhospitable as the
building that sat within it. Overall, it all seemed rather decrepit
and unkempt place she wished she had been able to avoid.

The
thought of arriving here all alone made her look upon her rescuer
with rather more appreciation. She was very glad that he had
happened along when he had. She realised then that he hadn’t even
told her his name. She turned toward the stables behind her, but it
was impossible to see him in the darkness. Thumps and bumps of
buckets and horse hooves accompanied by the jangle of reins and the
snapping of leather, and made it clear he was busy.

When she
looked at the castle, her attention was immediately captured by
movement in one of the upper windows. She froze and stared at the
blackened rectangle of the window. Unless her eyes were deceiving
her, someone had been standing in the window. There was no visible
outline of anyone there now, but she was positive that shutter had
been open a moment ago. She continued to stare at the window for
several minutes. Her patience was rewarded when, just a short time
later, the shutter within the room began to close.

“I -”
she gasped as she backed away from the barn’s entrance.

Once
protected by the shadows within the barn she stopped and stared at
the window some more. She had no idea what she was expecting to
happen now. The shutter was closed. Had she just imagined it? Was
her mind playing tricks on her? If she hadn’t been watching the
shutter at the time, she wouldn’t have paid it any
attention.

She
turned to the stables behind her once more and heaved a sigh of
relief when she saw her rescuer step out of one of the
stalls.

“Is
there anyone else in the house?” She wondered if there was a wife
at home waiting for him. To her consternation, his answer mattered
to her more than she cared to admit. Although she wasn’t entirely
sure if it had anything to do with what she had just
witnessed.

“No, why
do you ask?” Simeon answered as he walked toward her.

Eloisa
turned to face the house and nodded to the window on the first
floor. To her horror, the shutter now stood open. She ran her gaze
over the entire façade of the building. Every window was
un-shuttered now.

The
finger she pointed to the house shook uncontrollably and, for a
moment, she couldn’t speak past the fear that almost swamped her.
She had watched the shutter close. She had seen its slow and steady
glide across the window with her own eyes. Hadn’t she?

“I just
wondered,” she whispered.

Simeon
studied her and knew she wasn’t being honest. He frowned at her and
waited for her to expand but, when she didn’t, he turned to look at
the house.

“It is
just you and me, I think. However, there have been odd things
happening,” he replied quietly. He knew he had just hit the nail on
the head when she suddenly jerked and looked at him with wide eyes.
“You saw something, didn’t you?”

Eloisa
nodded hesitantly. “Above the doorway.”

“To the
kitchens, yes,” he encouraged when she didn’t seem inclined to
speak.

“Two
windows across on the first floor,” she murmured.

“What
did you see?” Simeon kept his gaze locked on her rather than taking
a look at the window she mentioned.

“Someone
slid the shutter closed. I turned around to look at you but when I
turned back, it was open again. I didn’t imagine it,” she
whispered. “I swear that I didn’t imagine it. I watched it
move.”