Eloisa's Adventure

by King, Rebecca

  Cissy had the good grace to look a little sheepish.

  “Oh, my,” Cissy gasped suddenly. Her gaze shot to Eloisa. “Please tell me that is Simeon’s castle,” she whispered and pointed out of the window.

  Eloisa closed her eyes. She didn’t want to look at it. Eventually though, curiosity won through and she just had to take one final look while the opportunity was there. She knew that their return journey would be undertaken in the dark, and it would be impossible to see anything of the building where so much of her life had changed.

  “It’s beautiful,” she whispered with a sigh.

  Indeed it was. Now that the storm had passed, the huge turrets that had once seemed so threatening now made the entire castle look like something that had come straight out of her girlish fantasies. It was strange to think that was actually the place where all of her dreams had been cruelly destroyed.

  “Are you alright my dear?” Cissy asked when she noticed that Eloisa looked on the verge of tears.

  Eloisa nodded but didn’t speak. Right now she couldn’t speak because of the huge gaping hole where her heart had once been. She cast one last look at the castle before it disappeared from view, and resolved never to think about it ever again.

  If only life would be that simple.

  Aldwich Hall positively glowed in the evening sunshine, and sat resplendent amidst a rolling green landscape that stretched out for miles. Several carriages lined the long, sweeping driveway but nothing could detract from the ostentatious surroundings of the huge mansion Lord Aldwich called home.

  When they pulled to a stop beneath the huge portico, they immediately saw the refined Lords and Ladies dressed in brilliant ball gowns of all colours and sizes inside the main hallway. Eloisa stared down at her own creation and suddenly felt considerably better about her own dress. Although she had her doubts as to its suitability when she had bought it, the modiste had assured her that her gown was the height of fashion, and she would be wearing the finest clothing to befit the grandest occasion. No expense had been spared, in spite of Eloisa’s protests.

  She was glad that the modiste had been so persistent now. Her dress was a wonderful, and blended in perfectly with everyone else at the ball. She realised then just how wholly inappropriate the other dress had been. Not only had it been horribly outdated, but it was the wrong colour altogether. It was something of a relief now that she hadn’t managed to get to the ball.

  She waited until the footman dropped the step, and carefully climbed down. Her eyes remained locked on the brilliant lights of the inner hallway. Her stomach dropped to her toes the closer she got to the door, and she was suddenly very glad that Cissy was with her.

  “I can’t do it, Cissy,” Eloisa gasped when her sister stepped out of the carriage and joined her on the doorstep.

  “It is too late to go back now, Eloisa,” Cissy whispered. She tucked her arm through Eloisa’s and practically dragged her into the hallway before Eloisa got the chance to object.

  Eloisa glanced desperately behind her but the carriage was already moving away, and the new arrivals were in the process of getting out. She couldn’t leave now.

  “Ah, you made it at last,” Mr de Lisle cried as he hurried toward them. He kissed each side of Eloisa’s face before he repeated the process with Cissy, and then turned toward the receiving line.

  Being introduced to everyone passed in such a blur that Eloisa’s head was still reeling when Mr de Lisle handed her a card along with a small pencil. She didn’t even bother to look at it; she was so enthralled by her surroundings. Her head was in a whirl. She couldn’t think beyond the lights, colours and sounds that battered her senses. She couldn’t feel beyond knowing that this was Simeon’s world.

  “Ah, Miss Delaney and your sister too,” Lord Aldwich cried when they reached him at the end of the line. “I am so glad you could join us this evening. I must say that you are looking most elegant.”

  “Thank you, my lord,” Eloisa murmured as she curtseyed politely. “It is most gracious of you to invite us.”

  “Nonsense m’dear, it is wonderful to be able to get you here at last,” he replied curiously.

  Eloisa stared at him nonplussed, and wasn’t sure how to respond.

  “Before you go into the ballroom, I should like a word with you, if I may?” he declared a little more quietly. He didn’t wait for them to answer before he turned on his heel and disappeared through one of the doors that lined the main hallway.

  Eloisa and Cissy looked at each other and followed cautiously.

  “Thank you, my dears.” Lord Aldwich waved to a tall, handsome man who stood silently beside the fireplace.

  Upon their entrance the stranger bowed politely. His hawkish features looked stern and unrelenting, but there was softness to his eyes as he smiled at them that assured them he was friendly.

  “Might I introduce my son, Rafael?” Lord Aldwich turned to his son. “This is Miss Eloisa and Miss Cissy Delaney.”

  “I know,” Rafael declared somewhat ruefully. “It’s a pleasure to meet you at last.”

  “Oh, yes, well, quite.” Lord Aldwich coughed uncomfortably and waved Eloisa and Cissy toward a seat. “Might I get you dears a drink?”

  “Oh, no thank you.”

  “Well then, let’s get down to why I have asked you here, shall we?” He looked down at some papers on his desk for a moment. A somewhat tense silence settled over them while everyone waited for him to speak. “Firstly, I should like you both to call me Arthur. That’s my given name. Now that you are here, I think that it is only fair that we confess to the truth of matters.”

  “The truth, my lord?” Eloisa queried. She kept her face polite and impassive but, deep inside, her heart raced.

  “Arthur,” he prompted.

  “Sorry,” Eloisa whispered.

  “Your mother, Isadora, God rest her soul, was my sister.”

  Eloisa stared at Lord Aldwich blankly for a moment. Her gaze flew to Rafael, who clearly already knew. Cissy, bless her, looked equally as stunned as Eloisa.

  “Are you sure?” Cissy demanded. She immediately gasped and looked apologetically at both men. “Please forgive my rudeness.”

  “It’s quite alright, dear. You see, when your father met your mother, he didn’t have a title, or much wealth for that matter. He wasn’t deemed a suitable match for your mother, who was a Winterton. She refused to marry anyone else though, in spite of our father’s attempts to find a more suitable match for her. She eloped with your father when my Papa refused to agree to a wedding.” He coughed and shifted uncomfortably again. “The marriage was legalised before anything could be done to stop it.”

  When neither of the ladies said anything, Lord Aldwich studied each of them carefully before he continued.

  “My father was less than pleased and, to begin with, wouldn’t acknowledge the marriage. My sister – your mother – went to live with her husband and had you Cissy, before the year was out. When my father found out about their marriage, he was more than a little vocal with his objections, and matters became extremely difficult. A lot was said, and threatened, and it caused a rift that time just wasn’t able to heal.” He threw them a somewhat apologetic look. “In the years afterward, father asked her to come back to the family seat, and sent her many invitations to our social events, but your mother always refused.”

  “She never forgave her father,” Eloisa declared softly. “That explains it,” she sighed.

  “What?” Cissy demanded.

  Eloisa looked at her sister. “In the carriage the other week, I studied the gloves you said belonged to mother. I cannot even remember her going to a ball so couldn’t understand why she would have them in the house.”

  Understanding shone in Cissy’s eyes. “She kept them from her days when she attended balls.”

  “That also explains why she played the piano, and why you, Cissy, are so excellent at embroidery,” Eloisa added.

  “You inherited her dancing skills,” Cissy countered. �
�Look at how well you have picked up all of the latest dances from Mr de Lisle.”

  “I am afraid that I was responsible for his little deception,” Lord Aldwich admitted.

  “Deception?”

  “Mr de Lisle has never been a dancing tutor to my son. He is a reputable tutor who currently resides in London, that’s all.”

  “Were you responsible for the stipulation father put in his will?”

  Lord Aldwich nodded. “I went to visit him when your mother passed away. I attended her funeral but sat at the back of the church out of the way. Afterward, I paid your father a visit and suggested that it was time to settle old differences.” He looked across the desk at them. “You are my nieces, after all.” He nodded to Rafael. “You are also his cousins.”

  “You arranged for us to learn a skill?” Eloisa whispered.

  “It seemed the best way to get you to Aldwich Hall so we could break the news to you, as it were,” Lord Aldwich. “With your father having now passed as well, I think it is time we put this historic feud aside. You are my nieces.”

  “We have recently learned that your mother made Arthur your guardian upon the event of your father’s death,” Rafael declared quietly from his position beside the fire.

  “How did you think that putting the stipulation in our father’s will would get us here?” Eloisa asked with a frown.

  Cissy threw her a frown. “Mr de Lisle suggested he could get you an invitation to the ball here.”

  Eloisa sat back, more than a little stunned. “The invitation to your ball came from you.”

  “Offered by Mr de Lisle,” Arthur nodded. “Your father agreed to put the stipulations there because he knew that once he had passed, I would contact you and invite you back into the family. Whatever grievance went on between my father and your mother died along with them as far as we are concerned. Your rightful place is here, within the family.”

  “How did you know what our chosen skills were?” Eloisa asked somewhat aghast at the scheming.

  Arthur smiled. “Your father knew you well. He suspected you would choose dancing lessons, Eloisa. That was all we needed.”

  “But you were going to make Eloisa dance outside because you said she couldn’t be an invited guest,” Cissy declared in a voice that was somewhat accusing.

  “Why did you think that we sent the carriage for her?” Rafael asked. “We told Mr de Lisle to tell her that she was going to dance in the garden.”

  “But she wasn’t,” Cissy whispered and slumped back in her seat.

  Lord Aldwich slowly shook his head. “I would not stand for my niece to dance in the garden when her rightful place is in the ballroom with the other guests.”

  “Mr de Lisle didn’t think you would agree to go, Eloisa, if you knew you would be dancing amongst the Ton. So we concocted the arrangement whereby you would remain outside. Once you were here though –” Rafael shrugged and grinned unrepentantly at her.

  Eloisa knew that there would be little she could do about being ordered inside. As one of the guests, she was duty bound to do what the host asked of her. She didn’t know whether to be annoyed at their scheming or not.

  “That’s why you sent the carriage,” Cissy whispered.

  “Yes, but the buffoons lost her. They are cleaning out the stables for a while to recompense,” Rafael informed them ruefully. “Father won’t trust them with the carriage again.”

  “I can understand that,” Eloisa sighed fervently.

  “Did you give father the money for us to inherit?” Cissy asked with a frown.

  “Your mother inherited her fortune regardless of the discord between her and my father. It went to her husband when she passed away. Thankfully, your father didn’t spend it. He kept it for you and put the stipulation in his will that would open the door for you to return to the family fold as it were.”

  “Heaven’s above,” Cissy whispered. She accepted a handkerchief off Rafael with a quivering smile, and dabbed at the corners of her eyes.

  Eloisa stared at Arthur in shock. In one way she felt as though her entire life had been a lie. She thought about the conversation she had with Cissy the day before her first attempt to attend the ball. Given what they had just learned, they could indeed have lived somewhere splendid, like Lanley Hall if their father had spent their wealth.

  At least we know why father hadn’t touched the wealth we didn’t know about, she mused wryly.

  “I am now welcoming you back into the family, where you belong. I am sorry that it has taken so long to get this matter sorted out.” Lord Aldwich looked at Eloisa. “Please also accept my apologies for that ridiculous excuse of a coachman who failed to take proper care of you during your last carriage journey. Please rest assured that my staff don’t usually lose guests.”

  Eloisa bit back a smile and shared a rueful look with Cissy.

  “That explains why you went to such lengths to try to find her again,” Cissy sighed. She shook her head and looked chidingly at Lord Aldwich. “You could have told me then.”

  “I wanted to, my dear. You had so much on your mind already though that it didn’t seem fair to burden you with all of this. I had practically all of my staff scouring the area for her because she is a member of the Winterton family.” He leaned forward almost conspiratorially. “We look after our own, you know.”

  “She was at Mitchelham castle,” Cissy declared quietly.

  “I know. Simeon Calversham is a fine man, you can’t ask for better,” Arthur declared somewhat proudly.

  “You know him?” Eloisa gulped.

  Rafael nodded knowingly at her. She knew then that he was aware of what had happened between her and Simeon. Maybe not all of it, but enough to know that an association had been there. “I have known Simeon Calversham for several years.”

  “I want you to make yourselves at home here,” Arthur declared firmly. He skirted the desk and came to stand before them. “You are most welcome at Aldwich anytime. I look forward to sharing one dance with you both this evening.”

  Both Cissy and Eloisa stood but, before they could move, found themselves embraced by first Arthur, then Rafael.

  “I am so pleased that we can now put this matter behind us. You must stay with us overnight, and dine with us tomorrow. Lord Pendlebury will be dining with us too. He is around here somewhere,” he declared with a nod, completely oblivious to the affect his quiet statement had on Eloisa. “Well, must go and greet the rest of m’guests. Rafael will introduce you to everyone. The dancing should start soon, so please help yourself to drinks and enjoy your evening.”

  Rafael threw Cissy and Eloisa a dry look. “Not much for social necessities like introductions, is father. You are lucky he told you his name.”

  Eloisa smiled and willed her heart to resume its normal pace. Lord Pendlebury’s name reverberated around in her head over and over, along with the knowledge that he was here, in this house.

  “Such a nice man,” Cissy murmured to nobody in particular.

  Eloisa swallowed and nodded. At the moment she wasn’t sure she could get any sound out past the dryness in her throat. She suddenly dreaded having to leave the room. It felt safe in Lord Aldwich’s study, and she was reluctant to leave it.

  “He is that, my dear,” Mr de Lisle replied crisply from the doorway. “Now then, Eloisa, like Lord Aldwich just said, the dancing should begin soon. I think that we shall go out onto the terrace for the first dance. You go on out there and wait for me. I shall fetch us some Ratafia, and will be with you in a thrice.”

  He disappeared before Eloisa could reply. She turned to Cissy, who nodded to someone in the crowd and then threw Eloisa an apologetic look.

  “I hope you don’t mind, but I have just seen someone I know in the crush. I should like to go and have a word with them. I shall meet up with you later, after your dances.”

  To Eloisa’s consternation, Cissy didn’t bother to wait around either and was quickly followed out of the room by Rafael. “Must see to the guests,” he drawled
, having seemingly forgotten that he was supposed to introduce her and Cissy to some of them himself.

  “Well, really,” Eloisa gasped as she watched Rafael vanish into the crowd. Feeling abandoned, she studied the assembled guests for anyone she knew but couldn’t even see Mr de Lisle.

  “Pardon?” A tall, dapperly dressed gentleman asked as he was passing.

  “Nothing,” she replied absently. With nothing else to do, and nobody around whom she could talk to, Eloisa made her way outside to the terrace.

  It was wonderful to step outside and take a deep breath of the evening air. The house was already packed to the rafters yet more and more people were arriving. It was amazing that anybody managed to dance at all given that it was impossible to even see through the crowd.

  While the relative quiet of the garden settled around her, Eloisa took a moment to gather herself. Her world had just been thrown into turmoil – again by the news that Simeon was around here somewhere. She drew in a deep breath and willed her nerves to settle.

  “Hello, Eloisa.”

  Her heart leapt into her throat at the sound of the husky rumble so very close to her ear. She whirled around and, in spite of the hurt that still lingered, instinctively began to smile at him. Delight suffused her to think that he had sought her out. Unfortunately, the hideous memory of his coldness toward her the last time she had seen him stole all trace of her joy.

  “Hello, my lord,” she whispered, and dipped into a curtsey. While she managed to keep her face a polite mask of indifference, her heart thundered heavily in her chest.

  “How are you this evening?” Simeon murmured politely. She was paler than he could remember, and had lost a little weight but she still looked so incredibly beautiful that she took his breath away.

  “I am fine, thank you for asking,” Eloisa replied woodenly.

  She threw a quick glance toward the door but wasn’t sure whether she wanted Mr de Lisle to rescue her, or not. It was wonderful to see Simeon again, but that delight was suffused with pain at the knowledge of what she had once shared with him, and lost completely.

  Simeon hated the awkwardness between them. He wanted to shake her and demand that she talk to him, but he couldn’t bring himself to touch her. His control was tentative enough as it was. He daren’t do anything else that would upset her and make the situation any worse. The last month had been the longest month of his entire life. Now that she was here, nothing was going to part them ever again, if only he could find a way past that cold mask of indifference that didn’t seem to fit her very well.