But before that, Robert needed to take care another concern, that of the woman he had locked into his office. Before he left, he had given Gilley orders to check on her frequently but not to let her leave without an escort home. He knew all too well they still walked a fine line with Eloise’s reputation. No one but Gilley, Lucy, and Adrienne knew about her masquerade in search of Timothy. But her father would return from Eton soon, and she needed to adopt her normal behavior, abandon her disguise, and let events toward finding Timothy play out.
With one extenuating exception.
Robert’s stride lengthened as he headed back to the emporium. He reached the private entrance quickly, nodding once to the boy who stood watch, who appeared to be an urchin who had found a nearby crate to sleep in. Once the emporium closed for the night, the boy would have a warm room and bed, but until then he would raise an alarm should anyone other than Robert try to enter that locked door. Robert passed through the bedchamber, opened the office door, and stopped as he slowly took in the scene before him, wonder filling his mind.
Eloise slept, slumped over the desk, her head resting on her outstretched right arm. The fingers of her left hand still curled around a quill, although both lay limply near her face. The disarray of his desk and nearby bookshelf had been transformed into tidy stacks, each with a ledger on top, holding the papers down.
A smaller pile of papers near her left arm appeared to be an itemized list, and he picked it up quietly, turning through the pages. The name of a business headed each one, followed by a profit-and-loss summary, suggestions for business improvements, and a list of potential buyers. Some of the names he barely recognized—others he knew only from their appearance in the newspapers.How did she—?
Robert looked up from them to the woman who had fallen asleep over her work, his admiration and affection tightening his chest and throat.My little mouse...
But this was no mouse. Eloise Surrey was no prey. She was a formidable woman who took no brook with nonsense or weakness. A potent opponent and a fierce partner.
No wonder you never married, my beautiful friend.The men of thetonno doubt found her terrifying. And for a moment Robert felt grateful for that realization. For it mean she would come into his life at this time, this fascinating woman who pushed him, drove him toward something neither of them could yet see.
He continued to turn through the pages in his hands, intrigued by her ideas, all of which seemed plausible. Then he stopped at one, his eyes widening. It concerned an estate in Maidstone, one Bill had confiscated a few weeks back in payment for an extensive debt. The previous owner had subsequently been killed in a plot concerning the Ashtons and their business dealings, leaving the Campion ownership free and clear. Beneath the name of the estate, Eloise had printed in precise letters:
Blood money
Should be redeemed
Do not sell—Find new purpose—a haven?
Tenants are suffering
Reform house—Refurbish—Preserve tenancies
Robert knew the house, the estate. The previous owner had neglected the house to the point that no one, not even servants, lived there anymore. The tenants had to be barely surviving. He looked against Eloise’s sleeping form.What do you have in mind, little mouse?
Robert replaced the papers, reached down, and stroked his fingers along her bare forearm.
Chapter Twenty
Wednesday, 20 July 1825
Campion’s Gentlemen’s Emporium
Two in the morning
Eloise felt thegentle touch on her arm and jerked, snapping upward, certain it was another spider. She had killed two of the demons in the office already. A sharp yelp burst out of her as she shoved the touch away to discover Robert, mirth lighting his face, standing over her.
He threw up his hands. “I did not mean to frighten you. My apologies.”
Eloise ran her hand up and down her forearm as she stood up, shivering. “Damn you. I thought you were a spider.” She pointed at one of the bookcases. “You have cupboard spiders. You should have someone give this room a thorough going-over.”
He chuckled. “I am sorry.”
The door burst opened, and Gilley stuck his head in. “Lady Eloise—!” He stopped, his gaze moving from Eloise, who hugged herself, and Robert, who could not stop laughing. Gilley straightened. “Is everything all right?”
“You have spiders!” Eloise blurted, wondering if she sounded as foolish as she felt.
Gilley stared at her. After a moment, he turned to Robert, his eyes wide in question.
Robert waved at him, a gesture of dismissal. “Everything is all right. Lady Eloise was merely startled.”
Gilley shook his head and closed the door.
Eloise glared at Robert. “How dare you laugh at me?”
