Page 116 of A Single Obsession

He turned toward her. “Scared?”

“Of course not. I’m with you.”

He gave a low chuckle. “Every other lady of my acquaintance would have a fit of the vapours, but not you. I believe you’re enjoying this adventure.”

They shared a grin as he squeezed her hand.

“Not a noise,” he said, opening the door in front of them. As predicted, it was the tapestry chamber—and it was empty.

The entrance to the drawing room stood ajar and through it came the unmistakable sound of laughter. Beau manoeuvred his position so he could survey the area, and then moved away so Eliza could look.

Peeping through the gap, she spied Reed and a man snuggled up on a chaise longue, enjoying a bottle of port. Beau’s port. As he turned, she saw his face, and stifled a gasp. She recognised him.

Eliza grabbed Beau’s hand and hurried back down the passage, almost dragging him behind her. After putting some distance between them and the interlopers, she stopped.

“What is it?” he asked. “You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”

“That man. He helped steal Romeo.”

Beau gaped in surprise.

“I saw him the day we found your colt and thought he seemed familiar, but I couldn’t recall where I’d seen him before until now. It was when I was going to meet you for an early morning ride. I almost bumped into Reed on my way out of the house, and that man was hurrying away from what I supposed was a lovers’ tryst. It seems I was right. But fancy her being entangled with a thief. Do you think she knows?”

For several moments, Beau did not answer, but his eyes took on a distant look, and his expression turned from one of surprise to something far less pleasant.

“Stop it. You’re scaring me. Your eyes are so fierce they might burst into flames.”

Eliza raised a palm to his cheek and held it there until he looked down at her. The ferocity disappeared as quickly as it had come.

“I’m sorry,” he said, kissing her hand. “It’s just that…this is the last piece of the puzzle, and I don’t like the finished picture. That man is not a common thief—he’s following orders. My mother’s orders. She planned it all. She stole Romeo to force me to wed to fund my horses. When that didn’t work, she arranged this ruse, tricking you into coming here, so you would be compromised, and I would be obliged to marry you.

“She knew I wouldn’t ignore such an obligation, even though I no longer needed the money. To think of the humiliation she was prepared to put you through to get her own way. Our loss of dignity and the right to choose our own path. I’ll never forgive her—”

“Don’t speak like that, Beau. It was wrong—very wrong—of her, but you must forgive her, or it will destroy you.”

“Hmm. If you say so.”

“If you don’t, it will be you who suffers for it, not her. My sister said if I held onto unforgiveness, it would eat me up inside, like a cankerous worm. If I had been quicker to forgive you for hurting me, this ruse would never have been necessary.”

“But if she hadn’t stolen Romeo, Jem would have ridden him to success, and you would not have risked so much for me. We would have been spared weeks of heartache—”

Eliza grasped his hands. “I know it’s painful, but you must let it go.”

“I expect you’re right, but it will be so very hard to forgive my mother for what she’s done.”

“Now, what about Reed and her man? Isn’t it time we dealt with them?”

“We? I’ll deal with them. I don’t want to risk you getting injured.”

She pouted. “Please don’t send me away.”

“Is it always going to be this difficult to look after you?”

“Probably,” she said with a mischievous smile.

“I’ll go round to the gallery, and enter from there. You can watch from the tapestry chamber doorway, but don’t come in. It could become unpleasant if Reed’s accomplice gets handy with his fists. If either of them heads your way, slip back into the servants’ corridor. Promise?”

Eliza nodded. It was a compromise, but at least she wasn’t being banished. She positioned herself so she had a clear view of the action and waited.