Fallen Hero (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 3)

“Do you know what time it is?” she asked the man on her doorstep when she yanked the door open.

Rollo Voss lifted his brows at her. “Did your brother not teach you any better manners? Did he not teach you not to greet a visitor to your house so rudely?”

“Did your mother not teach you any better manners than not to call at people’s houses before an acceptable calling time? Eight o’clock in the morning is not acceptable by any man’s standards, unless you are a barrow boy, that is,” Elspeth snapped sarcastically.

She had no idea what had come over her because she would ordinarily never be this rude to anybody. Whether it was Frederick’s behaviour last night, or the silent yet reassuring presence of the men behind her Elspeth couldn’t be sure, but she made good use of the confidence their presence gave her. Now that she had been able to rid her life of the troublesome baggage that was her cousin, she was determined to deal with the second major annoyance in her life right now – Rollo Voss.

“What do you want?” she asked impatiently.

“I should like to come in and talk to you,” Rollo drawled as though she was dense.

“I don’t think it is appropriate, do you? Nor is it appropriate for you to call upon a single lady unchaperoned at such an ungodly hour of the morning,” Elspeth informed him coldly. “Besides, I do believe we have nothing to talk about.”

To her disbelief, Rollo stepped uncomfortably closer. His head tipped toward hers until he was so close she had to lean back to avoid their heads banging together. She struggled to contain her disgust at the heady stench of his breath.

“I have come to make you an offer that I am sure you will be unable to refuse,” Rollo drawled. His voice dipped, but so did his eyes, and in such a lecherous way that Elspeth’s stomach began to churn with the force of her revulsion.

“What do you want?” she demanded with a heavy scowl.

Rollo studied her for several moments. His eyes flickered, several times, to the silence of the empty house behind her.

“Scared, are we, my dear?” Rollo murmured, his tone a mixture of sinister and silken menace that made her shudder.

“Of what?” Elspeth challenged.

“I can assure you that I shall behave myself,” Rollo drawled.

“I can assure you that you will,” Elspeth snapped. “Because you are not coming in. Now, for the last time, what do you want?”

Rollo sighed somewhat theatrically. He stepped closer and seemed to find it amusing that she immediately edged away from him.

The oaf likes the fact that he can worry me. He is nothing more than a bullying thug, just like Frederick.

Suddenly, as though one of the lightning bolts she had witnessed last night had just struck her, Elspeth jerked to attention.

Rollo, completely immersed in his mission, was oblivious to the steady squint she levelled on him.

“You are a young woman all alone in this huge house. It must be lonely living here all by yourself. Why, I wonder how you are managing to survive,” he drawled.

Elspeth, who was still raw from her ordeal of the last several days, found this a particularly harsh statement for him to make. It began to fan the flames of her fury.

“I manage,” she replied, affronted at his assumption that she couldn’t cope with life on her own.

She could – or would have been able to if she had had any money. The fact that she had none was something she would rather walk over hot coals in Hell before admitting to the likes of Rollo Voss, though.

“Well, I am here now to save you, my darling,” Rollo drawled dramatically.

“Save me?” Elspeth thundered. “From what?”

“A life of destitution and loneliness,” Rollo declared with a knowing nod.

Elspeth went cold at the absolute certainty in his eyes.

Suddenly, the door behind her was yanked open. Aaron appeared in the form of one long arm, the fist upon which suddenly grabbed an unsuspecting Rollo by the throat. Elspeth gasped as she found the space where Rollo had been standing empty within seconds. She turned in time to watch Rollo being slammed mercilessly down into a chair in the kitchen behind her.

“What the Devil is this?” Rollo demanded in outrage. When he tried to get up, a clearly annoyed Aaron shoved him ruthlessly back down again.

“Just what do you know about Thomas and Elspeth?” Aaron demanded without preamble.