by Vella, Wendy
“We are here to help you with that transition, Maddie.”
“Hello.” Max was now at the bottom of the stairs. “I wondered where you two had gone.”
Like Rory, this brother had happiness radiating off him. She swallowed down the resentment that he had been living this life while she had not.
“We are getting to know each other, brother.”
“Wonderful.” Max climbed the stairs and sat on the one below Maddie, and suddenly she was trapped. The only escape route was up.
“I should go and check on Fleur.”
“She is fine. I just saw her on Warwick’s back as he galloped down the hallway. She is happy.”
Fleur was happy. Maddie had done everything she could to ensure that happened and failed many times.
“What are you discussing?”
“Us, living here. How this is an adjustment for Maddie.”
“Do you wish to leave?” Max looked at her.
“I don’t know yet. I wanted to visit and for Fleur to see her family—”
“Where would you go if not here with us?” Max asked. “Surely not France. There is nothing for you there now.”
“I don’t know. It is too soon to make that decision. But eventually I will find work, and we will—”
“No, that will not happen. You and Maddie will stay here with us now. We have plenty, there is no need for you to work.”
“Max,” James cautioned.
“What I do is not your concern, Max.” Her brother’s jaw was set in that way she remembered. It meant he would not be moved.
“It is everything to do with me. You arrive in worn and old clothes with little but a single bag, Maddie. I saw the desperation etched in your face, and it broke my heart that I had left you to suffer. I believed you happy with your husband, and now I wonder why you weren’t.”
“I was tired from traveling and nothing more. Jacques was a good man, but we did not have this, what you have.”
“And you resent me for that.”
“I don’t.” Maddie sighed. “Mine was a good life until my husband’s death.”
“And then?”
James sat silently at her side, listening as the Huntington siblings talked.
“It matters not, as it is in the past.”
“It matters to me,” Max said softly. “I will not have you living in poverty when there is no need. You or your daughter. Surely Fleur deserves a better life?”
And that touched on the worry she’d battled since her husband’s death. How would she support her daughter? How would she keep her safe?
“Your life is here now, Maddie, where you have family. Were anything to happen to you, Fleur would be cared for.”
She didn’t answer, and Max sighed.
“Just spend time here, sister, and get to know us all.”
“I need to go to Fleur. Excuse me.” Maddie turned and ran up the stairs and away from her disturbing brothers.
So many thoughts whirled inside her head. Could she stay, knowing what she had done? Would her past deeds follow her? She’d murdered a man and then fled France, and the only person who knew was her mother.
A woman so evil, even Satan could not compete.
Chapter 8
Harry whistled softly as he walked along the darkened street. He’d had a meal with his grandmother. Listened as she demanded information about the Sinclair family he had no wish to be part of. He’d dared not mention there was a duke and duchess; she would be unbearable in her need to visit them. When he could stand it no more, he’d left, lying about an appointment he did not have.
Deep in thought, as he’d been for the two days since he’d left Devonshire Sinclair’s house, he contemplated his life as he walked the narrow street.
Faris had told him yesterday that his brooding would lead to badly written prose if he didn’t take steps to pull himself out of the mood he’d fallen into, which was enough to give him pause. Harry did not get into moods. He knew his path, had set it himself, and never deviated. Those bloody Sinclairs and Ravens were inside his head, and he needed them evicted.
The problem was, no matter how much he fought against it, those people were his family, and he’d always wanted family even though he’d denied that very thing vehemently to Faris. However, he’d promised the man who’d raised him that he’d never have interactions with a Sinclair of his blood.
Harry had hoped to marry one day and have children of his own. They would be the family he’d secretly longed for. He’d never thought his actual family would appear to tilt his world upside down.
He wasn’t sure what had him turning right when he needed to go left, and yet here he was. Looking at the sign of the building he was passing, he saw it was Faris’s favorite tavern.
The Speckled Hen apparently had the best pies in London, and the ale was excellent also. Perhaps he’d sample some, Harry thought. What other reason could he have to walk along here? Unease trickled down his spine.
He was hungry. Maybe he just needed to eat? Harry did not function well when his stomach was gnawing at him to be fed.
“I blame them,” he muttered. Those bloody Ravens and Sinclairs. All chatty and laughing, children and happiness. It was enough to throw a man off his stride, which it had. What he needed to do was leave England and go back to France. Once he was out at sea, everything would return to normal.
His meetings had gone well today… well, two of the three anyway. One had insisted on discussing Maxwell Huntington and that Harry should make contact with the man, as he would be an excellent person for him to have business dealings with.
“You’ll be wanting to back away now, gentlemen.”
The words came from up ahead. Harry searched the darkness and saw men.
“Well now, see here’s the problem with that, governor. I want what’s in your pockets. You toffs will have enough on you to make us very happy for quite some time.”
“Three against five hardly seems fair numbers.”
Harry knew that voice. He walked on quietly.
“We’d hardly have the numbers in your favor, now would we.”
“I think you misunderstood me. The numbers are in our favor. Scum like you will go down easily.”
“That will do, Cam.”
He would know that voice too, if he hadn’t already seen Devonshire Sinclair standing beside his brother. Plus, there was the small frisson of awareness that he now associated with his cousins.
Dev and Cam had their backs to him. Another stood with them also, but Harry didn’t know his identity.
“I’ve known you two days, and already you’re causing me trouble,” Harry said as he joined their line.
“Take them!” one of the men opposite him yelled.
“Harry! Excellent timing, old chap,” Cambridge said. Then with a roar he charged.
“Everything is always theatrical with him.” Devonshire grunted as a man swung at him. He ducked, but it connected with his shoulder.
Harry had fought many dirty fights, and he could take care of himself, but these were noblemen. He would be bloody and bruised before this was over, as he held out little hope his cousins actually knew how to defend themselves. His job would be to ensure they walked away from here in one piece.
“Move your feet!” he roared as someone swung a beefy fist at Cam. “Hands before your face.”
Cambridge swung his leg in a move Harry had never seen, and his foot connected with a man, sending him stumbling backward. “Just because we’re gentlemen doesn’t mean we’re incapable,” he added before pulling one of the men off his brother.
The other man was boxing, jabbing his opponent if he got too close. Harry swung and felled his man, then turned for another.
The fight was fierce, and the thud of flesh had him ducking and swaying. Dropping his man again, he spun to help his cousins. They were watching him, no longer fighting. Harry looked around for their opponents and saw they were groaning on the ground.
“Finish him, Nicholas!” Cam yelled.
/> The man he now knew as Nicholas was still boxing; he jabbed with his left, then shot out with his right, and his man staggered back, fell over one of the other men, and landed in a heap.
“You can’t really say that was a knockout though, Nicholas,” Cam said. “He tripped and fell.”
“It bloody well was a knockout.” Nicholas wiped the back of his mouth on his cuff. “I dropped him, and I’ll have words with you if you say different.”
“Perhaps this discussion could be undertaken in a more congenial atmosphere?” Lord Sinclair said.
“What the bloody hell are you lot doing in this street at this hour!” The words exploded from Harry.
They ignored him and started walking. He was forced to run to catch them.
“Harry, this is Nicholas. He is Lilly’s brother and wed to Alice, your cousin,” Dev said, looking like he had walked out of a ballroom and not a brawl.
“It’s like looking at you and Wolf.” Nicholas’s eyes swung from Dev to Harry.
“He also has a rather nifty way with children.”
“Nifty?” Nicholas raised a brow at Cam’s words.
“Thank you, I don’t think we need elaborate further,” Harry added.
“Left, Harry. There is a large pile of something unpleasant ahead.”
Adjusting his steps, he did as Cam said, as now he could see the unpleasant pile of something.
“Explain to me, if you please, why you are here so far from home and what just happened?” Harry gritted out.
“We were in a fight.” Cam smiled. “I do enjoy a good mill when no one has weapons. Perhaps don’t tell our wives, however.”
Devon and Nicholas grunted their agreement.
“But why were you here at this hour? Surely there is some social engagement you should be attending?” Harry looked at the men as they left the street and entered a busier one. There was lamp lighting here. “This is really not a place for the likes of you three.”
“Us three?” Nicholas said politely.
“Are noblemen only allowed to socialize then?” Devon asked. “Are there certain parameters we should stay within? I had not realized this.”
“He did seem to think we couldn’t look after ourselves in a fight,” Cambridge said. “Clearly his opinion of us is unflattering.”
“Well, it took me a while to like you,” Nicholas said.
“There is that. And you weren’t exactly on any guest list of mine.” Cambridge looked at Nicholas. “There was that annoyingly noxious habit you had after all.”
Were they serious? Speaking as if the last few minutes had not happened, making light of the entire situation when even now those men could have been robbing them or worse? Okay, Harry had to concede they did appear to know how to look after themselves, but still.
“That I was an inebriated gambling wastrel with little or no sense?” Nicholas said.
“The very one.”
“Why are you here?” Harry spoke the words louder this time.
“We just had pies,” Cam said.
“Pies?”
“The Speckled Hen has the best peas and kidney. We always stop there.”
“Are there not pies closer to your homes? Can your cooks or chefs not create them for you so you are not thrust into dangerous situations?”
“Ah, I see the problem here,” Devon added. “It’s that business we discussed at my house. The noblemen behaving differently issue.”
“What?” Cam’s nose wrinkled. “God’s blood, what is that stench?” Taking the handkerchief Dev held out, he pressed it to his nose.
“I don’t envy him his sense,” Nicholas said. “All those revolting scents about the place daily.”
“Do you have one?” Harry asked the question before he could stop himself. He’d sworn to keep his distance from these men.
“I have visions about things that have happened, will happen, or need to happen.”
“That can’t be easy.”
“No, but now I have this lot to help me, it is much more so.”
“Come, we may need another pie now, as I just exercised and am once again hungry,” Cam said.
“You ate two pies,” Nicholas said.
“And? I did not have the apple one, so I shall try that now.”
“I will leave, now you are safe.” Harry turned. A hand on his shoulder turned him back.
“Get inside the Speckled Hen, Harry,” Devonshire Sinclair said.
“I don’t take direction from you, my lord.”
“I’m not sure why you’d be any different; we’re constantly forced to take direction from him,” Cam muttered, entering the tavern. “It’s our cross to bear.”
“However, it is not mine,” Harry snapped.
“Please come and have a pie with us, Harry,” Devon said. “I do tend to dictate, but in my defense, someone has to lead this rabble.”
“All true,” Nicholas said, following Cam.
He nodded because he was hungry, as his grandmother had served him bite-sized morsels that would barely fill an infant’s belly. It was his choice to enter the Speckled Hen, not theirs. A final drink would not hurt anyone, least of all him, and he could then leave and never see them again.
The interior was dark, the lamps doing little more than provide ambience. The hum of voices greeted them as they moved to a table.
“Back so soon, my lovelies?”
“We missed you, Hetty.” Cam smiled at the waitress.
“Well now, that’s sweet, and yet I know it’s my pies that lure you back here, Cambridge Sinclair. Since you put that ad in your paper, we’ve been busy.”
“I’m glad, and you deserve to be busy.”
“Cam owns a paper,” Dev explained.
Cam owned a paper. These people were full of surprises.
An order was placed, and Harry found his mouth was watering for the taste of pie.
“Harry is of the opinion that those who frequent society should behave as gentlemen. I think it’s fair to say we are not conforming.”
Harry could feel his collar tightening at Dev’s words. Cam and Nicholas started laughing.
“He really has no idea about us then,” Nicholas said when he could speak.
“Let me enlighten you, Harry,” Devon said. “James, Nicholas, and Lilly possibly have the bluest blood, so you are right about them.”
“Oh now, I protest,” Nicholas said.
“The stories of my family are not all mine to tell, but our story, that of the Sinclair siblings, was not an easy one. We were extremely poor—”
“And I was set on ruination through gambling and alcohol,” Cam said.
“Like me,” Nicholas added.
“Wolf was in the army, and nearly lost his life.”
“Forgive me, I did not mean to judge you.” Harry’s words were clipped.
“Yes, you did. You’re a snob, is what you are, Harry, but we shall set you to rights,” Cam added.
“I have no wish to be set to rights, and I am no snob.”
“It’s reverse snobbery. There has been plenty of that in the family too.”
He felt the words had some accuracy, as they had him wanting to shuffle in his seat. His father had convinced him peers were a shoddy lot of people not to be trusted.
“Maddie is the same,” Cam said. “Won’t unbend around any of us. She is convinced we are not for her and her life should be spent elsewhere.”
“The woman I met the other day?” Harry said the words casually.
“The very one. There is a story there, and Max and Rory believe the same. She is scared and running, but as yet no one knows what from.”
She’d been scared the day he’d first seen her, and heartbreakingly alone. Harry could clearly remember the vision of her holding Fleur in Calais.
“I’m sure her brothers will look after her.”
“They will, but if there is an enemy, it is important to know from which direction it comes,” Nicholas said. “Mind you, this family has faced its share of tho
se. I’m sure they’ll be ready.”
He didn’t want to think of her in danger; in fact, the thought made him nauseous.
“All we need now is for Harry to save Maddie and then the rest will fall into place,” Cam said, then got an elbow in the ribs from Dev, which Harry doubted would shut him up.
“Tell me about this supposed marriage ritual?” He said the words out of curiosity, as he would not be marrying any woman of Raven blood, especially not the disturbing Madeline Caron.
“Our senses came about many years ago when a powerful Raven was saved by a lowly Sinclair,” Dev said.
“Of course, we are no longer lowly,” Cam added.
“King Edward III gave the Sinclair land, Oak’s Knoll, our family land, and it sits at the base of Raven Castle. The heightened senses, we understand, developed from there as the Sinclairs became protectors of the Ravens.”
“It is hard to believe,” Harry said.
“Throughout history, there are records of Sinclairs saving Ravens.”
“They’re bloody reckless, is what they are,” Cam muttered. “Eden saved James from drowning, and Dev saved him during the war. Essie pulled a bullet out of Max. I saved Em from drowning.”
“Alice saved me from being attacked by men,” Nicholas added.
“The list goes on, but the other twist to the tie we have is that Sinclairs marry Ravens. That is why I asked if you’d saved Maddie, as it then follows you’ll likely marry her,” Cam said.
They were looking at him, so Harry kept his expression blank. No way did he want it known that he’d saved Maddie and Fleur already.
“I’m afraid I must disillusion you there. I will be returning to France, so there will be no chance to save her, or indeed wed her.”
“What color are they, Dev?” Nicholas asked.
“Color?”
“The colors we see, Harry. It’s my belief you should marry only another of your color, then the union will be a strong one.”
Dear Christ.
“What colors are they, just out of curiosity.” Cam’s eyes were deadly serious now as they locked on Harry’s.
“I have not seen the shade before. They are both a deep shade of lavender.” Dev was watching him closely too.
“Well, entertaining though this has been, gentlemen, I must go. I may not see you again, as my ship is due to sail shortly, so have, ah, have a good life.” His chest was so tight, he could barely draw in a breath.
