The Sign of the Raven

by L. C. Sharp

  The floorboards depressed as one of the men behind him stepped forward, gripped his shoulder and dragged him back. Ash tensed, certain he was about to receive punishment for his transgression. Instead, he felt the rough cords loosen as the guard swept a knife through his bonds.

  Ash closed his eyes against the agony as blood rushed back into his hands. He clenched his fists, opened them again. Repeated the action.

  The Raven glanced at the man.

  “They were too tight,” the man said.

  “Be’ave yourself an’ we won’t ’ave to do it again,” he muttered.

  “Don’t expect me to thank you.”

  So the man standing behind him was not the one who’d tied the knot binding his hands. And he was concerned for Ash’s welfare. Juliana’s hands were tied, but loosely, and at the front.

  The Raven cleared his throat. “All right. Well then. Now you know. I di’n’t do it, an’ I di’n’t order it. But that man ’ad something I don’t give out easy. So I’m going to find out where ’e got it from, and I’ll deal with it. Back orf. Leave me to deal wiv it.”

  That was all? Ash frowned. True, the tokens would be important, but that important? He was missing something, but he couldn’t work out what it was. “I can’t promise that. I don’t give up cases at anyone’s behest.”

  “Not even the Fieldings?” The Raven’s sneer told Ash what the man thought about the two magistrates.

  “No, not even them,” he replied evenly.

  “’Er, then.” The man jabbed a finger at Juliana.

  Ash wanted to chop his finger off. And he could, considering the weapon by his side. His hands were free now.

  But they wouldn’t get farther than the front door, if he tried to get her away. No, patience was called for. Although if they tried violence, at least he could inflict some damage before he was done.

  “She’s my wife, so yes, her if she asked me to,” Ash said evenly. He addressed Juliana directly, trying to convey to her that he would get them both out of this, trying to reassure her any way he could. “Juliana, do you want me to give up the Coddington case?”

  “No,” she said instantly. “I want you to find out who killed him, so that his widow can find some solace.” The ghost of a smile drifted over her lips. “And so that justice is done.”

  Ash returned her almost smile, allowing warmth to his gaze. He could move his hands more, now, although he doubted they’d have much strength for the next hour or so.

  His gaze was cold when he returned his attention to the Raven. “Do you intend to let us go?”

  The man shrugged. “I might as well. But keep your nose aht of my business. Unnerstand?” He took a step closer, but Ash kept his gaze steady, his hands still.

  “I understand, but that doesn’t indicate compliance.”

  “Humph.”

  The Raven stood back. “Take ’em out and let them go.” He turned, as if tired of the conversation, but he stopped at an inner door and spun back to face them. “Keep out of my business. That’s all. If you get to know who stole that safe conduct, let me know.”

  “If I do that, will you tell me who committed the murder and give the perpetrator up so that justice can be done?”

  The Raven hesitated. “If I can, I will.”

  Then he left, slamming the door behind him.

  This time the blindfolds were tied just enough to prevent them moving the fabric. Ash’s hands were tied again, but this time the bonds did not grip so tightly. Enough to restrain him, no more. He appreciated the care, though he wasn’t about to say so.

  They were led from the room, down the stairs and out to a waiting carriage. At least he had Juliana with him now. That had been Ash’s only thought when he’d come here, knowing he had no choice.

  They sat in the carriage saying nothing. What was there to say? Or rather, there was far too much to say, that they had better wait until later.

  After another long and twisting journey, their hands were untied and they were pushed out of the carriage. Ash stumbled, but managed to catch himself. “Juliana!” he called.

  “I’m here.” She was but a step away from him.

  “Sir!”

  Baynon ran to them. The ruffians had dropped Ash and Juliana outside their front door.

  Chapter Fourteen

  After a bath and a set of fresh clothes, Juliana felt much better. She couldn’t deny that being snatched from the street had terrified her, but once her reason had returned, she’d known she was only bait. And that made her angry. They’d put her in a chair, and told her she would wait for him. If she kept her mouth shut, no harm would come to her.

  She’d had plenty of time to study her surroundings and she’d come to several conclusions, which she needed to discuss with her husband.

  Sitting before the mirror at her dressing table, watching her maid dress her hair, Juliana saw a new woman staring back at her. She had come on so much since her marriage to Ash she hardly knew the person she’d been before.

  When she went downstairs, she found that Ash had ordered dinner held back half an hour. She went into the drawing room and found him already there. Alone.

  “I might have known you would not stay in bed.” He smiled as he came to take her hands. “Although I wanted you to. You have been through an ordeal today.”

  “A small one,” she admitted, “but not enough to cause me to retire to my bed like a dowager with the vapors.”

  “I would have done anything to spare you that experience.”

  From another person, those words could have been empty protestations, but from Ash, she knew they were true. He knew and understood what had happened to her in the past. But she had not thought about it during today’s ordeal—not more than a dozen times, at any rate.

  “It did me a favor, in an odd way. I learned that I am stronger than the memories. I can do this, Ash.”

  He smiled, gazing into her eyes. “I know you can. Don’t worry, I don’t intend to surround you with burly footmen and ban you from leaving the house. Only one footman, and reasonable precautions, like leaving word where you can be found.”

  “That sounds reasonable.” Relieved her, as well, since she had worried he would impose the restrictions she’d lived under for so long. “Are you all right?”

  He wore lace ruffles drooping over his wrists, which was unusual for him. He generally went for smaller linen ruffles, a nod to fashion but no more. She was not fooled. Gently, she pulled her hand out of his and lifted a ruffle, revealing the livid red marks on his wrists. She wanted to kiss them. Foolish, but she acknowledged the urge without giving in to it. “Are your hands all right?”

  “Perfectly.” He shook his arm, allowing the lace to fall back. “Five more minutes might have proved risky, though. I’ll have the marks to remind me for a week or two, that is all.”

  Tugging on her hand, he brought her close, hard against his chest. She lifted her gaze to his, having no objection to his precipitate move.

  What she saw shocked her more than anything else that had happened that day. He framed her face with his spare hand. “When Freeman brought me the news that you’d been taken, I felt the world fall away around me. Nothing else mattered. I would have run straight to St. Giles to find you, but I received better counsel. I resented every minute I wasn’t searching for you.”

  “I worried so much. I thought they would kill you once they had you. But they did not.”

  “No,” he said. “They did not.”

  She gazed up at him, doing her best to show him what she wanted without saying it. Putting her soul in her eyes as he had that first night in his bed.

  And he kissed her.

  Not like she’d ever been kissed before. So intimate, so precious, she wanted to keep it forever, tucked inside her to bring out when she was out of sorts to console her.

  “Let me know w
hat you want, what you like. Tell me, Juliana. If you want me to stop, I will stop, I swear it.”

  “Don’t. Don’t stop.”

  He pressed his lips to hers. As always, she was reminded of the softness and fullness of lips that could appear so hard. But as the kiss deepened, and she threw her arm around his neck to keep him with her, passion swept over her, and she reveled in it.

  Nothing else remained, nothing to force her away. She welcomed him with all her heart, and trusted him with everything she was.

  When he opened his mouth, she followed suit, and accepted the caress of his tongue, as she gave him hers. Tingles spread through her body and she rubbed against him, longing for more, to feel more, to see more. All of him. Releasing her other hand, he embraced her, pressing her body against his, letting her feel his response to her.

  He ended the kiss too abruptly for Juliana’s liking, but although he loosened his hold on her, he didn’t push her away. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I know what we agreed when we married, but it seems that circumstances are changing. Rather quickly, apparently.”

  “So they are.” She stroked his jaw with her forefinger, the sensation of stubble washing over her. He felt so strong, so protective. But his acceptance that she wanted none of that warmed her, too. “I don’t mind. That is, I like it.” A wave of unaccustomed shyness swept over her. “I like you. I mean, I want to see where this takes us. I’m ready, Ash, I’m sure I am.”

  “Juliana,” he said, the word a sigh across her skin.

  Turning his head, he pressed a kiss into her palm and cradled her hand, keeping it against his cheek. His eyes met hers. “I vowed all kinds of revenge to whoever had taken you. I knew it was the Raven before I opened the note Freeman brought me. The villain left me an address, and they took me from there.”

  “You walked into it, knowing they could kill you.” Her eyes widened, and fear stroked her soul. But he was here now, alive and well, and gazing at her with an emotion she didn’t quite believe. “That wasn’t for the Coddingtons.”

  “No. That was for you. And I would do it again, even if I knew they would kill me. How could I do anything else?”

  “Well, you could have found out more about who had taken me and what they wanted.”

  “Not when your life was at stake, sweetheart.”

  Despite their kiss, his endearment shocked her. She didn’t know what to say. She tried a shaky laugh. “Is this you? Did they give you something to addle your senses?”

  “No. How I haven’t realized how essential you have become to me, I’ll never know.”

  “Oh!”

  “Yes, ‘oh!’” he mocked gently. “I’m sorry if you don’t like it, but we’ve always been honest with each other, have we not?” He paused, gazed at her before he said, “Do you want me to let you go?”

  “No.”

  To her shock, she enjoyed him holding her close. She snuggled closer, felt his arm tighten around her. “We’re here, we’re safe.”

  “Yes we are.” He threaded his fingers between hers, lifted their joined hands to his mouth, and dropped a gentle kiss on her knuckles. “Are you sure you’re well enough to get up?”

  She laughed. “If I wasn’t before, I am now. Yes, of course I am. I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

  As the door opened, she made to step back, but he held her closer before letting her go.

  “Ah,” Amelia said. “I’m glad to see you both so well. I was worried sick.”

  “About what?” her brother asked.

  His sister cast her gaze upward. “You forget that I saw what happened. And then you’re forgetting that I can twist Freeman around my littlest finger. He told me that you were gone to get Juliana back from the Raven.” She closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. “I said I’d wait until dark, and if you weren’t back by then, I’d go to Bow Street and raise the hue and cry.”

  Ash sighed. “Yes, I can see that. I’d have done the same. I’m sorry I caused you distress.”

  “Oh, think nothing of it,” she said sarcastically. “How are you both? Did you find out what the Raven wanted?”

  Ash’s eyes sparked. “To speak with us.” He almost spat the words. “As if he were a gentleman, requesting rather than forcing us. I’ll tell you the details at dinner. Make sure this doesn’t go further than the people who already know.”

  “Of course not.” She fiddled with her coral necklace. “I came to tell you that your guests have arrived.” She eyed him with considerable suspicion. “You asked them to dinner?”

  “I might as well feed them while we talk. If you prefer, you can eat in your room, or the breakfast parlor. We’ll be talking business anyway.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Amelia said. “Don’t think you can edge me out, brother dear. I’m avid to discover what all this is about.” She primmed her lips. “However, this has to stop.”

  Ash blinked. “I beg your pardon?”

  “Gregory came out with the biggest mouthful of thieves’ cant today, and I pray he doesn’t know what some of the words mean.”

  “You do,” Ash pointed out.

  She tilted her delicate chin. “Yes, I do. One can hardly avoid it, living here. Which is my point. You can’t continue to ask thieves and reprobates to dinner when Gregory is attending, and I will not bar him from dinner in his own house. This evening, I sent him upstairs because more discussions of murder and thievery are the last thing he needs. Breakfast I will accept, as long as your ruffians don’t steal the silver, because Gregory takes his early and goes upstairs to his lessons. I don’t object to feeding them, you understand, but not at dinner.”

  Ash stiffened, his spine going ramrod straight. “So you want to shelter Gregory, is that right? Is my way of earning a living not appropriate to your sensibilities?”

  She heaved a sigh. “That’s not it at all. I want at least one civilized meal a day. We already have every kind of ruffian coming to the front door at all hours. Don’t you think Juliana deserves some semblance of civilized behavior?”

  “But I don’t want it,” Juliana put in. “I had that all my life, and it turned me to stone.” Though she had to admit that Amelia had a point. “But I do think it’s fair to introduce some order. And to make dinner a place of peace.”

  “I’ll think about it,” Ash said.

  That was the best they were going to do tonight, but Juliana would see what she could do to make Amelia’s wishes into fact. She’d set her mind to it and consult with Amelia and Baynon.

  They went in to dinner.

  * * *

  Juliana couldn’t help recalling that a few nights ago they were sharing confidences with the greatest in the land at Newcastle House. Tonight, they were breaking bread with a street urchin, a respected doctor and a link boy. One of them for the second time that day.

  Tonight they had chicken fricassee, roast beef, a steak pie, and nine other dishes all laid out ready for them when they entered the dining room.

  But not the best china, and the silver-plate cutlery rather than the solid silver set. Baynon had evidently used his own judgment for the settings, because Amelia would never have done that.

  But Amelia was right. They needed to order matters better. Perhaps a separate dining room. Perhaps a separate suite. This house was big enough. Because Ash had bought the house next door, they had rooms that weren’t used very much. Yes. That would work.

  The boy Col’s eyes widened when they entered the room. Juliana would ask Cook to prepare a bag of food for him to take away, because the boy needed feeding up.

  They went straight into the dining room and took whichever seat they chose. Ash told Baynon they did not require service, for which he received a sniff and a stiff bow.

  Before anyone could speak, Ash began the conversation. “I apologize, doctor, for calling you. I meant to ask you some questions about the body an
d its disposition, but matters have progressed. That might not be as important as I’d thought.”

  Parrish shrugged. “I only came to tell you that my findings were confirmed when I dissected the body.” He glanced at Juliana and Amelia.

  “Don’t mind us,” Amelia said. “Do go on.”

  The topic of conversation did not daunt any of the people here tonight. They filled their plates and set to eating as Parrish spoke. “The bullet entered through his chest and exited through his back. It did considerable damage. Since it entered on the right side of the chest, rather than the center, it spun the victim around so that he fell on his front. The room was full. Word must have spread.”

  “We probably have Ransom to thank for that,” Ash said with a grimace. “He brings out several editions a day when he has his teeth into a story.”

  Parrish took a mouthful of fricassee and chewed appreciatively. He swallowed. “But I’m glad I came, although I shall have to confess to my wife that I have already eaten.”

  “Next time you must bring her with you,” Amelia said.

  “You said you had developments,” Parrish said. “To this case?”

  Ash put down his cutlery and crossed it over his plate. He didn’t look at her while he spoke, but he reached for Juliana’s hand and clasped it tightly.

  “The Raven abducted Juliana today. He left a message for me to fetch her, so I did. He wanted to tell us that he was not involved in the murder of Coddington, but somebody wanted us to believe that he was. Coddington owed him money. In fact I got the impression that he was considerably in debt to him.”

  Col didn’t stop eating, but he paused in the rhythmic application of spoon to mouth.

  Cutty Jack, who had been steadily working his way through the viands on offer, carried on eating while Ash outlined the events.

  Juliana, who sat next to him, had to admire his application and his steady hand.

  Parrish and Amelia stopped eating, and watched Ash.

  Ash kept the account short. At the end, Dr. Parrish got to his feet and came around the table to where Ash sat. He unceremoniously shoved Col’s plate to the other side of the table, so the boy scrambled around and resumed the regular movement of his jaws.