Page 24 of A Raven Reborn

A knock sounded and she dropped the book like it had burned her. As much as she dreaded it, she was going to have to deal with the consequences of her behavior. Now was as good a time as any for her to face the music. The only question was, would it be Patrick or Finch?

“Come,” she called, her heart galloping inside her chest. The door opened, Patrick’s form nearly filling the entire frame. He carried a tray and had some sort of green fabric draped over his arm. But most surprising was his smile.

“Good morning!” he said jovially, the warmth of his smile echoed in his voice. What was this? He strode into the room and placed the tray on the table. “I’ve brought you some tea,” he said, as if that explained the whole situation.

“Thank you?” It would seem Patrick wanted to simply pretend like the events of the previous night never happened. As ridiculous as it seemed, Rosalyn would gladly go along with it for now. Perhaps she wouldn’t have to face the music just yet, after all.

“It’s my night off from the club tonight, so I thought we might spend the day out.” She felt the beginning of a smile tip the corners of her mouth. “You will need to wear this.” He held up the green fabric. It turned out to be a heavy cloak with an oversized hood.

Lost for words appropriate to the situation, Rosalyn simply nodded.

“Good,” he said, draping it across the bed. “I will await you in my study.” He bowed deeply and then stepped into the hall, pulling the heavy door closed behind him. What had just happened?

Rosalyn shrugged to herself. If Patrick could ignore what happened between them, she could too. At least for now.

Dressed and wearing the cloak over her gown just as Patrick had instructed, Rosalyn made her way toward his study. He sat behind his desk but looked up at her with a radiant smile when she approached.

“Ready?” His eyes held the promise of an adventure.

“Yes,” she said with a sincere smile growing on her lips. Patrick’s eyes lit even more.

A carriage was waiting for them when they got down to the street. An enormous man sat perched in the driver’s seat and barely glanced in their direction as Patrick helped her to climb inside.

“Is that—” She stopped before completing the question. Perhaps immediately interrogating him was a bad way to start.

“Today, I want you to ask me every question that pops into your head.” He gave her an encouraging smile. “I promise to answer every single one of them.”

Rosalyn wasn’t so sure. Questions had always led to awkwardness, and today was promising to be so pleasant.

“Is that…” Patrick prompted.

“Well,” She paused a moment before continuing. “I’ve seen a man outside the shop. Is he the driver?”

“Yes,” Patrick answered with a nod.

“But if he’s driving us, who will be guarding the shop from being robbed again?”

“Actually,” Patrick said, seeming to mull over his answer a bit. “He isn’t there to guard the shop, he’s there to guard you.”

Rosalyn drew back a bit.

“No!” Patrick said, hastily. “Not like a prison guard, I swear.” He held his hands up entreatingly.

“He’s not there to keep you in, but to keep you safe.”

“Safe from what, exactly?”

“Well, unfortunately, this latest robbery at the Nest wasn’t the first, or even the fifth, for that matter.” Patrick shrugged and let out a sigh. “This isn’t the safest part of London for anyone, and when you’re the owner of a gaming hell, you tend to accrue people who think you owe them something.”

Rosalyn nodded. It made sense. Countless times she’d heard her father ranting about how he’d been cheated out of his money and someone or other was going to get what they had coming.

“Where are we going?” she asked, forcing her mind away from everything else.

“I really wanted it to be a surprise.”

Rosalyn smiled understandingly. “Fair enough.”

“We’ll be there soon.” His wide eyes made it impossible not to share his anticipation.

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