Page 50 of A Raven Reborn

“I’m sorry, Rosie,” he said as she seated herself across from him.

She halted, shocked. “Sorry for what?”

He handed a cup of tea across the desk. “I’m sorry for the way I spoke to you in the shop. I was frustrated and worried, and I allowed my emotions to get the better of me.”

“I should have known, even in this, you would be kind.” She shook her head. “You have nothing to apologize for, Ash.”

“I do,” he said firmly. “I have a set of rules that I abide by with the ladies under my care, and I take them very seriously. One of those rules is to never raise my voice. I know it can be frightening, and I am sorry.”

“You are forgiven,” she said, and reached for her tea. With a hiss, Rosie yanked her hand away from the hot cup. Out of habit, she’d wrapped her hand around the side, but apparently, her recent injuries were not happy with the heat. The cup clattered in the saucer as she set it down.

“Are you alright?” Ash looked alarmed.

“I just got a little scrape from the fall earlier. The heat from the cup merely startled me a bit. Nothing to worry about.”

“Let me see.”

“Really, it’s nothing.”

Ash simply stared at her and held out his hand. There was obviously no arguing with the man. Eventually, she placed her hand in his so he could inspect her palm.

“That looks painful.” He let go of the first hand and gestured for the second. “Would you like me to have a doctor come and take a look at them?”

“Don’t be silly. It’s hardly a scratch. In a few days, it will be as if nothing happened.”

“If you’re certain, but it’s easy enough to send for a doctor.”

“Why are you doing this, Ash?”

“Because you’re injured and?—”

“I’m under your care,” she interrupted. “Yes, I know. That’s not what I meant, though.” She let out a sigh. “Why are you protecting me? I’m not a Lady Raven. I’m nothing to you. So why am I under your care?”

He steepled his fingers over the desk, thinking about his answer. “Now don’t take this the wrong way, but I was initially doing it for Patrick. Not that the idiot deserves it.”

Rosalyn nodded and laughed quietly. She still didn’t fully understand.

“Regardless of how it started, you are under my care, Rosie. I will protect you, even from Patrick, if it comes to that.” He let out a sigh.

“What do you mean?” Patrick would never hurt her. She knew that.

“I mean, if at some point you decide you don’t wish to see him anymore, I can arrange that. I may not have half a dozen estates I could send you off to, but I can get you employment and get you away from here.”

“But I do want to see him again.” She sighed. “Or at least I think I do. For some reason I do foolish things when I’m around him.” Heat crept into her cheeks.

“Yes, well, on that subject, as you are aware, there are rules that all the ladies in this building must abide by, just as I do my own.”

Rosalyn nodded. Daisy had gone over all the rules and expectations on her first full day of living under this roof.

“So, if I have to go traipsing through a storm to track you down because you aren’t where you’re supposed to be, there will be consequences.”

“I could hardly have prevented that storm,” she argued. “What would you have had me do? Just stand there in the rain and wait for Daisy and Iris to return?”

Ash’s lips thinned irritably. “Now you’re being deliberately obtuse.”

He folded his arms across his chest and sat back in his chair. “You could easily have gone into the shop from which you got your drinks. You could have come back here.” He jabbed his finger into the top of his desk. “What you did instead, was run off with Patrick to a place no one would find you, without a care for what the others would do when you had disappeared.” He leaned forward and locked his eyes with hers. “That is why there will be consequences.”

She hadn’t thought of it quite that way in the moment, but he wasn’t wrong. “Fair enough.” She swallowed, suddenly a bit nervous about what these consequences might be. He hadn’t raised his voice, but he was very stern. He was annoyed with her at the very least, even if he did keep his temper well controlled.

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