Page 55 of A Raven Reborn

“I’m sorry, Patrick. I shouldn’t have done that.” His voice was low and tormented.

Patrick shook his head. “I deserved it, remember? Rosie is still paying the price for my poor judgment.” He quickly slipped his arms into the clean shirt and pulled it together to hide the bruise. Unfortunately, it was too little too late.

“Perhaps you did, but I still shouldn’t have done that. I’m supposed to be better than that.”

He placed a hand on Ash’s shoulder. “I’m fine, Ash. Honestly, it looks worse than it feels.”

Ash nodded, but Patrick recognized the self-hating storm brewing within him. “Besides,” Patrick waited for Ash to look him in the eye before continuing. “I recently punched you in your face. I’m still not sure this makes us even.”

Ash finally allowed himself the slightest chuckle.

Patrick turned in the doorway. “You’re not him, Ash. You’re a good man.”

“You’d better get back down there.” Ash gestured towards the door with his chin.

Patrick simply gave Ash a salute and trotted down the stairs to the gaming floor. There wasn’t anything more he could do to help.

ChapterNineteen

Rosalyn closed the door of the broom cupboard and smiled. She’d finished her last day of extra chores. She’d apologized to Iris two days before, but she was still giving her the cold shoulder. She’d never been overly friendly with Rosalyn, so it wasn’t the end of the world. The only person she had left to apologize to now was Ash. Well, now was as good a time as any.

When she got to Ash’s office, the door was open. He sat behind his desk in deep concentration, his brow furrowed. Perhaps now was not as good a time as any after all.

Just as she turned to leave, he said her name. “How can I help?”

“It’s nothing. I just wanted to talk to you, but I don’t want to interrupt what you’re working on. It can wait.”

“You can interrupt me anytime, Rosie.” A warm smile tipped the corners of his lips. “Come in and close the door. I actually wanted to talk to you, as well.”

“Working on something important?” she asked as she seated herself across from him. “I’m sorry. It’s none of my concern.” She waved her hands in front of her, as if she could erase what she’d said. Her grand apology was going great so far. She shook her head.

“There are no rules against curiosity.” He smiled reassuringly. “This is estate business. My least favorite thing.”

It was easy to forget that Ash was, in fact, an earl. He had a whole other life outside of all of this. Somehow that had never even occurred to her, and it brought up so many questions. But this was neither the time to ask, nor was it her place.

“What can I do for you, Rosie?” he asked, when she failed to respond because she’d gotten too wrapped up in her own thoughts.

“I still owe you an apology,” she said, deciding just to get straight to the point before she said something else that was completely idiotic.

“It isn’t necessary, Rosie. I was only teasing you when I said I was expecting one.”

“I know,” she said with a nod, “but it’s important to me.”

“Very well.” He folded his arms across his chest. “You have my full attention.”

“I’ve had a lot of time to think over the last week. You know, while washing teacups, and sweeping floors.”

Ash chuckled. “After twelve years of doing this, Rosie, I am immune to feeling guilty about assigning punishments.”

“Believe it or not, I’m actually grateful for the consequences you chose. Not that I want to continue doing the extra chores,” she said, holding up her hands. “But it forced me to really think about why I was having to do them.” She paused, trying to figure out how to explain in a way that would make sense. “I guess the truth is, rather than apologizing, I actually want to thank you. Not that I enjoyed the extra work, but in some strange way, it made me feel like I belong. Like my actions matter just as much as anyone else’s here.”

“Well, I guess there’s a first time for everything,” Ash said, shaking his head, amusement dancing in his eyes. “You are the first person who has ever thanked me for their punishment.”

Rosalyn shrugged. “I never said I was normal.”

“Rosie, you are far better than normal. Now,” he said, resting his clasped hands on top of the desk. “As for the reason I wished to speak with you, Patrick has been begging me to allow him to visit you.”

Her cheeks warmed. “He didn’t beg.”

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