Page 54 of A Raven Revived

“Drinks won’t be necessary, Litchfield. We’re here for Daisy.”

He didn’t correct Ash, but he looked around at every face, a slight sneer growing as his gaze fell on Fitz. “She isn’t here, I’m afraid. She seems to have a habit of running away.”

Ash picked a piece of lint from his trouser leg. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Litchfield. I think you’d probably prefer the easy way.”

“Are you threatening me, Ashdown?”

Patrick took a step forward then. “We most certainly are.”

Litchfield seemed to be weighing his options. “I don’t tolerate threats in my own home. Not even from exalted company such as yourselves.” He walked over and rang for a servant.

“Your footmen won’t be coming,” Ash said quietly.

The man’s brow furrowed and his agitation became more apparent. “What have you done?”

“We didn’t come alone,” Ash said simply. There was something terrifying about just how calm all of these men were. Especially Ash. Fitz’s heart was trying to beat its way out of his chest. Obviously, they’d done this kind of thing before, but he certainly hadn’t.

Patrick and Michael both took a step closer to Litchfield, to make it clear that they weren’t bluffing.

“Where did you send her?” Ash asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He turned and tried to leave, but Patrick and Michael each grabbed one of his arms and dragged him back to the middle of the room.

“Take your hands off me,” he demanded, struggling against them.

Ash got to his feet with a bored sigh. “Hard way it is, I guess.” He slowly removed his coat and laid it neatly over the arm of the sofa, resting his cane against it, as if they had all the time in the world.

“What are you doing?” The pitch of Litchfield’s voice was climbing as panic set in. “She is my daughter, and this is none of your business.”

Ash sauntered to stand before him. “Where is she?” He spoke as if he was asking something as mundane as the time.

“I don’t know,” Litchfield insisted.

Ash slammed a fist into the man’s stomach. He grunted loudly, coughing and sputtering. “Where is she?” he asked again.

When Litchfield just shook his head, he delivered a punch to the other side of his stomach.

“Where is she?” Ash’s voice was still eerily calm.

Litchfield nodded frantically, trying to catch his breath. “Alright. I sent her away. She’s not well and needs help.”

Ash’s eyes narrowed slightly and a muscle ticked beside the left one. The only sign that he was actually angry, but Fitz knew he was infuriated. He drove his fist into Litchfield’s stomach another time.

“Where is she?”

The man coughed and groaned. “Auburn Ridge,” he managed through panting breaths.

Fitz’s stomach dropped at the words. She really was in an asylum. God help her, but at least that meant she was alive.

“There now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Ash looked over at Fitz and gestured toward Litchfield with a nod. Fitz stripped off his coat and threw it onto a chair before marching across the room. He slammed his fist into the man’s stomach twice, in quick succession.

He leaned in, his face just inches from Litchfield’s. “You’d better hope they’ve been treating her well.” He threw one more punch, this one into the man’s face. “That’s for the one you gave your wife.” He turned and picked up his coat. The sooner they left there, the sooner they could get to Daisy.

“I’m sure this goes without saying,” Lord Epworth said behind him. “But if you utter a word about any of what has happened here tonight, Litchfield, I will personally see to it that your reputation is destroyed.”

He heard the man collapse and then heavy footfalls as the others followed him from the room. One of the security men gave a sharp whistle, and they all loaded into the carriages once more.

“Do we know where Auburn Ridge is?” Fitz asked Ash once they were moving.

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