Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Giles stared down at Christina. The blanket only half covered her birthmark. She was incredibly beautiful, and not despite the mark. It made her unique, and she was his. His heart purred. Somehow, after everything he’d done, she trusted him.
He stepped into his dressing room and rang for Thistle.
“Good afternoon, sir.”
Giles held a finger over his lips. He didn’t want to wake Christina.
Thistle nodded.
“I’m sorry,” Giles said, quietly. “I know I said she wouldn’t become your problem, but I need her here now.”
“I can see that. Your happiness is worth having her here. Besides, Winnie is surprisingly good company.”
Giles raised a brow. “She’s too young for you, old chap.”
“Not like that,” he said sharply. “What sort of man do you take me for? She could be my daughter.”
“Well, we’re in agreement, then.”
He grumbled a bit as he shook his head. “She brings a bit of lightness to the household. That’s all I meant.”
Giles placed a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Thank you for making them welcome, Thistle.”
After dressing, Giles looked in on Christina one more time before leaving. He wanted to surprise her with something special.
“Afternoon, gents,” he said to the men outside the gates of Raven House.
“Boss,” they both said before opening the gates for him.
He stopped by Ash’s office and knocked on the doorjamb.
“What are you doing here this time of day?”
“I thought I might take a pair of raisin scones for Christina and me.” It felt silly to ask permission for something so trivial, but they weren’t intended for him.
Ash chuckled. “You won’t incur a beating for helping yourself to a couple scones, Giles.”
“I just want to be sure there are enough to go around.”
“Daisy has bragged about them to so many people, I think Mrs. Corstairs makes enough to feed the whole neighborhood now.”
“The very reason Christina has been wanting to taste one.”
“You are planning on working tonight, right?”
“Yes.”
“Good. And tell Christina she’s always welcome here for scones, or for a visit.”
After procuring the scones, he walked back to his townhouse so he could stop and pick up a bouquet of flowers on the way. By the time he got home, she was already dressed and sipping tea at the breakfast table. She smiled at him when he came through the door.
“What’s all this?”
He pressed a quick kiss to her lips and sat down beside her. “I have managed to get us a pair of Mrs. Corstairs’ famous raisin scones.”
“Finally!”
“And since I know you like a colorful assortment of flowers…”
“Will you ever be able to forgive me for that?”
He lifted her chin. “You are already forgiven.” Her lips were too tempting to resist. He claimed them, and she opened, inviting him in. Her mouth tasted sweet like the tea she’d been drinking.
Pulling himself reluctantly away, he unwrapped the scones and held one up for her to take a bite.
She closed her eyes and hummed with delight. “They are delicious. But if I’m honest, they pale in comparison to your kisses.”
“Don’t tempt me, or I might just carry you upstairs and make love to you until I have to leave for work.”
“That does sound inviting, but how will you possibly stay awake all night after that?”
“You’re right, of course. We’ll have to wait until I get home.”
“I want to see it.”
He raised his brow. “At the breakfast table?”
“Giles!” She swatted him with her napkin and crimson stained her cheeks.
He chuckled. Still shy when it was light out.
“I meant The Raven’s Den,” she said exasperatedly. “I want to see it. At night, with all the excitement.”
“It’s not a place for ladies, Christina.”
“What if I dress as a Lady Raven?”
He choked on the bite of scone he’d taken. “My wife, dancing in my club? I think not.”
“Please, Giles. There must be a way. I desperately want to see it.”
He thought on it for a minute. Surely, his partners wouldn’t mind if she observed from the balcony. All the others’ wives had been there. “Of course there’s a way. But not as a Lady Raven.”
Excitement thrummed through Christina as Giles walked her into Raven House that evening. He led her into a sitting room, where another woman was on the sofa with a cup of tea. She immediately placed her dishes on the table and got to her feet.
“Good evening, Giles.”
“Good evening, Lucy. How are you settling in?”
The woman nodded. “Well, I think.”
“This is my wife, Christina.”
Lucy’s nervousness was obvious, and it pushed Christina to put her own aside. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lucy.”
Giles squeezed her hand. “After the club is open, I’ll come and collect you. It will be about an hour. Don’t leave this room.”
“Yes, boss.”
He laughed and pulled her in to press a kiss against her forehead, and whispered into her ear, “I love you.” Then he turned and simply strolled out of the room, as if he hadn’t just stolen the breath from her lungs.
His words rendered her unable to move, or even think.
She stood, staring at the doorway where he’d disappeared.
He hadn’t even given her an opportunity to reply.
She sighed. He hadn’t wanted her to feel obligated to.
But what he didn’t realize was that she’d already thought the words. Already knew it was true.
“Would you like some tea?”
She’d forgotten she wasn’t alone. “I’m sorry,” she said, forcing her mind to Lucy. “I would very much appreciate a cup.”
With a smile and a quick nod, she poured another cup and held it out for her. Christina took the saucer and added a biscuit from the table before settling onto the sofa.
“How long have you been here, Lucy?”
“About a week.” She sat down at the other end and retrieved her dishes. “Everyone here is so kind. I confess to not quite knowing how to accept it all.”
“I confess to not quite knowing how, either.” She looked back to the door.
“Were you a Lady Raven?”
“No. But Giles and I were thrown into marriage by a series of desperate circumstances. We despised each other just a short time ago. But—” She looked toward the door again. She had to share it with someone. “He just told me he loves me.”
Lucy laughed. “That was obvious from the moment he introduced you. So much pride in his eyes.”
“Was there?” Christina struggled to believe it.
“Yes. Just as it’s obvious that you love him.”
Christina nodded. She did. But she wouldn’t tell him tonight. He’d think she was just saying it out of obligation. “I’m sorry. You don’t even know me and I’m sharing all these details about my personal life.”
“Don’t be silly. Your story is what gives the rest of us hope.”
It was the sort of story that would have given her hope. But how had it become her life?
The sound of laughter and rustling grew in the hall. It had to be the Lady Ravens. She deposited her dishes on the table and hurried to the door, hoping to catch a glimpse. Gwen stood in the doorway across from her and smiled when she saw her.
“Christina! I’m so glad to see you. Ladies,” she said as the group approached, “this is Christina, Giles’ wife.”
She was stunned by their collective beauty, and even more surprised by their kind welcome.
They waved and smiled and a few of them even hugged her.
Their black dresses and low necklines accentuated their curves and decolletage.
Her father had always said men were simple creatures who could easily be lured out of their money with the slightest hint of feminine sexuality.
It was why their scheme had worked, after all.
The women disappeared up the stairs. They all seemed quite happy. Perhaps, if she had known about this place, she would have come here and used her wiles to earn money for herself rather than her father.
Although, if she had, she never would have married Giles, and she wouldn’t change that for anything now.
She returned to the sofa. “Are you going to be one of them?”
Lucy nodded. “I’m nervous about it, of course, but excited too.
Daisy has been so sweet. She was here earlier today, and I had my first choreography lesson.
I was also fitted for a raven gown today.
” She tapped a fingernail against the side of her cup.
“It isn’t what we dream of as little girls. But the alternatives are not good.”
“I think you should be proud. You’re here, which means you're strong and brave. You haven’t just given up.”
She talked with Lucy for another half-hour before Giles returned. “I hope you haven’t told her all of my darkest secrets, Lucy. You ladies know everything that happens around here.”
She shrugged. “I’m afraid I’m not privy to very many secrets yet.”
He held out a hand to Christina. “Are you ready to see it in all its glory?”
“You look awfully excited for being so stubborn about bringing me here.”
“Perhaps I shouldn’t have been. I think you’ll enjoy it.
” He led her up the stairs where the Lady Ravens had gone.
Down hallways, and through doors that were immediately locked behind them.
And finally, into a room where two other men stood leaning against a half-wall, looking over the side.
It was dark, but light filtered up from below.
“You’ve already met Ash, but I don’t believe you’ve met Allister, our head of security.”
“Mrs. Henderson,” he said with a nod.
With all the hulking men around the place, she would have expected the head of security to be larger. But he was surprisingly average. “I guess that means you’re the one who makes sure everyone is safe?”
“I certainly try.”
Giles placed his hand at her back and led her up to the half-wall to join them.
She was nearly bowled over by the onslaught.
Music played from the far corner, cards were shuffled and dealt with ease, dice were thrown, followed by a loud round of cheering.
Even the barman seemed to be performing a kind of dance as he poured.
The Lady Ravens stood in a group off to the side, moving in synchrony.
Their masks made it impossible to discern one from another.
They used their oversized feathered fans to hide their decolletage, allowing it to be visible for only short increments, making it all the more enticing.
A group of men groaned around a long table, and she laughed. “Does that mean they just lost?”
“Usually,” Giles said quietly beside her.
“Is that Fitz?” She pointed to a man who was walking about the floor, stopping at each table to converse with the men around it.
“Yes.”
“And is that what you do when you’re working? Socialize with the guests?”
Giles laughed softly. “That’s what it looks like. But it’s more than that. Whoever is on the floor is in charge of making sure everyone is behaving themselves and having a good time.”
“This is incredible.” The light sparkled against his eyes, making them stand out in the darkness. “You are incredible.”
Desire filled the space between them, and a charged moment passed before he cleared his throat. “If you’ll excuse me for a few minutes, I’m just going to walk her out.”
He didn’t take her back the way they’d come in. Instead, he led her down a different set of stairs. Raucousness floated through the curtain at the end of the hall. That must be the gaming floor. But Giles went the opposite way.
He stopped suddenly, looking both ways, then backed her against the wall and claimed her lips. She moaned as his tongue slipped into her mouth. It only lasted a moment before he wrenched himself away from her. “I hope you won’t mind if I wake you when I get home later.”
“You’d better.” She reached around and squeezed his backside. Even in trousers, it was irresistible.
He gave her one more, quick kiss, and led her to the door.
“Good evening, Doyle.”
“Boss,” he said with a nod. “Donoghue has a cab waiting for you down at the end.”
“Thank you.” Giles took her hand and led her briskly down to the end of the alley.
“This is Donoghue. He’s going to see you safely home.”
“You’re not taking me?”
“No, I’m sorry. I have to work.”
It seemed obvious now, but for some reason she had assumed he would take her home, and then come back. She’d been hoping for at least another kiss, but she’d have to wait.
He helped her to step up, and Donoghue sat beside her, but she wasn’t ready yet.
“Wait,” she said, before he closed her in. She was suddenly overcome with gratitude. She reached for his hand, wanting to tell him she loved him too. But not yet. He wouldn’t believe her if she said it now. “Thank you, for a lovely evening.”
He pressed his lips against the back of her hand. “Goodnight, sweetheart.” But before he could shut the door, running footsteps came from behind the cab.
A man grabbed Giles and put a knife against the side of his neck. “Give me your money.”