Raven (Gentlemen of the Order #2) - Adele Clee Page 0,11

you the bowl, not an angel.”

“Yes, but he came to do the Lord’s work.”

“And yet you don’t know this man? You cannot identify him?”

Jessica shook her head and continued to stare out towards the woods. “It was too dark. But he foresaw your visit, sir. He said a familiar form would bring salvation.”

“When was this?” he asked.

“I don’t remember. A few weeks ago, perhaps.”

Finlay did not dispute the claim, despite knowing no one could have predicted he would come to Blackborne. “Angels have a power we cannot comprehend. You’re blessed to own such a treasure. Blessed to have someone eager to offer their protection.”

Jessica suddenly turned to him and smiled. “I have missed you, Mr Cole. I always wanted you for my older brother. When you marry Sophia, I shall be free to marry, too. Then we will all be happy again.”

“Yes,” Finlay said, though his lips thinned and his Adam’s apple bobbed above his black cravat.

“Does Father know you’re here?” Excitement danced in Jessica’s eyes again. “Can I be the one to tell him? He is so very fond of you, sir.”

Finlay’s handsome features twisted into a grimace, but only for a second. He placed a comforting hand on Jessica’s arm. “Your father died some time ago,” he said softly. “Do you remember? Perhaps he is the angel in the woods.”

Jessica appeared perplexed, but then recognition dawned. “Yes, I remember, sir.”

It was always the way. Beneath a haze of confusion, her memory was intact.

“We agreed you would call me Finlay.”

A childlike giggle escaped Jessica’s lips. “Sophia will be cross if I utter your given name. She wants you all to herself and hardly keeps it a secret. Sometimes, she looks at you like you’re a slab of walnut cake she cannot wait to devour.”

The tightness around Finlay’s eyes said he found the intimate conversation distressing. It was often difficult to follow Jessica’s train of thought. The irony was that her words carried a stark truth, a truth delivered so swiftly one could mount no defence.

“Come, Jessica, let Mr Cole finish his breakfast. Take the seat next to him if you wish to eat, too.” Sophia moved to the sideboard and prepared a plate of food for her sister. When she turned, Jessica was sitting next to Finlay, staring at him with curious eyes. “There should be plenty of toast, but I can have Cook make more.”

Jessica said nothing when Sophia placed the plate on the table. She seemed fascinated with Finlay’s beard and the way his black hair curled at the nape.

“I sense a darkness within you, Mr Cole,” Jessica said as if she were qualified to dissect the intricate aspects of the man’s mind. “The sadness is deep, as deep as Devil’s Gorge. Do you think you will ever smile again? Will you ever be happy?”

A choking silence sucked the air from the room.

Warring emotions clashed in his eyes—pain and pity. She considered telling him to go home, return to town, save himself from this misery and anguish. But they had survived the first night. Jessica had delivered one provoking comment after another, and he had not stormed from the room in a fit of temper.

“I shall smile when you no longer need to keep the bowl in the chest to feel safe.” He dabbed his mouth with his napkin and pushed out of the chair. “Now, if you will both excuse me, I must make some enquiries.” He touched Jessica gently on the shoulder before striding out into the long hall. The hurried clip of his boots on the flagstones said he was heading to the garden.

She would give him time alone and then apologise for her sister’s outspoken manner.

But Sophia did not see Finlay Cole for the rest of the day.

Chapter 4

Instinct had saved Finlay’s life on more than one occasion. Upon meeting Renard on that fateful day in the Sonian Forest, he had sniffed betrayal before hearing the crack of the pistol. Tonight, the same intuitive power held him rigid at the bedchamber window.

The cause of Jessica’s problem lay in the depths of the woods. What wickedness drew a fragile young woman out of her bed at night? What sent her scurrying into the darkness alone?

A curse or spell?

Such things existed.

A clandestine meeting?

The stranger bearing gifts wanted to win her trust. But why?

The distant echo of midnight chimes reached his ears. Having taken great pains to avoid Sophia and Jessica, he had seen neither woman since breakfast. How was he to focus on his work