The Raven's Revenge (35 page)
Katherine smiled down at him. “Rise, Lord Ashton, and know my love for you has never left. Although at times I wished it, I could not make it go.”
Nicholas rose and took her into his arms. Molding to each other they kissed, a magical kiss of fire, desire, and joy.
* * *
The next afternoon, a footman brought the lovers to the crowded banquet hall. Even when Katherine saw Richard Finch scowling at her from across the room, her rosy glow did not leave. Jeremy stood with James Pemberton and smiled at her. To her surprise, Gerald Welles was there as well, looking like a country squire clearly out of place in such magnificent surroundings.
She held Nicholas’s hand, savoring every moment, knowing that their brief happiness could be shattered or cemented by the outcome of this next interview.
At last, they were summoned. A footman brought all of them to an inner chamber.
King Charles smiled as they entered, but he did not bid them be seated. He addressed Nicholas. “Ravens are bothersome birds, loud and messy. There have been some at the tower for quite some time now. I did once try to rid the place of them. Do you know what I was told?”
“No, sire.”
“I was told that as long as there are ravens at the tower, the Monarchy will stand.” The King nodded at Nicholas. “Do you say you are this Raven? This outlaw as you have been accused?”
“Sire, once there was an outlaw Raven, but he is no more. Any ravens at the tower from this point on, I hope will only be birds. I vow to you, I will always do what is in my power to keep your crown safe.”
“I trust what you say is true, Nicholas Montford, for I have come to a decision.
“First,” Charles said, “since taking a woman against her will and marrying or defiling her is a felony, you will forfeit any claims to Ashfield.” The King turned to James. “Although I have been assured he did not truly take her against her will, I have no doubts that had the young lady known his true identity, she would never have gone with him.” Charles eyed the group and seemed satisfied by the looks on everyone’s faces. His gaze came to rest on Katherine and he smiled. “So perhaps ignorance was good in this case.
“Secondly, for the crimes of the Raven, Lord Ashton will be encouraged to emigrate to America. With seven other Lords, he will be appointed a Joint Proprietor of the Province of Carolina.” He winked at Katherine. “I am sure that your husband’s pluck, good humor, and inventive strategies will prove a boon in developing this territory.
“Third, since it is customary in our land for sons to inherit from fathers, Jeremy Welles, though
filius nullius,
will take his place as heir to the property called Ashfield.”
Gerald sputtered.
Charles continued. “Fourth, since Lord Ashton, has no use for his title, he will lose it. I hereby rescind the letters of patent, and bestow the title onto the young lad here,”
Jeremy’s eyes almost popped out of his head. Everyone turned to him. Gerald raised his hand to his heart. Finch had turned white with shock.
“In that way, it will stay with the property, and he will make himself worthy of it.” Charles smiled at Jeremy. “Nicky can retain the title of Baron Eddington, which he was before his father passed, a title which I understand he
has
been willing to use.”
“Finally, I charge Lady Eddington to accompany her husband to the New World. I give her the assignment of reporting directly to me should Nicky be up to any mischief!”
EPILOGUE
Province of Carolina
November, 1664
NICHOLAS MONTFORD, newly appointed Lord Proprietor, dodged low hanging tree branches as he moved quickly through the woods. Blood congealed on his left arm.
At a rustle in the brush behind him, he glanced over his shoulder, ready to draw his pistol if need be. But it was just the wolf—
his
wolf Katherine called it—that was ever guarding his rear. Or perhaps today, tantalized by the smell of blood, it would not let its prey out of sight.
Nicholas planted each foot firmly on the blanket of brown pine needles that coated the forest floor. Each crunch released their pungent aroma to mingle with the crisp morning air.
At last he made the clearing that held his home.
Their
home. The small wooden cottage he fully intended to replace with a brick mansion once the materials arrived from England. One day his boots would tread upon a finely tended lawn with topiary, but for now he dashed across a hard dirt glade before hurdling the steps to the cabin’s entrance.
He burst into the small main room. Katherine looked up from the table where she was writing with a smile that fell away when she saw his arm.
Nicholas hastened to reassure her. “I have brought you something.”
Katherine rose and took a step toward him. She looked closely and frowned. “Our dinner?”
“No. At least I think ’tis not dinner yet.” Nicholas uncurled his arm and held out the quivering bundle of brown fur and blood. “I think it can be fixed. That is, I think
you
can fix it.”
Katherine could not gainsay him. She took the rabbit and turned it on its back. It stopped shuddering and went limp in her arms.
Nicolas watched with dismay. “Is it dead then?”
“’Tis just a rabbit trick.” She ran her fingers lightly over the blood-covered bunny, examining its eyes, nose, and paws. “Ah. I see. It’s lost a claw. So much blood from such a small wound. I wonder how that happened.”
Nicholas looked out the door at the wolf hovering at the woods edge. “Perhaps because it tried to climb a tree.”
A slow smile spread its way across Katherine’s face, and their eyes met, both surely remembering when another small furry animal climbed up a tree.
“Rabbits don’t climb trees,” said Katherine.
“They try to if a large gray wolf is chasing them.”
“First a wolf and now a rabbit. You bring home many pets when what we really need is a cat—perhaps two. I was just writing this to Alicia, asking her to send them from Montford’s recent litter once they are old enough to travel.” She examined the bloody paw again. “’T’will not be serious unless it putrefies. I will need to clean and bandage it. Since ’tis washday, Lizzie has started to heat the water. I need you to fetch some and clean rags, too.”
“I am to get water and rags?” Nicholas tried to look stern, but failed miserably as he always did with Katherine. “I do not understand this. Did not the clergyman say
you
were to obey
me
?”
“’Twas hard to understand the man so I am not surprised you misheard. ’Twas
you
who vowed to obey
me
. Do not forget, our liege did say I am to inform him if you are up to mischief.” She looked at him with such natural coquetry his blood ran hot. “Clearly it is our King’s desire for you to obey me.”
Nicholas laughed. “Then I shall happily do your bidding and get water and rags before you come up with any more difficult tasks.”
From a nearby cradle came the unmistakable sound of a baby wakening. Katherine and Nicholas looked at each other with conspiratorial panic. Once Elizabeth Mary Margaret Isabella Montford woke up, there would be no question of who would be obeying whom. They were both already her devoted servants.
Katherine peeked into the cradle while Nicolas tiptoed from the room to the outlaying kitchen and laundry.
When he returned, it was to see Katherine with the babe at her breast. The little mouth suckled the globe of Katherine’s creamy skin; the head of honey colored curls bobbed up and down, her hand grasped the Chinese coin hanging on the chain around Katherine’s neck.
It was a vision so sweet it brought tears to his eyes, and he had to blink them away. He remembered Katherine on their first night in London trying to explain how a person could cry from happiness. He now knew how that could be.
Just as he knew he was the luckiest man to have found Katherine—rather, to have been found
by
her. She had saved his life. She had changed his life. She had given him the best reason to live by gifting him with her love.
What’s more, she had taught him that love once gifted becomes evermore stronger when it is gifted back.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gina pounded out her first story on an old Royal typewriter when she was eight. For most of her adult life she worked in television counting backwards and telling people what to do. Now she lives in Central California with her personal hero and a cat, and spends her time writing books about characters who do what they want no matter what she tells them.
Visit Gina at
www.ginablack.com
On Twitter
@ginablack
And on Facebook
www.facebook.com/ginablackauthor
~ COMING SPRING 2013 ~
THE UNSUITABLE EARL
In the spring of 1665...
After rising from stable boy to the Earl of Ashton, all Jeremy Welles wants from life is to eat, drink, be merry, and forget he's been elevated into a position he's eminently unequal to. But then he meets Lady Eliza Stanfield...
Strong willed and spoiled, Lady Eliza has no intention of ever marrying. So when she finds herself being courted by the awkward and unassuming Earl of Ashton, she sees an opportunity she can exploit—an unsuitable suitor—one she can use as a shield against her parents and their prospects.
Then the plague breaks out, and the Stanfields flee London to their country estate, bringing Jeremy and other nobles in their tow. Away from the constant party that has been his life, will Jeremy find himself happier and more welcome in the stables or the drawing room? And will Eliza allow her heart to be captured, and herself to be tamed, by the unsuitable young Earl of Ashton?
Paperback copies of Gina’s books can be found at
and other retailers