Raven (Gentlemen of the Order 2)

“Does the new Lord Adair know Jessica lives here?”

“Like everyone else, he believes Jessica is in India.” And she hoped it stayed that way.

Finlay ate his meal and drank his coffee, but she could almost hear the cogs turning as he processed what he had learnt so far.

“Even so, I think we should add Fitzroy Adair to the list of suspects,” he eventually said. “You haven’t explained what happened to make you believe Jessica is in danger.”

This was the part she had been dreading. As a logical man with an analytical mind, Finlay Cole would dismiss her fears as folly.

Sophia rose and crossed the room to the ottoman near the window. The groaning hinges conveyed her own trepidation as she lifted the lid and removed the mystical wooden bowl.

“Mrs Friswell said it’s an incantation bowl.” She placed the crude vessel on the table. “Such things have been used for centuries as a means of protection.”

Finlay studied the strange words and symbols carved into the wood. “May I handle the item?”

“Of course.”

He picked up the bowl and ran his finger over the indentations. “It’s not a language I’m familiar with.”

“No. I’ve examined every book in the library and cannot find a match.” She had spent days on the task, believing the answer to her problem lay in the meaning of the foreign words. “Jessica went missing one night a few weeks ago. We looked for hours and couldn’t find her. Blent was ready to saddle a horse and head into the village, but then she reappeared.”

Finlay raised his hand to stall her. “Saddle a horse? But the stable block is empty.”

“We stable the horses a mile from here. Indeed, I must ask you to move your horse there today.” Her greatest fear was that Jessica would ride off into the night, never to be seen again. “It’s just a precaution. It’s easier to track a missing woman when she’s on foot.”

“And what of your carriage?”

“I take the mail coach from London to The Wild Drake. I keep a horse stabled at the inn.”

He fell silent for a time but eventually said, “Forgive me.”

Sophia frowned. “For what?” He had done nothing wrong.

“For doubting your motives. I presumed you … I didn’t know your problem was so complex.”

She would fall into a pit of despair if she stopped to consider all she had endured these last seven years. “Finlay, I know how hard it was for you to come here. I would spare you the distress were I not desperate for your help.”

She found it just as hard to be in his company, found it hard not to touch him, run her hands through his hair and press her mouth to his.

He shifted his attention back to the bowl. “How did you come by this, and what relevance does it have to the case?”

“Jessica brought it home. A gift from a man she met in the woods. He said it would keep her safe until he can help her escape this place. That he—” The sudden pounding of footsteps on the stairs sent Sophia’s pulse soaring. “Jessica’s coming. I’m not sure how she will be today. But I beg you, please be patient. Be kind.”

Jessica was always restless and excitable the day before Dr Goodwin’s visit. Indeed, she bounded into the dining room like a child—all wide smiles and wild energy.

“Mr Cole!” Jessica’s golden hair hung loose and needed brushing. Seemingly pleased to see him, she clutched her hands to her breast. “Anne said you were here for a visit. Oh, I can scarce believe my eyes.”

Finlay stood and bowed. “Miss Draper. It is a pleasure to see you again.”

“Miss Draper?” she teased. “You always call me Jessica.”

“I did not wish to appear impertinent.”

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“You’re not the least bit impertinent, sir. It’s why Sophia is madly in love with you.”

Merciful Lord!