Raven (Gentlemen of the Order 2)

She was frightened, frightened of what Mr Archer would do when they lured him into their trap in Blackborne Wood, frightened what would happen when Finlay returned to his house in Golden Square, and they spent days and nights apart.

But instead, she fell in beside him, and said, “I should have protected Jessica from these evil schemers. How can I make amends, Finlay? How can I make up for all those lost years?”

“You can’t,” he said bluntly, the words hacking at her conscience. “You have to accept this is fate’s path. You have a huge heart, Sophia. You’re kind and compassionate. Archer and Goodwin have manipulated the situation to their advantage.”

“I’ve been so dreadfully naive.” She had been a fool to trust the doctor. Even Blent and Mrs Friswell had their suspicions. “I’ve been wandering blindly, have been lost since the day you left for Belgium.”

“We both have.”

Finlay drew her along the path leading behind an eight-foot topiary hedge. She heard trickling water before they came upon the fountain fashioned with bathing sea nymphs.

“I fear Mr Sloane may live his life wholly unsatisfied,” she said, seeking a distraction from her maudlin thoughts. “At some point, he must accept mermaids are creatures of myth.”

Finlay stopped at the fountain and drew her around to face him.

“Every man has a fantasy.”

“And what is yours, Finlay?”

“Mine?” His appreciative gaze journeyed slowly from her mouth to her toes. “Do you really want to know?” He trailed his fingers in the water and waited for her eager nod. “Good. This is my fantasy, Sophia.” And then in a move that proved shocking, he scooped water from the fountain and flicked ice-cold droplets in her face.

Sophia squealed. “Oh, you devil!”

“Unless you want to get wet, really wet, I suggest you run.” He threw his walking cane to the ground and chased her around the fountain until they laughed so hard neither had the energy to move. “My fantasy is we might laugh like we used to, before fate destroyed our happiness.”

“And yet we didn’t appreciate those times, not like we do now.”

“No, we did not.”

Their gazes locked. Heat flared instantly, his amused smile replaced by a look burning with intensity.

She placed her hand on his chest, needing to feel the beat of his heart. “In my nightmares, I still hear your father’s broken voice explaining you’d died in Belgium.” Tears welled at the memory. She’d shed so many these last seven years she could fill a fountain. “How could they have made such a terrible mistake? How? Explain it to me, Finlay, for I don’t understand.”

“A clerical error, they said.”

“A clerical error?” The clerk would have gone home to his wife and family, laughed around the dining table at insignificant things, not knowing his mistake had caused untold devastation. “I could throttle the fool responsible.”

“And what would that achieve?” He glanced at the water trickling from the mermaid’s shell. “Fate has brought us to this place, Sophia, and all we can do now is treasure every second.” His sinful smile reached his eyes, drawing her attention to the rich coffee flecks she found so beguiling.

“You’re right. I never imagined we would become close again. Who would have thought my worst nightmare would also be my wildest dream? And I don’t want this dream to end, Finlay. I can’t lose you again.”

“You won’t.” He caressed her cheek before straightening and bowing gracefully. “Would you care to dance, my lady?”

The question came as a shock. “Dance? Here? But what about your leg?”

“Forget about my leg.”

“But there’s no music.”

“Can you not hear it, Sophia? My heart is singing for the first time in years.”

And her heart beamed so brightly it could light the night sky. “Is this to make amends for all those times you refused me?”

“It’s my way of saying sorry. Sorry for being a stubborn fool. Sorry for not being the friend you needed. Sorry for not taking you in my arms at Lord Newberry’s ball, for not helping you to forget your troubles.” He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Dance with me now.”

“Nothing would please me more.”

Her heart skipped a beat when his hand slipped inside her cloak and settled on her waist. She may as well have been naked, for the flimsy material left little to the imagination.