Passion's Series (46 page)

Chapter Thirteen

Lady Montgomery sighed with exasperation and turned to her grandson. "Put those noisy, annoying things away, Willie." The constant chiming from those dratted iron spheres had her ready to snatch them from his hands and give his ear a good boxing as well.

"Gram, how many times must I tell you to call me William?" He dropped the balls into his pocket and poured himself a cup of tea. "They're called Baoding Balls. Raven imported them especially for me from the Orient. They calm my nerves."

"They upset everyone else." She noticed Sarah slip into the room. "Sara, dear, Cook has just prepared a tray for Dawn. Would you take it up to her?"

"Yes, milady." Sara took the tray and hurried away.

"According to Raven, Dawn can be quite a handful," Lady Montgomery said. "So far, she hasn't posed a problem at all."

"You mean aside from whatever she did at the ball, and then her bath in the pond yesterday morning, or proclaiming to Marguerite she was here on something called a blood cry? No, she's been no problem at all." A distracted frown appeared on his face, and he reached into his pocket and retrieved his musical toy, clinking the metal balls with renewed gusto.

Lord, give me patience, thought Lady Montgomery. She let her eyelids flutter closed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Please, Willie, put those things away before someone can't stand it another minute and hurts you."

"You!"

Lady Montgomery flinched. Everyone turned toward the source of the angry growl. Standing in the back doorway was a bruised and dirty creature.

"Dawn? Oh my!" Lady Montgomery gasped unbelievingly. The ragged waif was Dawn, dressed in dirty rags with her beautiful hair dirty and in a tangled mess. Even worse, soot covered Dawn's lovely face and a frightening bruise decorated her swollen jaw.

"Dawn, what has happened to you?" Lady Montgomery wailed and rushed forward. "Is that blood on your face?"

She looked at her grandson, hoping for his aid. He stood, pale as a ghost, his eyes wide in horror. He took a step back, away from the table and the angry woman who moved toward him.

"Dawn, I didn't know," his voice pleaded and he shook his head. "I give you my word I didn't know it was you."

Lady Montgomery didn't understand why her grandson looked so guilty. What could he possibly have to do with Dawn's ragtag appearance?

Dawn pointed an accusing finger at him. "What is that in your hand?" she demanded.

He looked at his hand, then extended it to her to show her the metal spheres he held. The iron balls flew from his fingers when Dawn gave his hand a swift kick. He shrank away from her but she grabbed his wrist. She jerked him forward as she turned and rolled into him jabbing a well-aimed elbow in his stomach.

Before Lady Montgomery could protest or ask questions, Dawn had William on the floor. She straddled him with the tip of a knife placed at his throat.

When he entered the kitchen, Raven saw William on the floor. A grimy street urchin sat squarely on his chest with a knife at his throat. Nice to see William in trouble instead of Dawn for a change. Raven chuckled, deciding William must have been caught completely off guard to allow such a thing to happen. For the boy's sake, he should intervene. No hurry, of course. This situation promised to be amusing.

The child's head raised and the blue eyes that haunted his every night glared at him from a soot-smudged face. Reality hit him like the kick of a mule and his gut clenched.

"Great Spirit, Dawn, is that you? What the devil is going on here?"

Lady Montgomery said, "Oh, it's those horrid chiming balls of Willie's. I had just told him they would get him in trouble. Victoria and I have told him time and again to stop playing with the infernal things. He refused to listen and see where it's landed him."

Her confused rambling gave Raven a chance to compose himself, though the content of her jumbled speech distracted him. He walked slowly around the two on the floor and retrieved a mug from the cupboard.

"I don't understand." He looked down at William. "Maybe you should explain."

William looked up at him. "What Grams said is true. Dawn charged in here and kicked my Baoding Balls right out of my hand. I'm not sure how I got here. Um, you'll be glad to hear the Golden Lady is in port."

"Tell the truth." Dawn pressed the blade against William's throat. "Your chiming balls just told on you."

"What's all this talk about balls?" Lady Gaylord as she entered from the garden, her arms laden with freshly cut flowers. "Are we having another party?" She set her basket of blossoms on the table.

Raven knew the exact second Lady Gaylord saw what Dawn was doing. She gasped, then visibly gathered her dignity about her. "Dawn, dear, you look a mess. Where on earth have you been?"

Raven took a sip of his tea and raised his free hand to signal silence. "Enough, Dawn you look like a—"

"Savage?" Dawn interrupted.

"Actually, I intended to say wharf rat." Understanding slammed into his brain. His cup fell from his hand and shattered on the floor, spilling tea in its wake.

Ever the perfect hostess, Lady Montgomery hurried over and mopped the front of his shirt. "Oh my. Don't worry about it at all. I'll wipe it right up."

Raven ignored her as he fixed his glare on William. "Who told her about the fires?"

"It wasn't either of us, Raven, truthfully," Lady Gaylord proclaimed. "Here, Wilhelmina, you missed a spot."

"Um, excuse me," William whined. "Could I get up now?"

"No!" Dawn and Raven growled in unison. Dawn pressed the blade tighter against William's throat.

"Just asking," William said meekly. "I'll be still. Raven?"

"Dawn you'd better start explaining. I'm losing my patience."

"I guess we're done cleaning him up, Wilhelmina." Lady Gaylord whispered.

Raven felt the towel placed in his hand and heard the two ladies scurry a safe distance from him, but he didn't look their way. His gaze fixed on the two people on the floor. He wanted details immediately.

"He was at the warehouse last night. I know it was him because I heard the chime of his balls clicking."

"And you think he's responsible for the fires?" Raven asked, incredulous she could suspect his best friend, the one person he trusted in this town. "You can't be serious."

She shook her head of bedraggled curls. "No, of course not. I realize he watched the trap on your behalf. What he did was this." She pointed to her swollen and bruised chin. "Then he bagged me up like a pheasant and carted me off to the hold of the Golden Lady."

"I didn't know it was you, Dawn. I swear it." William swore. He placed a hand over her smaller one holding a knife to his throat.

Dawn tilted her head in warning and William removed his hand.

He tried again. "I gave my word I'd look out after Raven. You should have stayed in as you were told. Raven had heard about a new lad in the area. He wanted to get him safely out of the way. How were we to know the kid was really you?"

Raven threw the towel aside with an angry toss. "Wait a minute. You told her you would look after me? You told her about the fires?"

"No, I didn't. It wasn't necessary for me to tell her for her to know you were in danger. That's why she came here in the first place, remember?"

Dawn rose slowly to her feet and faced him. "So, you're responsible for this," she said, pointing to her cheek.

Raven stood relaxed. "Put the knife down, Dawn." The knife whizzed past his ear and sank into the cupboard behind him. He didn't flinch. "The table would have sufficed."

Each of the ladies sank into a chair. He heard Lady Gaylord whisper, "She really is good with a knife."

"Yes, she certainly is," Lady Montgomery said, nodding thoughtfully.

William scooted away from Dawn and stood. "Come, Grams. I think Raven and Dawn need a moment alone."

"Not on your life," huffed Lady Montgomery.

"Be quiet, Willie," commanded Lady Gaylord, never taking her gaze from Raven and Dawn. "If you must do something, find those annoying balls and put them away."

Raven allowed his gaze to caress Dawn's face and exhaled in resignation. This woman never ceased to confuse and amaze him. He never knew whether to scold her or kiss her. He knew which he preferred, but pushed the thought aside. "What am I going to do with you," he whispered.

As he suspected, his anger fueled hers. His tenderness now felled her defenses. Warrior she might be, but at this minute she was a confused and troubled woman who ran crying into his arms. He held her to him, wishing he could keep her safe within his embrace forever. Knowing she could never be his saddened him. Over her head cradled against his chest, he watched the others in the room and carefully masked his pain.

William complained, "Oh, great. She nearly decapitates me for merely following your orders. For you, the true author of her distress, she suddenly becomes all sweet and soft before running into your arms." He squatted and scanned the floor. "Where are those blasted balls?" William retrieved his Baoding Balls and forcibly led his grandmothers from the room.

Dawn clung to Raven. "Do you understand, my beloved? I would gladly die to keep you safe."

He closed his eyes, praying he could protect her from the terror plaguing him. "My little sparrow, you must stop this foolishness." He framed her face with his hands. "You know we can never be. You don't belong here. You need to run where the breeze blows through your golden hair, where you can run and hunt and—"

"Make love on the river bank with my warrior" she finished for him.

Tension riveted him in place. The vision she painted was almost more than he could bear. He knew not which caused the most pain, the image of her with another, or the mental image of him loving her and knowing it could never be. Either way, pain sliced through his heart and left him reeling. He gently rubbed a finger along her bruised jaw, longing to touch her in other ways.

"Kiss me, Raven," she demanded. "Then tell me you do not belong to me. Tell me you would let another hold me so."

Blast her, she could always read his mind. He resisted her command, but she reached up and pulled his head down to hers. Their lips touched lightly. He fought his desire until she whispered against his mouth.

"Kiss me, Raven. Kiss me now."

His control snapped and he pulled her up. His mouth crashed down on hers and for an instant he knew heaven. He forced himself to break their embrace. Although he hated to hurt her, it must be done to protect her. Every day with him put her in danger. If the madman plotting against him knew how much he cared for Dawn, her life would be forfeit. He fought to mask his longing for her.

"I don't belong to you, Dawn. I don't know where this possessive streak of yours comes from.

"It comes from my mother. She loves my father. The Great Spirit told her they belonged together. Because of her misplaced pride, too much of their time was spent fighting instead of loving."

"I know your parents' story. I was there, remember? I earned my warrior name when I went with New Moon to rescue your father from the French. This is not the same."

"How is it different? You belong to me, I belong to you. I would give up everything to keep you safe. I would die for you. Someday you'll see. You, too, will be willing to give up whatever keeps us apart."

Raven chuckled. So, his little sparrow was jealous. "Ah, so now you are talking of Marguerite. Is she the French enemy you must save me from?"

Dawn shook her head. "No, my foolish love. I know you don't love Marguerite."

Her simple statement surprised Raven. He had no misguided illusions about the relationship between him and his fiancée. Only a physical attraction kept them together. Their marriage would be solely a means to an end for each of them. For him it would bring a more stable place in society. For her it would bring financial security. Even the physical side of the union had changed since Dawn's arrival. No longer did Marguerite kindle his desire. Only Dawn fueled the flames of his passion, yet she could never be his and must never know his weakness.

"This is a different world than you know, Dawn. People here don't marry for love, but for whatever benefits arise from their joining."

"Then what are the benefits we can gain together?"

He tried to pull away but she held him tightly. "Dawn, this is ridiculous."

"I will tell you the benefits, my beloved. They are the same wherever we choose to live. We will have a life filled with laughter as we make love and watch our children grow. We will have a life where we can depend on each other in the
darkest, saddest times of our lives. When one of us passes on to the next life, the other will find comfort in knowing we will someday be together again. Tell me, Raven, are these not all the benefits you need?"

Raven pulled her head to his chest so she would not see the moistness gathering in his eyes. "Dawn, my beautiful, loving little sister. How will I ever make you understand."

She reacted the way he knew she would. With a loud groan, she pushed from his embrace. "I am not your little sister. I will make you understand." Her voice softened, "Or I will die in the trying."