Read Online Chronicles of Steele: Raven: Episode 1 by Pauline Creeden - Free Book Online
Authors: Pauline Creeden
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comparison to the vacant place in her chest where her heart used to be. Boy and dog bounded in front of her, stretching their legs after such a long time cooped in the farmhouse. With his haircut and farm boy overalls, Darius no longer looked like a baron. She smiled at his brilliant, unplanned disguise.
The doctor walked with her. “Wait at least a week before you think of removing those stitches. Please get as much rest as you can.” He stopped walking for a moment and whispered, “I wish you’d stay.”
Could he make the void in her chest hurt worse? Raven doubted it. She kept walking, forcing him to jog two steps to catch up.
“What is your plan?”
She swallowed. If he were found out by the guard and questioned, she would rather he knew nothing. Besides, who knew how trustworthy his prattling young wife would be? She could let a word or two go by without a thought of how it would affect things. After spending three days with the woman, Raven judged her a definite gossip. She decided that since she hadn’t completely made up her mind yet, it wouldn’t be a lie. “I’m not sure.”
Gregory nodded as if he knew she chose not to say.
“Gregory!” Amelia called him from the porch. Did she fear he might not return?
“Well, I’ll leave you to your path then. It’s not as if you wouldn’t know the way.”
Raven stopped and turned to him. She didn’t know if she’d be able to speak. The words she had travelled all this way to tell him were still hiding on her tongue, wanting to break free from the prison of her lips. Instead she said, “Thank you.”
His half-smile reminded her of the hundred times they’d said good-bye in the past. “I won’t let her talk me into moving. I will always be here for you.”
His reassurance washed over her with more relief than she’d have thought possible. She smiled and said, “Then I’ll be back.”
“And maybe you won’t be half-dead, next time.”
“Maybe.” She turned on her heel and withheld the urge to run again. The boy and dog waited at the bramble of the rose bush. She met them there, sneaking a peek back. Her doctor hadn’t left his spot yet, even with his wife calling his name again.
“Which way do we go?” the boy said breathlessly. His face had gained some color after nearly a week of doing farm chores with the doctor’s wife.
Raven glanced back at Gregory and watched him turn away. Happy that she could make the decision without him watching, she looked both ways down the field rows. The late afternoon sun had dipped below the boundary of trees. They had a few hours of diminishing daylight left.
The Duke’s Guard would still be looking for them along the road, so they’d have to take the wooded paths. Raven decided to go to the one place they wouldn’t be searching. She turned right and started back toward New Haven.
Jack Grant hated his latest mission. There could hardly be a viler town in all of the duke’s reign than Channing. The cobblestones of the street were slippery, damp, and uneven, making the walk difficult. It seemed the seaside city had a perpetual layer of fog. Accosted by the smell of refuse and human waste, Jack held a sleeve to his mouth with left hand, while his right rested on the butt of his pistol. Rupert and Colton held the same stance as they made way for the tavern.
Over the past week of searching, Jack had mulled over the fact that the woman, a trained assassin, spared their lives rather than taking them. The woman had moved faster than any of the guard, and she’d been injured. Jack shook his head as he thought about the grotesque shard of brass protruding from her leg as she’d first run into the woods.
His conscience could not agree with what he was about to do. But orders were orders. And as captain of the guard, Jack always followed them to the letter.
The smell of vomit, alcohol, and urine grew worse within. The dim lighting of the interior seemed bright in comparison to the spotted gaslight
The doctor walked with her. “Wait at least a week before you think of removing those stitches. Please get as much rest as you can.” He stopped walking for a moment and whispered, “I wish you’d stay.”
Could he make the void in her chest hurt worse? Raven doubted it. She kept walking, forcing him to jog two steps to catch up.
“What is your plan?”
She swallowed. If he were found out by the guard and questioned, she would rather he knew nothing. Besides, who knew how trustworthy his prattling young wife would be? She could let a word or two go by without a thought of how it would affect things. After spending three days with the woman, Raven judged her a definite gossip. She decided that since she hadn’t completely made up her mind yet, it wouldn’t be a lie. “I’m not sure.”
Gregory nodded as if he knew she chose not to say.
“Gregory!” Amelia called him from the porch. Did she fear he might not return?
“Well, I’ll leave you to your path then. It’s not as if you wouldn’t know the way.”
Raven stopped and turned to him. She didn’t know if she’d be able to speak. The words she had travelled all this way to tell him were still hiding on her tongue, wanting to break free from the prison of her lips. Instead she said, “Thank you.”
His half-smile reminded her of the hundred times they’d said good-bye in the past. “I won’t let her talk me into moving. I will always be here for you.”
His reassurance washed over her with more relief than she’d have thought possible. She smiled and said, “Then I’ll be back.”
“And maybe you won’t be half-dead, next time.”
“Maybe.” She turned on her heel and withheld the urge to run again. The boy and dog waited at the bramble of the rose bush. She met them there, sneaking a peek back. Her doctor hadn’t left his spot yet, even with his wife calling his name again.
“Which way do we go?” the boy said breathlessly. His face had gained some color after nearly a week of doing farm chores with the doctor’s wife.
Raven glanced back at Gregory and watched him turn away. Happy that she could make the decision without him watching, she looked both ways down the field rows. The late afternoon sun had dipped below the boundary of trees. They had a few hours of diminishing daylight left.
The Duke’s Guard would still be looking for them along the road, so they’d have to take the wooded paths. Raven decided to go to the one place they wouldn’t be searching. She turned right and started back toward New Haven.
Jack Grant hated his latest mission. There could hardly be a viler town in all of the duke’s reign than Channing. The cobblestones of the street were slippery, damp, and uneven, making the walk difficult. It seemed the seaside city had a perpetual layer of fog. Accosted by the smell of refuse and human waste, Jack held a sleeve to his mouth with left hand, while his right rested on the butt of his pistol. Rupert and Colton held the same stance as they made way for the tavern.
Over the past week of searching, Jack had mulled over the fact that the woman, a trained assassin, spared their lives rather than taking them. The woman had moved faster than any of the guard, and she’d been injured. Jack shook his head as he thought about the grotesque shard of brass protruding from her leg as she’d first run into the woods.
His conscience could not agree with what he was about to do. But orders were orders. And as captain of the guard, Jack always followed them to the letter.
The smell of vomit, alcohol, and urine grew worse within. The dim lighting of the interior seemed bright in comparison to the spotted gaslight
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