Page 5 of A Raven Revived (The Raven’s Den #4)

Chapter Five

A n icy rush of dread ran through Daisy as they entered Raven House. Ash looked up as they approached his office door. Relief washed over his features briefly, but when his eyes moved to Fitz, they darkened with anger, and a muscle ticked beside the left one.

“Ash, Fitz didn’t?—”

He held a hand up to stop her. “Come in and close the door, please.”

She swallowed before doing as he’d instructed. He was angry. He’d never been angry with her before. Annoyed a time or two, perhaps, but never angry like this. Of course, she’d never done anything like this before. Fitz gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze before seating himself beside her.

“Fitz didn’t do anything wrong, Ash. This was all my own doing.”

Ash looked between the pair of them a few times before eventually nodding. “Tell me what happened, Daisy.”

Her heart sank as she started to list the infractions in her head trying to figure out where to start. In the end, she decided fewer details was probably better.

She shrugged, struggling to look into Ash’s disappointed face as she spoke. “I got drunk, snuck out, and went to find Fitz.” Her heart pounded inside her chest.

“Is that it?” Ash asked. “Is that all I’m going to get?”

“Don’t.” Fitz’s deep voice was laced with warning.

Ash leveled his gaze at him. “You do not need to be here, Fitz, so you can either sit quietly, or you can leave.”

Fitz got to his feet and leaned over the desk. “I will not sit quietly while you bully her.”

Ash simply raised a brow, looking bored. “I won’t repeat myself.”

This was ridiculous. Daisy stood, pushing herself between Fitz and the desk in order to look him in the eye. “Stop it. Ash is right. For three years, he’s made sure I was safe, clothed, fed, sheltered, and everything else. If he hadn’t taken me in, I likely would have died on the streets. The least he deserves is for me to be forthcoming. Now sit down.”

He looked down at her for a moment, but with a frustrated sigh, he lowered himself back into the chair and folded his arms across his chest.

“Bullheaded, the pair of you.” She huffed and resumed her seat. “You’re both on the same side, here. I’m the one causing all the problems.” She brushed her hands over her skirts as if the distraction might somehow help to stop her courage from slipping away. Both men simply watched her quietly.

“I was not in a very good place last night, and I made a handful of… atrocious decisions. I know that there will be consequences, and I will try to be as gracious as I can in accepting them. I am truly sorry, to both of you, for the worry I may have caused.”

Ash gave her a nod of approval. He steepled his fingers together in front of him and let out a long sigh.

“Thank you, Daisy. The most important thing is that you’re safe.” He moved his gaze to Fitz. “I am grateful to you for keeping her that way and for sending that note when you did.”

Fitz inclined his head. He still didn’t look very happy.

“Let me just make sure I have the gist of it.” Ash turned his gaze on Daisy, once more. “You stole a bottle of wine, drank the entire thing, snuck out of here, which I’ll get the details about later, and then thankfully made it to Blackmoor Inn without being accosted, so you could…”

Daisy’s cheeks burned and her stomach tightened. “So I could beg Fitz to do things he shouldn’t, which he gallantly refused to do.” She folded her arms across her chest.

Ash nodded slowly. “I understand you’ve had a difficult couple of days, Daisy, so I’ll take that into account when deciding on your consequences.”

“Surely she doesn’t need to be punished? As you’ve already said, she’s having a rough time. We all make mistakes.”

Ash speared Fitz with his gaze. “Mr. Fitzwilliam, after you have owned a gaming hell and had eighteen or twenty women cycling in and out of your care for more than a dozen years, then you can come and tell me how to do my job. Do you think I enjoy handing down punishments? Of course I don’t, but if I let guilt get in the way of my decisions, utter chaos would ensue here. If she isn’t punished, all of the other ladies will turn on her. After that, they’ll decide they don’t need to follow the rules because there are no consequences. When that happens, I can no longer keep them safe.”

It was a bit odd having them talk about her as if she wasn’t there, but it was fascinating to hear Ash’s perspective. She’d never even considered any of that before. Even his punishments were to keep them safe.

Fitz held up his hands in surrender. “I’m sorry. I won’t interfere again. You obviously know what you’re doing.”

“Christ,” Ash muttered under his breath. “Now, Daisy, I will consult with Gwen and see what she thinks is fair, but for now, let’s start with a week’s suspension from work and confinement to Raven House, and if we need to, we will adjust it.”

She nodded, relief flooding through her. “Thank you, Ash.” That was a much lighter punishment than she’d expected and far less than she deserved. She’d been terrified she might be expelled completely.

“And you’ll need to pay me back for that bottle of wine.” A little twinkle of teasing appeared in his eyes with that last bit. He got up from his seat and held out an arm, offering her a hug, which she gladly accepted. His arm wrapped around her shoulders, and he leaned down and spoke softly into her ear. “You got lucky this time, Daisy. Next time you might not, and you certainly won’t get off this easily from me again. Please don’t put yourself, or me, in that position.”

She nodded again. “I won’t. Thank you, Ash. I’m sorry.”

“Now, if you’d like it, I’ll allow the pair of you one hug, since you won’t be seeing each other again for at least a week. After that, you’ll spend the rest of today in your room.”

Daisy wasn’t sure if Fitz would even want to share another hug with her after everything she’d done, but he didn't hesitate to get to his feet. He gripped her so tightly she could barely breathe, but it was exactly what she needed in that moment. He was giving her some of his strength, at least, that’s how it felt.

When he slowly let her go, she looked up into his amber eyes. “Thank you, Fitz, for everything.” Part of her was afraid this was the last time she would ever see him, that he’d disappear from her life again.

“Off you go, Daisy. You may leave your room for anything necessary, like food, of course, and you’ll still need to do your chores.”

She nodded and turned to pull open the door.

“Fitz, I’d like a word with you, please,” Ash said.

With a sigh, she left them and made the walk down the long hall to her room at the very end.

* * *

Fitz stared after her as she disappeared from view. If he hadn’t suddenly turned up in her life again, none of this would have happened.

“Close the door and have a seat, Fitz.”

He rolled his eyes. Time for his own lecture, presumably.

“Thank you again, for sending that note, Fitz. I would have had a search party out looking for her, otherwise, and I am grateful.”

Fitz settled himself into the chair, once more. “It was the least I could do.”

“Well, many would have been too afraid of the consequences, and not bothered. Especially after the last interaction you had with the four of us concerning Daisy.”

He shrugged. “I did think someone would break down the door at some point.”

Ash chuckled but shook his head. “You gave me your word. I tend to be a pretty good judge of character, and I believe your word is good.”

“That is a compliment, indeed. I doubt you give your trust easily.”

“I don’t, which is why I’m disappointed to say I will have to turn down your investment offer.”

“Hoping for someone a bit more biddable?”

Ash scoffed. “You’ve met my partners. Do they seem very biddable to you? I’m actually pleased you were willing to stand up to me for Daisy’s sake.”

“Why then?”

“Because of her. As the owners, we are their employers, and we do not have any kind of romantic entanglements with them.”

“Nothing happened last night, Ash.” He knew it to be untrue even as the words left his mouth. He may not have actually laid hands on her, but they had shared an intimate experience, nonetheless.

“Nothing physical, perhaps, but you obviously care for her, or you wouldn’t be here right now. Don’t mistake my meaning, I am grateful that you didn’t take advantage of her while she was quite clearly in a very vulnerable state. I imagine it wasn’t easy.”

Fitz barked a laugh and scrubbed his hands over his face. “You have no idea.”

“I probably do, actually.”

There was a light tap, the door opened, and a woman peeked in.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Ash. I thought Daisy would be in here.”

He shook his head. “No, I’ve just finished with her. She should be in her room now. But since you’re here, I’d like you to meet Fitz. Fitz, this is my wife, Gwen.”

Fitz got to his feet. “It’s a pleasure,” he said, bowing over her hand. “I was hoping to meet the woman behind the stories. The woman who somehow managed to make a man made out of solid stone bend his knee.” He winked and a light flush bloomed in her cheeks.

“Careful, Fitz, or I’ll have to call you out for flirting with my wife.”

“Stop it, Ash. It’s about time someone dared to flirt with me.”

As she looked at her husband, the connection between them was obvious. Theirs was, without question, a love match.

“Thank you for keeping Daisy safe, Fitz.” She smiled, and then shook her head with a sigh. “I have a hard time even criticizing her. She was my roommate, after all, when I was… well, before Ash and I wed.”

There was surely a story there. One he’d likely never know.

“So,” she said to her husband. “What kind of sentence did you hand down?”

“You make me sound like a tyrant.” He shrugged. “One week’s suspension and confinement.”

She raised her brows. “I think you might be getting soft in your old age.”

Fitz choked on a laugh.

“Who are you calling old, wife?” He got out of his chair and pulled Gwen in for a brief kiss. “Go have a talk with her. I told her you would have the final say about her consequences.”

Gwen nodded. “Very well.” She sighed. “She really does have the sweetest soul, and it will be difficult to say even a harsh word to her, so thank you for doing the hard part for me.”

“Oh, and while you’re at it, get the details of how she slipped out of here. She should not have been able to just wander away by herself, late at night, three sheets to the wind, without anyone even noticing.”

“She’s not just anyone, Ash. She’s been here a long time. She knows every little detail about this place. But I’ll find out what I can for you.”

A besotted smile remained on Ash’s lips, even after the door closed behind his wife. He shook himself and returned to his seat.

“Where were we?”

Ash was a lucky man. “You were telling me you won’t take my money.”

“That’s right.” He let out a sigh. “It’s a shame, really. I think you’d be a good addition to our group, and with Patrick and Michael both soon to be fathers, we’re in need of adding someone. That being said, if Daisy decides to take a position somewhere eventually, I’d be happy to revisit the idea.”

“Can I at least come back as a patron and give you my money that way?”

Ash considered the question for a moment but eventually nodded. “I don’t see any reason you shouldn’t, at least for the week she’s on suspension.”

“Fair enough. At least I’ll have something to keep me occupied at night for the next few days.”

“I’m afraid you’ll find it much less attractive now that you won’t be investing.”

“Perhaps.” Fitz stretched his neck. He was tired. He hadn’t slept a wink. His heart warmed remembering Daisy’s soft snores and mumbles as she’d slept. But then he pulled his mind back to the current conversation.

“It may be time for me to leave.” His heart railed against the thought, but what was he supposed to do? “If there’s no investment, and all I’ve managed to do in the short time I’ve been here is cause Daisy heartache and problems she never would have had if I hadn’t come, why stay?”

“You know.” Ash grabbed his cane from where it leaned against his desk and began to fidget with it, rolling it between his fingers and tapping it lightly on the floor. “Daisy has been here more than three years and has never shown any interest in leaving. The average stay here is about eight months. In the time she’s been here, she’s rarely broken a single rule. Sure, she’s been late for a shift a time or two, or missed her chores here and there, but she’s one I’ve never really had to punish.”

“Are you trying to make me feel worse?”

“Quite the opposite, actually. My point is, in three years, nothing has ever been important enough to her to break the rules. Then you show up, and she breaks them all. When she left here last night, regardless of how much she’d had to drink, she knew she was not only putting her safety at risk, but she was also putting her place here in jeopardy. The place she hasn’t taken a single step to try to leave in three years. The place where she has felt safe, and I dare say, happy. She risked all of that to get to you.”

Ash might as well have thrown a bucket of icy water over him for the shock that rushed through him at those words. “But what does that mean?” he asked, desperately.

A sympathetic sort of smile grew on Ash’s lips. “I don’t fully know. But one thing I’m afraid is probably true. If you just disappear again,”—Ash stilled, and his dark gaze locked with Fitz's—“it will break her.”