Page 6 of The Valiant Knight (The Ravensmire Chronicles #2)

It was lonely in the castle. When Gryphen and Ian left, the silence…it had been unnerving.

“I was thinking about it,” he said, grabbing a messenger bag from the counter and putting it on. Then, he put the dog in it. “He can keep me company while I do the chores.”

Her dog looked so damn happy in the messenger bag that was slung around the man’s body. It solved the problem of keeping her dog from trying to walk away with a very old bone.

While an amusing visual, Tony would lose his shit if the dog gnawed on anything.

Call it a hunch.

Yeah, she didn’t mind, and more importantly, Bark didn’t. He was licking the man’s hand, and sitting in the bag like it was made for him.

Dogs were good judges of character. Clearly, this man was a decent person.

“Thank you,” she said, moving her arm and knocking the coffee cup off of the island.

She froze as it seemed to move in slow motion as it fell to the floor and shattered.

“Oh, my God,” she said, getting up. “I’m so sorry. I’m a klutz. I didn’t mean it,” she said, kneeling to pick up the shattered cup shards.

The woman sounded so upset, and Graham didn’t understand why.

It was just a mug.

No harm.

No foul.

Graham handed the dog to Tony, and got down to help Gabby pick up the pieces.

“It’s okay, Gabby,” he admitted, noticing that when she reached for the handle, her hands were shaking.

Jesus.

That worried him.

“Hey, are you okay?” he asked, touching her arm. “It’s only a mug. It wasn’t important.”

When he came into contact with her arm, she jerked like his touch hurt. Now, she looked panicked.

Graham didn’t like that.

Not.

At.

All.

Someone had hurt her.

He’d bet on it. She was exhibiting signs of PTSD and trauma.

Immediately, he moved his hand, seeing she wasn’t comfortable with him touching her. He adjusted because he knew she needed him to.

When she looked up, Graham saw the tears in her eyes. They wet her eyelashes, and threatened to overflow down her cheeks.

He tried to comfort her.

Oh, he’d been to the PTSD rodeo more times than he could count. Gryphen had too when he’d been there. Apparently, this castle attracted a lot of broken souls.

“Really, lass, it’s okay. I break one a week. We have about forty-five more coffee cups. I swear. That was the ugliest one in the bunch too.”

She wiped her eyes.

Gabby knew she was being silly, but she couldn’t help herself. It took her back to a place she didn’t like to go.

Her marriage.

“Thank you,” she said.

Because he understood, he didn’t want to make a production out of it. Instead, he pulled a paper towel off the roll, and handed it to her.

“It’s okay. I swear.”

She just nodded.

When she got up, she was still upset.

“I’ll be right back,” she said. “I need to wash my face and take a moment, if you don’t mind.”

Neither man did.

It was clear she needed to do this so she could save face.

When she walked away, Graham was worried about her.

“Is she going to be okay?” he asked, keeping his voice low so she didn’t hear them talking.

Tony sighed.

Normally, he’d say nothing, but Gabby would likely feel the need to tell Graham, so he didn’t think she was insane. So, he opted to clue the man in.

Tony definitely knew why she’d reacted that way, and he was pretty sure that Graham did too. He’d handled that like a pro, and for that, Tony was grateful.

“Eventually, she’ll be okay. Sad to say, but Gabs was married to an asshole, and he hurt her,” he said. “She’s trying to get over what he did to her, and it wasn’t an easy journey back to safe.”

Graham was worried.

That was what he suspected, but he didn’t want to be right.

Really.

“Should I go after her?” he asked. “You know, to make sure she’s okay?”

Tony shook his head.

“She just needs a little grace. We’re all klutzy at times,” he admitted. “She’ll be okay, and she’ll bounce back pretty quickly.”

That he hoped was true.

He was curious, so he asked.

“How long was she married?”

Again, the only reason he was going there was because he knew that Gabby would tell the man herself since she was very open about her past.

Talking about it had been part of the therapy.

“She was married to him for three years,” he said.

“They dated, and got married rather young. He told her he wanted a family, and a life, but all he did was hurt her. We all offered to hunt him down and kill him, but she won’t let us.

All she wants is to be away from him, and she insists that the best revenge is her moving on. ”

She wasn’t wrong.

But he understood moving on was difficult.

It had been for him, and he hadn’t been abused. In fact, no one loved him more—until he didn’t.

So, he understood the pain she was living through.

“Well, if she needs anything, please don’t hesitate to ask,” he offered. “I hope she heals even more while she’s here.”

Tony hoped that too.

When they heard her coming, she was pulled back together and so much calmer.

Immediately, she apologized again like she’d done something wrong.

She.

Had.

Not.

Then, she explained.

Gabby knew she owed the man some sort of explanation.

“Sometimes, I go back to that place, and it hits at the weirdest moments,” she admitted.

Graham handed her another cup of coffee, and this time, he patted her hand while she held it.

Oh, he understood.

“I have an ex-husband who was horribly abusive to me. It was a long three years of physical abuse and mental torment. Sometimes, I get emotional, and I cry. I’m still healing.”

He held out his hand, and this time, she didn’t flinch or pull away.

She took it, and he gave it a squeeze.

“I think you’re recovering really well. You don’t have to be sorry for anything here, and you certainly don’t have to apologize. This is a judgment-free zone. Here, you’re safe. You’re strong, and we all think so. Bark too.”

She needed to hear that.

This man was very kind, and she liked him a lot. It was odd how good people would appear when you needed them, and they would help heal you.

She was so glad she came here.

Without.

A.

Doubt.

“Thank you, Graham. I appreciate it. As long as I feel safe here, I’ll be fine. So far, so good.”

He was glad.

Tony patted her on the back, and he was curious.

“If we’re ready, can we see the crypts?” he asked. “We don’t have a ton of work to do for the Blackhawks, but I’d like to get it started so we have some time to look around and have some fun.”

That sounded like a good idea to Gabby.

Graham too.

“Sure,” he said, getting a paper cup down to fill it with her freshly made coffee.

Gabby wanted to forget what had happened, and move on from it.

So, she busted his ass.

“Don’t trust me with the cups?” she asked.

He laughed.

“Uh, it’s not that. I just figured you’d want a lid so dead body dust doesn’t get in your cup. I mean, if that’s your thing…”

Tony grinned.

“Yum.”

It made Gabby giggle. She appreciated him keeping it light and friendly.

Really, she did.

“Thanks for that,” she offered, taking the cup.

When he led them down the hall, and toward their destination, both of them followed, taking it all in as they went.

Graham knew they didn’t get to wander as much last night, since they wanted to get to bed to battle the new time zone.

He gave them the tour, showing them the dining room, the library, and the storage area. The rest of the rooms weren’t done yet, since Callen and Chris prioritized the tower.

“I love the artwork on the walls,” she admitted.

As they walked, he shared what he knew about the castle and the tapestries.

This was, after all, his home.

“This country has a great history,” he offered. “It goes back many centuries too. The Granndachs had the tapestries created to show that. The town was built to house his soldiers. Duncan was a powerful man, and he was wealthy—as you can imagine.”

They could see that.

This was a big castle.

At the storage room, he showed them inside. It would be their ‘home base’ of sorts. He was pretty sure Chris and Callen didn’t want Ceit’s bones all over the place.

Call it a hunch.

“This is the storage room with your equipment. I didn’t know where you needed it. I put a table in there, and if it’s not enough room, feel free to find more space. We have plenty here.”

That they did.

Peeking inside, Tony approved of the location. It would work for what he needed to get done. Basically, a place to scan the bones, and make sure they were digging up a woman.

“It’s the perfect size. I’ll be fine in here. I won’t need more space. It’s harder to date bones in a room full of light when I spray them and see what the spectrum says about them.”

That was good.

Graham was happy they could accommodate him.

As they went lower, the single hanging bulb told them they were now underground, and this part of the castle hadn’t been renovated quite yet.

Looking around, she was honest.

“Well, this is creepy,” Gabby said, rubbing her arms. “And chilly. Did it just get colder down here?” she asked, seeing her breath in the air.

How much did the temperature drop?

Her partner in crime wasn’t saying shit, and that was all because Tony wasn’t paying attention.

He was off to the races.

The man only had two speeds.

Find the bones.

And touch the bones.

He saw three crypts, two that were empty, and he was in his bone-hunting glory.

He literally ran toward them, leaving his assistant in this mission, and the caretaker of the castle, behind.

That was about right.

Graham was amused.

“I’ve never seen anyone so happy to get his hands on bones,” he admitted.

She was direct and to the point.

“He’s insane,” Gabby said.

Graham could see that.

Only, now, he had to give them some advice. The last thing they needed was a pissed off spirit trying to start some shit in the castle.

It was already stirred up from the construction.

“Before you both start, try to be incredibly respectful of the remains. Whenever people poke at them, or piss off Ceit, it stirs up the chaos here. Last night, doors were slamming, and there was music. So they are annoyed as it is.”

She reassured him.