Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

L ife in Raven Row was different than Belle had imagined. In some ways, it was wonderful. She frequently spent time with Rosie while their husbands were working or sleeping, and they’d grown quite close. She got to see Isaac’s smiling face nearly every day, and even though it was formal greetings, or him trailing behind her as she visited shops, and she couldn’t hug him, she still enjoyed having him back in her life. On the other hand, Michael kept strange hours here, and she didn’t see him nearly as much as she would have liked. Most nights, he was at his club from dusk until the early hours of the morning and slept until the middle of the afternoon.

The truth was, she often found herself bored. So much of her time was spent simply waiting for Michael because she didn’t have much else to do. Although, it was usually worth the wait. Even now, as she watched him dress, she could still taste him on her tongue and feel her lips stretched around him.

He checked his reflection in the mirror as he finished straightening his tie. An enchanting smile appeared when he spied her watching him. “Like what you see?”

She crossed the room and pressed a hand to his firm backside. He was almost as alluring in his clothes as out of them. “I certainly do. Although, next time, I want to see your hair free of its restraints.” She ran her fingers through it. As always, it was neatly tied at his nape.

“I think that can be arranged,” he said smoothly, as he turned. His warm, strong hands gently lifted her face and his lips descended. It wasn’t their usual heated, urgent kiss. It was languid and loving. He nipped gently at her lips, never breaching her with his tongue. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her head tenderly against his chest, surrounding her with his sweet, musky scent.

For some reason, he needed her today. She’d seen it in the furrow of his brow the moment he’d walked through the door. “What’s the matter, Michael?”

He leaned back and looked down at her. “How could anything possibly be wrong after that?”

His lips were turned up in a satisfied smile, but Belle could still see a shadow in his eyes. She wasn’t going to be deterred that easily. She held up his waistcoat for him to slip his arms through and waited for him to button it before she took his hand in hers once more. He grabbed his jacket and followed her without a word of protest as she led him back down to the drawing room. She needed to know what was bothering him, and they were much less likely to get distracted outside of the bedroom.

Leaving him to sit at one end of the sofa, she sat at the other and patted the top of her thigh. He looked a bit uncertain of what she was requesting from him.

“Lay your head,” she said, patting her leg again. For a moment, he eyed her, probably trying to discern her motives.

“I’m not going to bite, Michael.”

“Well, that’s disappointing.” Eventually, he acquiesced, and lowered himself slowly onto his back, resting his head in her lap. He lifted his long legs and draped them over the arm of the sofa.

“Are you sure I’m not crushing you?”

“I’m sure.” Belle smiled down at him, taking in every detail of his face. With her fingertip, she traced his perfect eyebrows and cheekbones. As she moved across his soft lips, she saw his throat work with a swallow. She was supposed to be talking, not seducing him, so she rested her hand on his chest, and didn’t move it.

“What’s bothering you, Michael?” she finally asked.

“I’m quite enjoying this, actually.”

Belle pressed her lips together. “That’s twice now that you’ve dodged my question. No secrets between us, remember?”

Michael let out a long sigh. “I suppose I don’t want to burden you with what’s on my mind.”

“I’m your wife, Michael, and I—” She almost said I love you, but although she knew that was true, the last thing she wanted to do right now was scare him off, so she quickly changed direction. “I want to know what you’re thinking.”

“Well.” His eyes flicked around as he sifted through the thoughts in his head, no doubt, deciding what to tell her.

“Out with it, Michael. I’m not a china doll. I can handle whatever it is that’s eating at you.”

“The truth is, I’m feeling a bit lost. I think perhaps I was naive believing we might be able to live our life here in Raven Row. The most obvious reason being we can’t raise the next Earl of Dalinridge here in this townhouse. So, presuming we are eventually blessed with children, this doesn’t work. In addition, I have a responsibility to the earldom that I’ve been neglecting for far too long.” Michael reached up and wrapped his fingers around her hand that lay on his chest.

“But there’s a selfish part of me that doesn’t want to give up The Raven’s Den. Ash and Patrick are my dearest friends, and working with them brings me so much joy, satisfaction, and a sense of accomplishment.”

He paused for a moment and then looked up into her eyes with a sigh. “But perhaps it’s time for me to become a man and put away childish things.”

Belle wrapped her arm around his head and pulled him against her bosom. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, leaning into her. He seemed to enjoy their closeness as much as she did. “Those aren’t childish things, Michael.”

“Aren’t they?”

Belle shook her head. “Just because something brings you joy, doesn’t make it childish. Surely, you can have responsibilities to yourself and to your friends in addition to the title. Besides, there might be an obvious solution to this problem.”

Michael huffed out a laugh. “Perhaps it’s obvious to you, my lady.”

“You’ve been so wrapped up in trying to balance everything, you’ve just never taken a step back to see that someone else is probably in the same boat as you.”

Michael furrowed his brow. “I still don’t understand.”

Belle chuckled. How did he not see it? “Well, she hasn’t said as much, but I’m quite certain Rosie is with child. I’ve been in their flat, and there is certainly no place for a nursery.”

Michael closed his eyes, his whole body slumping in defeat. “But that’s only worse, because that means Patrick will need to leave, as well. I don’t know why I hadn’t realized that before. Perhaps because he doesn’t actually hold the title.”

“Oh, Michael. My dear, sweet Michael. How can you be so brilliant and so obtuse at the same time?”

Michael choked on a laugh. “And how can you, my dear, sweet wife, manage to both compliment and insult me so spectacularly in a single sentence?”

Mirth bubbled up within her. “Now you’re making me second-guess my solution. But it seems to me, now that Giles has joined your group, the obvious answer for you and Patrick would be to take turns. You could each split your time between Raven Row and your estates.”

“You know,” he said, bringing her hand to his lips. “You may be onto something.” Belle could practically hear his mind turning as he pressed kisses over her hand. “But what about you?”

“What about me?”

“Will you be disappointed to go back to Glenwood?”

“No. In fact, if I’m honest, I’ve been getting a bit bored here,” she said with a shrug. “And all this talk of responsibilities makes me realize I’ve never really seen to mine, as your wife.”

“Oh, you’ve seen to your wifely duties just fine, love.” Michael grinned devilishly.

Belle swatted his chest playfully. “I mean, my duties as the Countess of Dalinridge; overseeing the household and making sure the tenants have all that they should. That kind of thing. I may not have been born to the role, but I know that I am, in fact, expected to perform certain functions.”

“Although the estate has run without one for a very long time, I’m sure everyone would be glad to have the lady in residence again.”

“Well, perhaps not everyone. I don’t think the servants like me very much. But maybe if I spend more time there, that will change.”

Michael’s features turned instantly dangerous. “Have they been disrespectful to you?”

“No. Of course they haven’t.”

Michael lifted his legs from the arm of the sofa and sat up to look into her eyes. “Belle? What has happened?”

“It’s nothing, Michael. I don’t want to cause any problems.”

Michael continued to stare into her eyes. Clearly that was not a good enough answer for him.

“There may be a bit of unflattering gossip spreading amongst the staff, or at least there was.”

Michael took her hand in his again. “I had hoped you wouldn’t hear any of that nonsense.”

“You knew about it?”

He nodded. “I’m sorry, Belle. I can assure you, though, it has been dealt with.” Michael cupped her cheek in his palm. “I never want you to feel unwelcome in your own home. If you knew about the gossip, why didn’t you tell me?”

Belle shrugged meekly. “I was ashamed, I suppose. I’ve only been your wife a short time, and I had already created questions about my reputation, and thereby yours.”

Michael’s chuckle was filled with amusement. “Belle, I’ve owned a gaming hell for a dozen years. I’m sure the respectability of the earldom has weathered worse than a minor misunderstanding.”

That did make her feel a little better.

“Now,” he said, pulling her into his lap. She happily snuggled into his warmth. “Speaking of said gaming hell, if I do, indeed, split my time between Raven Row and Glenwood, what will you do?”

“I don’t know. Maybe sometimes I’ll travel with you and sometimes I’ll stay behind. I’m sure we can work out the details. I really just brought up this idea because I don’t believe your club needs to be all or nothing for you. I know how much joy it brings you.”

“You are what brings me joy, Belle.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and squeezed her tight.

A warm glow grew in Belle’s heart at the words. She pulled back to see his face. It wouldn’t be unlike him for it to be just innuendo. But his blue eyes didn’t sparkle with their usual devilry. Instead, they were filled with tenderness and admiration.

Belle’s heartbeat accelerated inside her chest. She was still too cowardly to speak her feelings aloud, so instead, she kissed him. She pressed her lips against his, softly at first, but quickly she was devouring his mouth, just as he’d taught her to do. As her tongue plunged into his mouth, she poured her heart and soul with it. Michael crushed her to him, taking all she had to give, one hand held the back of her head and the other slid down to squeeze her bottom.

The drawing room door burst open with a crash. Belle wrenched herself back and gasped at Isaac’s tall form in the doorway. God, how embarrassing. Heat instantly blossomed in her cheeks. In her haste to extricate herself from the position she was in, she tumbled onto the floor.

Both men rushed to offer aid, but Michael turned a scowl on Isaac. “Out!” he ordered.

“Apologies, my lord.” Isaac scrambled out of the room and closed the door behind him.

Michael crouched down beside her. “Are you hurt, Belle?”

“Only my pride,” she said with an exasperated sigh. Her cheeks burned, even still. With a sweet smile, he helped her back onto the sofa. But as he stood and turned toward the door, the smile disappeared and was immediately replaced by a furious glower. Isaac was in trouble.

* * *

Michael closed the drawing room door as softly as he could manage, not wanting to upset Belle any further. “You’d better have one hell of a good explanation for this, Isaac.” His voice shook with his effort to contain his anger.

Isaac’s eyes were wide and aghast. “I’m so sorry, my lord.” Panic had pitched his voice much higher than usual. “I didn’t know—. I didn’t mean to—. But it is important.” The words tumbled out in a rush.

“Well?” Michael said, irritated when Isaac didn’t explain quickly enough.

“It’s Ash.” Isaac held up his hands. “He’s alright, but there was an attempted robbery at the Den, and he was shot in the leg.”

“Not by you, I hope.”

Isaac’s mouth fell open. “No, it wasn’t— I wouldn’t— I swear!”

“It was a joke, Isaac.”

Isaac clapped a hand to his chest and bent down to catch his breath. “Oh thank God, I thought…”

Michael was pleased to see his distress after what he’d just done to Belle. His butler stood behind Isaac, already holding his coat and hat.

“Where is Ash?” he asked as he slipped the garments on.

“At his place. The doctor is already with him.” Michael strode for the door, Isaac on his heels.

“No,” he said, holding out an arm to stop him. “You’re staying here. You owe her ladyship an obsequious apology.” He pointed toward the drawing room door. “And once you’ve done that, you’re to tell her where I’ve gone and then take up your usual post.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Oh, and Isaac.”

“Yes, my lord?”

“The next time you barge into a room I’m in with my wife, without knocking, you won’t be happy with the consequences. Is that clear?”

The man lowered his gaze with a nod. “Yes, my lord.”

“Good.” Michael swung the door open and strode out into the cold night. He climbed into the hack Isaac had instructed to wait. He was a good man, really. He wouldn’t have embarrassed Belle on purpose, and Michael now trusted him enough to leave him alone with her, confident in the knowledge that nothing even remotely inappropriate would occur. Isaac would make his apologies and explanations and station himself outside the door, as always. He had no doubt of that.

As soon as Michael strode through the door to Raven House, Ash’s agonized roar echoed from above. He raced up the stairs that led to Ash’s private quarters and burst through the door to his bedroom. The doctor stood, some kind of instruments in his blood covered hands. Patrick was leaned over, holding Ash’s leg down, his face pale, and sweat beading on his brow as he looked up at Michael with terror-stricken eyes.

“Stop,” Michael demanded. “What in God’s name are you doing to him?”

Patrick spoke through gritted teeth. “This bloody idiot is refusing any kind of sedation, and the doctor needs to dig the bullet fragments out of his leg.”

“What? Why no sedation?”

“Because somehow, he’s decided this is all his fault and he deserves the resulting pain.”

“Don’t be a bloody fool, Ash.”

Ash was panting on the bed. His pallor was somewhere between green and grey, but he smiled cynically at Michael.

“You don’t get to criticize me in this, Michael. I was there after you were shot, remember? I held you down.”

“No, this is different, and you know it.” He walked to the side of the bed and gave Patrick a meaningful look, before turning back to Ash. “I’m sorry, Ash.”

“Don’t you dare!”

Ash tried to stop him as he kneeled on the side of the bed and pushed him onto his back. Patrick was ready on the other side, and together they held him firmly to the bed.

“Get the ether,” Michael said urgently to the doctor.

Ash struggled against them. “You bastards! You can’t do this!” The doctor didn’t waste a second, and Ash was asleep before he could utter another word.

“You’ll thank me later, my friend.” Even while Ash was unconscious, Michael continued to hold his hand while the doctor drew up a syringe of morphine.

He held it up, seeking their permission to use it.

“In for a penny in for a pound, I suppose,” Patrick said with a shrug.

The doctor administered the medication and let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, gentlemen,” he said gratefully, and he worked quickly to treat the wound.

It took some time, but when he had finished removing the fragments and cleaned and stitched the wound, he wrapped a bandage around Ash’s leg. He got up and washed the blood from his hands and equipment before putting it all back into his bag. “He’s lucky it didn’t shatter his leg. But even still, it likely caused some damage to the bone. This is going to take a while to heal, and he needs to take it easy and stay off of it as much as possible.”

“Understood,” Michael said with a nod.

“I doubt he’ll use it, but I’ll leave something for him to take for the pain, just in case.”

“Thank you.” Michael escorted the man from the room.

As they reached the building’s exit, he turned to Michael and spoke. “Thank you. I appreciate what you did up there. I’ve known Ash a long while, and forgive me for saying so, but he can be as stubborn as a mule. He’ll likely be furious when he comes around, so be prepared for that.”

“Oh, I’ve been on the receiving end of his ire before. I’ll survive. Thank you for doing what needed to be done.”

“Happy to be of service.”

Michael returned to Ash’s room. “Where is Fogg?” he asked Patrick.

“One of the men involved in the robbery got away, and apparently he went looking for him.”

“Ash is shot, and his valet runs off to chase after a criminal rather than seeing to his welfare?”

Patrick gave an exaggerated shrug. He was obviously just as perplexed by it as Michael. Fogg never had been a typical valet, that was for certain. He performed the duties of a valet, but Michael had also seen him knock a man unconscious with a single punch, and he always seemed to just know things.

“So, tell me what happened. Why does Ash think it was his fault?”

“You know how Ash is.” Patrick and Michael settled themselves in the chairs near the fire. “Apparently, there was a group of men working together. A few of them created a distraction to draw security away from the back hallway, while one of them slipped upstairs. Ash was in the office going over some kind of paperwork and didn’t even know anything was happening, which is why the idiot blames himself. ‘ I should have been watching the floor . Someone else could have been hurt, ’” Patrick said in a mimic of Ash’s deep voice. “Then, Ash refused to open the safe, so the man shot him. Fortunately, it was in the leg. He no doubt thought that would be enough to convince him to open the safe. But O’Connell was up the stairs about three seconds after hearing that shot, and I’m sure the man was unconscious a second later.”

“Thank God for that, at least. Is everyone else alright?”

“Aside from the people who tried to rob the place. Only the one who managed to slip away got out of there alive. I think Giles and Isaac may both have sustained a few bumps, but nothing too serious.”

“I suppose someone was bound to try to rob us eventually. Why was Isaac there?”

“He comes by sometimes when you give him the night off. Gives each of the security guys a few minutes of a break. Didn’t you know?”

Michael was a bit surprised. “No. Is there anything suspicious about it? He wasn’t involved in the robbery in any way?”

Patrick shook his head. “I don’t believe so. Honestly, I think he just likes to visit because he doesn’t really know anyone else around here.”

“That’s true, but I’m kind of surprised he’d be so willing to strike up a friendship with O’Connell and McKinnon. They were the ones who held him while I beat him, and then subsequently, his jailers.”

Patrick nodded. “From what I’ve heard, I think he’s just trying to do his best for you. Trying to assuage his own guilt and atone for his actions, maybe? I think O’Connell and McKinnon were surprised when he showed up the first time, but they seem to have brought him into the fold when he’s around.”

“Well, that’s good. I was planning on having him help out at the club when I’m up at Glenwood anyway, so that’s one less thing I’ll have to worry about.”

“He’s a good sort, Michael. He really does seem eager to make you proud.”

“I’m glad to hear it. That was my opinion of him too, but it’s always nice to have it confirmed by someone on the outside.”

Michael looked over at the bed where Ash still slept soundly. “Since he’s going to be sleeping for a while, do you mind if we talk about something? Belle and I were discussing our future living arrangements, and she came up with a solution that I think might help you and me both.”