Page 3 of A Raven Repents

“Sit down, Giles.”

“I don’t have time. I have to⁠—”

“Sit. Down.”

Oh. He hadn’t raised his voice, but there was no question. He was angry. Giles had never been on the receiving end of Ash’s anger before. Annoyance plenty of times, but nothing like this. Without another word, he pulled out a chair and sat. He wasn’t sure what was coming, but Ash could be dangerous, so he prayed it wasn’t a beating.

“This isn’t what it looks like, Ash.” His heart was thundering.

“It looks like you’ve gotten yourself into a spot of bother and didn’t want to tell anyone about it.”

“Alright.” Giles shrugged. “Perhaps it is what it looks like, then. But I swear I’m not stealing. I have every intention of paying this back. It’s just a bit of an emergency.”

Ash merely raised a brow and waited.

Giles blew out a defeated sigh. He was going to have to share the whole story. So much for having enough time to get back. “I went to a masquerade in search of some… company. Unfortunately, the woman who lured me away from the ballroom, wasn’t a widow, as I had assumed. And to make things worse, her father walked in on us.”

“In flagrante?”

“No. No!” Giles shook his head for emphasis. “I wouldn’t do that, Ash. I might be a fool, but I’m not a debaucher. You wouldn’t have me here if I was.”

Ash inclined his head. “And what do you need the money for?”

“The father is demanding it as recompense.”

“How much?”

He didn’t even want to say it out loud because it was a ridiculous amount of money. “One hundred pounds.”

“One hundred pounds? And you’re just going to pay him?”

“There’s not a good alternative, Ash.”

“And what if you didn’t have somewhere that you could simply help yourself to that kind of money?”

“I suppose I’d be marrying her.”

“Have you considered that he might be using his daughter in order to extort money out of unsuspecting rich men?”

“I think he probably is, but what would you have me do? Abscond with her and bring her here?”

“Absolutely not. This isn’t my blunder. This is your mess to clean up. Just remember what we do here.”

“Are you suggesting I marry her?”

“I’m not suggesting you do anything.” He held out his hand. With a sigh, Giles gave him the money, but Ash shook his head. “Not the money, Giles. I need your keys.”

The words struck him with the force of a sledgehammer. He shook his head. “I swear I am going to pay it back, Ash.”

“I think you probably are. That’s the only reason you’re still upright and I’m not immediately expelling you from our partnership.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means we’ll discuss it as a group. But right now, I need your keys, and security will not let you in again until Thursday’s meeting.”

This couldn’t be happening. He needed this place. These men. The purpose it all brought to his life. Slowly, he pulled the ring of keys from his pocket and placed them in Ash’s hand.

“I’m sorry, Ash.”