Page 63 of A Raven Repents

Ash chuckled. “You won’t incur a beating for helping yourself to a couple scones, Giles.”

“I just want to be sure there are enough to go around.”

“Daisy has bragged about them to so many people, I think Mrs. Corstairs makes enough to feed the whole neighborhood now.”

“The very reason Christina has been wanting to taste one.”

“You are planning on working tonight, right?”

“Yes.”

“Good. And tell Christina she’s always welcome here for scones, or for a visit.”

After procuring the scones, he walked back to his townhouse so he could stop and pick up a bouquet of flowers on the way. By the time he got home, she was already dressed and sipping tea at the breakfast table. She smiled at him when he came through the door.

“What’s all this?”

He pressed a quick kiss to her lips and sat down beside her. “I have managed to get us a pair of Mrs. Corstairs’ famous raisin scones.”

“Finally!”

“And since I know you like a colorful assortment of flowers…”

“Will you ever be able to forgive me for that?”

He lifted her chin. “You are already forgiven.” Her lips were too tempting to resist. He claimed them, and she opened, inviting him in. Her mouth tasted sweet like the tea she’d been drinking.

Pulling himself reluctantly away, he unwrapped the scones and held one up for her to take a bite.

She closed her eyes and hummed with delight. “They are delicious. But if I’m honest, they pale in comparison to your kisses.”

“Don’t tempt me, or I might just carry you upstairs and make love to you until I have to leave for work.”

“That does sound inviting, but how will you possibly stay awake all night after that?”

“You’re right, of course. We’ll have to wait until I get home.”

“I want to see it.”

He raised his brow. “At the breakfast table?”

“Giles!” She swatted him with her napkin and crimson stained her cheeks.

He chuckled. Still shy when it was light out.

“I meant The Raven’s Den,” she said exasperatedly. “I want to see it. At night, with all the excitement.”

“It’s not a place for ladies, Christina.”

“What if I dress as a Lady Raven?”

He choked on the bite of scone he’d taken. “My wife, dancing in my club? I think not.”

“Please, Giles. There must be a way. I desperately want to see it.”

He thought on it for a minute. Surely, his partners wouldn’t mind if she observed from the balcony. All the others’ wives had been there. “Of course there’s a way. But not as a Lady Raven.”

Excitement thrummed through Christina as Giles walked her into Raven House that evening. He led her into a sitting room, where another woman was on the sofa with a cup of tea. She immediately placed her dishes on the table and got to her feet.