Free Chronicles of Steele: Raven 3: Episode 3 by Pauline Creeden Page B

should.”
    Because
Raven was last at the table, she rushed through her meal. The sweet loaf tasted
warm and light, comforting like a hug. But instead of savoring each bite, she
shoveled it all down. The bell rang at the door, and Marietta rushed toward it,
followed closely behind by all three guardsmen. Only Monroe stayed with her in
the kitchen. His eyes sparkled as he smiled. “On the roof?”
    Raven
gave one nod but raised an eyebrow. How did Monroe reminded her so much of her
father? In all honesty, the man even resembled him, except her father stood
taller, and Monroe was thinner. The beard obscured the man’s features, but his
blue eyes held the same joy. He even seemed proud when he looked at her.
    After
her last bite, Raven stood and headed to the counter with her plate. The wooden
bowls from the night before sat in the sink, dirty and unattended, as did the
plates from the breakfast. She stared at them, fighting the urge to begin
cleaning. It took all of her strength to set the plate on the counter with the
others and walk away. The thought of the plates remaining dirty while they
started their trip irked her all the way to the door and niggled the back of
her mind like a worm.
    Marietta
fluttered between the door and the closet, handing the members of the guard
extra coats and blankets for the road. The carriage driver stood inside the
doorway and wrung his hat nervously as the group stood around him. “I’m sorry
I’m late madam. I hope to be getting on the road soon. I’ll take you to the
bottom of Cirrus Mountain. Since the trip will take us the better part of the
day, I’ll be needing to stay at the inn?”
    The
witch shot Grant a questioning glance. He cleared his throat. “Not a problem,
we will all stay at the inn tonight, at the duke’s expense.”
    Relief
washed over the coachman, and his shoulders relaxed. He smiled wide and took
the last blanket from Marietta’s hands. “Right then. Let’s be off!”
    Monroe,
Colton, and Rupert started after the coachman, their arms loaded with blankets
and fur coats. Grant stayed back just a bit, balancing the stack he held
between his chin and his arm as he checked his pocket and took inventory of his
coins. A look of satisfaction crossed his face and he closed his eyes and took
a deep breath. When his eyes opened again, he met eyes with Raven and smiled.
“After you?”
    Raven
stepped up to him and took the top two blankets from his stack.
    “I
was fine. You don’t have to do that.”
    “I
want to. You do know that women don’t always want to be a burden to the men
around them, don’t you?”
    Grant
pushed the two blankets he held under one arm and said, “Most of the women I’ve
met would call it chivalrous when a man offers to do everything for them.”
     “Well,
I’d call it ridiculous.” Raven smiled at the wide eyes he made at her and
turned on her heel for the door.

    The
bumpy ride in the back of the carriage actually lulled Jack to sleep. When the
coach pulled to a stop, he noticed he wasn’t the only one. Colton and Rupert
both sat up and rubbed their eyes. Marietta turned toward them in front seat
and announced, “We’re here.”
    Monroe
hopped out of the carriage and into the ankle-deep snow first, gathering up the
blankets quickly. With Raven’s assistance, they folded them and piled them back
into stacks. Jack set a hand on the elder reaper’s shoulder. “Let’s roll up one
each to take with us up the mountain and maybe an extra fur coat each as well.”
    “Great
thinking,” Marietta said with a wink. “I brought along extra belts to hold the
rolls.”
    Clouds
and mist shrouded the mountain, obscuring the top from view. The inn was a
rectangular two-story building with a thatched roof. Frost clung to the black
rock walls and icicles hung like white fingers. The path in front of the door
had been swept clean. It seemed a well-kept place where it mattered. He pulled
one of the furs over his shoulders, as did the rest of the