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imminent.
    He picked up the body easily in his arms and carried it inside the tower, laying it on the floor by the wall. What a shame to have to destroy such beauty. He shrugged and turned away. He would return later to dispose of the corpse.
    Halfway down the tower steps, a tall, solid, woman came toward him. A chain around her waist bore a ring of rattling keys. “Yes, Munk? You are not supposed to be in this part of the castle. It is dangerously derelict.”
    “My lord, the young lady has arrived with her companion.” Her deep voice filled the narrow stone stairway.
    “I know, don’t bother me with it. Show them to their chambers,”
    his tone dismissed her. “I should not have to tell you that.”
    “You don’t, my lord,” she said, her mouth a grim line.
    “Of course, forgive me, Munk.” She was an excellent
    housekeeper. He could never manage Dominica without her, or the castle for that matter. And she was the most loyal of servants.
    “The young lady and her companion are outside in the carriage, refusing to come in. According to Hodder, they heard a scream, my lord.”
    “Damn!” Raven swore, hurrying past the woman who strode after him. He muttered under his breath as he went, “That ridiculous child delayed me in London with her nonsense and now this. I won’t stand for any more trouble from her.”
    Two and three at a time he took the tower steps, coming out at last into the Great Hall where a fire blazed in the immense hearth. It took six good long logs to fill the fire grate and even so it offered heat only in the immediate area. The Great Hall was vast and dark, with only a Sanguinarian 35
    few candles burning in wall sconces in the very darkest corners. The fire was lit only for Evangeline’s sake.
    At the wide oak doors a footman met him. Several maids stood in attendance waiting to receive the new mistress of Castle Haven. They ducked their heads, dropping curtsies as their master passed them.
    Out on the step in the freezing wind, Hodder snatched off his hat, clutching it to his chest when his master approached. Raven was unaffected by the frigid cold. “She’s in the carriage, my lord. She says she’s not coming out.”
    “Does she now?”
    “She says she heard a scream, my lord,” Hodder reported.
    “Nonsense!” Raven spoke so loudly that all the servants flinched.
    “But I thought I heard it myself, my lord,” Hodder said. “Aside from that the older lady backed her up.” Raven looked down at the man, his eyes glinting in the light from the flaming torch beside the door. He had a way of getting down into people’s faces that always had the desired effect. “Stupid of me, my lord, I do apologize, sir.”
    “Good,” Raven snapped.
    “She still won’t get out of the carriage, my lord.”
    “I’ll get her out.” He ran down the steps into the black, freezing night and grasped the door handle, all but wrenching the door from its hinges. “Get out of there, both of you!” he shouted into the depths.
    Piercing screams issued from both women, which only served to infuriate him further. Huddling together even deeper into the corner, the two women stared in horror at him, eyes wide, hands over their mouths. He knew his yellow eyes looked harsher in certain lights. His streaming hair fell forward over his shoulders as he reached a long arm inside to grab Evangeline’s wrist. She screamed again and clawed at him. For a moment he let go, pulling back his hand. She had drawn blood.
    “Now that provokes me.” His tone was dangerously low. “Get out before I remove you, Miss Rutledge. Get out of that carriage and into my castle.”

    36
    Fyn Alexander
    “I have changed my mind, sir. I want to return to London.”
    “It was never your decision to make! Get out!” His voice rose.
    “No, I won’t and you cannot make me, sir.” She sounded quite determined.
    “I can and I will. This is your last chance to get out with your dignity intact. I will count to five and you will get