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“Minimal. Her mission there is winding down and she’ll be supposedly leaving Charleston to visit family in Wales. As her sister, I’ll be joining her in Wales eventually but will be accompanying you to Charleston to make sure you arrive safely and to tie up loose ends with the sale of her home.”
Raven didn’t like hearing that she’d be traveling with them, mainly because she didn’t like this woman at all. “How big is the house, and is it located in Charleston proper or outside of the city?”
“In Charleston proper. It has two stories, and the servant quarters are behind the residence.”
Raven filed that information away. “Do the Stipes have children?”
“No.”
Braxton Steele asked, “Is our marriage a love match or arranged?”
Considering that to be an odd question, Raven asked him, “And that matters why?”
“Because our circumstances may determine how we respond to each other.”
“A love match,” Welch responded.
Her smug face made Raven want to toss her into a bayou filled with gators.Love match, myarse!“I can be whoever the role needs me to be, Mr. Steele.” She assumed women flocked to his bearded handsomeness like butterflies to honeysuckle. She hoped he’d not be expecting Mrs. Lovey Miller to do the same when they were alone.
“I’m sure you’ll do fine,” he said.
“Of course she will,” Welch added. “She just bragged about her family’s skills. Did you not?”
Raven turned a withering eye on Welch, who met the look by continuing to appear pleased. “When do we leave for Charleston, and how are we traveling?”
“By train, as soon as my office wires me the funds for the tickets, which could be as early as this evening, so use your time until then to get acquainted with Mr. Steele.”
Seemingly confident that she’d gotten the lastword, Welch rerolled the parchment, tucked it away, and rose to her feet.
Raven asked, “Is there a time frame for the operation?”
“I’ll expect results as soon as possible, especially since you’re so skilled, Miss Moreau. Don’t forget your freedom and the freedom of everyone in this room is tied to your success.”
Raven made the decision then and there to somehow make Welch pay for her high-handed arrogance. She didn’t know what form it might take, or when it would come to pass, but come it would.
“It’s been a pleasure meeting you all,” Welch stated, not caring that everyone knew that to be a lie. “I’ll show myself out.”
Raven followed her and watched from the door as Welch entered a waiting hack and was driven away.
Upon Raven’s return to the parlor Hazel asked, “Is she gone?”
“Yes.”
“Harrison, do you still draw?”
“I do.”
“How long will it take you to do a few likenesses of her?”
“If I have your keen eye to help me with the finer details, an hour maybe.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere. I’m still furious at you, remember.”
“I do. Looking forward to soothing that temper though. Why do you want her drawn?”
“So my people can show her face around the city. I want to know everything about her. Where she’s staying, who she sees, where and what she eats. Everything. That she’d come here and threaten us this way...”
“I have my kit. I just need a place to work.”
Hazel stood. “Okay, come with me. Raven, you and Braxton get acquainted. Your roles are key. I’ll send out word for the family members I think will be helpful to meet here later. Once this gambit is over, Welch will regret ever hearing the name Moreau.”
Hazel and Harrison exited, leaving Raven to deal with the man she’d soon be calling her husband.
