Alexander-Fyn-Sanguinarian

lordship is not here, Hodder, I will go where I wish and that little tea shop looks very pleasant and cosy.”
    “But his lordship ordered me to take you to The Black Cross.”
    “The Black Cross?” Evangeline repeated. “Why does everything to do with Lord Ravenscroft look and sound funereal.”
    “I don’t know, Miss.” Hodder looked evasive. “Does it?”
    This would not do. She was supposed to be lulling the man into acceptance. He might start to suspect her if she carried on like this.
    “The poor man,” she said, adopting a sympathetic expression. “He must still be in mourning for his parents. No wonder he thought I should wear a black wedding gown.”
    “Er, yeah, that’s right, Miss.” Hodder nodded with enthusiasm.

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    “Poor man.”
    “We had better go to the place of his choice,” she said to Mrs.
    Brackett. “Lead the way, Hodder.”
    The man breathed a sigh of relief as he took them down the snickelway. “I know it seems a small thing, Miss, to go to the place his lordship wants, but I swear, the man knows everything and he gets very annoyed at anyone who crosses him.”
    “Never fear, Hodder, his lordship will have nothing to reproach you with. You have followed his instructions to the letter. Now, where will you go for luncheon?”
    “I’ll go around the back, Miss, and eat in the kitchen.”
    “Nonsense!” she began to panic. “You can’t do that. You must take the horses for a proper rest. We will want to wander round York a bit now we are here. I want very much to visit the Minster. His lordship said we may. We can walk there from here in five minutes when we are finished.”
    “I’m not to let you out of my sight, Miss. His lordship’s orders.”
    “Do what you must,” Evangeline said as if it mattered not at all to her.
    “But I intend to have a very leisurely luncheon, a walk around the Minster including a visit to the Chapter House to look at the ceiling, and then a stroll around some shops. Goodness knows when I will get to York again. For the first time in my life I have money in my reticule and shops to wander around. I intend to indulge myself.”
    As she spoke Hodder’s shoulders slumped. He suppressed a sigh admirably. “Yes, Miss Rutledge.”
    “Now why don’t you get those poor horses rested and get yourself some luncheon at your favourite public house. We can meet at half past three beside the River Ouse. I think I might like to take a look at that, too. I believe there are sometimes kingfishers to be seen.”
    “Well...” He was weakening. “I suppose we could do that, Miss, but it might be a bit cold by the river at this time of year. What if I meet you by the Roman pillar across from the Minster?”
    “At half past three.” Evangeline smiled and walked into the tea Sanguinarian 71
    room with Mrs. Brackett close behind her.
    The Black Cross was dark and cold inside, just as Evangeline knew it would be. At the back of the room a rather meager fire in the big stone hearth offered some light. The tables near it remained unoccupied. A hush fell when they entered. Evangeline went straight to the table closest to the fire where she plumped herself down with Mrs. Brackett opposite. All eyes were upon them. One by one the other patrons turned away. “Not of the blood ,” someone whispered close by. “Must have taken a wrong turning.”
    Evangeline squinted in question at Mrs. Brackett, who shook her head. What blood? What did they mean ?
    A young woman, simply dressed in a dark gown, approached and set a handwritten menu between them. Evangeline suspected there might not be anything on it they would want. If Raven chose to lunch there whenever he found himself in York she could only guess what was on offer. “A pot of tea for two, some chicken sandwiches and some cream cakes please,” she ordered in a tone that brooked no argument.
    “Could you possibly be in the wrong place, Miss?” the young serving woman asked politely. “There are a number of tea rooms about town that might be more suited to your taste.”
    The young woman irritated her immensely. She had not wanted to come to this dark, unpleasant establishment in the first place. “No, I do not believe we are in the wrong place. Lord Ravenscroft quite specifically recommended the Black Cross. In fact, he sent us here,”
    she said loudly.
    At the mention of Raven’s name all eyes were once more upon them and a hum of conversation rose up. From another room a man