The man nodded. “Humble food but filling.” He quoted a price that was more than reasonable. Aldric agreed and returned outside.
He opened the carriage door. The interior was exceptionally dark. The light spilling out of the inn was barely sufficient for him to see the silhouettes of those inside.
“There’s only one room left. We’ll have to make it work; the horses can’t possibly go any farther.”
From within, Lucas said, “The horses aren’t the only ones too spent for further travel.”
Aldric had promised Stanley to look after the Gents. He’d promised Henri to look after Céleste and Adèle. Though distance from Paris was crucial, not pushing anyone beyond their endurance was as well.
The coachman and groom were quick to help them alight and get their portmanteaus inside the inn, likely because they were anxious to lie down themselves. They could all sleep outside the confines of a cramped carriage. That ought to help them recover endurance enough to travel all the next day and reach Fleur-de-la-Forêt not long after nightfall.
Aldric handed Julia out of the carriage. Lucas climbed out next, Adèle sleeping heavily in his arms. Aldric reached back once more, and Céleste set her hand in his. She stepped out and eyed the inn through narrowed eyes. She didn’t appear disappointed. He was unwilling to ponder too deeply why that brought such immediate relief.
Aldric brought up the rear of the group, all following the innkeeper up the stairs. The room they were shown to was precisely as it had been described. It was functional and exceptionally plain, but there was room enough for Lucas and Aldric to sleep on the floor or in one of the chairs. Julia, Céleste, and Adèle would all share the narrow bed.
They might not be entirely comfortable, but sleeping in the carriage would have been far worse.
When the evening meal arrived in the room, they ate it sitting in various positions, there not being a table or enough chairs for everyone to have one. No one complained. Indeed, they hardly said a word. Adèle ate very little before falling asleep again. Céleste tucked her under the blankets on the bed.
“How much longer until we reach Fleur-de-la-Forêt?” Julia asked.
“I’m not entirely sure where we are,” Céleste said.
Aldric finished the last of his bread. “The driver thinks we can reach the estate tomorrow night if we get an early start.”
“We must have traveled quite far today,” Céleste said. “We left Paris in the late afternoon.”
Aldric nodded and checked his pocket watch, something he’d done quite a few times over the course of the day. “It’s after midnight. We traveled for over eight hours.”
Julia stood, her movements a little stiff. “Eight hours.” She rubbed at her lower back. “Little wonder I’m a bit sore, then.”
Lucas moved swiftly to her side. “You need to lie down.”
“Actually, yes, I do.”
Julia would want to change into her nightclothes as well. Sharing a room meant no one was afforded true privacy. Aldric did what he could to offer at least a little of it. He moved to the fireplace, his back to Julia and Lucas.
His gaze on the embers only wavered when Céleste bumped into the lone chair beside the fireplace as she moved to stand by him. She righted the toppled chair. She looked a little embarrassed.
Aldric wasn’t sure what to say beyond, “It’s a little dim in here.”
She nodded.
They stood side by side, their backs to Lucas and Julia. The couple spoke quietly enough for their words not to be decipherable. The silence between Aldric and Céleste stretched on, growing a little awkward, a little uncomfortable. It put him firmly in mind of the tension between them in the gardens at Versailles when she’d quite suddenly and inexplicably grown frustrated with him.
As she had then, Céleste was the first to speak. “Can we truly reach Fleur-de-la-Forêt tomorrow?”
He nodded. “Provided we can find places along the way to change horses. We cannot drive the same team for sixteen hours.”
“Sixteen hours,” she repeated tensely.
“When we change the team, everyone can stretch their legs. That should help.”
“We will be so far from Henri and Nicolette. I know Fleur-de-la-Forêt isn’t near Paris, but the distance is beginning to feel immense.” She was worried about them. So was he.
“Should I need to make the return visit, I can do so on horseback and cover the distance faster,” he said.
“And you still might be too late.” She took a shaky breath. “We shouldn’t have left them there.”
