The topic had been discussed to shreds among them all. Aldric had spent the day defending his inability to change Henri’s mind. Céleste had spent the day predicting disaster. He couldn’t endure it any longer. He was too tired, and the night was far too late.
“You needn’t worry about summoning the energy to castigate me if your predictions prove true.”
“My predictions?” she repeated.
“I assure you, Céleste Fortier, I will either return from Paris with both of them, or I will not return at all.”
Chapter Eighteen
Aldric awoke to the soundof a whisper that he couldn’t quite make out.
The fire burning in the hearth directly in front of him had long since gone out. The narrow wooden chair he’d fallen asleep in was anything but comfortable. As he became a little more aware of his surroundings, he realized something more than a blanket was resting on him.
Little Adèle was curled up on him, tucked under his blanket. Either she had crawled under it herself at some point in the night, or he had slipped the blanket over them while still half asleep.
The urgent whisper that had awoken him sounded again, this time making sense to his exhausted mind.
“Adèle?” That was Céleste, and she sounded worried.
Aldric whispered back, “She’s with me.”
That brought Céleste to him. He could barely make out her outline, but he heard her sigh, the sound one of relief. It wasn’t yet light, but they likely had little time before needing to be on the road again.
“When did she move over here?” Céleste asked.
“I have no idea. I didn’t realize she was here until I woke up just now.”
“Perhaps she hoped she would be warmer.”
He adjusted the blanket so it wrapped fully around the little girl. “My nephew, Roderick, is rather fond of me. Perhaps Adèle, too, has decided I am not a terrible person.”
“I never said or even implied that you were a terrible person.” Her feathers were ruffled very quickly. It was likely to be a long day.
“I will point out that I didn’t say or imply thatyousaid or implied that I was a terrible person.”
In an inarguably sleepy voice, Lucas said, “I would not recommend entering into an argument with the General.”
“I’m not afraid of him,” Céleste said, but with a hint of a laugh that eased some of the tension between them.
“You shouldn’t be,” Lucas said with a yawn. “I don’t recommend it because it is futile. Long after any ordinary person would shrug and move on out of pure exhaustion, he is just beginning.”
“He is stubborn?” Céleste asked.
“I believe the word he prefers istenacious.” Lucas lit a candle in the next moment, which allowed Aldric to actually see the room. Céleste turned away from the flicker of light, which was a decidedly odd reaction. How was it she grewmoreconfusing the more time he spent with her?
“Where’s Mama?” Adèle’s little voice broke into the silence.
Aldric tucked her up a little closer. “She’ll arrive home soon.”
He’d had similar conversations with Roderick countless times when his parents where off visiting one friend or another with no indication of when they would return. It wasn’t entirely unheard of for parents to be away from their children—Lucas and Julia were—but there was something different in the way Crofton and Theodora regularly walked away from their son.
Céleste captured Aldric’s gaze. She wasn’t looking at him but at Adèle, and the look on her face was one of hurt and heartbreak. Because the little girl was away from her parents? Because she was clearly a little worried? No. That didn’t seem to be it.
Aldric shook off the question. As intrigued as he always was by a mystery, he couldn’t in that moment afford to be distracted.
They needed to reach Fleur-de-la-Forêt. Julia and Lucas needed to swiftly continue on to England. And Aldric needed to make certain Henri’s sister and niece were safe at home.
They’d reached the Fortiers’ country estate very late the night before, and they did so without difficulty and without incident, despite Aldric’s very real concern that catastrophe awaited them on the journey. Given the late hour and their exhaustion, each member of the party retreated to their chambers immediately upon arriving. Even so, Aldric found sleep elusive.
