“The French Guards would not fire on the people. A new militia has been formed, and the Marquis de Lafayette is rumored to be at its head. Les Invalides is in the hands of the people. The Bastille has been seized. The Third Estate will no longer be silenced.”
“In Paris, perhaps,” another voice answered. “But we, in the countryside, are left voiceless to starve.”
“The more I hear of all that has happened in the capital, the more convinced I am that we, too, will be heard.”
“We do not have a Bastille to storm,” the other man pointed out.
“No, but the happenings at Fleur-de-la-Forêt sent a message.”
Céleste wasn’t certain she wanted to know the extent of those “happenings,” though she had an idea. And if it was being talked about this far from the estate, then she, Aldric, and Adèle were not truly safe from the violence they’d fled.
“Madame, you have brought the basket.” The innkeeper’s wife spoke from her other side, pulling Céleste’s attention that way. “Your husband arranged for a bit of food to be put inside.” She held up a bundle wrapped in burlap, which she set inside the basket. “Thank you for the music last night.”
Céleste nodded. Her mind was spinning too much for words.
“Safe travels to you and your family,” the woman added.
“Thank you,” she managed.
From inside the public room came one more declaration: “Those who are wise will not stand in our way.”
Céleste thought she did relatively well hiding the unease she felt. They’d disguised their identities, but what if they were found out?
She slipped from the inn and into the yard. Aldric was, in that exact moment, bringing the cart to a stop near the door. Dawn had peeked over the horizon. She could make him out enough to know it was him sitting on the cart bench. Only when she stood directly beside the cart could she see Adèle on the small bench next to him.
His presence helped the little girl remain calm. Céleste needed to feel the same, but all she had heard and the gaps in what she could see, both figuratively and literally, made peace a difficult thing to find.
She set the bags, basket, and violin in the bottom of the cart, then climbed up. She didn’t manage it entirely gracefully but thought it best not to wait to be handed up, as that might give anyone watching reason to wonder about her social standing.
“Is something the matter?” Aldric asked, his voice barely audible.
Her ability to play a part was more lacking than she thought. She gave a quick shake of her head. This was hardly the place to discuss what she’d heard and what she was worried about.
He set the cart in motion, and they drove out of the innyard, pointed in the direction they’d arrived from the night before.
“Have you been able to ascertain how far we are from Montbergerie?” she asked.
“Not precisely. My current guess is two more days.”
Two more days. Two more inns. Several more meals. Two days of stabling the horse. It was a very good thing they’d saved a little money the night before.
“Monsieur Aldric?” Adèle asked, her voice all but lost against the louder clop of the horse’s hooves.
“Are you speaking to me or to the horse?”
“To you.”
“What can I do for you,ma petite douce?”
“I am so sleepy.”
“Your tante Céleste will help you lie down,” Aldric said. “Then you can sleep as long as you want.”
Adèle didn’t seem reluctant to turn to Céleste, which felt like a little victory. Perhaps she would eventually turn to Céleste directly for help with a problem or to secure her comfort. She helped her niece stretch out across their laps, then laid her blanket over her. As she’d done the day before, Céleste laid her arm over the girl’s middle to hold her in place should they hit a bump in the road. With a swiftness that spoke of absolute exhaustion, Adèle was nearly instantly asleep.
Aldric looked like he would have gladly followed Adèle’s lead. Two of the last three nights he had slept on either the floor or in a chair. He’d spent the entire day before driving this cart after having spent two days in a traveling carriage. He had to have been exhausted.
“I have driven this cart before,” Céleste said, “though, admittedly, not with this horse. Please allow me to drive for a portion of the day today. You need to rest every bit as much as Adèle does.”
