He continued to rub her back long after she too had fallen silent. The only sound to be heard in the room was the low rumble of chatter from the main dining room downstairs. Fellow travelers and local folk enjoying a pleasant drink in the early evening.
Unlike Evangeline and himself, these people had tomorrow to look forward to—they had hope.
“I’m sorry, Gus. I never wanted to put you in this position. I should have told you before we set out from Jodoc’s house. I just didn’t know how to,” she said.
He shook his head. Now was not the time for regret or recriminations. In his long and sullied career, he had found them to be a waste of time. What was done was done.
She had dug a large hole and thrown them both into it. Now they had to find a way out.
“They will kill us if they find us, won’t they?” she said.
It was RR Coaching Company official policy not to lie to one another. If their lives were in danger, he and his fellow rogues of the road had every right to know. And while Evangeline was not a member of the company, she had through contractual bonds established enough rights for the rules to apply in this case.
“Yes, I expect if the Lamballe gang catches up with us, they won’t hesitate to shoot,” he replied.
Evangeline drew out of his embrace. “Gus, promise me something. If they do find us and things look bad, will you kill me? I would rather die than fall into the hands of Vincent Marec.”
I don’t know if I have it within me to do that. What you are asking is impossible.
Their desperate situation now revealed the plan to travel to Paris as being beyond dangerous. The capital was still some two odd hundred miles away. And even if by some miracle they did make it, there were no guarantees that they would be safe. From what Gus knew of Louis La Roche, the man was a lawyer, not a soldier.
We have no right to bring war and death to his doorstep.
He had already unknowingly put good people like Jodoc and his wife in peril. Gus was not about to make that mistake a second time. His mind was made up. “We can’t go to Paris,” he said.
When she lifted her head and their eyes met, Gus’s heart plummeted. He hadn’t seen that look of sheer hopelessness since the war. She had already resigned herself to her fate.
No. While there is life there is hope.
“Where can we go? If I return home, they will be waiting,” she said.
I need a moment to think.
Evangeline had been honest with him in confessing her attack on the gang. It was only fair that he imparted a piece of his own truth. Of what he had promised Armand.
“I might have an idea. And once I get it straight in my head, we can discuss it. While I figure out the details, I might go downstairs and check on the horses. Now that I know the extent of the threat we are living under, I should make certain that our transport is being well cared for.”
Evangeline’s face suddenly lit up. She hurried over to her satchel and pulled out a small leather pouch. She offered it to him. “Armand gave me money. A good tip to the stable hand might be in order.”
Gus took the coin purse, weighing it in his palm. It was heavy. He untied the strap around the neck of the bag and peeked inside. Gold coins glittered enticingly at him.
If he had been holding any lingering doubts as to whether Armand had planned to destroy Château-de-La-Roche, the coins swiftly removed them. He did a quick count of them, then smiled. “There is at least fifteen hundred francs in here. Enough to get you set up in a new life somewhere far from home.”
The gold coins were worth forty francs a piece, more than a month’s wages for most French workers. If she remained in France, Evangeline wouldn’t starve.
Ifshe remained in France.
He dipped his hand into his coat pocket and withdrew his own meager supply of coins. A few half-francs, two or three full francs, and the rest quarter francs. Not a lot of money, but the right denominations for greasing a palm here or there.
Closing the purse once more, he handed it back to her. “You need to keep that safe. Don’t go offering gold coins to anyone. That sort of money will attract the wrong kind of people. I’m going down to the stables; I won’t be long.”
Gus reached for the door, then stopped. He turned to face Evangeline. Her shoulders were slumped, her whole body a picture of defeat. Under other circumstances, he may well have gone to her, offered more consolation, but he had moved past that point. Their lives were at risk, and he couldn’t afford to be weak when it came to her. “Evangeline, what is done is done. We all make mistakes. And believe me when I say that I have made some terrible errors of judgment in my life. Things that have cost lives. I will do all that I can to protect you. But from this moment forward, you must do everything that I ask of you. The time for negotiation is at an end.”
She nodded her agreement. “I trust you, Gus. If anyone can get us out of this mess, it is you.”
The weight of expectation settled heavily on his shoulders. It was going to take every ounce of his skills and an added dose of luck for them to survive.
How do we make it back to the coast and avoid being caught?
