“I don’t want lemon syllabub. I want to know why you’re not on your way to Vasaro. Three days ago you were in a frenzy of worry about Catherine and today you abandon her.”
“I didn’t abandon her,” Juliette said, stung. “I told you why I didn’t go with her. She’ll be better off without me for a while. In a few months I’ll join her at Vasaro and stay with her until the child is born.”
“And what if she realizes she’s with child before you decide to grace Vasaro with your presence?”
Panic speared through Juliette and shecouldn’t speak for a moment. “I could be wrong. She might not be with child. We weren’t absolutely sure.”
Jean Marc gazed at her in disbelief.
“And if she is, then she’ll just have to face it alone. She has Vasaro and Philippe. Philippe said he would send for his mother as soon as they arrived. I couldn’t be expected to stay with her. She has to face what happened to her sometime, doesn’t she? She’s stronger than we think. You should have seen her this morning when François brought her—”
“Juliette.” Jean Marc’s voice cut through her feverish dialogue.
Jean Marc’s face blurred and Juliette fought back the tears stinging her eyes. She whispered, “I’m so frightened, Jean Marc. What if I’m wrong? When I told her I wasn’t going with her to Vasaro she looked so bewildered. I tried to explain it to her, but I know she didn’t understand.”
“I’m having a good deal of trouble understanding myself.”
“You see, I thought she needed me.”
“She does need you.”
“Does she?” Juliette swallowed and shook her head. “She did at the beginning, but now I can’t stop sheltering her. I’m too selfish.”
“Selfish?”
“Ilikedhaving her need me. It made me feel so good to be important to her.” She drew a deep shaky breath. “I thought about it a long time today and I realized François was probably right about me being bad for her. At first I decided I’d go to Vasaro anyway, but I knew that wouldn’t do. I don’t give up easily what I want. I had to cut the ties and let her go alone.” She tried to smile. “And if I am wrong, Philippe will send you a message and I’ll find a way to get to her at once.”
“May I point out you’d been a virtual prisoner in this house for almost six weeks before we could arrange to get you safely out of Paris?”
“We wouldn’t have to be nearly so careful with me as we were with Catherine.”
“No?” For an instant the sarcasm was arrested onJean Marc’s expression, and he quickly glanced away. “I suppose I’d forgotten that no care need be taken for your welfare.”
She nodded briskly. “So you see my being here isn’t nearly as foolhardy as you might think. I can stay here for a few months and when Dupree leaves Paris we’ll have François get me papers that—”
“No.”
“But why? I’ve explained why it’s best for Catherine that I stay here.”
“But you haven’t explained why it would be best for me. Why should I harbor an enemy of the republic? Every minute you stay in my house, everything I own is in danger.” He smiled cynically. “Including my head. Personally, I don’t believe the claims the guillotine is the most humane way to die. I think it lacks a certain dignity.”
Juliette hadn’t considered the possibility that her presence might put Jean Marc in actual physical danger. She found the idea hard to accept. “You have too many friends in the government to be in jeopardy.”
“When a house topples, everyone scurries to get out of the way, not prop it up.”
“We could find a way to—”
“You’ve been fortunate not to have been discovered already.” Jean Marc’s lips tightened. “Particularly when you decide to stroll about the streets of Paris in broad daylight.”
“I told you why I took that risk.”
“I don’t regard your reasoning as either clear or prudent.” He shook his head. “Prudent?Merde, what am I thinking of? You don’t know the meaning of the word.”
Juliette frowned. “I suppose I could try to find some other place to live. Perhaps Robert would help—”
“No!” Jean Marc’s hand clenched on the stem of his goblet. “You’re leaving for Vasaro as soon as possible.”
“Maybe you’re right. I guess Robert could be connected back to you. Besides, I wouldn’t want to endanger him.” She met his gaze across the table. “Very well,I’ll admit I could be a danger to you. What would make the danger worth tolerating?”
