“Iwas safe? What about—” He broke off, and whenhe spoke again his tone was expressionless. “That relieves my mind completely, of course.”
Juliette nodded with satisfaction. “I thought it would.” She started to turn away. “Now I’ll go bathe and change my gown. Will you tell Marie to hold supper?”
“No, I will not tell Marie anything.” Jean Marc’s hands closed on Juliette’s shoulders and whirled her back to face him. “You persuaded François to help you in this folly?”
“It wasn’t folly. It was entirely reasonable.” She tried to wriggle away from him. “And actually I went to Danton and he persuaded François into helping. Though I think Danton would have done it anyway. He’s a very strange man. I got the impression he wouldn’t be averse to—”
“You told him about the Wind Dancer?”
“Of course not. I’m not a fool. You told me the republic wanted the statue for a symbol. Since he’s the Minister of Justice, he might have decided he wanted it for himself. I just told him it would be safer for him if I wasn’t captured when I went to the Temple, and he agreed with me.” She frowned. “But I can’t count on either of them for any more help. I’d hoped to find a way to persuade François to take me to Versailles, but he was very adamant—”
“Versailles?”
Juliette nodded. “The queen hid the Wind Dancer at Versailles just as everyone thought.”
“And she told you where?” he asked incredulously.
“Of course she did.”
“There’s no of course about it. She’s refused to tell anyone what happened to it for the last two years. Christ, I never thought you’d be able to do it.” Jean Marc’s gaze narrowed on her face. “Why should she tell you?”
“Because she knows I wouldn’t betray her,” Juliette said simply.
“You were willing to sell me her statue.”
She looked at him in surprise. “But I thought you’d know the money would go to her.”
“You didn’t mention that aspect of our arrangement.”
“I wouldn’tstealfrom her.”
“My apologies.” Jean Marc’s grip on her shoulders loosened slightly. “My faith in human nature isn’t of the highest, and two million livres is a very tempting sum.”
Her gaze searched his face. “You wanted to believe that of me, didn’t you?”
“Perhaps I did.” He smiled faintly. “I do have occasional stirrings of conscience regarding my intentions toward you. It would have been comforting to find you lacking integrity.”
Juliette glanced away from him. “She looked terrible,” she whispered. “I wish I hadn’t gone. It was much easier remembering her the way she was at Versailles. I can’t ignore her any longer.”
“And you wish to ignore her?”
“I thought I did. She ignored me all those years I was at the abbey and that…hurt me. Perhaps if I give her the money to escape from that horrible place I can forget her.” She paused. “Ihaveto forget her. She gets in the way of my painting.”
“And nothing must get in the way of your painting.
“Would you let anything get in the way of your business concerns?”
“Touché.”Jean Marc smiled faintly. “We’re much alike,n’est-ce pas?”
She nodded and shifted her shoulders uneasily. She wished he’d release her and step away. His grasp was not painful but her flesh was tingling oddly beneath his hands. She took a step back and his hands fell away from her. “Are there soldiers at Versailles?”
“Only a company of National Guard to prevent theft.”
“Good. Then perhaps I can manage without help.”
“You’re going alone to retrieve the Wind Dancer?”
“I told you François wouldn’t help me with anything but papers to get beyond the barriers. It should be much safer now. François said Dupree has left Paris ona mission for Marat. Perhaps you could ask François to—”
