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Elodie’s spirits sagged even lower as she watched Clara disappear into the darkness. The maid had been her friend, companion and saviour for more than a year.
Now, she’d be alone with Ransleigh. For better or worse.
She got herself this far, she’d make it the rest of the way, she told herself bracingly. And at the end of this journey … was Philippe.
With that rallying thought, she settled in to wait for Ransleigh’s return.
Chapter Seven
The maid conveyed safely to her lodging where, fortunately, there had been no one waiting to intercept her, Will left Heinrich on watch and headed back to the inn. Their room above the entry was dark when he glanced up at the window before entering.
He’d already paid the proprietor, explaining he planned an early departure. In truth, he intended for them to leave Vienna during the blackest part of the night. Since it appeared madame was already asleep, he’d slip in quietly, letting her get as much rest as she could before what would be an arduous journey.
Taking care to make no sound that might attract the attention of the innkeeper serving customers in the taproom beyond, he crossed the entry and silently ascended the stairs. As he eased through the door into their room, the dim outline of something by the far wall had him reaching for his knife, until he realised what he’d sensed more than seen in the darkness was Madame Lefevre.
‘I thought you’d be resting,’ he said, closing the door quietly behind him.
‘I couldn’t sleep until I knew our plans. And I wanted to thank you for seeing to Clara’s safety. That was generous of you … and unexpected. I’m very grateful.’
‘She being an innocent in all this, I’d not want to be responsible for causing her any harm.’
Harm coming to madame he had less of a problem with, he thought. But if she were threatened, it would be after conviction for crimes committed, her punishment determined by the rule of law, not by an attack in some back alley.
Crossing to the window, he made sure the curtains were securely drawn. Lighting a taper, he said, ‘I think we can chance one candle.’
As it flared to life, he saw Elodie Lefevre, still in old man’s attire, seated in the corner next to the window—her back to the wall, beside the quickest exit from the inn. The very spot he would have chosen, were he required to wait alone in this room, unsure of what danger might threaten.
While he wondered whether she’d seated herself there by design or accident, she said, ‘What have you planned for tomorrow?’
‘Actually, I’ve planned for tonight. As soon as all is quiet downstairs and in the street, we will slip out by the kitchen door into the mews. I checked last night; no one keeps watch there. We’ll be out of the city and along the road to Linz well before daylight.’
Madame nodded. ‘The sooner we begin, the sooner we arrive.’
‘When he travelled from Paris to Vienna for the Congress, Wellington made it in just ten days … but he only slept four hours a night. Though I don’t mean to dawdle, I’m allowing a bit longer.’
‘I’m ready to travel as quickly as you wish. Much as I enjoyed limping on my cane, though, I think another change of costume would be wise.’
Will had a strong sense that this wasn’t the first time Elodie Lefevre had fled from pursuit. Had the Revolution forced her family out of France? She would have been scarcely more than a babe during the Terror.
Quelling for now the urge to question her further, he said, ‘What do you have in mind?’
‘If anyone interrogates the innkeeper, they’ll be looking for a young gentleman accompanied by an older man. If that trail goes cold, they would probably next seek a man and a woman posing as a married couple or lovers or siblings or cousins. Whatever explanation we used, if I travel as a female with no maid and only a single male companion, we’ll attract notice, making it much more likely that innkeepers and stable boys and barmaids at taverns and posting inns will remember us.’
‘What makes you think we’ll be stopping at taverns or posting inns?’ he asked, teasing her to cover his surprise about her knowledge of the realities of travel. Had she spent her whole life eluding pursuers?
Ignoring the remark, she continued, ‘We could pose as an older woman and her maid, but it’s still unusual for women to travel without a male escort, to say nothing of the difficulty of your being convincing in either role for any length of time. So I think our best alternative would be for you to remain as you are, a young gentleman, and I will travel as your valet. Men travel the posting roads all the time; you’d be just one more of many and no one pays attention to servants.’
Her scheme for leaving her lodgings had been good; this one was even better. Trying to suppress the admiration he didn’t wish to feel, Will said, ‘You think you could play the role of valet better than I could that of an old woman?’
She nodded. ‘Much more easily. As I said, a woman of any age travelling would excite curiosity, while a valet would be virtually invisible. Whether we stay at an inn—or under a tree or in a hedgerow,’ she added with a quirk of a smile at him. ‘And if we need to make a hasty exit, it will be much easier if I’m not encumbered by skirts.’
Will couldn’t imagine any of the aristocratic ladies of his acquaintance—Alastair’s mother or sisters, for example—inventing so unorthodox a scheme or proposing it in such a straightforward, unemotional manner. ‘Why do I have the feeling you’ve done this before?’
A faraway look came into her eyes, and for a long moment, while he hung on her answer, she remained silent. ‘I’ve had to come up with … contrivances upon occasion,’ she said at last.
Which told him nothing. Where have you been and what have you done? Will wondered. ‘You’re a most unusual woman, Madame Lefevre.’
She gave him a faint smile, but said only, ‘These old man’s garments will suffice until we can procure others. I’ve kept two gowns in my portmanteau, in case I might need them before we arrive at Paris. Have you a route in mind?’
Will stifled a pang of disappointment that she’d not responded to his compliment by telling him more about her life. His curiosity fanned ever hotter by each new revelation, he was by now eager to discover what events had shaped her.
Maybe along the way, he’d figure it out, find a way to fit the puzzle pieces together. Or, even better, maybe along the way he’d lure her into trusting him enough to volunteer the information.
It would only be prudent to arm himself with as much knowledge about her as possible. As long as he kept in mind that anything she revealed might contain more craftiness than truth.
‘Have you a route in mind? Your suggestions thus far have been excellent.’
She dropped her gaze and, though he couldn’t tell for sure in the dim candlelight, he thought she flushed. ‘Thank you,’ she said gruffly. ‘I’ve only travelled this way once, when I accompanied St Arnaud, so I don’t know the road. It would be wise, I think, to keep as much as possible to the larger cities, where one gentleman will hardly be noticed among the host of travellers. Have you the means to hire horses? It would make the journey faster.’
‘A gentleman travelling with his valet would more likely travel by coach.’
‘Not if the valet were a bruising rider. The further and faster from Vienna we travel, the safer we’ll be from pursuit.’
Will wasn’t so sure. If Talleyrand were keeping tabs on madame, they would be more vulnerable the closer they got to Paris. But he didn’t want to voice that fact, adding more anxiety to what must already be a difficult situation, with her poised to assume yet another false identity. Despite the maid’s assertion that she could do ‘whatever she had to’, he didn’t want to push her too hard and risk having her fall apart.
‘Very well; I’ll travel as a young gentleman. “Monsieur LeClair”, shall we say? And you will be my valet, “Pierre”.’
‘“LeClair”?’ she repeated, a slow smile lighting her face. ‘Very good, considering nothing about this journey is “clear” or straightforward!’
The honest delight on her face, so strikingly different from the expressionless calm with which she usually concealed her feelings, struck Will near his breastbone with the force of a blow. Warmth blossomed in its wake. Damn and blast, he didn’t want to start … liking her!
While he wrestled with his reaction, she continued, ‘I’m pleased you approve my plan.’
‘For the time being, subject to change as I feel necessary,’ he cautioned, pulling himself back together. ‘I’ve got horses waiting at an inn on the edge of Vienna. With hard travel, we may reach the outskirts of Linz by late tomorrow.’
‘Excellent. You are very thorough, monsieur,’ she said approvingly. ‘Anything else I should know?’
‘No, Pierre; we’d better get a few hours’ sleep. I’ll rouse you when it’s time. You use the bed.’
‘Oh, no, monsieur, that would never do. Your valet should occupy a pallet at the foot of the bed. I’ve left the wig and cane over there—’ she indicated the dining table ‘—for you to return to your store of trickeries.’
