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“I think I saw something that might suit our purposes some ways back.”
“How far back?” She narrowed her eyes.
“Fifteen, maybe twenty minutes.”
“No.” She shook her head. “That’s twenty minutes back and twenty here again. By the time we have the log in place, we’ve lost an hour, and then we assume we don’t fall off it when crossing and rendering all our efforts for naught.”
“A man might wish you weren’t half so clever.”
“Perhaps a man who wanted to waste time or end up soaked to the skin.” Her tone was acidic, but inside warmth spread through her like the morning sunlight. No one had ever called hercleverbefore. No one had ever complimented her on anything but herpretty eyesor herlovely complexionor herstylish coiffure. She’d never known she wanted to be complimented on her intelligence...until now.
“True enough,” Daventry said with a grin. Apparently, he found her clever and amusing. In a few moments she would forget why she didn’t like him again.Calais,she reminded herself.Calais. Coward.
But he wasn’t a coward. A coward wouldn’t have come back for her. A coward wouldn’t have risked his life to save her in the ballroom.
“So we take the road,” she said. “And pray for the best.”
He nodded and gestured up the rise that led to the road. “After you.”
At the top of the rise, she dropped her skirts and paused to catch her breath. She looked down the road one way and then the other. It was surprisingly quiet and deserted today. The road from Paris to the palace was much busier than the road the local gentry traversed to see the king, but she would have expected to have seen or heard at least one carriage pass now that the sun was up and it was truly morning.
“It doesn’t feel right, does it?” Daventry asked from beside her.
“There are no carriages, no horses.”
“I have a feeling your château was not the only one the peasants visited last night. I imagine everyone is staying inside.”
“Or they’re dead.”
He looked at her sharply, and she bit her lip. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud.
“It’s a possibility we may have to consider. I think we’ll know more when we reach the palace.” His mouth set in a grim line.
“You don’t think the peasants could have gotten through the Swiss Guards, do you? They couldn’t have hurt the royal family.”
“No. I don’t think that’s likely.”
But she heard the note of uncertainty in his voice. She felt it as well.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped out onto the road. It appeared clear in both directions, but of course the curve ahead limited her vision in that direction. She started to walk, but Daventry put a hand on her shoulder. “Let me go first.”
She paused to allow him to go ahead of her, half wishing he would offer her his hand again. She would take it this time. She could have used something steady to hold on to. Angelette stayed close to Daventry, keeping his broad back within arm’s reach. He didn’t walk quickly, but he moved with purpose. She had the urge to run, to glimpse the coming terrain that moment, but she knew it was more prudent to move at a pace that would allow them to backtrack if necessary.
Finally, they rounded the bend in the road, and Angelette sighed with relief. This stretch was as empty as the rest had been. They were still safe. Just a little farther, and they could duck back into the cover of the woods. And then they would reach the palace and be truly safe.
“Not long now,” she said, moving more quickly so she might walk beside him. “You will be on your way to Calais and then far away from France.”
He glanced at her, but she kept her gaze straight ahead. The sun had risen now, and the day had dawned clear and sunny.
“I hear the censure in your tone,” he said. “You think I should stay in France?”
“You obviously finished your business here. Why would you stay?”
“Precisely.” He paused in the middle of the road and she paused as well. “This is not my country nor my revolution.”
“It’s hardly a revolution—”
He waved a hand. “Whatever you want to call it, it’s not mine. My business brings me here, but all the wine in the world isn’t enough to convince me to risk my life.”
