AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“They mean to kill her as they did the king,” said the big man. “The trial will be a farce. I don’t know when it will begin, but in the meantime, she’ll be under constant watch. We’ve lost our chance.”
These men and women thought to rescue the queen. Even her own people, the Austrians, had not cared that much for her.
“Which means,” said the auburn-haired man who’d stood in the back quietly, “Citoyen Bourgogne will take a trip to England sooner than we anticipated. As soon as Ffoulkes returns, we make plans. Honoria, can you provide the papers?”
Laurent’s gaze snapped to the beauty.Honoria. That was her name. It suited her, he thought. He saw now that it was not modesty that had stained her cheeks earlier, but her sense of honor. France had no need for honor at present. All that mattered was loyalty to the revolution. Honor could be damned. Laurent had seen many honorable men go to the guillotine.
“Of course,” she said. “I will start on them tonight, providing we have no more visits from soldiers.”
“Ffoulkes can take him on the next packet,” the petite blonde said. “The sooner we are rid of him, the better. I don’t believe the guards at La Force will realize he has escaped, but if they do, the National Guard will tear the city apart looking for him.” She looked directly at him. “It’s a wonder you’ve kept your head this long, monsieur.”
“I don’t intend to keep it much longer,” Laurent said before someone else could add to the plan he had no intention of following. “Nor do I intend to leave on a packet for England.” He shuddered. God save him from English food and fashions. He’d rather be dead.
The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel stared at him in silence until finally Honoria cleared her throat. “Whatdoyou intend?”
“I mean to rescue Madame Royale. I mean to take the daughter of King Louis and Queen Marie Antoinette out of France and to safety.”
***
“HE’S A HANDSOME ONE,” Alex told Honoria later that night when they were alone in their small room. Honoria had helped Alex change the linens on her bed as some of the blood from the former Marquis de Montagne’s head wound had seeped through the protective cloth she’d lay down and stained them.
“He’s pompous and haughty and arrogant. And now he intends to endanger us all.”
Alex raised her brows as she sat on her newly made bed and removed her slippers. “All of that? Exactly how much time did you spend together this afternoon?”
Honoria took down her hair, feeling the back of her neck relax as the heavy weight was more evenly distributed. “Long enough, I assure you. He’s the kind of man who cares nothing for anyone save himself.”
Alex shrugged. “He’s a French noble. Many of our English dukes and marquesses are no doubt the same. He will soon learn the value of honest labor. French nobles are as abundant as fleas in London at the moment.”
Honoria paused in the act of brushing her hair. “But he says he will not go to England. He’d rather die on a mission to save the princess.”
“And you think Dewhurst cares what the Marquis de Montagne wants?” Alex snorted. “When Ffoulkes returns, he and Dewhurst will make plans to be rid of the marquis as quickly as possible.” She looked down and met Honoria’s gaze. “They will take you with them, I am sure. Now that the queen is unreachable, we have less of a need for your skills.”
“But surely the League intends to rescue the dauphin. We cannot consign that little boy to a life of imprisonment in the Temple. And what of the marquis’s desire to rescue the princess?”
“Madame Royale is safe with her aunt in the Temple. The Tribunal has no cause to execute her as France’s laws do not allow women the crown. She is probably safer in the Temple than anywhere else at the moment. When all this fervor dies down, she and Madame Élisabeth will almost certainly be released. But the little prince will always be a danger to the patriots.”
“And my skills are not needed in the dauphin’s rescue?” Honoria had no idea why she was so intent upon staying in France. Only this morning she’d been more than ready to return to England. Now she was looking for any excuse to stay.
“We have all that we need in place,” Alex said.
“Except the design plan of the Temple.”
Alex nodded. “Tomorrow we make Montagne draw it for us, but it will be some time before we can attempt a rescue. With his mother’s trial imminent, the dauphin and his sister will be watched closely, perhaps questioned.”
Honoria did not ask what sort of questions the revolutionaries might put to a boy of eight and a girl of fourteen. The Tribunal wanted blood, and blood they would have. In this new France, wives turned on husbands, brothers turned on sisters, and children turned on parents.
Long live the republic.
Honoria climbed into bed. She was not tired, but they had no candles to spare and little wood for a fire. There was nothing to do in the dark and she was far warmer under her covers than without. Alex climbed in as well. Honoria could hear the murmur of low voices somewhere in the house. Perhaps Ffoulkes had returned or Dewhurst and Hastings were planning another dangerous mission. Honoria stared up at the ceiling and wondered if Montagne—that was not his name but his title—slept. They’d put him in a windowless room with a lock on the door. He’d been rescued from one prison only to enter another.
“I could probably get you the key,” Alex said in the silence.
“What key?”
Alex laughed. “You know what key. Do not pretend you are not thinking of him. A woman would have to be dead not to see a man like that and imagine what it might be like to be kissed by him.”
“I assure you, I have not even considered it.”
