AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ten
Honoria stepped intothe warm kitchen, the smell of burnt coffee blistering her nose. The café offered food as well—an assortment of breads and cheeses lay on a center table, waiting for the cook to finish their preparation. But food prices were high, and few had money to spend on luxuries like pastries. Coffee was still plentiful, and she could smell it brewing in the large pots near the stove.
The chef was berating a young boy—possibly the one who had burnt the coffee—and Honoria kept her head down and hoped that the staff was distracted enough not to notice her. She had almost reached the kitchen door, one that opened into a small courtyard, when the cook cried, “Who are you?”
Honoria froze, which was exactly the opposite of what Montagne had told her to do. She was supposed to keep walking. She tried to start for the door again, but now the chef’s assistant caught her arm. One look at her face, though, and he immediately released her.
“It’s a lady!” he said in shock.
“I’m very sorry,” Honoria replied, in what she hoped was perfect French. Her heart thudded against her ribs and she could hardly think much less speak. “I was looking for the retiring room.” Surely a café must have a retiring room. “Can you tell me where it is?”
“Who are you?” the chef asked. “Why are you dressed as a man?” Obviously, her effort to distract him had not worked.
Honoria opened her mouth to reply, but she could not think of an answer. She would have lied, but she couldn’t even manage to fabricate one. As she stood, opening and closing her mouth like a caught fish, the cook narrowed his eyes.
This was the end then. It wouldn’t be a fall from a roof or a beating from the National Guard. No trip to the guillotine for her. Instead, she would be betrayed by a cook at a café that couldn’t even prepare coffee without burning it.
“There you are,” a voice said from behind her. She knew before she turned it was the marquis. She should have been out of the kitchen and away by now, but the marquis had obviously realized she’d been detained. “You will have to forgive my sister,” he said with an adoring smile. “She must have become confused. This way, my dear.”
“Not so fast!” The cook stepped in front of him. “Her behavior is suspicious. I am taking her to the Conciergerie and the Guard.”
“Oh, but that is exactly where we are off to,” Montagne said easily, seeming unperturbed by the cook’s threat. Honoria admired his ability to remain calm and unruffled.
“Yes, that is right,” she added, hoping she did not sound as false as she feared.
“And why would you go to the Conciergerie?” the cook asked.
“Because...” Honoria wished she’d kept her mouth shut. Clearly she should leave the lies and deceit to the marquis, who seemed to prevaricate so naturally.
“We have a meeting with the General Assembly,” the marquis said smoothly. “My sister is arguing for the rights of women. That is why she is dressed as a man.”
“Exactly. Do you not agree women should have the same rights as men in this new France, citizen?” Honoria demanded of the cook.
The cook looked less than enthusiastic about that prospect. “I will accompany you to the Conciergerie,” the cook said slowly. “I want to hear this plea for women’s rights.” His lip curled in disgust as he said it. “And I would see Robespierre. He is a valued patron of the café. He may eat and drink as much as he likes, and I never charge him so much as an assignat.”
“That’s because he’s so cheap he won’t pay,” Montagne muttered, but not quietly enough.
“What was that?” The cook stepped forward.
