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“What’s the plan?”
“I told you there is a posting house not terribly far. Follow the road until you reach it. Stay out of sight and wait for me there.”
He’d been climbing down as she spoke, and now he stood beside her. She shifted her gaze to him for a moment, then back to her targets.
“I’ll go under one condition.”
She started in surprise as his finger traced lightly over her cheek. Didn’t the man know one should take more care with a person holding a loaded pistol? “What’s the condition?” she asked.
“Don’t get yourself killed.”
She gave him a quick smile. “And deprive you of the pleasure of sending me to the guillotine? Never.” She focused on her targets again. “Now go before they find their misplaced sense of courage.”
“Yes, citoyenne.” He saluted, and before she scowled at his use ofcitoyenne,he was gone. The provincials didn’t notice for a few moments, but she knew the second they did. Their red-capped heads jerked up and they started to move forward. Alex gave them a moment to close the distance, then fired at the ground. The flying dirt and rocks must have hit one of them in the face because he stumbled back and cried out.
Or perhaps the range was less than she’d gauged?
“Stay back!” she yelled, beginning to back away herself. “If you move, I will shoot. As you see, I can reload”—she was doing so at that very moment—“and I am not afraid to fire.”
“You will go to hell, bitch!” one of them called. She thought it was the taller one on the left. Next time she would aim for him.
“But you will be there first. Now, turn around and walk back the way you came.”
The men looked at each other and murmured something. She couldn’t allow them to discuss this if she were ever to catch up to Chevalier. She was confident enough in his abilities that she believed he could make it to the posting house and stay out of sight, but she did not know how he would make it back into Paris without creating questions about his loyalties. The league could not afford those questions. And this was probably all for nothing because he’d already said he’d never help them rescue Louis Charles.
But she had to try anyway.
So before the men could say more than three words, she moved closer and fired again. They were still out of range, but her shots were true, hitting the earth directly in front of them. She moved back again and reloaded. She felt three more balls in her pouch and swore. If this game of cat-and-mouse continued much longer, she’d be out of ammunition.
“Walk away, citoyens!” she called again. “Or you won’t be able to walk anywhere.”
The men began to back away, and Alex cursed under her breath. Were they so stupid they could not follow simple instructions? She fired again, her shot falling short but the sound proving she still had ammunition and could aim. “I said turn your backs, you imbeciles!”
The men immediately turned their backs and began to walk. Alex wasted precious time reloading and then took off after Chevalier. Once or twice she looked behind her, checking to see if the provincials had started after her again, but they either kept far enough back or had given up.
Her bet was they kept far enough back.
She was walking—rapidly, at least—by the time the posting house came into view. She skirted the front and went the long way around it, coming at it from the back. The sun would be up in an hour or so, but the posting house was relatively quiet. Still, a posting house was never completely at rest, and she was careful not to make any noise as she entered the yard and moved around the various detritus from the kitchen and the coaches.
“Chevalier!” she hissed, looking behind an empty trough. She turned in a circle, her eyes scanning the shadows. She heard the footstep too late and before she could swing around, the hand covered her mouth while an arm grasped her about the waist.
She brought her elbow back hard into the man’s belly, and he let out a grunt. “This is some welcome,” he muttered in her ear.
“Dewhurst!” she said—or she would have if her mouth hadn’t been covered.
He released her and bent slightly. “No, that’s quite all right. Don’t apologize. My fault. I forget how jumpy you are.”
“Jumpy? I have my pistol in my hand. If I were jumpy, you’d be dead.” She looked about. “Where is Chevalier?”
Dewhurst’s eyes narrowed. “I thought he was with you.”
“He was. We ran into some old friends, and I sent him ahead. He should have reached the posting house before now.”
“I didn’t see anyone but you arrive. I’ve been here the last several hours.”
Of course he had. He’d probably lost his pursuers immediately and come here straightaway, relaxing in the warm stable during the storm.
“Oh, damn it all to hell,” she swore.
