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“I care nothing for your vile schemes. I told you that,” Sir John said, fairly shaking the smaller man.
Toussaint continued nonplussed. “I am afraid I must risk everything now, to retrieve a certain invaluable treasure. You have heard of the Sancy Diamond, no?”
John had been ready to shove the deranged man from his person and leave him laid out in this filthy alleyway, but mention of the famous lost jewel stopped him. This was a deeper and more complex mystery than he had first thought. “The Sancy? Of the French Crown Jewels?” John asked for confirmation.
“The very same. You will help me to recover it,” Toussaint said simply.
“You are mad. The jewels were lost during the Terror. I have no idea where the diamond is and even if I did, I would not help you.” John regarded the man critically, wondering how he may report him post haste to the magistrate. This was bigger than he had first thought.
“Oh, I think you will. You know that the Crown Jewels were stolen in ‘92,” he said conversationally.
“Yes, by a mob of rioters and brigands.”
“One of which was your father.”
“He never!” John shook his head. That was crazy. His father was a supporter of the English Crown. He helped many of the nobles escape. He would not be involved in any theft. Toussaint was obviously mad, but the man continued reasonably which made his words all the more alarming. What would this madman do for his power-hungry emperor?
“We know an associate of your father had the French Blue.”
“We?” John repeated.
The man’s words chilled John. He knew his Father was innocent of any wrong doing, but would others think it so? John knew his father had made many trips back to France presumably to rescue nobles who were stranded, but would others misconstrue those trips? He also knew that the ladies had sewn gemstones into their clothing to smuggle them out of the country. His mother had told him so. Was it so far-fetched that his Father was involved in the smuggling of jewels when he obviously smuggled nobles out of the country?
“We believe the Blue has already been cut,” Henri continued, “but there is no evidence that the Sancy has been tampered with.”
“Who is this we you speak of? Your band of cut throats?” John spat. He had had just about enough of this nonsense. Even with the possibility of the man being family, John’s patience for him was wearing thin. Toussaint was a madman and a villain.
“We Patriots!” Toussaint nearly shouted, spittle collecting on his lips, and John tightened his grip on the man, pressing him back against the stonewall of the narrow alley. “It is our hope that an aristocrat bargained it from those who liberated the stones. If it is intact, and even if it isn’t, our emperor is mad to have it to adorn his lady. You understand how important jewels are to our ladies, yes? Perhaps we should ask my Aunt Collette about her wardrobe back on that fateful day.”
John saw red. He shook the man. “You will leave me and my mother out of your plots! If you know what is good for you at all, you will leave England today and never return.”
“If you know what is good for you,mon Cousin, you will ask my dear aunt about the whereabouts of the stone. After all, I cannot askmaMère. Your father left her for dead.”
“That is not so, you villain. My father died to save her.”
“Your father was a traitor, as are you and your mother.” Toussaint’s voice was low and vicious.
“You leave her out of this.”
“Give me the Sancy and I shall restore myself to good favor with our Emperor. I will assist Napoleon in his inevitable victory, and leave you to your English pit. Help me to retrieve this, and I will disappear. That is reasonable,non?”
“Hardly.” Ashbrooke snorted. He was afraid to continue this conversation and also afraid to let the man go. It seemed that Toussaint was more deeply involved in this nefarious plot than John had first surmised. Releasing him now could be construed as helping a traitor. There was only so far, he was willing to go, even for family…if the man really was family.
“It is quite a different picture you have painted just now, than when we first spoke, is it not?” John snarled. “You came to me acting as though you were recruiting me for some glorious and noble quest, when in reality you are penniless and cast out, desperate to curry favor with that power-mad tyrant.”
“The reasoning can scarcely matter to you, monCousin, when the fact remains that either you will assist me or your mother shall regret it,” Toussaint replied in a sulky tone, glowering up at Ashbrooke.
“You are in no position to be making threats,” John said, pressing slightly on the smaller man’s windpipe. “I could break your skinny neck and leave you in this gutter. The world would be better for it.”
“No,mon Cousin.” Toussaint said, confidently. “I do not think you have the stones for such an act.”
“You lay one finger on either Lady Charlotte orma Maman, and we shall see,” Sir John said ominously.
“Your ladies would pay for such an act.” Toussaint said. “I am not without friends.”
Sir John gritted his teeth. Of course, Toussaint was not working alone. This was altogether too big of an operation to be under the auspices of a little worm like Henri. There would be others. John’s mind whirled. Fear clutched at him. He had to think. He could not allow any harm to come to his mother or to Charlotte.
“Even if I were inclined to give in to such ridiculous threats, which I most decidedly am not, it would be impossible. How am I to know the location of the Sancy Diamond? Believe me, if it were in my possession, I would have no need to marry an heiress.” Saying the words brought the loss of Charlotte back to the forefront of his mind. His wish to marry her warred with the need to keep her safe. Thoughts ran rampant through his mind. “I know nothing of the diamond,” he said aloud.
