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“I could never sleep; waiting and watching, hiding in the dark…until he came.” There was a mad glitter in Henri’s eyes, which shone unnaturally by the light of the moon.
“Who?” Charlotte whispered almost afraid to hear the answer.The man was half mad.It was as if he was waiting for the devil himself to appear before them.
“The Emperor.” Henri sighed. “He came for the people. And he will rise again. Now, we wait for the signal.” He shoved Collette roughly to the ground, and likewise his minions pushed Charlotte down beside her. “I have been charged,” Henri continued. He spoke reverently as if Napoleon himself were listening. “I shall recover the Sancy Diamond. And I shall deliver it to his hand in victory. I, Henri Toussaint and no one else.”
Perhaps, the madman did wait for the devil, Charlotte thought.But what signal were they watching for?Charlotte looked to Collette, but Toussaint noticed her inattention to the coast.
“Watch!” He snarled at Charlotte. “We must wait for the light!
Charlotte looked back towards the horizon. It seemed an eternity, kneeling there on the cliffside, shivering in the dark. Then she saw it, a flicker of light in the distance, a signal.
“There!” Henri said pointing. “There, it has come.”
It was a ship, Charlotte thought. A ship out on the water was signaling. If Napoleon or the devil himself had truly appeared in their midst Charlotte could not be in worse position. A ship was coming and time was running out.
Henri grabbed Charlotte by the hair. He pulled her to her feet and stroked a rough hand over her cheek. She batted his hands away.
“Take her,” He ordered. “The boats will be ashore in no time. Take her down, and mind you. She is mine.”
Charlotte spat at Henri, but he only laughed at her. Then, the other two brigands were dragging Charlotte from the cliffside, towards a hidden path down to the cove below. She struggled mightily, but it was no use. She was not strong enough to best them.
* * *
Sir John madehis way to the cliffs as quickly and quietly as he was able. He was some distance above the sea, but could hear the wash of the waves and smell the salt in the air. He knew the cove below had been a favorite of smugglers in the days after the Terror. His own father had told him of the adventures of pirates and the privateers who supported the King. It had all seemed fun as a child. Now, it was deadly serious and fun was the furthest thing from his mind.
It was difficult, in the dark, to see his way among the rocks. He could not even discern the way down. Imagining his mother being forced to make the climb, hampered by her full skirts and weak constitution, filled him with fresh anger at Toussaint. Never mind a pistol, he thought, he would be quite satisfied to kill the man with his bare hands for putting her through such an ordeal.
Suddenly he caught a flicker of a lantern in the distance. An answering signal came from further down the cliff. Sir John was able to see the cove still below them, but Henri and his mother had stopped along the top of the cliffside. Not even daring to breathe, Sir John eased closer. He slipped from one large rock to another, all the while fearing that each tiny noise from the displaced pebbles would give him away and doom his mother.
Edging forward, he was able to see her, and felt a wave of relief so strong that it nearly left him lightheaded. At least, it did not seem that Henri had done her any lasting harm. The light from the lantern illuminated her quite clearly, and although she looked pale and tired, he could tell by the angry glitter in her eyes, that she was far from defeated.
Toussaint was pacing restlessly, apparently arguing with John’s mother, explaining why he was in the right.
“What can it possibly matter to you if I agree with you or no?” demanded Collette defiantly. “You hardly care for the goodwill of your family, or else you would not have kidnapped me. If you are going to behave as a villain then you may as well resign yourself to being seen as one, I should think.”
“I am not a villain; I am a patriot.” Toussaint protested. “And you are a traitor to France, hardly in a position to judge me.”
Lady Collette huffed magnificently. “My sister should turn in her grave to see you Henri. You mistreat your elders and extort money from your relatives. Suzette would be abhorred to see her sister so misused by her own son.”
“Mon Père,would be proud of me for supporting Napoleon, and for righting the mistake that he made in trusting your British pig of a husband. My father was never outright blamed for the disappearance of the Sancy, but he was never fully removed from that suspicion either,” snapped Henri angrily. “NowIshall restore honor to my family name.”
“Oh indeed,” Collette laughed, mockingly.
This seemed to infuriate Toussaint even further.
“I am trying to be civil!” he shouted above the rising wind.
“You are sorely lacking in the courtesy.” Lady Collette raised an eyebrow at the man as if he were a petulant child throwing a tantrum, but Sir John was sick and shaking with anger at the display. No matter how coolly she might respond, his mother was in very real danger from Toussaint’s volatile and violent temper; that much was plainly evident.
* * *
33
Charlotte found navigating the rocks above the cove a challenge in her skirts. As they descended, she deduced that the two men guarding her, George and Charlie, were Englishmen and brothers. Charlotte tried to reason with them, but it was no use. It all came down to money. She could not understand it.How could they be so vile?
“How can you take the side of a French madman against your own countrymen? Do you think you will be accepted in France?” Charlotte asked. “Two English brothers?”
“Oh, we will not be staying in France,” said the elder brother. “And Henri’s ramblings have not to do with us. Our job is only to deliver the cache, and collect our cut.”
