weather.”
He studied the sky and inhaled the air. “There are no storms coming.”
“You sound very sure.”
“I’ve been studying the weather in this region for ten years. Granted, it was through a rather small window, but I had ample time to observe the local weather patterns.” His mouth twisted. “Another one of those unlooked-for blessings of captivity.”
“One of the more useful ones.” She patted the saddlebag behind her. “Even if a late storm sweeps in unexpectedly, Madame Boyer sent us off with enough food to take us from here to the English Channel.”
“She is a woman in a thousand,” he said with conviction. “Unfortunate that she’s already married.”
“We were very lucky to have the Boyers take us in,” Cassie agreed. They’d been speaking in English, but she switched to French. “We shouldn’t speak English anywhere we might be heard.”
In French, he replied, “That would land us in serious trouble, but I do want to continue practicing my English when we’re in private. I’m still thinking in French.”
“You’ll find yourself thinking in English after we reach England. I find that my mind makes the switch easily when the language is all around me.”
“I hope you’re right. It would be embarrassing to return home speaking my native tongue like a foreigner.” He frowned at the rugged hills ahead. “What will Durand do in his pursuit?”
“He’ll use the fast government courier system to send word to all the gendarme posts on the roads in every direction,” Cassie said. “He has very little information to go on, so odds of our being caught are slim. But not impossible.”
The thought was sobering. “Then we shall have to be fast and easily overlooked.”
She gave him a quick smile. “Exactly.”
They fell silent for a long stretch of trail, the only sounds the horses’ hooves and the occasional cry of a bird. Halfway up the sizable hill, Grey said abruptly, “I’ve been thinking about what you said the other day about anger. I hadn’t realized how angry I was until you said that. Now I’m afraid of what I might do if I lose control. So if I’m about to do something murderous, hit me with a rock. Break my arm. Block the blood to my brain. Do whatever you must to keep me from hurting someone.”
“Very well, I will,” she agreed after she got over her surprise. “Unless you’re damaging someone who deserves it. Even Père Laurent thought that your Sergeant Gaspard deserved his fate.”
“He did. But if you hadn’t asked me not to kill the guard, I would have broken his neck as well, and I don’t know if he deserved killing,” Grey said flatly.
No wonder he was concerned for his sanity, but he underestimated himself. “The fact that you care whether he deserved execution bodes well for your character.”
“Now I care a little,” he said gravely. “But when I was in full fury, I would have killed him whether it was just or not. Ten years in hell have ruined my character.”
Choosing her words, she said, “Of course ten years in prison changed you, but you had twenty years before then, and the most important were the earliest. That is when your character was formed. The Jesuits say that if you give them a boy for his first seven years, he is theirs for life. Did your parents see that you were raised well? Were you taught honesty and responsibility?”
“Yes, and kindness as well,” he said slowly. “I hope you’re right that my character was formed then, because I don’t know whether I still have those qualities. That’s why I asked you to stop me if I lose control.”
“I’d rather you worked on your anger yourself,” she said frankly. “With your Hindu fighting skills and strength, I would surely lose any fight unless I took you by surprise.”
His brows arched. “I suspect that you’ve had more practical experience fighting than I, and that you know lots of wicked tricks.”
She had to laugh. “You’re right, I do know a
He studied the sky and inhaled the air. “There are no storms coming.”
“You sound very sure.”
“I’ve been studying the weather in this region for ten years. Granted, it was through a rather small window, but I had ample time to observe the local weather patterns.” His mouth twisted. “Another one of those unlooked-for blessings of captivity.”
“One of the more useful ones.” She patted the saddlebag behind her. “Even if a late storm sweeps in unexpectedly, Madame Boyer sent us off with enough food to take us from here to the English Channel.”
“She is a woman in a thousand,” he said with conviction. “Unfortunate that she’s already married.”
“We were very lucky to have the Boyers take us in,” Cassie agreed. They’d been speaking in English, but she switched to French. “We shouldn’t speak English anywhere we might be heard.”
In French, he replied, “That would land us in serious trouble, but I do want to continue practicing my English when we’re in private. I’m still thinking in French.”
“You’ll find yourself thinking in English after we reach England. I find that my mind makes the switch easily when the language is all around me.”
“I hope you’re right. It would be embarrassing to return home speaking my native tongue like a foreigner.” He frowned at the rugged hills ahead. “What will Durand do in his pursuit?”
“He’ll use the fast government courier system to send word to all the gendarme posts on the roads in every direction,” Cassie said. “He has very little information to go on, so odds of our being caught are slim. But not impossible.”
The thought was sobering. “Then we shall have to be fast and easily overlooked.”
She gave him a quick smile. “Exactly.”
They fell silent for a long stretch of trail, the only sounds the horses’ hooves and the occasional cry of a bird. Halfway up the sizable hill, Grey said abruptly, “I’ve been thinking about what you said the other day about anger. I hadn’t realized how angry I was until you said that. Now I’m afraid of what I might do if I lose control. So if I’m about to do something murderous, hit me with a rock. Break my arm. Block the blood to my brain. Do whatever you must to keep me from hurting someone.”
“Very well, I will,” she agreed after she got over her surprise. “Unless you’re damaging someone who deserves it. Even Père Laurent thought that your Sergeant Gaspard deserved his fate.”
“He did. But if you hadn’t asked me not to kill the guard, I would have broken his neck as well, and I don’t know if he deserved killing,” Grey said flatly.
No wonder he was concerned for his sanity, but he underestimated himself. “The fact that you care whether he deserved execution bodes well for your character.”
“Now I care a little,” he said gravely. “But when I was in full fury, I would have killed him whether it was just or not. Ten years in hell have ruined my character.”
Choosing her words, she said, “Of course ten years in prison changed you, but you had twenty years before then, and the most important were the earliest. That is when your character was formed. The Jesuits say that if you give them a boy for his first seven years, he is theirs for life. Did your parents see that you were raised well? Were you taught honesty and responsibility?”
“Yes, and kindness as well,” he said slowly. “I hope you’re right that my character was formed then, because I don’t know whether I still have those qualities. That’s why I asked you to stop me if I lose control.”
“I’d rather you worked on your anger yourself,” she said frankly. “With your Hindu fighting skills and strength, I would surely lose any fight unless I took you by surprise.”
His brows arched. “I suspect that you’ve had more practical experience fighting than I, and that you know lots of wicked tricks.”
She had to laugh. “You’re right, I do know a
Similar Books
