dismissal infuriated her. Did he really think she could be swayed that easily? “I have friends I can stay with, and a few loyal servants who would be willing to help me until I develop a plan,” she informed him heatedly.
He turned abruptly and pinned her with his gaze, his patience clearly at an end. “Do you realize that at this moment at least four detachments of the National Guard have been sent out looking for you?” he demanded. “They have already torn apart your beloved château, and right now they are fanning out to question and arrest any remaining relatives, friends, or servants they think might have conspired with you in your escape. For you to go near one of them is to condemn them to certain death. Is that what you want?” he demanded harshly.
She hesitated for a moment. She had to admit she had not actually thought about anyone else’s safety. Once Nicolas was killed, she did not care what happened to her. But to put a relative or servant at risk because of her need for vengeance was not justifiable. She realized she would have to manage on her own. “Then I won’t go to anyone I know,” she conceded. “I will simply stay at hotels like this one.” How she would pay for them she had absolutely no idea.
“A fine plan,” he remarked dryly. “Except that a poster is being circulated with a detailed description of you, offering what to most people is a remarkable reward. What innkeeper, tradesman, or street vendor do you think is going to pass up the opportunity to do his patriotic duty by turning you in while collecting a little money at the same time?”
Jacqueline clenched her fists in exasperation. “Well, what do you expect me to do?” she demanded furiously. “Simply forget about what Nicolas has done to me and my family and run away to England while he and men like him continue to butcher innocent people and destroy my country?” The idea was impossible.
“Yes,” he replied evenly. “I expect you to leave this hatred and bloodshed behind. I expect you to come with me and make a new life for yourself and your sisters. Surely they do not deserve to have another family member sacrificed to the cause of the revolution, however noble or just you may think your mission is. What they need is someone they know and love to help them deal with the pain they have already suffered.”
Jacqueline did not like to be reminded of her sisters. The thought of them clouded her anger, and made it hard for her to focus on the task at hand. “My sisters will be just fine without me,” she assured him. “Sir Edward and his wife were good friends of my father and mother in their youth. I am secure in the knowledge that they are capable and devoted guardians.”
“Indeed they are,” he readily agreed. “But do you believe that is all Suzanne and Séraphine deserve? Good guardians who speak broken French and have no real understanding of the world your sisters have lost, or the trauma they have been through?”
“They are young,” countered Jacqueline quickly. “They will learn English and they will forget the past.” The thought of it filled her with a mixture of relief and pain.
He regarded her curiously. “Mademoiselle, are you aware that Séraphine has not spoken a single word for some three months?”
She looked at him, appalled. It had been just over three months since she wrote to them of the death of their father. “No,” she whispered. “I did not know that.”
“After she received the news of her father’s death, she cried in her room for three days,” he continued in a low voice. “No one could get her to come out. Trays were brought to her, but she would not eat. Suzanne and Lady Harrington spent hour after hour trying to reason with her. Finally they got her to leave the room. But despite everyone’s efforts, Séraphine simply will not speak.”
“I did not know,” repeated Jacqueline weakly. “No one wrote to tell me.” The anger and pain within her grew heavier,
He turned abruptly and pinned her with his gaze, his patience clearly at an end. “Do you realize that at this moment at least four detachments of the National Guard have been sent out looking for you?” he demanded. “They have already torn apart your beloved château, and right now they are fanning out to question and arrest any remaining relatives, friends, or servants they think might have conspired with you in your escape. For you to go near one of them is to condemn them to certain death. Is that what you want?” he demanded harshly.
She hesitated for a moment. She had to admit she had not actually thought about anyone else’s safety. Once Nicolas was killed, she did not care what happened to her. But to put a relative or servant at risk because of her need for vengeance was not justifiable. She realized she would have to manage on her own. “Then I won’t go to anyone I know,” she conceded. “I will simply stay at hotels like this one.” How she would pay for them she had absolutely no idea.
“A fine plan,” he remarked dryly. “Except that a poster is being circulated with a detailed description of you, offering what to most people is a remarkable reward. What innkeeper, tradesman, or street vendor do you think is going to pass up the opportunity to do his patriotic duty by turning you in while collecting a little money at the same time?”
Jacqueline clenched her fists in exasperation. “Well, what do you expect me to do?” she demanded furiously. “Simply forget about what Nicolas has done to me and my family and run away to England while he and men like him continue to butcher innocent people and destroy my country?” The idea was impossible.
“Yes,” he replied evenly. “I expect you to leave this hatred and bloodshed behind. I expect you to come with me and make a new life for yourself and your sisters. Surely they do not deserve to have another family member sacrificed to the cause of the revolution, however noble or just you may think your mission is. What they need is someone they know and love to help them deal with the pain they have already suffered.”
Jacqueline did not like to be reminded of her sisters. The thought of them clouded her anger, and made it hard for her to focus on the task at hand. “My sisters will be just fine without me,” she assured him. “Sir Edward and his wife were good friends of my father and mother in their youth. I am secure in the knowledge that they are capable and devoted guardians.”
“Indeed they are,” he readily agreed. “But do you believe that is all Suzanne and Séraphine deserve? Good guardians who speak broken French and have no real understanding of the world your sisters have lost, or the trauma they have been through?”
“They are young,” countered Jacqueline quickly. “They will learn English and they will forget the past.” The thought of it filled her with a mixture of relief and pain.
He regarded her curiously. “Mademoiselle, are you aware that Séraphine has not spoken a single word for some three months?”
She looked at him, appalled. It had been just over three months since she wrote to them of the death of their father. “No,” she whispered. “I did not know that.”
“After she received the news of her father’s death, she cried in her room for three days,” he continued in a low voice. “No one could get her to come out. Trays were brought to her, but she would not eat. Suzanne and Lady Harrington spent hour after hour trying to reason with her. Finally they got her to leave the room. But despite everyone’s efforts, Séraphine simply will not speak.”
“I did not know,” repeated Jacqueline weakly. “No one wrote to tell me.” The anger and pain within her grew heavier,
Similar Books
