There was truth in her belief that he was in love with making love. But she was far more than the nearest willing woman. He really was a little in love with her. And, he guessed as her kiss sent him spinning into rapture, he always would be.
Cassie suspected she was smiling like a fool as they set off on the rugged track that would take them out of the hills to a road that led north. Though it was hard to read Grey’s expression behind the beard, she suspected he was also beaming. They’d ended up delaying breakfast for quite some time.
She’d been rather touched by his joking claim to be madly in love with her even though he was really just expressing his exuberant pleasure in his rediscovered sexuality. Perhaps she was a little bit in love with Grey. His lovemaking had a playfulness that was new to her. She looked forward to more passionate interludes between now and the time she delivered him to Kirkland in London.
Grey would return to the loving arms of family and friends and, in time, a suitable young wife. Cassie hoped she would be sensitive about what Grey had endured.
As for Cassie, she’d return to France with blazing memories to warm her in that English cottage, if she lived long enough to retire. She’d survived more than a dozen years in the spying trade. Perhaps she’d actually live to celebrate Napoleon’s death.
It was rather sweet of Grey to want her to find a companion for her old age, but also a sign of how young he was in some ways. Though he’d been born a couple of years earlier than she, most of his adult life had been spent in captivity. She’d crammed several lifetimes of experience into her twenty-nine years, while he’d had one very bad experience over and over for ten years.
That made her feel as old as her gray hair claimed she was. But the vast differences between them didn’t mean they couldn’t be lovers until their paths parted.
Peace disintegrated when they came out of the hills and turned onto the road north. Though traffic was light, the back of Grey’s neck crawled whenever he heard hoofbeats coming toward them. Surely it was too soon for Durand to have organized a pursuit, but reason had nothing to do with his primitive fear. He wouldn’t feel safe until he was back in England.
Though he couldn’t make the fear and anger go away, he could at least pretend to be sane and normal. He found that it helped to concentrate on the countryside around him. Even in late winter, it was beautiful beyond belief. Dormant trees contained an infinity of subtle colors, and the wind carried intoxicating scents of life.
And he could always watch Cassie, and wait for the night.
Chapter 18
After Durand finished cursing his incompetent servants for letting the prisoners escape, he formulated plans for recapturing them. The feeble old priest should be easy. He would stay close to his old haunts, so he could be traced through friends and family.
But Wyndham would flee the country as fast as possible, so Durand must move quickly. Thank God he had the many and varied resources of the police at his disposal. There were detachments of the gendarmerie in all towns of any size. All he had to do was claim he was after English spies to mobilize them.
He would have flyers printed and send them out by the fast military couriers. The gendarmes could distribute the flyers to inns and villages along routes the fugitives might follow. A description and a reward for information would set hundreds of civilians watching any strangers who passed by.
The problem with flyers was coming up with descriptions. The only one of the raiders who had been seen was the old lady, who left no impression at all. Gray hair. Average height. Average weight. No distinguishing features. Perhaps sixty years old.
Wyndham and the priest weren’t much easier. Durand knew what they’d looked like originally, but years in prison had resulted in emaciated bodies and savage beards. Coats could be padded and beards could be trimmed to change their appearances.
He had to settle for approximating the heights of the prisoners and saying that one was a feeble old man, one a young man with light hair. He added that the three people being sought might be traveling together, or separately, or with other unknown men. Very unsatisfactory.
There was also the question of which way they went. It would be clever of them to head south to Spain or east into the Low Countries or Germany, but clever was probably trumped by the fact that north to the channel was by far the fastest route to England. So Durand sent flyers in all directions, but concentrated on the roads north.
For himself, he headed to Calais. His hunter’s instinct told him that area was most likely for him to find his prey. When and if he caught up with Wyndham, he’d waste no more time on imprisonment.
This time he’d just kill the bastard.
Cassie frowned as they followed the narrow road that ran straight through the center of a small town. Until now, they’d passed through nothing larger than a hamlet and they’d slept in empty barns, but they couldn’t avoid people forever. “It must be market day. Everyone in the district is in the square ready to buy, sell, and gossip.”
She felt Grey tense beside her. Sharing a bed with a man made one extrasensitive to his emotions. “Is it possible to go around?” he asked.
“I don’t see any streets leading off, and if we try to circle through the countryside, we could lose half a day or more getting lost in muddy farm lanes.”
“I suppose you’re right.” He scowled at the crowded square ahead.
“Think of this as good practice for London,” she said encouragingly. “It will take only a few minutes to pass through the market and then we’ll be in the country again.”
He drew a deep breath, then halted his horse and dismounted. “You’re right. There’s no reason for me to go berserk.”
Cassie swung down from Thistle. In a crowd like the one they were about to enter, it was safer to lead their mounts. “I’ll buy bread if I see a baker’s stall, but otherwise we walk straight through. I’ll call you Grégoire if a name is needed.”
He nodded, tense but controlled. “What should I call you?”
“Maman,” she said promptly. “Keep your eyes down and pretend to be not very intelligent. I’m your old mother and I take care of business for both of us.”
He gave a short nod and started forward. Satisfied, she led Thistle toward the market square. This was Grey’s first test among strangers, but she was confident that he could manage. At night in private, he was as amusing as he was passionate. It was clear why everyone adored him in his youth.
Though restless anger still seethed under his lighthearted charm, it was slowly dissipating, she thought. This quiet journey was gradually bringing him in tune with the world again. By the time they reached London, he should be almost normal. A new normal that was a blend of what he’d been and what he’d experienced.
At this season the market contained little produce beyond wrinkled apples and tired-looking root vegetables, but there were baked goods and cheeses and charcuterie, as well as stalls with old clothes and utensils. If she’d had her cart, she’d set up shop.
Instead she moved through the crowd as quickly as she could without shoving and drawing attention. People were particularly jammed up around the fountain in the center of the square. Even over the noisy chatter, she could hear Grey’s harsh breathing, but he kept his eyes down and moved doggedly onward.
She didn’t want to stop in the middle of the market, but as they came out on the other side and the crowd thinned, she saw a bakery stall. “Hold a moment, lad, and take my reins,” she said in a country accent. “I need to buy us a loaf.”
“Oui, Maman.” He took Thistle’s reins so Cassie could approach the stall. She bought bread and several tarts made from dried fruits. She liked offering new tastes to please Grey’s long-neglected palate. His enthusiastic appetite was endearing.
She had just handed over her coins when shouting broke out behind her. She whipped around and saw a skinny dog running from the opposite stall with a smoked sausage in its mouth and a f
urious, red-faced merchant in pursuit. An onlooker called out cheerfully, “Looks like that little bitch is faster than you, Morlaix!”
“Shut your mouth, damn you!” Swearing, Morlaix cornered the dog, snatched back the sausage, and began kicking the cowering beast, which was trapped between a wall and a cart.
Grey said roughly, “Eh, sir, you shouldn’t be beating the poor brute!”
He took the merchant’s shoulder to pull him away from the dog. The man pivoted and swung a meaty fist at Grey’s jaw. Grey dodged, but his control splintered and he pulled his fist back to strike a furious blow.
Fearing he’d injure or kill the merchant, Cassie grabbed his arm before he could throw the punch. “Steady, lad!” she cried. “Don’t be hittin’ the gentleman!”
She used her grip to surreptitiously jab a point above his elbow that numbed his right forearm. He swung on her, eyes wild and his body shaking.
“Steady, Grégoire!” she snapped. “Steady!”
For an instant she thought he might swing on her and she prepared to duck. Then his rage faded enough that he lowered his fist and gave her a short nod to reassure her that he’d mastered himself.
Cassie turned to the angry merchant, who smelled of beer and raw onions. Bobbing her head, she said contritely, “Dreadful sorry, Monsieur Morlaix. My boy isn’t quite right in the head. He’s fond of dogs and can’t bear to see ’em hurt. Here, let me pay for that sausage and you can just let the poor beast go.”
She pressed a generous payment into the merchant’s pudgy palm. “I’ll get my Grégoire out of town now, sir. ’E gets confused around so many people.”
Morlaix took the money with a growl. “Get both of those beasts away from me!”
“I shall, sir,” she said meekly. “Come along now, lad.”
“Sausage,” he said in a dull voice that supported her claim that he wasn’t quite right. “You gave ’im money for the sausage, so it’s ours.”
Cassie took the damaged sausage from the merchant and gave it to Grey. He fed the meat to the skinny dog, who wolfed it down voraciously.
Swiftly Cassie collected her bread and tarts and the reins Grey had dropped when he became involved in the altercation. Lucky the horses were placid beasts that hadn’t seized the chance to run off. “Leave the dog, Grégoire, we need to be on our way.”
He got to his feet and took Achille’s reins again. “Oui, Maman.” His voice was submissive, but she sensed seething anger just below the surface.
The small crowd that had gathered to watch a fight drifted off, disappointed that there was no blood. Cassie headed away from the market at a brisk pace, shepherding Grey and his horse in front of her.
When they were clear of the last of the marketgoers and the main street was empty, she stopped to remount and saw that the dog was following them hopefully. “You’ve made a friend, Grégoire.”
Grey knelt and scratched the dog’s scrawny neck. She was young, medium sized, and so skinny that her ribs showed. Under the dirt, she seemed to be black and tan with white feet and muzzle. Floppy ears suggested hound ancestry.
She wasn’t wild, for she licked Grey’s hand hopefully. “She wants kindness as much as food,” he said. “But she also needs more food. One small sausage for which you paid too much doesn’t go far when one is starving. Can we spare some cheese?”
Cassie knew that feeding the scraggly little bitch was a bad idea, but she couldn’t resist the dog’s pleading brown eyes. She foraged in her saddlebags until she found a chunk of cheese. Breaking it in half, she handed a chunk to Grey. “You’ll never get rid of her after this.”
“I don’t want to.” Grey broke the cheese into smaller pieces and fed them to the dog one at a time. “I always had dogs. I missed them as much as I missed people.” He scratched the dog’s head affectionately. “If Régine chooses to follow, I won’t object.”
Cassie studied the skinny dog. “Naturally she should be called Queen. It will do wonders for her morale.”
Grey tossed the last piece of cheese to Régine. She snapped it neatly out of the air. “I hope so. Names are important.”
If Régine helped him relax and cope with the world, Cassie figured the dog was worth her weight in sausages. They proceeded out of the village side by side. A mile or so along, Cassie said, “You did well in the market. You didn’t kill anyone.”
Grey’s lips thinned. “I would have if you hadn’t stopped me. I’m not fit for civilized society, Cassie. If you aren’t around the next time I go berserk, I don’t know what will happen.”
“I’ll be around as long as you need me.”
He turned and looked at her, his gray eyes stark. “Is that a promise?”
She hesitated, realizing that she was on the verge of a very large promise. But while he needed her now, that wouldn’t be true much longer. Once he was back in England, there would be others better suited to helping him until the last of his demons were banished.
But for now, he did need her. “I promise, Grey.”
He gave a twisted smile. “You may live to regret saying that, but thank you, Cassie. For now, you’re my rock in a confusing world.”
“I’m more likely to regret your adopting that dog,” she remarked. “We’ll have to sleep in barns for the rest of our trip.”
He gave her an exaggerated leer. “As long as there is sufficient privacy to ravish you, my dearest vixen.”
She laughed, glad his anger was under control again. They’d spent the previous night in a barn, and there had indeed been sufficient privacy for ravishing, though she wasn’t sure who was the ravisher and who was the ravished.
Cassie glanced back and saw that Régine was following. The dog seemed to have had some training. Perhaps she was a family pet that had become lost. She’d make Grey a good companion. Cassie loved animals herself, but couldn’t keep them in her traveling life. She tried not to become too attached to her horses because sometimes she had to leave them behind. Just as she had to do with men.
They were making good time and should reach the coast within a few days. She’d be glad to get her charge safely home, but oh, she’d miss the nights!
After selling out his wares, the merchant Morlaix retired to the taproom of the nearby inn. As he waited for his drink, the commander of the local gendarmerie entered and posted a flyer on the wall by the door. REWARD! shouted across the top in large letters.
Morlaix liked to practice his reading, so he ambled over to study the flyer. Fugitives were being sought. An old woman, an old man, a younger man with light hair. Maybe together, maybe separate, maybe traveling with others.
“Eh, Leroy,” he said to the commander, who was an old friend. “I just saw two out of three like that in the market. The old woman and a light-haired man. But he was touched in the head and there was no old man.”
Leroy, a former army sergeant, looked mildly interested. “From around here?”
“No, strangers. Heading north.”
Leroy looked more interested. “The notice says they’re most likely heading north. What did the old woman look like?”
Morlaix shrugged. “Nothing worth noticing. Average size, dressed one step above a ragpicker, gray hair. A man would have to be desperate to want to bed her.”
Even more interested, the gendarme asked, “Old but strong?”
Morlaix frowned. “I suppose she was. She stopped her great brute of a son from attacking me.”
“Why did he want to attack you?”
The merchant told the story tersely, thinking it didn’t reflect well on him. The gendarme’s eyes lit up. “Could he have been an Englishman? They’re mad for dogs!”
“He didn’t say much, but he spoke like a Frenchman. An idiot Frenchman.”
Leroy tapped the flyer. “The younger man is an escaped English spy. I suppose he’d have to speak French well to be a spy. This pair may be the ones who are wanted. How long since they left town
?”
“Half a day,” Morlaix replied. “See here, if they’re the ones, do I get the reward?”
“Maybe part of a reward, but only if they’re the right villains and if they’re captured. I’ll send word up the road by the military mail coach.” The commander spun on his heel and headed for the door.
“Don’t you go forgetting my reward!” Morlaix growled. His drink was waiting, so he took a deep swallow. Damned gendarme wanted the reward for himself. France may be an empire, not a kingdom, but there was still them that had power, and them that didn’t.
Chapter 19
“This looks promising,” Cassie said as a small roadside inn came into view. A weathered sign proclaimed AUBERGE DU SOLEIL. Inn of the Sun.
The name MME. GILBERT was painted below. This was no bustling post house, merely a local tavern that served drinks and simple food and had a room or two for travelers. “With luck, we can get a hot meal and a bath for Régine.”
“Any chance of a bath for us?” Grey stroked the dog’s back. She was sprawled contentedly across his lap, having become too tired to keep up behind the horses.
“Régine needs it more,” Cassie pointed out with a smile. “But if we’re really lucky, there might be some hot water for us.”
They rode into the small yard. It was muddy, like most of northern France now that the last of the snow was melting. Though the first welcome buds of spring were beginning to appear, there was a lot more mud.
Cassie dismounted, tethered Thistle, and entered the inn. Bells on the door rang as she entered, and a sturdy, authoritative older woman came out to greet her. “I am Madame Gilbert,” she said briskly. “How may I serve you?”
“Good day, madame,” Cassie said in her country accent. “My son and I are interested in a meal, a room, and perhaps a tub where he can wash his dog?”