NathanielregardedGabrielle,hiseyes unreadable intheflickeringgloom."Howdidyoufind outabout theraid?"
"AfterIsentyouthemessagetelling youthat FoucheknewyouwereinParis-"
"Whatmessage?"Theinterrogatorycrackled inthe dankchill."Igotonlyone,theday before yesterday, anditsaidnothingaboutFouche.”
"ButIsentyouamessageviatheflower seller this morning…well,yesterdaymorningnow."
"Ineverreceivedit."
"Whatcouldhavehappenedto it?"
Nathanielgazedbleaklyoverthechild's head. "It's abitlatetoworryaboutthatnow.How did he know I washere?"
"Oneofhismenspottedyou,apparently. I assume therearepeoplewhowouldrecognizeyou."
"It'sneverhappenedbefore,"Nathaniel said flatly. IfGabriellehadbetrayedhimtoFouche, why would shethenriskhernecktosavehim?Belated remorse? ThatseemedtooindecisiveforGabrielle. No, probably he'dbeenrecognizedatoneofthecheckpoints on the journeyfromCherbourg.Itwasalways a risk.
"Well,ithappenedthistime,"Gabrielle declared, tensionandfatigueputtingastingin her voice. "And thentonightIwasatasoireeatMadame de Stael's and Fouchewasboastingaboutsomecoup he was going to pulloff.Ididn'tknowifhemeanthe’dfound you, but IthoughtI'dbetterwarnyoujustin case. And then I ranintohismen…."Shespreadher hands, palm up
"Isupposeyoufollowedthemessenger yesterday?"
Shenodded.
NathanielstrokedJake'shead thoughtfully. Gabriellehadriskedherlifetosave him. It had been a mostdecisivechoice.Hewrapped a blanket securely aroundtheshiveringchild.A permanent choice or simplyanemotionalresponse?
"You'd better go back before you're missed," he said. "Jake and I will stay here for today, and move on this evening."
Gabrielle stood looking at him in the gloom as he sat holding the child on the tomb. It was a dreadful place to spend the long hours of the day. The tensions of the night were apparent now in the taut lines of his face, shadowed with the blue tinge of his nighttime beard, and his eyes were sunken with fatigue.
"I'll come back later, then." She went to the door.
"Gabrielle." His voice was soft.
"Yes." She turned back.
"I owe you my life. Mine and Jake's." His face was in shadow, but she could sense his stillness, the deadly seriousness of his statement.
"What else did you expect me to do when my spymaster was in danger?" She tried to invest the question with a lightness, as if it were partly a joke, but it didn't come out right. She sounded ungracious, impatient almost.
"I don't know what I expected," he responded quietly.
"Oh, well, I'm full of surprises." She tried a smile. "I'd better go. I'll come back this evening."
Without waiting for a response, she slipped through the door into the now-clear light of dawn and left Nathaniel and his son in the lantern shadows of the crypt.
Gabrielle de Beaucaire was certainly full of surprises, Nathaniel reflected. She'd made a choice that day that made no sense for the ruthless, skilled, and experienced opponent he knew her to be.
Where did that leave his plans?
Impossible to decide at this point. Jake stirred and whimpered in his arms, and Nathaniel stroked his head, murmuring soft words of reassurance until the child was still again.
Nathaniel shifted on the tomb until his back was against the oozing wall of the crypt. He closed his eyes. Helen's face came to him in the dank, frigid air of this grim tomb… her face as it had been on her deathbed. White, bloodless, the lines of suffering smoothed by the hand of death. His hold tightened involuntarily around her child.
Chapter 20
It was eight o'clock that night when Nathaniel emerged from the crypt, holding Jake's hand, the portmanteau slung over his shoulder. He locked the door, replaced the key in the wall niche for the next person in dire need of sanctuary, and climbed the steps.
Jake was silent, clinging to his father's hand. He was frightened, but his relief at leaving their hiding place far surpassed his fear. He was sucking a piece of chocolate, holding it in his cheek, the warm sweetness melting over his tongue. It reminded him of safe and comforting things like his bed in the nursery, and Neddy, and the way Primmy smelled when she kissed him, a faded, sweetish smell like the dried flowers in the still room.
A tall, cloaked figure separated itself from the shadows at the top of the steps.
Nathaniel froze even as recognition hit him. Jake jumped and spoke her name before he remembered he wasn't to speak.