Page 50 of Unearthing the Smuggler's Heart
"Yes, of course," Dumand said quickly. "Assuming, of course, that she has learned her lesson. The girl is not worth the trouble of your attention."
Jade set her jaw, responding to this patronization with nothing but silence.
"And the other, as I explained, will be turned over to the care of Chateau d'Elf while he awaits his trial," Dumand added with a narrow-eyed glance at Mathias. "It is a long overdue appointment."
"If this man has committed anywhere near the quantity of crimes you have implied, he will need to stand trial in Paris, in front of a full tribunal," Charles said with a frown. "I suppose I can take him with me."
"But his crimes and the evidence thereof are all here in Marseille!" Dumand exclaimed. "My testimony against him will be essential to the administration of justice."
"Of course," said Charles, his tone even and somber. "I will send for you when the time comes."
It was clear that Dumand wanted to argue with this decision, to retain custody of Mathias until such a time as he would be sentenced, but he did not dare to argue with the commandant.
Rather than give him time to search his thoughts for a legitimate reason to disagree, Charles gave a pointed look to the grandfather clock and announced that it was well past time to be off. "Simple restraints to his wrists will suffice, I assure you," he said to a progressively more crestfallen Dumand. "And I will see the lady safely back to her lodgings and ensure she departs our coasts at first light."
"I will look forward to your summons," the other man said in little more than a mutter, his glumness apparent to everyone in the room.
"See that you do," Charles replied, motioning for the two criminals to quickly pack the box up and prepare to be away. "You have done impressive work here tonight, Dumand. It will not go unrewarded."
That, it seemed, soothed the sting of this arrest not going as planned. While he didn't look particularly happy about it, Louis Dumand stepped aside at the behest of Commandant Charles Monetier.
While he did not gloat over the binding of Mathias's wrists nor smile when bidding farewell to Monetier, Dumand did linger in the doorway of the townhouse as they departed. His shadow seemed to relax in relief, his frame leaning against the solid support of his home as he watched the carriage rumble over the cobblestones of the drive and carry his nemesis away, over the horizon.
* * *
Jade shivered,hugging her arms close to her body. She hadn't been cold when they stepped into the carriage, but now, watching the lights of the city vanish behind them, a chill had crawled through her body, scattering down to her bones. She clenched the box in her lap, her knuckles wrapping over the cool silver corners, and she told herself to breathe.
All was well.
"Are you going to cut me loose?" Mathias asked casually, lifting his bound wrists from his lap.
"I'm not overly inclined to, no," Charles responded, which only made Mathias grin.
"I knew you were still cross with me," he said with a chuckle, dropping his rope-bound hands back into his lap. "And here poor Isabelle was convinced we'd brokered a peace."
Charles lifted a careless shoulder, seemingly more concerned with watching the passing scenery than with the line of this conversation. "The war is done," he said. "There is no quarrel to be had with you any longer."
"Mm, and yet bound I remain." Mathias gave another short chuckle and leaned back on the cushions. He turned his head toward Jade, perhaps hoping she would return his amusement, but she could not summon amusement just now.
Why must he be so contentious? Would she someday hold disdain for him as well? After all, Dumand had loved him once, and that love had certainly withered on the vine.
I let him kiss me.I was curious.
Had heletJade kiss him too? And if so, what would happen when his curiosity had been sated?
The curve faded from his lips, his expression sobering. "Jade?"
She shook her head, clutching the box in her lap. "Look," she said, gesturing toward the window. "We are nearly back. We will need to pack our things quickly if we are to set sail tonight."
"It will take some hours to arrange," he responded. "But yes, I would prefer to be off before the sun rises, before Dumand can think too critically about what transpired tonight."
"Will you come with us, Charles?" Jade asked. "We could put you back ashore further north, closer to Paris."
"Not a bad idea, Monetier," Mathias agreed with a thoughtful tilt of his head. "Dumand will be chasing up the results of my imprisonment, make no mistake. You'll want to have an answer for the inquiries when they come."
Charles shook his head without comment, frowning at his own reflection in the window as they shambled into the drive at the inn, seemingly too concerned with his own thoughts of what had passed this evening to engage with the others. Almost the instant the carriage had come to a stop, he threw open the door and flung himself out into the gravel without a single backwards glance.
"What's gotten into him?" Mathias asked, turning a wide-eyed look of befuddlement onto Jade.
