Page 73 of A Lady's Past
As if his words held some magic and his arms were her perfect blanket, sleep took her into its warm embrace.
ChapterSeventeen
The weather had forced them inside for days. Diana missed the walks with Jacques, even if they were a vain attempt to draw Victor out of hiding. It had been weeks, and no one had seen any sign of the French spy. Perhaps he had come to his senses and returned to France, though she doubted it. His obsession with her was far too strong.
It was the first day with low winds and sunshine since before Christmas, so when Jacques asked if she’d like to take a walk in the garden, Diana jumped at the chance to be out of the castle.
They informed Alex they were going to walk the gardens, donned warm clothes, and Diana took his arm.
“Is it too cold for you, Diana?”
So many thoughts scrambled around in her head. She’d almost not heard his question. “No. I like the cold. It reminds me we’re still alive.”
The snow-covered path wound around the outside of the larger garden. Unlike Mrs. Fallcraft’s garden, the castle gardens were not walled. They spread out and merged into the surrounding hillside and woods. They managed the six inches of snow without issue.
“You are very quiet.”
“Just thinking about what I will do when this is all over.” She stared at her feet, hiding her worry with the hood of her cloak.
The formal gardens ended, but she followed Jacques along the path through a grove of evergreens.
“What would you like to do when you have your freedom?”
There it was. He would go about his life and she hers. He would take care of his parents and find a nice mistress and she would make some life for herself. “I enjoyed working with Mr. Edgebrook.”
“Then you should continue to do so.”
The tree in front of them rustled.
“I do not see that as a possibility.” Victor Caron stepped around the tree. He pointed a pistol at them and had a sword and dagger strapped to his waist. His tattered clothes indicated he’d had a difficult few weeks waiting for this opportunity. His wide stare spoke of insanity beyond what she already knew of him.
Diana’s heart pounded. She couldn’t let Victor harm Jacques. No harm could ever come to the man who’d saved her in so many ways.
Jacques stepped forward, forcing Victor to shift his aim toward him. “You are a fool, Caron. You should have fled for France as soon as you could. Now you will hang. Why would you remain in England when it was clear you had no options here?”
Victor’s maniacal laugh sent a chill up Diana’s spine. He said, “I have options. You didn’t think I would let you go, did you, Diana? You and I have unfinished business. You have an obligation to France. You made promises that you must keep.”
“What are you talking about?” Jacques demanded.
“It’s a lie.” Not that it mattered, but she wanted Jacques to know she was innocent. He’d stood by her through so many doubts. Now Victor’s lies would ruin everything.
Victor laughed again and waved his pistol between the two of them. “She actually had you fooled. You really thought she was innocent. She agreed to help us with the rockets, just as her traitor father had. You stupid English did not want his information, so he sold it to France, so we can win the war, and the emperor can take his rightful place as world leader.”
Jacques inched to his left, blocking Diana without any overt action. “Then why has your government not destroyed England already?”
Rage filled Caron’s eyes and he drew his dagger. “One small delay with her stupid father dying.”
“You killed my father.” Diana stepped next to Jacques.
Victor shrugged. “An accident, which I have paid for. But when I bring you back to France, all will be forgiven. My rank and honor will be restored, and I will live in glory next to the emperor.”
“I see.” Jacques tried again to put her behind him. “You have lost what little mind you had, Caron. No one is going to forgive you for killing a man they spent years torturing to give them a better rocket. You’ve cost Napoleon money, and he’ll never forgive you.”
“Maybe not for her alone, but when I bring your traitorous head back to be paraded around Paris, I will be called a hero.” Victor raised his dagger in victory.
Jacques sighed dramatically. “Let me see if I understand this. You killed both Mr. and Mrs. MacLeod, whom your government coveted for his scientific knowledge?”
“The woman was always expendable. Only the girl and the old man were valuable. The woman was only brought along to use to make the old man work.” Too crazy to notice he was poking holes in his own lie, Victor smirked.
