Page 48 of Lord Ashley's Beautiful Alibi
“My warnings have not changed, Augustine.”
“I took note of them. I must go with the earl.”
The countess scowled at the two of them in turn. “When do you return?”
As long as it takes to find St. Antoine.But Kane could not say that, because whatever the countess’s objections, a long period away from Paris and her was definitely not what she wished.
Gus took his hand into hers. “We do not have a time limit.”
The countess noted Gus’s gesture. Then she rose from her chair and strode toward the tall windows in which she sparkled like the sun. Or a fiery demon. “Ashley, you have been at court approximately one month. You do not know the waters you navigate. I daresay few of us do!”
She strode toward the pianoforte. With a few fingers she hit a melody he knew well but could not place under the tense atmosphere. “We are not so far from the days when the guillotine ruled everyone’s life. We are in a period when hard decisions by a very few rule the day. Those in power tread carefully. The women who walk here must tread with delicacy. A lady’s reputation is her calling card.”
Gus scoffed. “Except for Tallien, the Bonaparte sisters, and a few notable others.”
Kane had the distinct impression that she implied Josephine Bonaparte.
The countess took offense. “Yes. They dare,ma petite.They can. They are older, more experienced in the art of maintaining their allure…and their power. You are not.”
Kane anticipated where the countess led, but he wanted an end to her haranguing of Gus. “What is it you want,madame?”
She faced him with thin lips and an eagle’s eye. “She is a virgin.”
“Aunt!” Gus spat her outrage.
“She has had no lover. At twenty-one, she is an untouched beauty, and she has chosen that because she swore she loved no one.”
“I do not love Ashley, Aunt Cecily. But I will choose if I will be his lover, not you.”
Kane covered his wince. This was becoming much too intrusive. “I will take care of her,madame.”
“Will you?” The woman took him in, head to toe. “You are a supremely handsome rogue. Charming and skilled in diplomacy. Why am I not to assume you are talented as a lover as well, eh?”
Truth now for this woman was best, even if it would confuse the hell out of her. “Madame, I did not persuade Augustine to come to me as a lover. But as a friend.”
“No?” Cecily scoffed and shot a look at her niece. “Tell me you went to him. Made him a proposal for this scandalous holiday.”
“I did, Aunt.”
“Why? Why? For all the men who would have fallen at your feet, you choose this Englishman? He is titled. Landed. Well received. An envoy. But he is penniless. A third son who had nothing until his two older, more scandalous brothers fell into their graves!”
Kane moved not a muscle. Cecily knew much about him. How? From French spies in London, most likely. Well, tit for tat. It happened.
Gus stiffened. “I like him. I like him more than I have any other men I’ve met in this murderous city. I will go with him, Aunt. I will. And you cannot stop me.”
The older woman whirled on Kane. “Then hear me. She goes with you. You will not harm a hair on her head, do you hear me? She is a sweet girl, meant for a man who can be tender with her. Kind and considerate of her. Are you that man?”
He nodded. “I assure you,madame, I am.”
“Prove it to me.”
“Stop this!” Gus was on her feet. “I will not be treated like a child.”
The countess showed a glimpse of compassion toward her niece. “You are not, Augustine. Sir? What say you to me?”
“Anything you want from me for Gus’s safety and happiness, I will gladly do.”
Gus glared at him. “She sucks you in.”
