Page 23 of The Agent and the Outlaw
“It doesn’t matter. Itwon’thappen again,” I growled.
“Well, then you’ll have to control yourself,” he said smugly.
The bastard.
I was desperate to change the subject. “It’s past dawn, and the rain has let up. We should hurry and be on our way.”
My ploy, clumsy though it was, effectively distracted Antoine from my embarrassment. He went to the window and looked out.
As if on cue, we heard a knock on the door.
“No need to open the door, lovebirds, but I heard you stir and brought up your clothes and some breakfast! I’ll leave the tray outside,” the old woman called.
Dieu, if you’re truly up there in Heaven, please heap blessings upon that creature,I thought as Antoine retrieved the food and clothes from the hall.
I refused to meet Antoine’s eyes as he handed me the neatly folded pile of clean, dry garments, and sullenly retreated to the corner of the room to start dressing.
I forced myself to consider my predicament instead of my humiliation. I needed to try to get word to Daphne, but I didn’t think Antoine would approve of me sending messages that might be intercepted by thebêtes. Never mind that as an agent ofles DD, I’d been trained to send coded letters that were nearly impossible to decipher. He didn’t need any more reason to convince himself of my secret profession.
After we finished dressing, I pinned my hair up beneath my lace cap and sat down to eat. The innkeeper had brought up a loaf of bread, a thick wedge of buttery cheese, and two apples. Without a word, Antoine and I polished off every crumb. Despite eating well last night and this morning, I still felt famished, as if my soul needed something other than simple bread and cheese. He stood to remove the tray, and I offered him a handful of coins.
“What’s this?”
“Take it down to the innkeeper. It’s my share of the food, laundry, and room cost,” I said.
Antoine thrust the money back into my hands.
“Keep it. I’ve a purse of my own,” he growled, strangely offended.
“I don’t accept charity,” I said, pushing the coins back toward him. “I can take care of myself, and I can pay my own way.”
“If you think I’m going to let a woman—acomtesse, no less—pay our way out of a mess that I got us into, you’re sorely mistaken. I always see to my own mistakes,” he said sharply.
I could have continued to belabor the point, but my aim was more to get him to leave the room than to foot the bill. If he wanted to be a stubborn fool about finances, that was his pride-fueled prerogative.
I nodded. “Thank you. I’ll be down in a moment—I have one or two things left to complete in my toilette.”
He eyed me suspiciously but nodded and left. I went to the bedside table where I’d stashed my pilfered supplies the night before and withdrew a scrap of parchment, a small pot of ink, and a quill. After some thought, I decided against using our familiar code number cipher, since that would look even more suspicious than a silly letter to a family member.
D,
Hoping this missive finds you well. Sincerest apologies for dashing off early from the party—was called away unexpectedly. Hope the family isn’t too cross with me. Promise to make it up to them as soon as I return home. Have decided to spend some time away to recover from this wretched rheumatism. I hear Gévaudan is nice this time of year. Will send you an update upon arrival. My love to E.
—C
It wasn’t a lot of information, but I was being overly cautious. She’d at least understand that I was safe, the mission hadn’t gone according to plan, that I was heading south and would write again soon.
I was preparing to seal the note when Antoine stomped in, startling me.
“What’s that?”
“Nothing,” I said, stuffing the letter in my pocket. He glared and strode forward, backing me up against the wall.
Hetsked.“Hand it to me, or I shall forcibly retrieve it.” His eyes glittered with the issued challenge.
Caged between his arms and the wall, my heart hammered in excitement. My gaze snagged on his mouth—those tempting lips stretched in a tight, frustrated line. Reflexively, my tongue darted out to wet my own lips. Antoine noticed.
The atmosphere between us changed, like the charged air in a thunderstorm right before the lightning strikes.
