Page 31 of The Agent and the Outlaw
“Why are you after him?” I asked the Parisian who’d addressed me.
Antoine’s whole body tensed, as if he were preparing for the attack.
“That’s none of your fucking business,” snarled the angry Prussian.
“Well, at present, he’s my escort, so I’d say that’s entirely my business. I have a hard time believing that King Louis would approve of his men depriving a helpless woman of her travel companion and protection out in the middle of nowhere,” I sniffed.
“Forgive me, lady, but your protection does not concern us at present. Perhaps when we’ve finished with Lieutenant de Vaux, we can come to some other arrangement with you,” one of the other soldiers said with a smirk.
“Is it the bounty you’re after?” I tried. “Whatever it is, I’ll triple it.” I didn’t think thebêteswould go for it, but I was stalling—desperately trying to come up with a plan that didn’t involve us getting drained and left to die in the woods outside Gévaudan.
“Charlotte,” Antoine warned. “Please. I’ll handle this.”
I arched a brow at him.Oh, really?He didn’t seem to be handling it at all. I pursed my lips.
“I’ll come with you,” Antoine told thebêtes.“But the lady leaves unharmed.”
I rolled my eyes. Even if they did agree to that, I didn’t trust them to uphold their end of that particular bargain. I’d known too many men in my life. Not everyone had Antoine’s sense of honor.
The first Parisian smiled and inclined his head. “Of course, Lieutenant de Vaux. We can be civil, can’t we, men?”
The group of men chuckled, sending the hairs on the back of my neck straight up.
“Please,” I tried again, anxious at Antoine’s misplaced chivalry.Surely, he doesn’t believe them, does he?“Please. What is it you’re after? Is it money? Influence? Say the words and I’ll make sure you get whatever reward you desire. Eternity is such a long time, gentlemen—I can see to it that you have enough money to last you until the end of days.”
That attracted the attention of the soldier to my left—the third Parisian.
“Oh, sure! You’ll just run right up to the king and demand compensation for us, will you?” he snickered.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I scoffed. “I wouldneverrun. A ladyglides.”
The first Parisian barked a laugh. Antoine scowled at me.
“Who the hell are you?” the Parisian asked, eyeing me up and down.
“No one,” Antoine growled. “She’s no one and none of your concern.”
Bless him.I raised my chin haughtily and inclined my head at the vampire.
“Monsieur, you have the privilege of addressing theMarquise de Balay. You must forgive my state of dress and my earlier deception on the road. Monsieur de Vaux and I have had a very long and unbelievable journey. It’s really quite a story,” I said. I didn’t want to give him my real name just yet, so the borrowed title would do for now. Antoine continued to glare at me, apparently finding refuge in playing the grumpy soldier again.So much for my dashing rake.
The Parisian seemed to be considering me.
“I’m listening,” he drawled.
“Putain, Hugo,”the grumpy Prussian swore. “We don’t have time for this. Let’s just take the lieutenant, drain the girl, and be on our way.”
That familiar muscle in Antoine’s jaw twitched—the one signaling extreme displeasure. The Parisian—Hugo, it seemed—frowned at the Prussian.
“I want to know who we’re dealing with, Frederick. Don’t you?” he said darkly. “Please, continue,Madame la Marquise.”
“Well, it started back at the All Hallow’s Eve masquerade at Versailles,” I said brightly. “I was there with my husband, the marquis, but he wassocross with me! You see, I thought it would be a riotous good time to come dressed as Cupid—which was how you gentlemen found me, remember?—and he certainly was less than pleased with my choice of costume, so he avoided me all evening, the cad!” Sighing heavily and willing blood to my cheeks, I looked down as if scandalized. “We had a rather public argument, I’m afraid. Oh, I cannot imagine what the gossips are saying right now! Anyway, I decided to leave the ball early and went out to meet my carriage, whenLieutenant de Vauxhappened upon me. He’s an old family friend, you see, and he valiantly agreed to escort me back to my château, but, oh, gentlemen, you know how a lady’s temperament is, don’t you?” I shot them beseeching looks and saw that I had their full attention. “I decided after the humiliating spectacle at Versailles, I wanted to spend some time alone, away from my fool of a husband, and I insisted on darlingde Vauxaccompanying me to our country estate down south.”
The lie became bigger and bigger as I prattled on, playing for time and hoping to come up with another plan of escape.Think, Charlotte. We can’t be that far from Gévaudan. Less than half a day’s ride, if Antoine is right. Surely there are more people journeying this way, and it’s only a matter of time before someone comes upon us and offers some kind of assistance, or, at the very least, a big enough distraction to allow us to escape.
Eventually, however, I ran out of words. The long days and sleepless nights had caught up with me, and I fumbled over the end of my imaginary tale.
“And there you have it,” I tried with false hope. “Now, will you gentlemen allow us to leave? What say you?”
