Page 56 of The Agent and the Outlaw
I swallowed and nodded.
“Yes, Your Grace.”
I waited, ready for her to unleash a tirade that ended in an order for my execution. Instead, her lips parted in a grin.
“You can’t imagine how pleased I am to finally meet you.”
My mouth fell open in shock, but before I could reply, a man entered the room. He was fashionably dressed and unnervingly handsome, and I reasoned it must be the vampire emissary, Étienne de Noailles.
“Mon amour,I know you want to have a chat with the lieutenant, but don’t you think it’s prudent for us to wait until he is at least up andnoteating?” He eyed me uneasily. “And when he is more appropriately dressed?”
I looked down and realized that Van Helsing must have removed my shirt to dress my wounds and had not bothered to offer me anything else to clothe myself. I reddened in embarrassment and tugged the blankets further up my body in a futile attempt at modesty.
The duchess blinked at me, then back at her husband. “Non.”
Van Helsing let out an amused giggle and the duchess winked at her. The emissary scowled at both of them. Inwardly, I prayed the floor below me would open up and swallow me whole.
“Your Grace,Monsieur l’Emissaire, may I presentLieutenant Antoine de Valle. Do be gentle with him. I’ve only just put him back together,” Van Helsing said with amusement.
I inclined my head in as deep a bow as I could manage without tearing the bandages from my shoulder and chest.
“Is it de Valle?” the duchess asked, tilting her head. “Or de Vaux, I wonder.”
I blanched.
“Lieutenant,” the emissary said, nodding.
I cleared my throat. “Monsieur. Your Grace. Forgive me for not getting up. And, if you don’t mind, I’d appreciate you calling me Antoine. I’d rather not use my family name in public when things are…the way they are.”
“Certainly, only you must call me Daphne. Titles are for ballrooms and court, and my fiancé and I avoid those as much as we can,” she said, taking the chair the emissary offered and sitting opposite me. “Antoine, it seems you have my cousin’s knack for finding trouble. You must tell me everything that has happened.”
I could no longer keep my curiosity at bay. “Please, Your Grace—Daphne. Where is Charlotte? Is she here? What has happened?”
Van Helsing cleared her throat and gave the duchess a warning look.
“Has something happened to her?Mon dieu, please tell me. Is she all right?” I leaned forward, felt a twinge of pain in my ribs, and fell back on the bed with an exhale of frustration.
“Rest easy, Antoine,” Daphne said. “Charlotte is well. She arrived half a day before you and Van Helsing.”
“Where is she? I must see her. We have things we need to discuss.” I looked around frantically, trying to locate my clothes. I needed to get to Charlotte.
Daphne turned an apologetic face to me. “I’m sorry, Antoine, but she’s gone.”
“Gone? What do you mean? Where?” I looked at her, then at Van Helsing, who frowned sheepishly at me.
“She didn’t want us to tell you she’d been here, Antoine. She wanted to make sure you were safe and well on your way to recovery, but she said she could not linger.” Van Helsing pushed her spectacles up the bridge of her nose.
“She was here? And she just…left?” The disappointment I felt hurt more than my wounds.
Why did she leave without speaking to me?
I remembered our last words to each other had been in anger, but surely, she’d known it was the heat of the moment. She must have known my feelings for her were…different.More.
“She told us much of what happened over the last few weeks,” Daphne said. “But I’d like to hear your side of things, as well.”
“What did she tell you?” Panic edged into my voice.
The emissary smiled, his eyes glittering in the candlelight. “Some version of the truth, I expect. If you’ve spent much time in her presence, I’d wager you take my meaning.”
