Page 63 of The Assassin and the Libertine
“Oh, my Daphne, don’t you see? You werealwaysmine. You’ve always been meant for me—since you first came out to society and started coming to Versailles. Don’t you remember? Well, perhaps not. You always were the belle of the ball and I only ever watched from the fringes. Always there for you, my love, ready and waiting for you to notice me.”
“Philippe, this cannot be. You don’t know what you’re saying. Has he gotten to you? Asmoday? Does he control you now, my friend?” Fear raced through my blood at these bizarre admissions. They simply couldn’t be true. I would have known if Philippe had harbored feelings for me—wouldn’t I?
“My friend. Yes, I’m afraid that’s all I ever was to you. Even when you were supposed to marry me after Michel—well, I had to force your hand, didn’t I? If you weren’t under his protection anymore, you’d be forced to find a husband—to turn to me. I was there, Daphne! Right there. But you chose the wrong man—you chose thisthingwho abused and tortured you. For a time, I let him—you deserved it, you know, for choosing him over me—but then it just became too much.”
My heart stopped at his words and a pained cry escaped my lips. “No! You—you didn’t. Oh, Philippe, tell me you didn’t take my Michel from me.”
He lifted a shoulder. “Well,Ididn’t kill him. I simply provided a few financial enticements to his lover to drink more than was necessary. Things just played out as they were meant to, after that.”
The room started to close in on me and I fought for breath. Philippe looked at me with concern and shoved me toward one of the wooden crates. Father Clarence flinched at that, but Philippe took no notice of the priest, who was still clutching his tattered bible and rosary. As I grabbed the crate for balance, I felt the clammy hand of Father Clarence on my wrist. He slippedme the vial of holy water. I maintained eye contact with Philippe, trying not to give the priest away.
“You look so pale, darling, best sit down for a bit,” Philippe said.
“I can’t… I don’t understand. You’re married to Charlotte! You have one of the most enviable matches in thetonne! How can this be?” Tears sprung from my eyes as the weight of his words sank in.
“Yes, and she tried, the poor thing. But she just wasn’tyou,you know? She did allow me to remain close to you, which I’m grateful for.” As if only just realizing she was in the room, Philippe tilted his head down at Charlotte’s prone form. “And now she will serve an even greater purpose, bless her.”
“What greater purpose?”
“She will die so that your love may live,” he said triumphantly.
Unbidden, my gaze darted to Étienne. Philippe saw it and growled.
“No, Daphne. But that’s a curious development.” He frowned. “It used to eat me alive, you know, the fact that you didn’t love me. I would lie awake at night wondering what I could do to earn your affection. After Michel, I had hoped you would turn to me, but when you didn’t, I had to figure something else out. Then, along came Jeanne and her fascination with the occult! It didn’t take much for me to convince her to let me into her private library—especially when she believed it was on behalf of The Order.Mon Dieu, but that woman could be dense. It took me ages, but I finally found what I was looking for—a power strong enough to bend your will to my own; Asmoday! A demon who rules by lust. Everything just fell into place perfectly.”
“But if Jeanne helped you, why did you murder her?”
Philippe shrugged again, unaffected by the destruction he’d wrought. “Well, the first time I summoned Asmoday was in her library. She walked in on me. Summonings require some sort of sacrifice and I’m afraid Asmoday needed a bit more than blood in order to assent to help me.”
Henri grinned, showing off monstrous rows of sharp teeth. Frighteningly, Philippe chuckled.
“Oh, the things he did to that poor woman before and after her death.” He shook his head. “Then, of course, Asmoday informed me that he could sway your affections in my favor but that it would involve a handful of lives in order to work. What is it the English say?In for a penny, in for a pound.Naturally, I had to clear the way for you to become mine, so it made sense for me to remove your husband from the equation. I went all the way to Venice to track down Henri—you should truly thank me for that one. I walked in on himin flagrante delicto—sodomizing some unfortunate prostitute in the back room of a gaming hall. Asmoday rather liked your husband. It turns out he could withstand an abnormal amount of pain—it took himhoursto die. Asmoday took possession of his body after that and we returned to Paris.”
“If you’ve been after Daphne’s heart this whole time, why have you been trying to kill me?” Étienne bit out.
“Truthfully, The Order did think you were Jeanne’s murderer. I needed a scapegoat and you were convenient. They were more than happy to sign the death order. I’m afraid your rather liberal political views have put a target on your back. It would have been much easier if Daphne had done what The Order asked and killed you without issue. Unfortunately, you stuck around and the two of you started to becomeclose. What was left for me but to deal with you, as well?”
“Asmoday never came for me,” Étienne said.
“No. I didn’t know how a vampire would fare against a demon. I certainly couldn’t take the chance that you would win. Still, it should have been easy enough. Everyone knew your weakness for women, and I knew that quicksilver would poison a vampire. I sent Brigitte into your sister’s brothel with a handsome payment and specific instructions. When she returned to me having failed her task, it was right that she would pay with her life. It was only fair.”
“Philippe,” I tried. “This is madness. You must know that Asmoday is using you. He will never give you what you want. He is a demon—full of lies.”
Henri hissed at me. Philippe glared.
“No, darling, hewill.Once I finish with Charlotte, I’ll give him Noailles and then he’ll work his magic. Youwilllove me, Daphne, and wewillbe together.” He shook with manic energy—his eyes bright with hysteria. I clasped the vial of holy water in one hand and frantically sought an exit. My flintlock was in my chest harness, but I didn’t think I could reach it without Philippe noticing. I needed a distraction. I darted a gaze at Étienne, who watched us from beneath Henri’s foot.
“Philippe, I had no idea you felt this way. Why did you never come to me yourself? Perhaps if you’d just told me of your feelings, things would have turned out differently. If only you’d spoken to me. I would certainly have chosen you instead of Henri,” I said in a soothing voice. I stood and edged forward, deftly unstopping the vial in my hand.
“Hey!” Henri shouted. I froze in place.Had he seen?“Henri may be dead, but I still have access to his memories. That’s rather unkind, Daphne.”
“Silence!” Philippe yelled at him. “Do you really mean it, darling?”
I swallowed and nodded, then took another step forward. I was right in front of him.
“And what of Noailles?” Philippe asked.
I tried for casual. “He is a vampire.”
