White Horses

by Joan Wolf

  “Oh, thank God,” Gabrielle cried.

  Leo turned to face the gendarme who was standing in the door. “Where is it?”

  “It was left under the trees in a little park on the outskirts of the city. We couldn’t see it in the dark last night.”

  “Where is it now?” Leo said levelly.

  “It is just outside, monsieur. I drove it here to show you.”

  Leo strode toward the door, but he held it so that Gabrielle could precede him out.

  There, at the curb, tied up to the hitching post, were Jacques and Tonton. Behind them was the wagon.

  Tears began to roll down Gabrielle’s face. “My poor boys,” she said, going up to pat the two horses. “What a time you have had.”

  Leo went around to the back of the wagon and climbed in. Gabrielle left the horses and followed him.

  Some of the costume trunks had been opened and the costumes lay piled on the sofa. Otherwise the inside looked untouched.

  Leo and Gabrielle looked at each other.

  “We escaped with our lives that time,” he said after a minute.

  She nodded tremulously.

  “Why don’t we go directly to the circus grounds?” Leo said. “You’ll want to feed Jacques and Tonton, and I confess that I want to get this wagon off the streets of Rouen.”

  “First we have to stop at the hotel so I can give the good news to the boys,” she said.

  They climbed down from the back of the wagon and Leo said, “Just a minute while I pay the gendarmes their reward money.”

  Gabrielle watched him go into the station as she petted Tonton’s soft nose. Once they were on their way back to the hotel, she said, “How much reward did you post? I’ll pay you back.”

  “That’s not necessary,” he said. “I was the one who lost the wagon, so I’m the one who should pay to have it found.”

  “We both lost the wagon,” she said.

  “Gabrielle.” There was steel in his voice. “Don’t bother me with importunities. I have paid the reward. The subject is closed.”

  “Fine,” she said. She lifted her chin. “If that’s the way you feel about it.”

  “It is.”

  Neither of them spoke again until they had reached the hotel to deliver the good news.

  Seventeen

  Now that the wagon had been recovered, Gabrielle was able to turn her attention to the breakfast conversation she had had with the Martins and her promise to speak to Jeanne. She picked a moment in between shows and went up to the girl, asking if she could talk to her for a moment. Jeanne looked surprised, but followed Gabrielle to a corner of the circus tent and sat down with her upon a bench.

  Gabrielle said bluntly, “Your friendship with Franz is making your husband very unhappy. Don’t you realize that?”

  Jeanne stared at her and raised her slanting black eyebrows. “Since when is my marriage any business of yours?”

  “It is my business if it causes trouble in my circus,” Gabrielle replied. She didn’t like Jeanne’s tone and she tried to hold on to her temper. “You have been flirting with Franz and Pierre is very angry. Everyone can see this—why can’t you?”

  “I am friends with Franz, that is all. Surely I am allowed to make a friend? I don’t know anyone in this circus and he has been kind to me. There’s no need for you to have heart palpitations about it.”

  Gabrielle gritted her teeth. “You can make friends with me and Carlotta and Emma. There is no need for you to make friends with a man.”

  Jeanne’s dark eyes took on a mocking look. “I am not a woman for other women,” she said. “I prefer men. That’s just how I am.”

  Gabrielle stared at her. Jeanne’s feline face was perfectly composed. She wasn’t at all concerned by what Gabrielle was saying.

  Gabrielle said, “Well, I am not talking to you as a woman, Jeanne, I am talking to you as the owner of this circus. I don’t want you making trouble among my employees. Pierre has been with us for years, and there has never been any problem until he married you. I want you to remember that you are a married woman and I want you to leave the other men in the circus alone.”

  Jeanne looked at her scornfully. “This is about Leo, isn’t it? You’re jealous because Leo has paid attention to me.”

  “Leo hasn’t paid attention to you, you’ve tried to flirt with him!” Gabrielle shot back.

  “You are jealous,” Jeanne said triumphantly. “That’s what happens when a woman is in charge of something. She takes everything personally. You ought to put Leo in charge of the circus. He wouldn’t make a big commotion over my friendship with Franz.”

  Gabrielle was speechless with fury.

  Jeanne stood up. “If you’ve said what you have to say, I’ll be on my way.” Once again her eyebrows were raised. “Really, Gabrielle, I thought better of you.”

  And she walked away.

  What a bitch! Gabrielle fumed. She didn’t think anyone had ever been this rude to her in her life.

  I should send her and Pierre packing, she thought.

  But where would she get two more band members at such a late date? They knew all the music. Plus, she couldn’t do that to Pierre. He had been a faithful member of the circus for many years.

  Damn, damn, damn, Gabrielle thought. It was her first season as head of the circus and things were not going as they had when her father was in charge.

  She took a long, deep steadying breath and walked over to the stable tent to make sure the horses had been groomed and fed before the start of the next show.

  At the hotel that evening, Leo paid a stable boy to stay with the wagons overnight. He was not taking a chance of losing one of them again.

  After dinner, most of the circus folk went down to the cafe, but Leo said he wanted an early night and Gabrielle and the boys stayed with him.

  “Why don’t you show Leo your paintings?” Gabrielle suggested to Albert as they went into the salon.

  Albert looked shyly at Leo.

  “I would very much like to see them,” Leo said.

  Albert and Mathieu went out to the wagon to fetch the paintings, and Gabrielle said to Leo, “He is very good. You will see for yourself.”

  From what Leo had seen of Albert’s drawing, he had known the boy had talent. But most of what Leo had seen were sketches. What Albert showed him now were three small oil canvases, one a painting of Sandi, one of an Arabian, and one of Gabrielle with Colette.

  They were wonderful. Leo possessed several Stubbs paintings of thoroughbreds and he thought this boy possessed the same ability to show the magnificence of the animal without sentimentalizing Mm.

  “Have you ever formally studied the anatomy of the horse?” he asked Albert slowly as he regarded the picture of Sandi. All of the proportions were exact; the joints were perfectly rendered, as were the muscles under the shining white coat.

  “Papa knew everything there was to know about how a horse is put together,” Albert said. “He taught me.”

  “Your father sounds like a remarkable man,” Leo said, his eyes still on the picture.

  “He was,” all three Robichons chorused in reply.

  Leo turned last to the picture of Gabrielle. She was wearing the outfit she rode Noble in, a long blue velvet coat, breeches and high boots, but her head was bare and her shining brown hair was fastened at her neck with a blue velvet ribbon. Her young face was grave and her hand rested on Colette’s long, elegant neck. It was a lovely picture, posed outdoors against a rolling green field and blue sky.

  Leo realized that it was a picture he would like to have for himself.

  “I painted the three of them this past winter,” Albert said. “I had tried oil paints before, but this is the best I have ever done. Gabrielle found someone in Lille to help me learn how to work with the paints, and he was a help.”

  “We have a painter in England named George Stubbs,” Leo told Albert. “He died a few years ago, but he is famous for his paintings of horses. He was self- taught, like you, and he becam
e one of the best painters in England during the last century. I have some of his paintings. You would appreciate them, I think.”

  Albert’s face lit up. “He became famous for painting horses?”

  “Very famous. All of the best people in England have his work hanging in their houses. He made a very good living painting portraits of people’s favorite horses— mostly racehorses—with their owners or their grooms. He did other kinds of paintings as well, but he was celebrated for his horse pictures.”

  “And he was able to earn a living doing this?” Gabrielle asked.

  “A very good living,” Leo replied.

  “That is what I would like to do, Gabrielle,” Albert said intensely. He turned back to Leo. “I wish I could see some of George Stubbs’s pictures.”

  “When the war is over, you must come visit me in England and I will show them to you,” Leo said, regretting the words as soon as they left his mouth.

  Now, why did I make such a rash promise? Leo thought immediately as he looked into Albert’s shining eyes.

  “Do you mean that?” Albert asked.

  “Yes,” he replied. “But first we must dispose of Napoleon.”

  Later, when Gabrielle and Leo were alone in their bedroom, Gabrielle asked him about Albert. “Did you mean what you said to him about visiting you in England?” she demanded.

  He didn’t have the heart to renege on his offer. “Yes.”

  She pressed her hands together. “That is wonderful of you, Leo! I have been thinking, England might be a good place for Albert to go to school. Particularly if you already have a tradition of equestrian art.”

  He said honestly, “Albert will need a teacher to help him with the technical side of things, but he has his own vision, Gabrielle. You are right to encourage him in his art. He has great talent.”

  She smiled as if he had given her a fabulous present.

  “Thank you, Leo. Your encouragement means a great deal to me.”

  He looked at her glowing face, at the finely sculpted cheekbones, the small, straight nose, the immense brown eyes. She looked so delicate, but there was strength in her determined chin and in the firm curves of her mouth.

  I am becoming much too interested in this girl, he thought grimly. And he was finding it increasingly difficult to share a bed with her and get any sleep at all.

  She continued to smile at him. “I am so happy about Albert. It will be a wonderful opportunity for him to go to England and study.”

  Her face was radiant. Leo thought, How the hell did I get myself into this? Now not only is Albert visiting me to look at my paintings, he is staying to study art. He gave a mental shrug. No use worrying about it now, he reasoned. Once this trip is over and Wellington has the gold, I don’t ever have to see anyone from this circus again.

  But this was not a thought that made him comfortable. He liked Albert. And the boy did have unquestionable talent.

  I suppose I could find him someone to study with, Leo thought. That shouldn’t be too hard.

  “Thank you,” Gabrielle said, and stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek.

  Leo stood frozen as her lips came into contact with his skin. They were soft yet firm as they rested against his slightly stubbly cheek. He felt her touch in every part of his body. He wanted to turn his face and capture her mouth with his, to feel it open under his kiss, to feel her surrender to him. At that moment he felt he wanted Gabrielle Robichon more than he had ever wanted anything in his life.

  All this from a kiss on the cheek!

  She stepped away from him, and it took him a moment before he could reply with a semblance of normality. “You’re welcome,” he managed.

  After that kiss, getting into bed with her was harder than ever. All of that soft femininity was only a hand’s breadth away from him, and he had to keep turned away from her, his knees drawn up because the damn dog had the bottom of the bed.

  She should never have kissed him, he thought. It wasn’t fair. She should know that; she had been a married woman. It wasn’t natural for a man and a woman to live the way they were living and not have relations with each other. She should be trying to make the situation easier for him, not exacerbate it by kissing him!

  The fresh smell of lemon drifted to his nostrils. It came from her hair, he knew. She must use lemon when she washed her hair.

  He couldn’t turn over, because Gabrielle was next to him, and he couldn’t stretch out his legs because Colette was sleeping on the bottom of the bed.

  I’m going to buy that dog a bed tomorrow, he thought. I’m damned if I’ll be more miserable than I have to be.

  The kiss on the cheek had affected Gabrielle strongly. She had done it impulsively, not expecting to be moved, but the feel of his skin, with its golden stubble of beard, had caused a ripple of sensation all the way down to her stomach.

  I shouldn’t be feeling this way about this Englishman, she thought. About this English aristocrat. It was nice of him to take an interest in Albert, but he will never regard us as equal to him. He will never regard me as equal to him. I have to remember that. I have to take care to keep him at a distance.

  No more kisses on the cheek, Gabrielle, no matter how nice he may be! You’re lucky he didn’t misconstrue that innocent kiss and demand more.

  Was it an innocent kiss? she wondered. What had gotten into her to make her do such a thing?

  It was stupid, she thought. I will take care not to do it again.

  Eighteen

  Aside from the fact that Sully was obviously hungover, the two shows they gave on the following day went smoothly. Leo once more hired someone to stay with the wagons overnight, thus relieving them of the fear that someone may make off with them again.

  Jeanne sat next to Leo at dinner and flirted with him throughout the meal. Gabrielle fumed silently. When Henri asked if she was going to accompany them to the cafe that evening, she said firmly, “I think Leo and I will stay home and play some cards with Mathieu and Albert.”

  Leo and the boys were amenable, and as the rest of the circus members left for the cafe, Gabrielle and the boys went into the salon while Leo went upstairs for the cards.

  They played Hearts, Leo and Albert against Gabrielle and Mathieu.

  Mathieu was a strong player, and Gabrielle concentrated hard so she wouldn’t fail him. He knew exactly how many cards of each suit were out, and he knew who was likely to have what winner. When she made a mistake and played the wrong card, he frowned at her dire- fully.

  “Didn’t you know that Leo had the Jack?”

  “No. I thought you had the Jack.”

  He rolled his eyes in exasperation. “How could you think that? Weren’t you watching my discards?”

  “No,” she confessed, knowing her thoughts had drifted to Leo. “Should I have been?”

  Albert said, “I’m glad I’m not playing with Mathieu. He always yells at me about something I’ve done wrong.”

  “You need to keep track of the cards to play this game,” Mathieu grumbled.

  Leo said, “Not everyone has the retentive mind that you have, Mathieu. You must have some tolerance for us lesser mortals.”

  Mathieu snorted. “You have counted all the cards.”

  “I play a lot of cards. A good part of soldiering is passing the time, you know. I have a lot of practice. Your sister obviously doesn’t.”

  “That’s because nobody wants to play with Mathieu!” Gabrielle said. “Albert is right. He gets angry if you make a mistake.”

  “Because it is so simple,” Mathieu said.

  “It is to you,” Leo said. “Have you ever had any formal training in mathematics, Mathieu?”

  Mathieu shrugged. “Papa taught me how to multiply and divide.”

  “You’ve never learned algebra?”

  Mathieu shook his head.

  “Would you like to try it? I think I can remember enough from my school days to give you a start.”

  Mathieu’s smile was blinding. “I would like that very much!” />
  Leo smiled back. “Good. It will get me out of being defeated by you in chess for a while.”

  The card game broke up at about ten, and all four of them went out into the stable yard with Colette.

  The wagons were parked where they had been left.

  Leo talked with the boy he had hired to watch over them while Colette did her business. Then all. four of them went back into the hotel and up the stairs to their bedrooms.

  The first thing Gabrielle saw when she came into the room was a small mattress lying on the floor against the wall.

  “What is that?” she asked with a frown.

  “That is Colette’s new bed,” Leo replied. “It’s a crib mattress I bought in town today. She should be very comfortable on it.”

  Gabrielle looked at the dog, who had just jumped on her bed. Colette looked back at her and wagged her long tail, “She’s very happy where she is,” Gabrielle said.

  “I have no doubt that she is, but I’m not happy,” Leo said. “I’m tired of sleeping tucked up into a ball. I’m too big to sleep that way. It’s time to give her her own bed.”

  Gabrielle folded her arms across her chest. “Colette slept with me before you did. If someone has to go it should be you.”

  She was irritated with Leo for letting Jeanne monopolize him at dinner, and not inclined to be conciliating.

  “Be reasonable,” Leo said. “When it was just you and Colette, there was room for the both of you. Besides, you’re small. There is simply not room for the three of us—and I can’t fit on a crib mattress.”

  Gabrielle had been feeling crowded also, but she didn’t want to give him a victory. “I have been perfectly comfortable with the three of us,” she lied.

  “Well, I haven’t been. I wake up every morning with cramps in my legs. You said you didn’t have the dog in bed with you when you were sharing it with your husband.”

  In fact, she had let Colette sleep on her bed only after Andre had died. It had made her feel less lonely.

  “I don’t think she’ll go,” Gabrielle said. “She’s too accustomed to sleeping with me.”

  “I bought her a bone. Let’s try it.” He went over to the dresser and unwrapped a brown paper package. “Look, Colette,” he said. “A bone for you.”