by Kate Breslin
CHAPTER
14
Jo’s head shot up during her pacing as a knock sounded at her door. She glanced to the floor near the chair, where Little Corporal sat in his small cage, pecking at the dried kernels of corn she’d given him. Another knock sounded.
“Service d’étage, madame.”
Room service? She hadn’t ordered food . . . Colin?
“Just a moment.” Her alarm was replaced with excitement. Had he spoken with Jewel?
Jo went to her pigeon, speaking softly as she retrieved his cage from the floor and tucked him back inside the washstand cabinet behind an ornate screen. “You’ll have to continue your lunch in here, mon ami. I won’t be long, I promise.”
Quickly her eyes swept the room for any telltale evidence of the bird, but she found none. Jo had been so anxious for Colin’s return, she’d straightened up her things, putting away all of her clothes and shoes, even making the bed.
She opened the door and was surprised to see Colin still wearing the waiter’s uniform. He’d brought along a cart with a covered dish.
“Hurry and let me in.”
Jo stepped back as he pushed the cart into the middle of the room. Once she’d closed the door, she noted his strained look. Had something happened? “Did you see her?”
He nodded. “We spoke to one another.”
Anticipation fluttered through her. “Come, sit down.” She indicated the chair next to her desk while she sat on the edge of the bed. “Is she my sister?”
“I feel certain of it, though I saw only a glimpse of her face behind the veil before Kepler charged in.”
“Kepler! Oh my goodness. What happened? Did he recognize you?”
Colin shook his head, and Jo noted his heightened color. “I think my cover is still safe. Needless to say, I got out of there quickly. Before his unexpected return, Jewel and I did have a chance to talk . . . about her aunt and my coming back to keep my promise.” He nodded toward her hand. “She also wears the same silver bird ring, though on a chain about her neck.”
“It must truly be her!” Jo’s hopes soared. “Did you tell her about me?”
He offered a tired smile. “She is eager to meet you.”
“Is she?” Nervous energy vaulted Jo to her feet. “Did she say anything about our papa?”
“Kepler still hasn’t taken her to see your father.”
Jo’s elation plummeted as she threw her hands up in the air. “What is he waiting for?”
Colin shook his head. “I asked Jewel the same question, and it seemed to upset her.” He met Jo’s gaze, and his look turned thoughtful. “Do you remember Kepler’s exact words to her before they left Havrincourt? Did the Boche say anything to her about how long it would take, or if your father was being held somewhere?”
Jo tapped a finger to her chin. “I think Kepler simply told her he had located Papa and would take her to him.” She went to the desk and retrieved her sister’s journal. “Actually, I’ve been rereading that part of the diary. Let’s take a look to be certain we haven’t missed anything. I confess I’ve read Jewel’s words so many times now, I should know her story by heart.”
Standing near Colin, Jo was still looking at him when she opened the diary to the ribbon bookmark. When she looked down at the page, she frowned. “Now, that’s odd.”
“What?”
“The bookmark. I was reading the passage near the end, as the battle was coming toward Jewel’s village. But the ribbon marks a place months before, right after her aunt’s death.”
“Are you certain you didn’t just put the bookmark in the wrong place?”
“Of course I’m certain.”
He rose from the chair, concern etching his features. “When did you last read the diary?”
“Yesterday afternoon.” She glanced back at the book. “Before I dressed for dinner.”
“So someone could have trespassed while we were at Le Bibent.” He quickly scanned the room. “Have you noticed anything else amiss?”
Jo’s heart pounded as she too surveyed the room’s contents. Had an intruder broken in?
Her gaze faltered at the ornate screen. Since arriving at the hotel, she’d kept Little Corporal hidden in the washstand cabinet whenever she wasn’t in the room. Did someone discover her pigeon?
She swallowed and turned to him. “No . . . nothing.”
He grimaced. “It could have been Petit. We were at dinner a couple of hours before we left to meet him at the Red Cross canteen. Although he seems to prefer to drug his victim first and then keep the goods he’s stolen overnight.”
Jo heard the scorn in his voice. “But when I returned last night, the diary was exactly where I’d left it.” She pointed to his chair. “There, where you’ve been sitting.”
His frown deepened. “I’m still not ruling out the American. There are other spies at the hotel as well, so either way we remain on our guard.”
“Yes, of course.” Jo tried to shake her unease as she quickly searched the diary and found the passage Colin had asked about. “It says here, ‘Captain Kepler knows where Father is and has promised to take me to him once we leave here. He says it could be dangerous, but I do not care. I am counting the days until I see my dear papa once more.’”
At the last line, Jo’s throat constricted with emotion. How many years had she yearned for the same thing as her sister?
She looked to Colin. “I . . . imagine Papa in some prison camp. What if he is being held somewhere, and Kepler cannot get my sister there safely?”
“That could be the reason.” He was frowning. “But I think there is more going on.”
Jo closed the diary. “What do you mean?”
He sighed. “Please, Johanna, take a seat.”
For the first time, she noted his haggard expression. She sat on the bed. “Tell me.”
Colin returned to the chair across from her. “As I said, Jewel wants to meet you.”
“I am excited to meet her as well!” Jo sat forward. “Did she say when?”
“I suspect she will need to find a time when Kepler goes out again.”
Jo studied him, concern gnawing at her. “Is Jewel afraid of him? Is he keeping her a prisoner?”
“She worried over Kepler’s return, but I’m not entirely certain what to make of it.”
Jo waited for him to continue as he leaned forward in the chair, resting his arms on his knees. “When I arrived at the room, Jewel was shocked to see me, then very surprised to learn about you. Yet she seemed pleased that I had kept my promise.” He looked up. “Living alone all those months in occupied France after her aunt died . . . it was very difficult for her.”
“My poor sister.” Jewel had written about the hardships in her diary, but knowing she’d voiced them to Colin made Jo ache for her even more. “What . . . what else did she say?”
“Jewel released me from my vow.” He lifted a sober gaze to her. “She told me to forget about her.”
“What?” Jo’s pulse raced despite a nagging sense of guilt. “Did she say why?”
“She claims to be in love with Kepler.”
Hearing his words, Jo flinched with the full force of her shame. She had dragged Colin all the way from Britain, only for him to learn what she’d already suspected. “I’m sorry.”
She meant it.
“I don’t know if I believe her.”
The desolate pain in her heart returned, but Jo thrust it away. “You think she still loves you?”
His bark of laughter sounded bitter as he glanced at his gloved hand. “I think maybe she had second thoughts about the man she once wanted to marry.”
“Nonsense!” Again Jo launched to her feet, this time full of righteous anger. “I cannot believe any woman who truly loves you would change her feelings because of an insignificant issue.”
She waved a dismissive hand toward his prosthetic while outrage, guilt, and yearning made a tangle of her emotions. “Listen to me, Colin Mabry. Napoleon said, ‘All men are equal before
God: wisdom, talents, and virtue are the only difference between them.’ Which means you are more of a man than . . . than Kepler, André, Henri Lacourt, and Petit put together! You’re a war hero! And even if you weren’t, it does not change the person you are inside.”
———
Johanna’s words were a balm to his injured pride, and Colin couldn’t help smiling. “Your friend Miss Moreau said I was to be Jewel’s champion. It seems I have one in you.”
Her cheeks flushed a rosy hue, bringing out the blue in her eyes. “I’m just saying, you have value and . . .”
“What was that?” Colin turned at a soft rustling noise coming from behind the washstand screen. A moment later, it sounded again. He rose from his chair. “Did you hear it?”
“Hear what?”
His eyes narrowed. Johanna wore the same look he’d come to know only too well. “I am certain I heard a noise coming from over there.” He pointed to the screen. “It sounded like—”
A soft cooing floated into the room, and his eyes widened. “Is that . . . a bird?”
She averted her eyes and nodded. “Little Corporal.”
Falling back onto the chair, Colin gaped at her. “How . . . when . . . do you mean to say . . . ?” He stared at the cloth kit bag on the desk, then back at the screen. “Titan’s teeth! You’ve smuggled a carrier pigeon all the way from Paris!” He blinked. “How is that even possible?”
Her chin went up as she faced him. “It wasn’t so difficult. I told you how pigeons are stuffed inside tiny baskets with parachutes. They can survive well for some time in a small space. Little Corporal’s cage fits perfectly into the bottom of my kit bag.”
Again he glanced at the cloth bag. “But on the train . . . how did you keep the bird quiet?”
“Darkness is a natural sedative for pigeons. So as long as I left the bag open to the fresh air, he was fine.” Her brow creased. “Though with such a long trip, I did worry he might create a fuss, but being in the noisy coach section and then the compartments full of people, any sound my little bird might have made would not be heard.” She smiled. “I also packed a vial of chamomile tea. It calms him.”
He shook his head in wonder. “And here at the hotel?” Colin remembered the Do Not Disturb card on Johanna’s door whenever she was out. “No wonder you dislike the maid entering your room to clean.”
A new thought struck, and his pulse sped. “Anything unusual with the pigeon when you returned to your room last night?” If Petit or some other spy had discovered the bird . . .
“Little Corporal was fine. Whoever was in my room didn’t notice he was here.”
“You had better be right.” He rose to his feet, anger battling his relief. Did she not realize the danger she’d put them in traveling with the bird? “Because if Petit does find out, he’ll have us both arrested as spies.”
Her face grew pale as she stiffened. “André—Sergeant Moreau—was concerned for our safety, especially around Kepler. I decided to take Little Corporal along in case we met with trouble and needed to send for help.”
He glared at her. “We will need help if the Americans find out we’ve got a trained carrier pigeon in our possession!” Taking a deep breath, he struggled for calm. “You have to free the bird, Johanna. Let him return to Vernon.”
“No.”
Her blue eyes challenged him, and he moved closer until he stood over her. “You will, Johanna. The bird puts us at risk.”
She searched his face, and her features softened. “Please, Colin, not yet. No one except you knows Little Corporal is here, and we may have need of him. Our quest is not over.”
Johanna’s words and pleading expression doused the fire of his anger. He realized he hadn’t yet told her about his conversation with Petit. “I’m afraid it might be over. Now that Kepler has seen me up close, I must remain in disguise so as to keep my cover. At least until after Petit speaks with his agency. I came here to inform you.”
“But . . . we cannot give up! I need to see Jewel and learn more about Papa.”
Colin’s chest tightened at her crestfallen expression, and he took a step back. “I am sorry. I know how badly you wanted to meet her and find your father. I did ask Petit to allow me another chance to speak with Jewel, but it’s up to G-2 now. I doubt they will risk the mission by granting me more time with her.”
“‘The truest wisdom is a resolute determination.’” Once again her chin bobbed up.
A smile touched his lips. “Napoleon?”
She nodded before crossing her arms. “Are you certain the woman with Kepler is my sister?”
“Yes.”
“And is Jewel still worth fighting for?”
“Of course.” Not only for the sake of his honor, but God had brought him here for a purpose, a future with the woman to whom he owed so much. If she still wanted him.
“Then you must try again, Colin. Regardless of what the Americans think.” Johanna wore a determined look. “Petit told us Kepler likes to sight-see, so when he goes out tomorrow, you can march right back in there and speak with my sister. Find out her true feelings for you, and tell her she must press Kepler for our father’s whereabouts. If he refuses to tell her, we will rescue her and have Henri Lacourt and the French Secret Service arrest him and make him talk.”
Colin couldn’t help grinning. Johanna Reyer was the most outrageous woman he’d ever met. She carried pigeons in her purse, wore men’s clothes, and revered Britain’s old nemesis, Bonaparte. Now she planned to tell the American Secret Service how to run their operation.
In their brief time together, he’d developed quite a fondness for her. They were friends as well as partners in their quest. And Johanna seemed to think him competent to do anything. “I’ll look for another chance to see Jewel tomorrow.”
“Thank you. And Little Corporal?”
He was tempted to repeat his order to set the pigeon free, but her beseeching expression made him hesitate. So far, Johanna had done a good job in concealing the bird, and if he did get another opportunity with Jewel, it was certain Kepler would act rashly if he found them out.
Colin realized almost a year had passed since he was in any kind of danger. From that time on, he’d done all in his power to make his life safe and predictable. Yet since the first moments of his meeting Johanna Reyer, his world had become a series of surprises and risks.
Had he merely come to France to fulfill his promise to Jewel? Or was he here for another reason as well?
He gazed at Johanna, her eyes lit with hope. She believed him fearless. Perhaps he had been safe for too long.
“Keep the bird hidden.”
CHAPTER
15
Colin stood at the washstand mirror the next morning, refreshed after a rare peaceful night’s sleep. Dressed in the same white shirt and dark trousers he’d worn for his meeting with Jewel yesterday, he hoped today’s attempt to see her would not be in vain.
He and Johanna had spoken last night, and she’d agreed to go down to breakfast early and keep watch for Kepler’s departure. If he left the hotel, she would telephone Colin with a single ring, as Petit had done.
Taking a moment to straighten the bow tie, Colin jerked his head toward the sudden frantic pounding at his door.
“Colin, let me in!”
Johanna? He crossed the room and opened the door.
She wore her gray traveling dress, looking agitated as she moved past him. He closed the door. “Is something wrong?”
She spun around. “Yes, my sister is gone!”
“What happened?”
“Kepler is taking her to Spain.”
The words sent a shock wave through him. “How do you know this?”
Johanna twisted her gloved hands together. “I was on my way to breakfast, as we’d arranged, when Petit stopped me before I entered the restaurant. He said Monsieur Outis checked out of the hotel two hours ago and took my sister with him. Petit spoke with the hotel driver who took them to the train station and overheard
Monsieur Outis tell the porter to take their bags to the Barcelona platform.”
Colin curled his lip. “I wonder if Petit concocted the story just to get rid of us.” He still didn’t trust the American, especially now that they suspected someone had broken into Johanna’s room.
“The thought crossed my mind as well.” She nodded. “So I spoke with the driver myself. He corroborates Petit’s claim. Kepler and Jewel seem destined for Barcelona.”
Colin’s mind reeled. Had Kepler found him out and decided to flee? But why Barcelona? “Did Petit give a reason why they might be going to Spain?”
“No.” She straightened, seemingly forcing her hands to her sides. “I’m going to my room to pack, and I will be back in a few minutes. If we hurry, we can catch the noon train!”
And then she was gone, leaving Colin in the middle of the room, still dumbfounded by the news. Had the Boche spy taken Jewel against her will . . . or were they both on the run?
He gazed at his white jacket and dark slacks. With Jewel gone, he no longer needed to pretend.
Colin began removing the clothes as he walked to the armoire to fetch his uniform. Perhaps he should take the waiter’s disguise with him. It might come in handy.
Fifteen minutes later, clad in his khaki britches and boots, Colin struggled to work the buttons on his shirt when another tap sounded at the door. “Are you ready?”
He growled. It seemed she could be on time when it suited her. “I’m still getting dressed. Give me a few more minutes.”
“I thought you were dressed.”
He ignored her question while he continued fumbling with the buttons.
“Let me in, please.”
For some reason, his shirt buttons weren’t cooperating. He blew air through his nostrils and stared at the door, then glanced at the shirt cuff dangling beyond the stump of his left arm. The harness and sleeve, along with his wooden hand, still lay on the chair.
“Colin, the next train leaves in thirty minutes. We must hurry.”
Titan’s teeth! His jaw muscle flexed as he marched to the door and flung it open. “As you can see, I am not ready.”
