Petals in the Storm fa-2

by Mary Jo Putney

  It promised to be a most interesting few weeks.

  * * *

  The Englishman had been blindfolded for his trip through the Paris streets, and he suspected that the carriage had driven in circles to confuse him. His jaw clenched whenever he thought about the upcoming meeting. The man who had summoned him was known only as Le Serpent. Like the snake he was named for, he was regarded with fear and loathing by those few people who knew of his existence. The Englishman knew it was dangerous to make Le Serpent's acquaintance, but without risk there would be no reward.

  The shabby hackney rumbled to a halt. How long had they been circling-fifteen minutes? Thirty? Time was hard to judge when one was helpless.

  A whiff of fresher air entered the malodorous hackney when the door opened. The silent escort grasped the Englishman's upper arm and jerked him out of the carriage and across a narrow strip of pavement, indifferent to the fact that his blindfolded charge stumbled and nearly fell.

  They entered a building, descended a closed stairway, then walked along a narrow, echoing passage. After a very long walk and a climb up more stairs, the escort stopped. There was the sound of a turning knob, then the Englishman was thrust into a room. He raised one hand to remove the blindfold, but stopped at the sound of a sibilant voice that was clearly disguised.

  "I would not advise you to do that, mon Anglais. If you saw my face, I should have to kill you. That would be a great waste, for I have better uses for you."

  The Englishman dropped his hand, demoralized by being blind and alone. It was impossible even to guess the nationality of his dangerous employer; considering what a political stew Paris was, the bloody man could be anything.

  Trying to sound confident, the Englishman said, "Don't waste my time with threats, Le Serpent. You must like the information I give you, or you would not be paying me for it. And you must want more, or you wouldn't have asked to meet me in person for the first time."

  There was a throaty chuckle. "The tidbits you gave me in the past were useful, but they were trivial compared to what I need from you now. Over the next few weeks, I want complete information on the movements of Lord Castlereagh and the Duke Of Wellington, plus daily reports on what the delegation is doing."

  "I'm not in a position to know all of that."

  "Then find someone who is, mon Anglais."

  The menace in the silky tone was unmistakable. Not for the first time, the Englishman wished he had never gotten involved in this. But it was too late for regret: Le Serpent knew far too much about him. Wanting to put the best face on this, he said, "It will cost extra to learn more. Most of the staff won't talk at all, and those who do are expensive."

  "You will be reimbursed for expenses, as long as they are legitimate. I will not pay for your whores and gambling."

  Sweat formed under the blindfold as the Englishman wondered if Le Serpent knew about the money skimmed from the sum provided to pay lesser informants. It had been unwise to appropriate some for his own use, but if he hadn't paid that particular gambling debt, he might have lost his position with the delegation. Tersely he said, "You need have no fears on that score."

  "How comforting," Le Serpent said with unmistakable irony. "Send your reports the usual way. Remember, I want daily information, for matters are becoming critical. You will be informed when I need to see you igain. Now go."

  As the escort came and led him from the room, the Englishman speculated about what was brewing. If he knew what Le Serpent had in mind, the information could be very valuable.

  The danger lay in the fact that he wouldn't know where to sell it unless he discovered who the snake was. But when was profit without danger?

  Chapter 5

  After Inge had dressed her for the reception, Maggie dismissed the maid and studied her reflection with clinical detachment. She wore a striking coral pink gown that guaranteed that she would be noticed. Gold chains wound around her neck, and her shining hair was twisted into an elaborate knot high on her head.

  Thinking that she looked too formal, she loosened a single ringlet. It drifted delicately across the bare skin of one shoulder in a subtle invitation for a man to wonder what it would be like for his lips to trace the same path.

  She gave a nod of satisfaction; she had found the perfect balance between lady and trollop.

  It wasn't yet eight o'clock, which gave her time to think about Rafe. It was important to understand her feelings before they began their charade, because she found that her emotions fluctuated wildly when she was near him. She kept swinging from exasperation to anger to amusement, and that was dangerous. The project they were undertaking was too important to be endangered by personal issues.

  She must not make the mistake of allowing any more kisses. Above all, she must not challenge him, or he would feel compelled to prove his virility. It would be safer to tease a tiger.

  Granted, Rafe had acted very badly when he ended their engagement, but she had not been without blame in the affair. He had made amends for that particular sin when he had taken the bodies back to England. It was an odd, generous gesture to make on behalf of a woman he had once claimed to despise. But whatever his motives had been, he had balanced the scales between them.

  She would try to pretend they had met just two days before. She would accept him as an attractive, enigmatic man who shared her goal of uncovering a dangerous plot: no more, no less. A pity he was so handsome, because that complicated matters. He was used to getting what he wanted, and he obviously wanted her. Partly, she supposed, it was simply because she was there, and partly because he had not had her all those years ago.

  Men were like fishermen; they never forgot the one that got away.

  Over the years, she had become very familiar with Rafe's type. A complete lack of response would intrigue him since he was accustomed to women falling into his arms. Therefore, her best approach would be friendliness, tempered with a wistful regret that business prevented her from getting on closer terms with him. That should flatter him enough to salve his ego.

  Her reflection looked back at her, cool, glamorous, and self-possessed. That image was her armor in the covert wars she had fought, and it was very effective. Though the features were identical, it was not the face of Margot Ashton, daughter of Colonel Gerald Ashton and fiancee to Rafael Whitbourne.

  Maggie felt a wave of sadness. Where had she gone, that impetuous girl who had been so disastrously honest, and who had been so unable to control her temper when it mattered most? Gone to where all youth and innocence went.

  Luckily Inge chose that moment to announce that the duke had arrived. Maggie lifted her chin and turned away from her mirror. After living so long among the French, she was developing their deplorable habit of morose philosophizing. Thank God she had been born an Englishwoman, with all the pragmatism of her race.

  Looking ridiculously handsome, the duke wore his impeccably tailored black evening clothes with the same graceful unconcern that he would have bestowed on his oldest riding garments. If he was impressed by Maggie's flamboyant appearance, it showed only in the faint lift of a dark brow. As he offered his arm, he murmured, "Is this the same urchin who scrambled out of my bedroom window last night?"

  Maggie relaxed as she took his arm. As long as Rafe behaved, it shouldn't be hard to stay on amiable terms with him. "You have urchins in your bedroom, your grace? Of which sex?"

  As they stepped out through the door, a hint of a smile played around his mouth. "It was hard to say. Alas, I didn't have the opportunity to investigate more carefully."

  His carriage was resplendent in gleaming black and burgundy, the four black horses perfectly matched and the Candover crest lacquered on each door. Rafe handed Maggie in, then settled on the seat opposite as the carriage set off.

  As they began clattering through the streets, she said, "You had best call me Magda. I suppose you could use Maggie, since you are English, but never call me Margot. It might raise questions, which could be dangerous."

  "It will be har
d not to call you Margot, but I'll do my best." He smiled a little. "Strange-when you were English, you had a French name. Now that you are claiming to be Hungarian, you think of yourself as a good British Maggie."

  "If only that were the least of my oddities," she replied with an exaggerated sigh.

  "Dare I ask what the others are?"

  "Not if you value your longevity, your grace," she retorted.

  He was unsure what had caused her change of attitude, but it was a relief to find Maggie in this relaxed, teasing mood rather than bristling defensively. "You really must call me Rafe, my dear, since we are supposed to be on terms of intimacy."

  "Never fear. I will be so convincing that even you will have trouble remembering that this is a charade." Changing languages, she said, "We should speak French now."

  Rafe listened with interest. "Is that French with a Magyar accent that you are speaking?"

  "Of course! Am I not a Hungarian countess?" She continued with a different accent. "Of course it's a pity to waste my pure Parisian"-she changed again-"but as long as I don't speak with an English accent, I will not disgrace myself."

  It was startling to hear her switch between three different modes of speech. Rafe could tell that the Parisian and English-accented versions were flawless, and was willing to take the Magyar one on faith. "How the devil do you do that?"

  "It's a knack I was born with, like musical pitch," she explained. "I can duplicate any accent after hearing it spoken. Once I start using it, I will continue in the same mode until I consciously choose to use another. Here I will restrict myself to Magyar-accented French, since that is how people know me."

  "It's quite a gift," he said admiringly, "and it explains why a Prussian, an Italian, and a Frenchman all swore to Lord Strathmore that you were one of their nationals."

  "Really?" She laughed. "That shows the drawback of having an ear for languages. It's not good to have too many identities-there's always the risk of meeting someone from an earlier incarnation."

  They halted in the line of carriages waiting to discharge passengers in front of the magnificent, torch-lit British embassy. Soon they were among the crowd in the receiving line. The Duke of Wellington had bought the building a year earlier from the Princess Borghese, Napoleon's notorious sister Pauline.

  As they progressed down the line, Maggie stood on her toes and whispered seductively into Rafe's ear, "A sculpture of the Princess Borghese was done by the great Canova. When one of her friends asked how she could bear to pose in the nude, she smiled innocently and said that it was no problem at all, because there was a fire in the studio."

  Determined to play the game as well as Maggie, Rafe slid his arm under her shawl and caressed the smooth skin of her arm as he murmured, "Were all the stories about the princess true?"

  She gave a shiver that he thought was not just acting, then chuckled richly and fluttered her eyelashes. "Very true. They say she conquered as many men as her brother, but her methods were much more… shall we say, intimate?"

  As Maggie continued her scandalous commentary, he admired her sparkling eyes and full, kissable lips. Any onlookers would see them as a perfect tableau of intoxicated new lovers. It was easy to be convincing since he had been simmering ever since that maddening, delicious kiss the day before.

  He guided her forward with a hand at the back of her slim waist. After exchanging greetings with Wellington, the Castlereaghs, and other dignitaries, they joined the chattering crowd in the main reception hall. Maggie stayed close, one hand tucked in Rafe's elbow as they made their way around the room.

  He knew most of the British aristocrats present, and she seemed to know everyone else, for there were numerous salutations and kisses for the dearest countess. The better part of an hour was spent in meeting people and sipping champagne.

  Rafe noticed how men examined him with curiosity or envy, trying to determine how he had won such an enchanting creature. It was equally amusing to see how women studied him, and then gave Maggie the same kind of glance.

  How did Maggie contrive to look so exotic and un-English? Certainly she had those bold Eastern cheekbones, and she used her hands with Continental verve, but it was more than that.

  When she pressed against him in the crush, he caught a haunting whiff of the scent she wore. It explained part of her aura; not for her the delicate floral fragrances of England. Instead, she wore a complex, spicy blend that hinted of silk roads and Persian gardens. Scent was a primitive but powerful form of identification, and to be around her was to think of the mysteries of the Orient.

  Maggie was as convincing as she had promised; she almost had Rafe himself believing that they were engaged in a torrid affair. The coral silk dress caressed her magnificent figure so lovingly that he desired to do the same. When her smoky, laughing eyes met his, or when she snuggled against him, he was tempted to whisper that it was time they sought a place of greater privacy. He would have suggested that to any other woman who made his blood race as she did; more than once he had to remind himself that this was only a charade.

  When he looked away in an attempt to cool his rampaging male urges, he saw that there was a method to the way Maggie was steering him across the room. Though she stopped to introduce Rafe frequently, they drew ever closer to a tall man in the uniform of a Prussian colonel.

  The colonel stood unmoving in a circle of silence, his back against the wall. His blond hair was so fair that it appeared almost white in the candlelight. He would have been handsome if his face hadn't held chilly distaste for the people around him. Occasionally he nodded to someone, but he made no attempt to join in the frivolity.

  Rafe said quietly, "That's von Fehrenbach?"

  "Yes." When she turned her face up to reply, their lips almost met, and she flinched away from him.

  Ignoring that brief, telltale withdrawal, he asked, "Do you know him?"

  "Not really. I was introduced to him once, but he avoids most social gatherings. He wouldn't be here tonight if this affair wasn't in honor of Marshal Blucher."

  When they were close enough, Maggie gushed, "Colonel von Fehrenbach! What a pleasure to see you again." Extending her hand, she said, "I am Countess Janos. We met at the last Russian review of troops, you'll recall."

  The colonel didn't look as if he remembered, but he bowed politely over her hand. As he straightened and got a better look at the plunging coral neckline of her gown, his expression thawed a little. Rafe was glad to see that the man was human.

  When Maggie introduced her companion, the colonel gave a slight, stiff bow. Rafe felt chilled when he looked into von Fehrenbach's pale blue eyes. The colonel looked as if he had gone into hell, and not come all the way back.

  Maggie glanced across the room at Prince Blucher. "What a privilege it must be to serve the field marshal. We shall not see another like him."

  Von Fehrenbach nodded gravely. "Indeed. He is the bravest and most honorable of men."

  Artlessly she continued, "Such a pity that people do not fully appreciate the part he played at Waterloo. For all of Wellington's brilliance, who knows what might have happened if Marshal Bliicher hadn't arrived when he did?"

  Rafe wondered if Maggie might be overdoing her enthusiasm, but von Fehrenbach was regarding her with definite approval.

  "You're very perceptive, Countess. Wellington had never faced the emperor before, and it is not impossible that Napoleon might have turned defeat into victory."

  Rafe felt a prickle of chauvinistic irritation. Wellington had never been defeated in his entire career, and the battle of Waterloo had already been won by the time Bliicher had arrived at seven in the evening. However, he wisely kept his mouth shut.

  Still admiring, Maggie continued. "They say the marshal was told he would never reach Wellington in time, and that he should not even try."

  "That is true," the colonel confirmed with signs of animation. "But the marshal refused to listen to such talk. Though ill, he led the march, swearing that he had given his word to Wellington, and
nothing in heaven or hell would stop him."

  "Were you with him?"

  "I had that honor. The marshal was an inspiration, a true soldier and a man of complete integrity." Von Fehrenbach's eyes chilled. "Not like these wretched lying French."

  Maggie gestured vaguely. "Surely not all the French are devoid of honor."

  "No? With a king who fled his own capital and slunk back in the baggage train of the Allies? With turncoats like Talleyrand leading them?" The colonel's words began to spill out in an angry torrent. "France rose up behind the Corsican when he returned from Elba, and she deserves to be punished. Her lands should be divided and given to other nations, her people humiliated, her very name wiped from the map of Europe."

  Rafe was startled by von Fehrenbach's intensity. The colonel was clearly a dangerous man, quite capable of destroying any Frenchmen that crossed his path.

  Maggie said softly, "Have we not learned anything in two thousand years? Shall there be only vengeance, with no place for forgiveness?"

  "You are a woman," the colonel said with a dismissive shrug. "It is not to be expected that you would understand such things."

  Deciding that he had been silent long enough, Rafe interjected, "I do not suffer from the countess's failing in that regard, but I agree with her that vengeance may not be the best course. To humiliate a losing opponent is to make an implacable enemy. It's better to help him rise and keep his dignity."

  The cold blue eyes shifted from Maggie to Rafe. "You English and your obsession with sportsmanship and fair play," he said with contempt. "That is all very well with boxing and games, but we are talking about war. It was the French who taught my people what we know about savagery and destruction, and it is a lesson we have learned well. Would you be so fair-minded if your lands had been burned, your family murdered?"

  The other man's obvious anguish caused Rafe to back away from what he might have said. "I would like to think that I would try, but I don't know if I would be successful."