Dark Rider

by Iris Johansen

  “He’s not a villain.”

  “No? You wouldn’t have been able to convince my cousin and his wife as they knelt before the guillotine. The carriage was stopped not twenty miles from the château by agents of the Committee of Public Safety. The soldiers knew exactly who would be in the carriage. The Compte and his wife were taken prisoner and set out under guard for Paris. The soldiers would have killed their child on the spot, but my father intervened. They had other instructions for our disposition that did not include immediate slaughter, so he was allowed to take the child himself.”

  “Surely they wouldn’t have murdered a child.”

  “You think not? During those days it was not unusual to use aristocrats as canon fodder.”

  She shuddered with horror. She had been too young to really comprehend the tragedy going on around her. She had heard only stories recounted with grim relish by Clara, and they had seemed no more real than a bad dream. Now those tales were being brought vividly to life. “My father couldn’t have had anything to do with their capture.”

  “Judas,” he said flatly. “When my father and I were brought back to the château, Deville was in the courtyard talking to a man who was obviously in charge of the soldiers.”

  “Then he might have been a prisoner, too.”

  “He turned white when he saw me staring at him. He backed away, mounted his horse, and rode out of the courtyard. Free.” He added bitterly, “And probably considerably richer than when he had arrived two weeks before.”

  “There has to be some explanation,” she whispered.

  “I’m giving it to you. You just refuse to accept it.”

  She shook her head. “It can’t be. There has to be another answer. Who was the man he was talking to?”

  “Raoul Cambre.”

  “And he was a soldier?”

  “No, I found out later he was loosely attached to the Committee of Public Safety, which was charged with the persecution of the enemies of the state. Very loosely. He astutely kept out of the light of public attention, gathering riches from the estates of the aristocrats he sent to the guillotine, riding the crest of the wave until it turned. After Robespierre was beheaded and the terror ended, he simply disappeared.” He met her gaze. “Like your father.”

  “I keep telling you, he’s not at all like my father.” She was shaking, she realized. She crossed her arms to keep him from noticing. “If you want to kill someone, kill Cambre. He was clearly to blame.”

  “Were the Romans more to blame than Judas?”

  She drew a long breath before saying unevenly, “I’m sorry your cousins were killed, but I—”

  “Not only my cousins. My father was butchered.”

  “But you said the soldiers had orders not to hurt him,” she said, shocked.

  “My father was a very reckless man and had the temerity to speak to Cambre with less respect than he thought he deserved. Raoul Cambre gave the order that he be taken into the forest and cut to pieces. I watched them do it.”

  “Please.” She closed her eyes to shut out the image. “I don’t want to hear any more.”

  “I have no intention of giving you any bloody details. I think you’ve heard enough.”

  Too much. Danemount’s clear, cold words had rung with truth and shaken her more than a passionate utterance would ever have done.

  “Do you still think I’m lying?” he asked.

  She forced herself to open her eyes and face him again. “I think you believe you’re telling the truth.”

  “Christ.” He stared at her in exasperation. “Don’t you ever give up?”

  “Sometimes the truth isn’t clear,” she said desperately. “You have no evidence.”

  “I saw Charles Deville.”

  “And I trust him,” she whispered. “And even if I didn’t trust him, he’s my father. I couldn’t let you kill him. It had to be a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes. We have to forgive them.”

  “Not a mistake of this magnitude.” His lips tightened. “I don’t forgive mistakes until they’re paid for.”

  “Not even your own father’s mistakes?”

  He looked at her in surprise. “My father?”

  “You said you were only a boy. What right did he have to take you from safety to a country in which he knew you’d be in danger?”

  “I wanted to go.”

  “It was still a mistake. You could have been killed and it would have been his fault. He was a fool.”

  “We’re not talking about my father.”

  “I’m not talking at all.” She leaned back and tried to gather the tattered remnants of her composure about her. “It does no good. We cannot agree.”

  He was silent a moment and then said roughly. “You’re right. I knew you wouldn’t be dissuaded when I started. Why in Hades should I keep trying to save you, when you won’t save yourself? I assure you it’s not my nature. I always accept whatever fate offers me, and I’m already anticipating this particular delicacy.” He smiled cynically. “By all means, come with me. It’s been a long, frustrating search, and it’s only right that I take a reward for my labors.”

  Lani came out onto the veranda just after dawn, and Cassie breathed a sigh of relief. It was good to have an ally nearby. Danemount had not spoken again, but she could sense his anger and tension as he lay those few feet away.

  “Good morning,” Danemount greeted Lani coldly. “May I take it that you’re also actively involved in all this?”

  “As actively as Cassie would permit. She didn’t tell me about the laudanum.” Lani walked over to Bradford, tilted his head back, and peered into his face. “I expected him to be awake by now. It must be all that brandy.…”

  “I am awake,” Bradford murmured. “I’m just afraid to open my eyes. My head feels like a broken coconut.” He cautiously opened one bloodshot eye. “Ah, but the sight of you is worth any pain. You truly have the face of an angel.”

  “Your judgment has no value. You’ve clearly had no dealings with heaven or any of its beings.”

  Bradford flinched. “Cruel …” He frowned in puzzlement. “I seem to be restrained.” He tugged at the bonds. “Your doing?”

  “I believe we can lay the blame at Mademoiselle Deville’s door,” Jared said. “Along with the laudanum.”

  “Laudanum. No wonder I have such a throbbing head.”

  “I’m sure it’s little worse than you usually suffer in the morning.” Lani turned to Cassie. “It’s time to release them. Clara will be rising soon.”

  Cassie nodded eagerly. Thank goodness this nightmare was over. “It should be safe now.”

  “You’re wrong,” Danemount said softly. “You’ve never been less safe.”

  Avoiding his gaze, she reached below her chair and drew out the carving knife she had put there in readiness. She cut Bradford’s bonds.

  “Thank you,” he said politely. “Though I doubt if such extreme measures were necessary in my case. I’m not a warlike man.”

  “Too much effort?” Lani asked.

  He beamed at her. “Exactly. How pleasant to be understood.”

  Cassie braced herself before moving toward Danemount. He silently held out his wrists.

  She hesitated for an instant. He seemed no longer tense, almost relaxed, his lean body graceful, loose-limbed, but full of danger. She felt as if she were about to release a bound panther.

  He lifted his brows. “Well?”

  It had to be done. She slashed through the ropes, then tossed off his blanket and cut the cords binding his ankles. She hurriedly took a step back.

  “Don’t be afraid.” He smiled mockingly as he rose to his feet. “I’m a patient man. I can wait. Come on, Bradford. Let’s go back to the ship.”

  “Now?” he asked as he struggled off the couch. “I seem to be a little confused. Have I missed something?”

  “I’ll explain on our way back to the beach.” Jared paused at the top of the steps and looked back at Cassie. “It should take me at least a full day to ascer
tain if you’ve told me the truth. The guards will stay here until I do.” He grimaced. “Not that they’ve been overly successful in this enterprise so far. They might as well not have been here.”

  “You shouldn’t waste your time,” she said impatiently. “We could leave right away.”

  “If I decide you’re not trying to deceive me again, we’ll leave tonight. I’ll send a message to the guards to pack up your belongings and bring you to the beach at sunset.”

  Cassie heard Lani’s quick intake of breath but did not look away from Danemount. “You needn’t bother. I’ll be there.”

  “It’s no bother.” He smiled sardonically. “I appreciate your eagerness, but there’s a protocol regarding the treatment of hostages. I fear guards are de rigueur.”

  He went down the steps followed by Bradford. She and Lani watched them until they disappeared from view.

  “What is this?” Lani asked Cassie.

  “I have to go with them. There’s no one else to take me,” Cassie said. “It’s not what I want, but at least I’ll be on the same side of the world as Papa. I’ll have to find a way to escape from them once I reach France.”

  “There is always a way. We will find it.”

  Cassie didn’t look at her; she didn’t want Lani to know how relieved she was at that calm assumption of togetherness. She was suddenly feeling very uncertain and alone. “You don’t have to go with me,” she said haltingly. “I won’t ask it.”

  “Good. Then instead of chattering we can concentrate on packing our bags and dealing with Clara’s tantrums at our leaving. Charles left me with a little over a hundred pounds for emergencies. It’s not much but it will help.” Lani moved toward the door. “I’d judge we have another quarter hour before Clara wakes. Let us make the most of it.”

  Five

  “It’s not a wise move,” Bradford told Jared as the longboat drew close to the Josephine. “You should leave the girl here.”

  “I need a hostage.” Jared smiled mockingly. “As the lady pointed out to me.”

  “She’s not a lady; she’s little more than a child.”

  “She won’t remain that way long,” Jared said. “Life has a way of forcing us all to grow.”

  “Life or Jared Danemount?”

  Jared didn’t answer.

  “You intend to bed her.”

  “Do I?”

  “Was it the ropes? She didn’t know, Jared.”

  “It wasn’t only the ropes.”

  “I was afraid it was more.” He sighed. “I could see it coming.”

  “How perceptive of you.”

  “It’s not wise,” Bradford repeated. “You’ll regret it.”

  “Why should I?”

  “Because you’re a just man, and you’ll find it difficult to make the daughter pay for the sins of the father.”

  “I’ll steel myself. And may I remind you that she’s committed a number of sins against us on her own.”

  “Enough to provide you with an excuse to force her to your bed?”

  “I didn’t say I’d force her,” he said, stung. “I don’t force women to couple with me.”

  “Not as yet.” Bradford tilted his head as if in thought. “There may be other ways, of course. She will be completely in your power. Perhaps if you refuse to feed her, you could starve her into submission.”

  “I will not starve her,” Jared said between his teeth.

  “Or you could stake her out on the deck for the seamen to ravish. I’m sure your bed would appear very appealing in contrast to that experience.”

  “You know I’m not— Good God, I’ve never seen you this protective over a woman.”

  “She’s very brave. I like courage. It’s the one quality that is instinctive, undefiled by what we’re taught. It comes from the heart and not the mind.” He smiled. “But don’t worry about me. When I get drunk enough, I’ll forget all about gallantry and helpless innocents. I’m sure it’s only a temporary aberration anyway.” He looked back at the shore. “Maybe it’s this place. Golden and clean and without a sense of sin …”

  “And a king trying his best to find weapons to kill his nearest neighbors. Napoleon builds armies and so does Kamehameha.”

  “How do you intend to avoid the issue of guns after you dangled the carrot in front of the King?”

  “Sail away before he knows our intention. Which is why any questioning we do must be done with the utmost care.”

  “You don’t think she’s telling the truth?”

  “Actually, I do. I think she’d do anything to save Deville,” Jared said. “But she wouldn’t want to do it from thousands of miles away. She would want to make sure of his safety from close quarters.”

  “You appear to be very knowledgeable about a lady you’ve known only for a few days.”

  He did know her. He knew that bravery of which Bradford was so fond. He knew her impulsiveness, her stubbornness that was laced with bravado, and most of all, he knew that damnable loyalty. “Well enough. A good deal has happened in those few days.”

  “And you think she’s desperate enough to risk anything to help her father.”

  “Don’t you?”

  Bradford shrugged. “I prefer not to think at all. It’s much more comfortable in these circumstances. Make your own decisions … and your own choices.”

  “That’s my intention.”

  “But do remember to supply me with a bottle of brandy on the night you decide to ravish her. Screams are as disturbing to me as thinking.”

  “I’ll remember,” Jared said through his teeth. God in heaven, would Bradford never stop pricking him?

  Bradford beamed. “Excellent.”

  “You’re going to leave me here alone in this savage land?” Clara asked from behind Cassie.

  Cassie carefully folded her gray gown and placed it in the large portmanteau. Clara had been glowering and muttering since she had been told of their departure, and Cassie had been expecting the attack all day. She supposed she should be grateful Clara had held her tongue until it was almost time to leave. “The king will protect you. If you wish to return to England, petition him to find a ship that will take you.”

  “I suppose it’s what I should expect from you. Where is your gratitude for the hours I’ve spent serving you and your father?”

  “My father isn’t here. If you wish gratitude, wait until he returns.”

  “And you?”

  Cassie gave her a level glance. “You’ve never given me understanding or kindness. Sometimes I’ve felt as if you hate me. Should I feel gratitude for hatred?”

  “You need me. Take me with you.”

  “I’ve never needed you. I have to help my father. You would get in the way.” She closed the case and fastened the buckle. “It’s not going to be an easy time.”

  “It’s that heathen strumpet,” Clara spat. “You would take me except for her. Ever since she came here, she’s been twisting you into an image of her sinful self.”

  She must not lose her temper. Only a few more minutes and she would be gone. “I sincerely hope you’re right. I could have no better example than Lani. I’ll be fortunate if I’m half as good a woman.”

  “She’s a whore.”

  “Be quiet!” Cassie’s control broke, and she whirled on Clara with blazing eyes. “I don’t have to permit this any longer. You won’t malign Lani to me.”

  “No?” Clara’s smile was malevolent. “Then I’ll go to that whore of Babylon and tell her what I think of her. You think she’s such a good example? Wait until you get out into a world not populated by savages. They will scorn and laugh at you and see her for the harlot she is. I wish I could see it.” She headed for the door. “Yes, I think I’ll go to your precious Lani and let her feel the edge of my tongue. She will— What are you doing?” She clawed at Cassie’s arm encircling her neck from behind. “Let me go!”

  Tightening her grip, Cassie dragged Clara toward the open armoire. It was no easy task. Clara was surprisingly strong, and she w
as struggling fiercely.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Clara’s elbow whipped backward and struck Cassie in the stomach. She temporarily lost her breath but held on. Just a few more steps …

  She gathered all her strength and flung Clara into the armoire.

  “Cassandra!”

  Cassie slammed the door and turned the key.

  “Let me out of here!”

  “No more, Clara. It’s not going to be easy for Lani to leave her island and her people. I won’t have you making it worse for her.” Cassie brushed back a lock of hair and moved toward the bed. The seaman had loaded the other cases into the wagon; she would have to manage this one herself unless she wished Clara discovered before she left. It should prove no burden. She felt as strong and confident as Hercules. In one gesture she had broken the shackles of a lifetime of oppression and abuse.

  “I could die in here,” Clara cried out. “What if no one finds me?”

  “What a pleasant thought,” Cassie murmured. She was tempted to let Clara struggle with that frightening idea for a while but relented. “I’ll tell Uma to let you out after we leave.” Oh, what the devil. Why not make her just a little uncomfortable? “But you’re not always kind to Uma, are you? Just last night you insulted her, and you know how we savages can be. She may decide to leave you there for a while.”

  She smiled happily at Clara’s screech of outrage. The solid oak doors of the armoire were thick, and Clara’s scream couldn’t be heard for more than a few feet. If Cassie could get out of the room before Lani came looking for her, Clara might be imprisoned for hours. Unfortunately, Lani wouldn’t care if Clara deserved the punishment or not; she would probably release her.

  Cassie was dragging the portmanteau down the hall when Lani appeared. “That’s too heavy for you to handle alone. Why didn’t you call me?”

  “It’s not too bad. I thought I could do it myself.”

  “Is this the last one?”

  Cassie nodded. “Where is Uma?”

  She gestured. “Standing beside the wagon waiting to say good-bye. It’s almost time to go. Have you said your farewells to Clara?”