"Over there." Gabrielle pointed to a tomb where afully armed stone knight stretched out in perpetuity, hands piously crossed over his breast. A mound of blankets and a lantern with asmall jar of oil stood at the base of the tomb. There was a flagon of water and several slabs of chocolate. A slop pail stood on the floor. Apart from that, there was nothing but the graves of the dead.
"A trifle cheerless," Gabrielle observed in what she hoped was a tone to match Nathaniel's. "Let's see if this will make a difference." She filled the lantern with oil and lit the wick.
Jake promptly howled and buried his face in his father's shoulder as the grotesque shapes of armored knights and mitred stone bishops danced on the vaulted ceiling.
Nathaniel gentled him, stroking his back as he sat on the tomb, settling the child in his lap. Jake pushed his thumb into his mouth and rocked himself in his father's arms, suddenly overcome with emotional and physical exhaustion.
NathanielregardedGabrielle,hiseyes unreadable intheflickeringgloom."Howdidyoufind outabout theraid?"
"AfterIsentyouthemessagetelling youthat FoucheknewyouwereinParis-"
"Whatmessage?"Theinterrogatorycrackled inthe dankchill."Igotonlyone,theday before yesterday, anditsaidnothingaboutFouche.”
"ButIsentyouamessageviatheflower seller this morning…well,yesterdaymorningnow."
"Ineverreceivedit."
"Whatcouldhavehappenedto it?"
Nathanielgazedbleaklyoverthechild's head. "It's abitlatetoworryaboutthatnow.How did he know I washere?"
"Oneofhismenspottedyou,apparently. I assume therearepeoplewhowouldrecognizeyou."
"It'sneverhappenedbefore,"Nathaniel said flatly. IfGabriellehadbetrayedhimtoFouche, why would shethenriskhernecktosavehim?Belated remorse? ThatseemedtooindecisiveforGabrielle. No, probably he'dbeenrecognizedatoneofthecheckpoints on the journeyfromCherbourg.Itwasalways a risk.
"Well,ithappenedthistime,"Gabrielle declared, tensionandfatigueputtingastingin her voice. "And thentonightIwasatasoireeatMadame de Stael's and Fouchewasboastingaboutsomecoup he was going to pulloff.Ididn'tknowifhemeanthe’dfound you, but IthoughtI'dbetterwarnyoujustin case. And then I ranintohismen…."Shespreadher hands, palm up
"Isupposeyoufollowedthemessenger yesterday?"
Shenodded.
NathanielstrokedJake'shead thoughtfully. Gabriellehadriskedherlifetosave him. It had been a mostdecisivechoice.Hewrapped a blanket securely aroundtheshiveringchild.A permanent choice or simplyanemotionalresponse?
"You'd better go back before you're missed," he said. "Jake and I will stay here for today, and move on this evening."
Gabrielle stood looking at him in the gloom as he sat holding the child on the tomb. It was a dreadful place to spend the long hours of the day. The tensions of the night were apparent now in the taut lines of his face, shadowed with the blue tinge of his nighttime beard, and his eyes were sunken with fatigue.
"I'll come back later, then." She went to the door.
"Gabrielle." His voice was soft.
"Yes." She turned back.
"I owe you my life. Mine and Jake's." His face was in shadow, but she could sense his stillness, the deadly seriousness of his statement.
"What else did you expect me to do when my spymaster was in danger?" She tried to invest the question with a lightness, as if it were partly a joke, but it didn't come out right. She sounded ungracious, impatient almost.
"I don't know what I expected," he responded quietly.
"Oh, well, I'm full of surprises." She tried a smile. "I'd better go. I'll come back this evening."
Without waiting for a response, she slipped through the door into the now-clear light of dawn and left Nathaniel and his son in the lantern shadows of the crypt.
Gabrielle de Beaucaire was certainly full of surprises, Nathaniel reflected. She'd made a choice that day that made no sense for the ruthless, skilled, and experienced opponent he knew her to be.
Where did that leave his plans?
Impossible to decide at this point. Jake stirred and whimpered in his arms, and Nathaniel stroked his head, murmuring soft words of reassurance until the child was still again.
Nathaniel shifted on the tomb until his back was against the oozing wall of the crypt. He closed his eyes. Helen's face came to him in the dank, frigid air of this grim tomb… her face as it had been on her deathbed. White, bloodless, the lines of suffering smoothed by the hand of death. His hold tightened involuntarily around her child.
Chapter 20
It was eight o'clock that night when Nathaniel emerged from the crypt, holding Jake's hand, the portmanteau slung over his shoulder. He locked the door, replaced the key in the wall niche for the next person in dire need of sanctuary, and climbed the steps.
Jake was silent, clinging to his father's hand. He was frightened, but his relief at leaving their hiding place far surpassed his fear. He was sucking a piece of chocolate, holding it in his cheek, the warm sweetness melting over his tongue. It reminded him of safe and comforting things like his bed in the nursery, and Neddy, and the way Primmy smelled when she kissed him, a faded, sweetish smell like the dried flowers in the still room.
A tall, cloaked figure separated itself from the shadows at the top of the steps.
Nathaniel froze even as recognition hit him. Jake jumped and spoke her name before he remembered he wasn't to speak.
"Shh," Gabrielle said, putting a finger on her lips, smiling at him in the darkness.
"What the hell do you mean, jumping out on me like that?" Nathaniel demanded in an outraged whisper. "I expected you in the crypt at dusk."
"It took me a while to arrange everything," she whispered, seemingly unperturbed by his anger. "I have a laissez passer for you." Her crooked smile gleamed white in the gloom. "With it, you can go anywhere in the city… stay at an inn, travel wherever you wish."
She reached into the pocket of her cloak and pulled out the precious document. "See. It's in the name of Gilbert Delors, a servant in the household of Monsieur le Prince de Talleyrand, who's instructed to journey to his master's estates in Perigord and is to be allowed to pass without let or hindrance."
"How on earth did you get hold of this?" He stared at the paper.