Jane Feather - Charade by Unknown (howl and other poems .TXT) 📕

good his promise.

"How could you

not

haverealized?" he rasped, for the moment unappeasedby the apology. "You disappear without a word in the middle of thishell on earth! It matters not that you are at home in this city, moreso than the rest of us, you may

not

take unilateral action. Is thatclear?"

"Yes . . .yes, please. It is quite clear," she stuttered. "I am sorry,I will not do such a thing again."

Justin drew a deep breath as the anger flowed from him and relief athaving her safe again took its place. "You had better not," he saidquietly. For some extraordinary reason he had a great desire to kissher,

and the thought of the absurd image of a scruffy

sans-culottes

kissing a disreputable urchin in the middle of a crowded marketplace inthis revolution-torn city of terror brought a shout of laughter to hislips.

"Now what is amusing?" Danielle demanded, relief that the storm hadpassed mingling with annoyance

at this bewildering volte-face thatmerely added to her disadvantage.

"I am not going to tell you," Justin declared. "And you may countyourself fortunate that you have escaped further reprisals."

"Is it safe to come back?" Philip's voice, deliberately plaintive,sounded at Justin's back.

"For the moment," Justin said, releasing his wife. "Until the next timemy brat decides to do something outrageous."

"You do not quite understand, I think, milord." Danielle spoke with anassumption of dignity. "I could

not bear to face the spectacle in

LaPlace

again. I ran without thought at first, and then decidedthat Ishould do something useful. I have some information about Citoyen St.Estephe."

"I understand your explanation," Justin told her, "and while I respectit, it changes nothing of what I have said." He pinched her cheek,looking steadily into the brown eyes until satisfied that his point hadbeen well taken. "Now, I think we should go in search of our supper. Itwill be less than adequate, I daresay, since we can hardly appear tohave more than a few sous to spend."

"If you will follow me," Danny offered, "I will show you where we mayeat quite well for a few sous. Unless, of course, you would prefer,milord, that we follow you?" Her eyebrows lifted fractionally. Julesturned away, hiding his snort of laughter under a spasm of coughing.Had she no sense of self-preservation? The thinner the ice, it seemed,the faster she skated.

Justin wished as he had so often done that he were alone with her, butsince he was not he chose to ignore the challenge. "Let us go then."

Danny was as good as her word. In a small dark room full of bibulouscustomers they ate a rich vegetable soup, sausage, ripe cheese, andcrusty bread, washed down with a rough wine that convinced Justin, atleast, that his liver would never be the same again.

"No one seems at all interested in what I have discovered," Dannystated, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand—a gesture thatcaused Justin to wince reminiscently, even as he recognized itsauthenticity in the part she was playing. "I have also a plan—a goodone, I think. It is perhaps not foolproof, but then what plan is?"

"We cannot talk here," Tony remonstrated.

"There is nowhere better," she said with a tranquil smile. "No one isinterested in listening to our conversation." She gestured around thenoisy room. "Why would they be? We are quite unremarkable."

"I think, as far as you are concerned, infant, that that is probablythe wrong adjective," Justin murmured. "But enlighten us, pray."

She shot him a look so out of keeping with her disguise, a lookradiating sensual promise, that his body rose, stirred in inconvenientresponse.

"Depeche-toi!"

heinsisted.

"Very well." She told them in a few words what she had discovered,prudently leaving out her near miss with St. Estephe. "I think it willbe possible to conceal ourselves in his apartment. Citoyenne Gerardtook a kindness to me, and I think I may be able to draw her away fromher post tomorrow. There will be an interesting spectacle in thestreets nearby . . . a lynching or some such." She shrugged carelessly."So long as it issufficiently violent it matters not what we invent. I will offer totake her place while she goes to view the excitement. She is lazy andbored and will accept such an opportunity with enthusiasm. St.Estephe's apartment is directly above hers— that is how she hears soclearly the strange noises ..." A

look of pain scudded across her face.It was not hard to imagine those sounds as St. Estephe played withwhatever little

putain

hadbeen unlucky enough to take his fancy."Anyway," she went on, "it will not be difficult to identify theapartment. We overpower whatever servants he may have and await hisreturn."

"And how do we gain entrance to the apartment in order to overpower theservants?" Jules inquired, taking another swig of wine with a grimace.

"Oh, but I thought I would leave some part of the planning to you."Danny smiled sweetly as she nibbled a crust of bread. '"It shouldbe simple enough. There are few people around in the daytime and wewatch until St. Estephe departs for the Parliament House. There arefour other tenants and it would be best to wait for them to go abouttheir daily business, also. A servant or two should not present toomany problems." She licked a finger and absently picked up the crumbslittering the stained planking of the narrow table. Just in time,Linton smacked her hand in the process of carrying the crumb-ladenfinger to her mouth.

"You do not know what has been on this table," he snapped. "It is notnecessary to carry your part to quite such extremes."

"Oh, pah! You do not know what has been on the platters or in thetankards before they came to the table. It has not stopped you eatingand drinking," she retorted.

"I think it is time we sought our beds, such as they are,"