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

"Is that so very hard to guess?" Danielle responded, her eyes narrowingseductively. "I had not thought you obtuse, husband." She shruggednonchalently and walked to the door.

Justin lunged for her, swinging her round to examine her upturned face."You have given me little reason to be otherwise just recently, MadamWife."

"No," she agreed simply.

"I'll not allow it to happen again, Danielle," he promised softly."I'll have the truth from you from now

on ... Is it understood?"

Danielle dropped her eyes lest he read the lie in them. It was a lie ofhis own making after all. She slipped her arms around him. "Take me tobed, love."

Chapter 14

"I am unconvinced by Desmoulin's words, Linton." William Pitt, Earl ofChatham, paced the Turkey carpet in his study, a deep frown creasinghis brow. "It is too simple to say that it is finished."

"The king is in the Louvre, the National Assembly at the Tuileries, thechannels of circulation are being cleared, the market is crammed withsacks of grain, the Treasury is filling up, the cdrnmills are turning,the traitors are in full flight, the priests are underfoot, thearistocrats are at their last gasp, the patriots

have triumphed."

"Bravo, Justin." Pitt applauded. "You have a formidable memory."

"It is Danielle who has the memory." Justin laughed. "I have heard herquote Desmoulins with such

scorn on so many occasions that the wordsare engraved on my mind."

"She does not believe it either, then?"

"No, and she hears much from those in flight who are in a position toknow," Linton replied soberly. "There are frequent lootings andlynchings of the so-called enemies of the people. Since Orleans left

Paris for London, the Palais Royale has been turned over to thepopulace. Orlean's gracious palace is

now a place of gambling houses,cafes, taverns, and prostitutes and the police are constantly busythere. But it is also the center of popular political life in the city.How can anything sensible come out of. discussions conducted in suchwild and uncontrolled surroundings?"

"There are too many factions," Pitt said. "The Jacobins and theCordeliers are perhaps the strongest, but new ones appear every day andeach has a newspaper to inflame and incite an excitable audience." Hewalked the floor in ponderous silence and Justin waited in a shaft ofearly May sun pouring through the open window. His prime minister wastaking his time to reach the point, but Justin was under no illusionthat he had been summoned simply for a chat about the politicalsituation pertaining in Paris in the summer of 1790.

"I need some firsthand information, Justin. Will you take a glass ofclaret?"

"Thank you. And you wish me to furnish it?"

"Yes, I have not asked you before . . ." Pitt smiled slightly. "Ithought it only reasonable to allow you

time to settle the business ofmarriage."

"That was indeed generous of you." Linton sipped his claret. "I do notknow, in all truth, how I would have answered you had you made yourrequest earlier."

"I had surmised as much, which is why I chose to put neither of us insuch an awkward situation, my friend. However, this need not be anextended trip—two, maybe three weeks at most." Pitt scratched

at agravy stain on his cravat. "You would not, I suppose, consider takingDanny with you?"

"No, I would not." It was a flat, soft-spoken negative.

"I was afraid not." Pitt sighed. "It is just that the information shegleans from the emigres here and her own deductions are immenselyvaluable. And her past experiences have equipped her . . ."

"I do not wish Danielle to roam the streets of Paris again in a pair oftattered britches. She has done enough of that. While I countenance heractivities in London, I do so only with the greatest reluctance. Butshe is not to be in France at this time. God knows what effect it wouldhave upon her."

William Pitt was well accustomed to weighing the opposition, andaccomplished at concession when it was clear no other course wasavailable, so he merely bowed and asked Linton how soon he would beable to leave, since it was rumored that the royal family would move toSt. Cloud in June and not return to Paris until October.

Justin pondered the question. He and Danielle were planning to leavefor Mervanwey at the beginning of June. Should he suggest she go nowwith her grandparents while he made the journey? Such an arrangementwould certainly set his mind at rest, but Danielle would be bound torebel. There was still something about her that puzzled him, but hecould not put his finger on it—an expression he caught when she didn'tknow he was looking at her, an occasional brittle quality to her joy intheir renewed loving. But then she carried the burdens of many thesedays and he could only relieve her of a few. He would not add to themby taking her to Paris, but the sooner he got her away from London thehappier

he would be. However, there would be bloody enough battle withhis wife, anyway. She would feel less left out if she could continueher work in London than if she were packed off to the wilds ofCornwall. He would just have to hope she got into no trouble in hisabsence.

"Within three days," he informed the prime minister, "you wish me toobserve the working of the

National Assembly, to hear the voices in theclubs, and, perhaps, to penetrate the Tuileries and mingle with thecourt?"

"If you can accomplish that much without aid, Justin, I shall be morethan satisfied," Pitt responded.

"I expect not so much, but whateveryou can tell me . . ."

"I am, as always, at your service, sir." Linton made an elegant leg."If you will excuse me now, I shall make my preparations."

Chatham's lips twitched. He could well imagine the most arduous part ofthose preparations, having enjoyed an increasingly