“Nay, love. If Velvet wants to get in touch with us, she will send toDun BrocorQueen’s Malvern.We must be here.”
They departed the next day: the Earl and Countess of Alcester and their six children; Joan Southwood O’Flaherty and her five children; the Earl and Countess of Lynmouth and their brood of five; Lord and Lady Blackthorn and their three. Skye’s oldest child and his family were on their estates in Ireland. It was unwise for the Irish gentry to leave their lands, for many returned to find they no longer possessed those lands. As for Padraic, Lord Burke ofClearfields Manor, he was at sea with his elder half brother, Captain Murrough O’Flaherty, for Skye had thought it was time that Niall Burke’s only son have some experiences other than the quiet life he led on his small estate in Devon. And Velvet. Where was Velvet this Christmas season? Before Skye could dwell too deeply on this great worry, however, Daisy hurried into the hall where Skye sat before the fire enjoying the renewed quiet.
“A message for Lord Gordon, m’lady. Do you know where he be?”
“Here, Daisy,” said Alex from the depths of the settle on the other side of the fireplace. “Who brought it?”
“I don’t know, my lord. One of the stableboys brought it to the kitchen door. He said a stranger gave him a penny to deliver it to the house.”
Skye sat up in her chair. “A stranger?”
“A man on horseback with a funny accent, the boy said, but you know that to these local lads any speech other than Worcester bred sounds foreign.” Daisy handed the message to Alex.
“What does it say?” Skye demanded eagerly as Alex broke the thick wax seal and opened the heavy parchment to scan it quickly.
“I’m nae sure I understand it, Skye, for ’tis but one sentence.”
“What does it say?”Skye had now risen from her seat.
“It says,” Alex read slowly,“ ‘The treasure that you seek is at Belle Fleurs,’but I dinna know what it means.”
To his surprise Skye cried out, “Thank God! Thank God! Our prayers have been answered! Velvet is atBelle Fleurs, Alex! Velvet is safe in France at our chateau!Belle Fleursis our home in the Loire. Velvet is the treasure! Who has signed the message?”
“There is no signature,” he answered her, stunned. “Ye’re sure that is what the message means?”
“Yes! Yes! It can mean nothing else, my dear Alex! Do you recognize the seal on the parchment?”
Turning the letter over, he looked down at the red wax, which was imprinted only with an N. “Nay,” he said, handing it to her.
Skye looked down at the seal, but it was not familiar to her either. Clutching the message in her hand, she said, “We are going to France, Alex! I must find Adam! We are going to France!”
They sailed from Dover four days later bound for the port of Calais. Neither Skye nor Adam chose to chance an early January storm in the winter seas by sailing all the way to Nantes. They took with them their own coach with all its elegant comforts, but the horses would be waiting for them after their short passage in Calais and at various posting places along their route from the coast into the Loire. They skirted Paris, for the civil war yet raged within the city.
“It will not be long,” Skye promised. “Just a few more days, Alex!”
Adam squeezed his wife’s hand tightly. “We will be there by Twelfth Night with luck, and providing it doesn’t snow!”
Alex said nothing. His heart was beating too quickly. Why had Velvet fled to France instead of returning home toDun Brocwhen she had escaped Ian’s clutches? Now he began to worry. Did she still love him, or had her weeks in captivity made her think twice about raising a child in such a wild land as Scotland? Knowing of his mother-in-law’s ferocity with regard to her children’s welfare, he expected Velvet to be no less fierce. Had she not threatened Alanna with bodily harm for being a bad mother to his bastard? Had she not said she would raise Sibby herself rather than allow Alanna to have the bairn back? That, however, was before she had fled. What had frightened her? The best Twelfth Night gift, he thought to himself, would be his reunion with his wife.
On Twelfth Night Velvet planned a small celebration for her little household. She even had gifts for them all, having raided the storeroom of the chateau. For old Mignon she had found a silver broach, which she had personally polished, removing years of black tarnish to reveal an engraving of raised flowers, each with a tiny ruby in its center. For Guillaume she had cut silver buckles off a pair of her father’s old boots and polished them knowing that he would enjoy them greatly. For young Matthieu there was a puppy, for to everyone’s surprise the old bitch in the kennels had given birth to a litter of two in mid-November. The boy had coveted a puppy, but dogs of breeding were usually reserved for the nobility. Since, however, the puppy’s paternity was dubious, Velvet could see no harm in giving one to the lad. For Pansy, however, the best gift was saved. Velvet had been wearing a small pearl ring when they had been kidnapped. This she planned to present to her faithful tiring woman.
Mignon had prepared a little feast. There was a larded duck, a rabbit pie, and a small pink ham placed upon the sideboard along with a bowl of tiny white onions, a platter of mussels with Dijon mustard, artichokes that had been braised in white wine, a fat loaf of fresh bread, a crock of salted butter, and a hard yellow cheese. Velvet had insisted that Mignon and Guillaume eat with her on this occasion, and Mignon had accepted for her family with one provision. Matthieu would serve them, for his manners were not delicate enough to be seen at her ladyship’s table.
The little hall had been trimmed with greenery, the fires burned merrily, and they were sitting down to their meal when the sound of a horse was heard outside. Old Guillaume hobbled to the door, opening it to admit the king.
“Ah,chèrie, you are ready to eat, and I am starving!” He kissed her heartily on both cheeks, holding her away from him to gaze at her. “Ah.” He smiled warmly. “The little one is now showing! You are well?”
“Yes, monseigneur, I am very well.” She looked helplessly at her servants, but the king quickly ascertained the cause of her distress.
“Sit,mes amis!”he commanded them. “Your mistress planned to share this meal with you, and now with your permission I will join you also. Madame Mignon! You have prepared another veritable feast. Your pretty mistress thinks I have come to see her, but you will note that I have arrived at the dinner hour! Who do you think I really came to see, eh?” He laughed uproariously.
Within minutes he had them all at their ease, though young Matthieu was goggle-eyed at serving the king. To his grandparents’ nods of approval he did himself proud, so much so that Guillaume later promised to speak to the Comte de Cher about a place as a footman for the boy.
“What are you doing here?” asked Velvet as they ate.
“I came to wish Queen Louise a happy New Year,” said the king. I am atChenonceauxbut one night. I also wanted you to know that my investigations of your difficulties reveal that if you had any cause for fear, it is now gone. I do not believe that your captor ever reached the chancellor, Maitland. I have sent word to both your home in Scotland and your parents’ home in England on the chance that your husband is there, that you were to be found atBelle Fleurs.My agents have not yet said if the messages were delivered, but then they have not said that they were not. I suspect you will hear from your husband long before I hear from my messengers,chèrie!”
Velvet could feel the relief wash over her. “I can go home!” she said, and the smile on her face was the loveliest thing he had ever seen.
