“Your beautiful and intrepid lady is sleeping the sleep of the just and exhausted in your bedroom.”
Simon nodded and reached to grasp his cousin’s hand in both of his. “I am so very glad to have you back, Lucas!”
“And I’m glad to be back.” Lucas added his other hand to the fervent four-hand clasp. “Thank you for accepting me in all my sins, Simon.”
“Of course.” Simon gave a ghost of a smile. “Family is family.” His smile vanished. “I’m going off to join Wellington. If I don’t come back, know that our friendship has been one of the best things in my life.”
Lucas muttered a very unspiritual word under his breath, then rose to his feet and gave Simon a powerful hug. “Go with God, my almost brother.”
Simon hugged Lucas back, telling himself he mustn’t break down. Then he pivoted and headed up the stairs to find his wife.
As Lucas had said, Suzanne lay collapsed on their bed, fully clothed but resting peacefully with Leo on the far side of her pillow, his little whiskers twitching. Simon stripped off his coat and lay behind her, drawing her against him. His brave and gracious lady, too precious for words.
Eyes not opening, Suzanne whispered, “How soon until you must leave?”
“Within the hour,” he said quietly. “I have just enough time to find my old uniform and say farewell to you.”
Wordlessly she rolled over and wept silently as they clung to each other. But she didn’t ask him not to go.
Chapter 40
Asingle kiss led to swift lovemaking, neither of them speaking since words would hurt too much. After, as they lay together in a tangle of limbs and clothing, Suzanne asked quietly, “What is the military situation, and what part will you play in it?”
“Napoleon simultaneously attacked the Prussians at Ligny and the Allied forces at Quatre Bras,” Simon said succinctly as he rose from their bed and began to change his clothing. “The Prussians were defeated and Marshal Blücher is withdrawing to the north in good order. The Quatre Bras battle was more of a draw, but it prevented the French from taking control of the crossroads there.”
“And those roads are critical to moving armies.” Suzanne frowned. “With the Prussians retreating north, will Wellington have to do the same to maintain contact between the two armies?”
“You’re getting very clever at military tactics!” Simon said approvingly as he dug into his clothespress to find his folded uniform. “Exactly. It’s likely that there will be another larger, more decisive battle in the next day or two and it will be fairly close to Brussels.” He found his scarlet uniform coat and shook it out. Like him, it was showing signs of wear. “I thought I’d not wear this again.”
Suzanne swung from the bed and began to change into her nightclothes. “Why did you bring it here? Intuition?”
“I suppose that’s why.” He began to put on the uniform. “The emperor’s exile to Elba seemed inconclusive. Not like peace had really arrived. And I thought if the wars returned . . .” With a sigh, he shrugged into his coat. “Soldiers are needed.”
“Once a soldier, always a soldier,” she said, her voice not quite steady.
“And once a spy, always a spy.” He sighed as he buttoned his coat. “I’m sorry, milady. I wanted to give you a peaceful, pampered life. Not this.” His gesture encompassed the military chaos of the city.
“We may get there yet.” She unpinned her hair and let it fall in a hypnotic cascade. Her gaze on him, Suzanne began brushing out the shining length so that it could be braided for the night. “What does Wellington need you for?”
“To command a Dutch-Belgian regiment. Their Sixth Infantry fought at Quatre Bras and the commander and many of the officers were killed or wounded. Since I speak good French and adequate Dutch, the duke thought I was the best available replacement.”
She frowned. “Have you much battlefield experience? I thought you spent most of your time as an exploring officer.”
“Most of the time. Not always.” He gave her a reassuring smile as he dusted off his tall shako hat. It had two bullet holes in it, a fact he would not point out to Suzanne. “I’ve had enough battlefield experience to manage this command. All I have to do is order the regiment to form a square, then amble around inside the square looking confident and saying ‘Hold, lads!’ in two languages.”
She managed a twisted smile. “Don’t forget the part about ducking!”
“I won’t,ma chérie.” He embraced Suzanne one last time, never wanting to let her go. How many soldiers and their loved ones were embracing this same way, weeping inside at the circumstances that were tearing them apart? Too many.
Throat tight, he gave her one last kiss, full of tenderness, not fire. She was trembling in his arms. When he pulled away, she kissed her fingertips and touched them to his lips as she regarded him with her great, grave, green eyes. So lovely. So very, very dear . . .
On the verge of breaking, he turned and left the room.
Always in my heart . . .
* * *
He buried thoughts of Suzanne when he stepped out into the corridor and found Jackson waiting in his infantry uniform. Patches of brighter fabric on the left arm marked the crippling wounds he’d suffered. “What the devil are you doing?”
