He might as well have told her she should stop talking and be thankful for her mount. Though he’d said it in a nicer way.
Still, she couldn’t miss the way he’d sidestepped her question. As much as she hated to believe it, the only possible reason was that the man was intentionally taking her to a place she didn’t wish to go.
Damien hated lying. And it was getting harder and harder to carry on this falsehood, especially as Charlotte asked more questions. He’d never actually said anything untrue—he formed his answers to her questions with facts, though his responses certainly alluded to something that wasn’t at all true. Did she suspect he was leading her the wrong direction?
Perhaps he should simply come out and tell her what he was doing. Tell her again how unsafe it was for a lone woman to enter Fort Versailles. Tell her he was taking her back to her village where she would be safe. Maybe then he could ask why she’d set out by herself to begin with.
By now, perhaps she’d seen enough of the journey’s treachery to believe what he said about the fort. And hopefully she’d also experienced enough to know better than to leave him and Gulliver to set out on her own again.
Or would her stubborn streak get the better of her good sense?
He needed to take the chance. Tonight, in camp, he would bring up the matter. He couldn’t deceive her any longer. Not with the way she was coming to be more and more important to him.
Though he shouldn’t crave her good opinion, he did.
This was her chance.
Charlotte’s hands trembled from much more than the cold as she dug through the food pack where she’d also placed the herbs to season food and the tin of salve for injuries.
There.
She pulled out the tiny container of potion Audrey mixed for Brielle’s arrows, a blend of herbs she’d developed as something of a sleeping tonic for the game Brielle shot. After being wounded with an arrow dipped in the mixture, the animal would fall asleep, which helped Brielle retrieve the body without having to track very far.
Charlotte was usually the one to apply it to Brielle’s arrow tips, and she’d reached for the metal container so many times, her fingers had naturally thrown it into the satchel with the other medicines in those early morning hours when she packed. It seemed like something she might have use for at some point on this journey.
Never had she suspected how she was about to use it now.
But she had to. Not only was Damien lying to her about where he was taking her, but she’d also seen him doing something in her pack when they first made camp. She must have returned with water sooner than he expected, for he’d moved away from the satchel quickly and begun untying the tether around a bundle of his furs. She couldn’t find anything missing or new that hadn’t been there, so what had he been after? She’d thought she could trust him, but now ... he’d proven untrustworthy.
She had to get away from him and finally reach the fort.
She uncapped the container but paused before pouring any into the stew boiling over the fire. Though she’d already taken out a helping for her own dinner, she couldn’t risk somehow drinking the potion by pouring it into the entire pot of remaining soup. If Damien thought she’d not eaten enough, he might try to make her take more from the pot.She’d have to pour the mixture directly onto his fare once she dished it out.
She fumbled the plate as she scooped meat and broth. The crunch of footsteps in snow sounded somewhere behind her, making her tremble even more as she tried to work fast. Damien had gone to gather firewood and was probably still searching through the trees around them.
But he could step into the firelight at any moment.
Removing the lid from the tin again, she shook a little of the sleeping tonic onto the largest piece of meat on Damien’s plate. Had she used enough? Too much?
When Audrey had developed the mixture, she’d been careful to use only herbs that were edible in case the blend touched part of the meat from Brielle’s catch. Twice, a human had been struck with an arrow dipped in the tonic—Brielle’s and Audrey’s husbands, actually. Both men had fallen asleep within minutes of being struck, and both had awakened without permanent harm.
But no one had ever been fed the tonic directly. Would it work differently going through the stomach? Would the effect be stronger or weaker?
Some of the mixture might be diluted before it reached his bloodstream, so perhaps she’d better add a bit more to his food. She couldn’t risk him sleeping lightly or awakening too soon after she left.
He would go after her, she was almost certain. If only she knew why he was deceiving her, taking her to a place opposite from where she wanted to go.
After dowsing the meat a final time, she replaced the lid on the container and slipped it back in the pack with the other seasonings. A glance at the sky showed full darkness wouldbe on them soon. The clouds smothered the stars, but the sliver of moon already revealed itself.
Now was the time she needed snow to fall, but none appeared imminent. How could she cover her tracks so Damien couldn’t come after her when he awoke?
Before she could ponder that line of thought, his footsteps sounded close behind. She turned and worked for a smile. At least her hands weren’t shaking now.
He dropped his load of firewood to the ground, then began positioning the pieces around the blaze so the heat could dry them. He moved with an easy grace she could watch for hours. He must have felt her stare, for he glanced up and met her gaze. The way his mouth tipped at one corner and his eyes softened made something in her belly flip. How could any woman not be affected by his handsome features? And those eyes...
To distract herself, she lifted his plate. “Are you hungry?” She had to remember he was not as he seemed. She’d been wary at first, as she should have been. But the more she’d come to know him ... He’d really seemed like a gentleman. Someone she could trust.
But his actions today showed that he wasn’t.
