“Where is she?”
“All will be revealed, but first I want to ask if you would have married her now you know she is worthy of your title?”
“She was worthy before.” Gabe looked around him. She was here; he could feel her.
“How romantic of you. Alas, you shall never experience wedded bliss. How are your brothers? Are they nearby?”
Gabe didn’t move a muscle at the mention of his siblings.
“You did not honestly believe I would let you walk in here and not have protection against them, did you? I am Ombrage,” he boasted. “A master strategist like me, unprepared?”
“A hired murderer, do you mean? A man who has no honor or morals.”
“I honor my country! I honor France!”
“But not those born within its borders, it would seem.”
Where the hell is she?
“I have never spilled the blood of a Frenchman!”
“That’s a lie, and we both know it because you killed Diard and would spill the blood of a Frenchwoman?” he said with a calm he was far from feeling.
He saw the moment Ombrage understood what he meant. Dimity was born in France. Gabe’s eyes shot over his shoulder, and it was then he saw her.
“Dimity!” He moved a foot.
“Another step, and I kill you like I did Diard.”
She was tied to a strut inside the huge water wheel. If it began to rotate, she’d drown. She made muffled sounds, telling Gabe she was gagged.
“Let her go. It’s me you want.”
“No, what I want is to make you suffer for the pain you caused me. I nearly died and was delirious with fever for days from that bullet wound.”
“Imagine how bad that makes me feel,” Gabe said, keeping his eyes on Dimity. “My only regret is that you didn’t suffer more and ultimately die.”
How could he get to her and not get shot in the process? His heart nearly stopped when he heard the creak of the wheel.
“What do you want?”
“Your death.”
“And kidnapping the king?”
“Oui. His men will not save him; my plans are already in place.”
“We know about your plans.”
“Not all of them, surely.” Ombrage laughed. “Alexius cannot stop me this time.”
“We always stop you, because we have the superior minds.”
If he could keep him talking, his brothers would arrive and save Dimity.
“What possible reason could you have to kidnap our monarch?”
“Money and power, of course. There is also the small matter of plunging England into uncertainty. I have people who will benefit from that.” Ombrage’s smile grew.
