She spoke again, her words muffled by his chest. He tried to pull her away, but she clung to him. He reached down and smoothed the hair from her face, stroking it gently behind her ear.
An unidentifiable sensation snaked through his chest. A feeling, that if he examined closely, he’d realize he liked. He allowed the strands of her hair to slip from his fingers then made a fist so he wouldn’t be tempted to continue touching her.
She moved her mouth away from his shirt so he could once again hear. “Jacques laughed. The bastard laughed as my parents died. He then held up a bloody hand—” She broke off again and clenched his shirt in her fists. “My brother’s hand.”
“Stephane?” Simon murmured.
She nodded against his chest. “Jacques had presented the hand to my father in an effort to sway him to his cause. When my father refused, he summoned Davide and I, then killed them in front of us. His plan was then to use me to bend Davide to his will.”
“What did he want?” Simon asked.
“My guess is the map,” she said softly. “Without the map, even with my entire family gone, he could not assume leadership.”
“But what of the minister of foreign affairs?”
She shivered against him. “I do not know, though I suspect Jacques got rid of him before my parents.”
“What happened after…after he killed your parents?” he prompted gently, wondering how much harder he should push her.
She went still in his arms again, and he felt her draw in a deep breath.
“I remember screaming and screaming. Davide was in shock. The next thing I remember is Jacques slapping me and telling me to be silent. He looked at me and smiled. I’ll never forget that smile. He said he had plans for me.
“Then, he ordered one of the men who had killed my parents to take Davide and me and lock us in the small holding cell in the east wing of the castle.
“His mistake was only sending one,” she said in disgust. “His arrogance was such that he never imagined needing more than one armed escort.”
“So that is how you escaped,” Simon mused.
She nodded. “I waited until we were well away from Jacques. I caught Davide’s eye and prayed he would catch on to what I was trying to convey to him. Then I pretended to fall.
“When the guard reached down to yank me back up, Davide and I attacked him. Davide was injured in the fray, and so when we overcame the guard, I sent him to safety. I knew I had to retrieve the map.”
“You are an incredible woman. I cannot credit how you managed to survive.”
“I had to live,” she said firmly. “Jacques and everyone who supported him must pay for their treachery.”
“So you retrieved the map. Then what?”
“I met Davide outside the castle grounds. As children we had spent hours navigating the many passageways, so it was easy to get out. From there we fled to the harbor. There were two ships leaving. One for England. One for America. I begged Davide to take the map and go to England. Seek the regent’s aid. But he wouldn’t hear of it. He opted to stay behind and make it appear as though we had taken the ship to America. I stowed away on the ship leaving for Dover. Davide would remain in Leaudor long enough to be able to board a ship to England undetected. I would wait for him, and together we would go to the regent. But as you know that never happened.”
She pulled away, her eyes sad and…tired.
“The entire plan was stupid,” she said dully. “But then we hadn’t the time to think it through properly. We should have both boarded the ship and left for England, taking our chances on British soil. His remaining behind served no purpose but to facilitate his death.”
“You mustn’t blame yourself,” he said, placing his hands on her shoulders. He quickly pulled them away and let them fall to his side. “It is amazing that you managed to escape at all.”
Folding her arms over her chest, she moved closer to the fire and gazed aimlessly into the dying embers. When she turned back to him, her eyes burned as brightly as the coals.
“There is something else you should know.”
He waited expectantly.
“A month before my parents were killed, my father was visited by a small contingent of Bonaparte’s supporters. I do not know the purpose of their visit, but Father was very agitated and Mother seemed upset. I barely saw either of them until the men left the palace.”
Simon’s mind reeled as he absorbed the new information. Could the visit have had anything to do with the upheaval that followed? A sense of foreboding tightened his chest. He didn’t like the coincidence at all. And if his nagging feeling was correct, the regent had been justified in his concern over the implications the assassinations had on England.
Now more than ever, he needed to get to the bottom of this whole matter. But he couldn’t be in two places at once. Kirk would have to investigate from England while he took Isabella back to Leaudor. If they were to thwart whatever scheme had been concocted to install a new Leaudorian ruler, Isabella would have to ascend the throne.
