The wait for Merrick lasted forever, but finally he returned and settled back down beside her.
“Well?” she asked anxiously.
“The boy is delivering the message. Now we wait for Kirk to arrive.”
They didn’t have to wait long. A few minutes later, a soft whistle sounded to their right. Merrick pursed his lips and returned the call. Then he stood up.
Kirk hurried forward out of the darkness. “Merrick?”
“Here,” Merrick said.
“God, it’s good to see you. I worried when I hadn’t heard from you.”
Isabella watched the two men, the easy rapport between them, likely born of the many years they had spent in service together. Genuine concern radiated from Kirk, and for the first time, she relaxed her guard around him.
“Princess,” he said with a nod in her direction. “I trust you are well.”
“Very well thanks to Merrick.”
“We’ve much to discuss, Kirk. And not much time.”
Kirk immediately sobered and focused all his attention on Merrick.
“Did you speak with the Duke of Ardmore? Have you heard any rumors of a Leaudorian alliance with France?”
Kirk reacted in surprise and ignored the first question. “None at all. Is this what you think is occurring?”
Merrick quickly outlined all the captain had related to them about the mindset in Leaudor. Then he paused a moment before recounting her capture the day before. When he came to the possible reference to Bonaparte’s escape, blatant disbelief shone on Kirk’s face.
“It sounds too unbelievable,” he said with a shake of his head. “And yet, if it is true, everything that has happened in Leaudor makes sense.”
“That is my thought as well,” Merrick replied.
“So if Montagne is a Bonaparte sympathizer and knows of a possible escape, his efforts to overthrow the monarchy of Leaudor could be an attempt to place Leaudor in Bonaparte’s hands.”
“I told Merrick that a few months before my parents’ deaths, a contingent of Bonapartists came to Leaudor to speak with my father. If they were unable to sway him, they may well have found a sympathetic ear in Jacques,” she spoke up.
“I think you may have hit upon something,” Kirk murmured. “The coincidences are just too staggering to mean nothing. God, if it’s true and Bonaparte is planning an escape, the guards on Elba must be notified at once.”
“I had hoped to get word to you so you could handle things on this end while I transport Isabella to Leaudor,” Merrick said.
Kirk arched an eyebrow. “You’re going to Leaudor with the princess?”
“Yes,” he said in a voice that brooked no argument. “I’ve promised to see her safely home and find out all I can about how this mess affectsbothour countries. There are those in Leaudor trying to implicate England in the assassinations. Too much rides on our alliance with France. We cannot allow anyone to upend it.”
“Yes, of course, you should,” Kirk said after a moment. “Perhaps you can find out if there is any validity to the claim that Leaudor is allying with France.”
“I trust you will inform the duke of my plans.”
“Do you think that wise?” she and Kirk spoke up at the same time.
Merrick turned to her. “I would not do anything I thought would bring you harm, Isabella.”
“I know you wouldn’t,” she said, outstretching her hand to his. “But our pursuers have had the uncanny knack of finding us wherever we go. Surely you cannot discount the coincidences as they pile up.”
It pained her to question him, but his unwillingness to consider that his government could be in league with Jacques concerned her a great deal.
Ignoring her protests, he turned back to Kirk. “Ride straight to his grace and tell him of my suspicions. Castlereigh will need to be informed and word sent to Wellington in Vienna. Extra guards should be posted on Elba to ensure Bonaparte is secure.”
