He stroked Verity’s skin. “Not always. But I am confident I’m right this time.”
Henrietta watched touched by their intimacy.
“Are you all right, my love?” he asked.
“I am not!”
“Shall I kiss you and make it better?”
She pushed at him, but he kissed her anyway. First her wrist, then her chin and then her lips. Verity didn’t push him away again.
They were on their way! The tightness in Henrietta’s chest eased she laughed at this scuffle between two people who were obviously mad about each other.
“It’s a very long way to Le Havre. I suggest you all get some rest.” Her father left to relieve Christian at the helm.
“I thought I heard shouting and gunfire,” Verity said in a dazed voice.
“Your uncle called the Guard. They were fighting the brigands.”
Verity’s eyes widened, and she put a hand to her mouth. “He betrayed you?”
“I’m afraid so.”
Moonlight brightened to cabin. Henrietta leaned forward. “You’ll have a bruise on your chin.”
Verity gingerly touched it. “Your father should have left me.”
“Do you really want to stay here? You would be blamed for our escape, and you know what that would mean.”
“Uncle François might give you up, but he wouldn’t betray me.”
“You believe that? You doubted him too,” Henrietta said.
She folded her arms and said nothing.
“Those red caps of liberty and sashes were not in the trunk we brought from England,” Henrietta said.
“I took them from the Gaite theatre.”
“So, if you’d trusted François you would have told him about them. You didn’t. And you let us leave without his knowledge.”
Verity frowned. “It was what your father wanted.” She sat up looking pleased. “I couldn’t find breeches, but from a distance, the caps and sashes work well.”
Christian bowed his head and entered the cabin. “Anthony and I searched François’ library after he went to bed. I’m sorry to tell you this, Verity, because it will hurt you. But you need to know the truth.”
“I doubt there’s much that can hurt me now. What is it?”
“We prized open a locked drawer and found some interesting correspondence. One letter from theComité de Surveillancepraised François for alerting them to your father’s activities. It was he who had your father thrown in prison.”
Verity moaned. She leaped to her feet and ran out to Anthony. He placed an arm around her, a hand on the tiller. “Why would my uncle do such a thing?” She stared out at the dark river. “He was always jealous of my papa,” she said after a moment. “But to hate him so much! I must go back. He should not get away with this!”
“Well, you cannot. You’ll have to live with it, sweetheart,” Anthony said. “It’s too dangerous for you now. It has been since your father was imprisoned. Isn’t that true?”
“Oui.”
“François wanted to gain a level of power in the new regime, I suspect,” Christian said. “There was a new letter from the National Convention, instructing him to keep us there until the guard came to arrest us.”
“That came yesterday.” Verity gasped. “He is wicked.”
