The thought comforted Alex. She hoped her friend was spared any problems at the hand of this traitor, but how mad she was at herself for not seeing this sooner. Her mind had been far too clouded to recognize that he was a threat.
She unsheathed her blade. “It will not be easy to capture me, Marquis. I hope the outcome you desire is worth it.”
“Desperate men need little provocation,” he said.
Well, she thought, adrenaline charging her up like an electric storm; she would cause as many injuries as she could before going down.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Philippe had stood brooding by a small stream since after Alex had left. Laurent and Henri were paused uncertainly up the way, waiting for him to make a move, but Philippe was stuck, kicking rocks into the water. What in the world had just happened, he wondered. How had she gone so quickly from his arms to the road leading away from him? He felt like she was still punishing him for what had happened so long ago, though he had tried and tried to make it clear that he could never want anyone else.
He took a stick and chucked it as far as he could. It ricocheted an echo across the mouth of the canyon. She was so damn stubborn that she wouldn’t even listen to him. He folded his arms and looked down the stream, deeper into the canyon. Well, he supposed, he hadn’t actuallysaidanything to her. But couldn’t she tell how he felt by his actions? He’d given himself completely to her, and he knew she had done the same. Yet here they were again. Would it really matter if he spoke the words to her and told her that he loved her?
This was absurd. Why was he letting her get away? Maybe he hadn’t paid his penance yet and won back her trust, but he would not give up. What mattered in this life if he could not spend it with this ornery, difficult,crazy woman in pants that he was so in love with it hurt? If need be, he would spend his days proving to her that he was worthy of her attention.
“Men,” he said, returning to the spot where they rested. “I am going to retrieve our guide.”
Laurent grinned. Henri smirked. “Aye, hurry up then,” he said, conceding a smile.
“Head to Aliette,” Philippe said. “I hope to meet you there soon.”
With that he was off. He hoped she had run straight and not left any difficulties in her trail, but if she escaped the Earth, he would trail her across the stars. He raced his horse hard, imagining what he would say to her. He would make her listen. He would make her understand. He would tell her that he loved her and that he would give her anything to stay by his side. How could she think that he could want another woman after everything that had happened between them? She was all he wanted and certainly more than he could handle.
He tracked her back across the road and deeper into the woods. With every moment and every step of his horse, he was more fevered, more desperate, more determined to tell her all the things he hadn’t said. As he came upon one of the trails which led towards Ponce, he had to pause. He looked around. Something was strange. He moved the horse a few steps ahead, scanning the scene. There were no birds chirping. There were no insects buzzing. He hopped off his horse and looked to the ground. It was muddled and kicked about. He looked to the side and saw trampled vegetation, crushed stalks and leaves in the dirt. There had been a struggle here. There was hoof print and the tread of man as well. His heart began to pound. He stomped across the ground, following the progression of footsteps. She’d been gravely outnumbered.
Then he saw it—blood—splattered across a tree trunk. He touched it, still wet. He couldn’t imagine a more helpless feeling than the one that settled in his chest. He looked down the path, rubbing the streak of blood between his fingers. They didn’t try to cover anything up, which meant they expected no trouble, or they hoped to be followed. Either way, they would have a nightmare coming after them.
This was his fault. His fault for so many reasons. He hadn’t done his job because he was lovesick. He’d let the Marquis think he’d gotten away withhis crimes in order to trap him at a later date, but he’d misjudged the situation, and he’d let her go off into danger, completely alone.
Philippe mounted his horse and took off down the path, a demon screaming inside of him.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Michel had been in good spirits for most of the journey up the region, despite having had his little vacation home interrupted. He’d only been back in Chevalerie for a few days and was having a good time being taken care of by his mother when they received word from Philippe. It seemed that the simple mission to neutralize a civil rebellion had spun out in too many directions, and Philippe needed backup. He’d asked their father to send reinforcement troops to meet them in Aliette, where they could relieve the men and have extra support transporting anyone they managed to capture. It also seemed as though the ultimate enemy was still not detained though Philippe suspected the Marquis du Ponce himself as the one trying to control the rivers through the pawns he had hired. To “capture” a marquis was far more politically daunting than it was necessarily physical. Therefore, Michel brought with him not only troops to relieve the tired and beleaguered men with whom Philippe fought, but also the Duke’s instructions on dealing with the Marquis situation.
His father had spoken with Michel regarding the journey, insistent that Michel or he himself lead the way. Michel felt like he would enjoy some adventure and thought it unnecessary for his father to leave the comfort of home. Michel had been on a tedious expedition in the East, maintainingtrade relations with several of the Asian outpost merchants. His journeys were important to the economy in Chevalerie, but his time had been spent on diplomacy rather than physicality, and he found himself hungry for a little danger before he had to return to the Far East.
Plus, his mother couldn’t pass the opportunity to gossip, so he knew Philippe was probably knee deep in some entanglement with little Alex. He didn’t want to miss the opportunity to see what trouble his youngest brother had gotten into this time.
But when he had arrived in Aliette earlier that morning, the prisoners were gone, released in the dead of night. By whom? The Marquis du Ponce himself. The Marquis had told the magistrate he would take the prisoners to Ponce for trial, and the confused magistrate had signed the papers releasing them. Michel was severely irritated by the lack of standardization. Something like that would never have happened in Chevalerie. To think, the Duke’s son brings captured men to be detained and a marquis from another town, releases them? Unthinkable. These smaller towns, with no nearby nobility and no uniform government, often lacked hands-on and competent leadership. Eventually, Michel would take over the Duchy and making sure everything went according to well-established standards would be his first order of business.
Now, as he led his company of men up to Ponce, he was annoyed. He was annoyed that the men Philippe had put away had been released. He was annoyed that he didn’t know what kind of trouble he, his brother, or their men were facing. He was annoyed that the Marquis, sworn to his position by the King of France with the same proclamation that had made his father a duke, had turned on his country for money.
Michel pushed his dark waves back from his forehead and knotted them with a band on the top of his head. Then he slapped the reins of his horse, urging the beast on. He was ready for whatever would come.
He had no more the chance to hasten his party along than he saw two men on horses approaching from up ahead. He called for his own to slow.
“Bonjour,messieurs,” he called. “State your affiliation.”
“We are of the same blood,” said a man coming into clear view.
“BonDieu, Laurent,” said Michel, recognizing his cousin. “Henri.” He nodded. “I am happy to see you both alive and well.”
“We are alive, cousin, but worse for wear,” Laurent said, dismounting his horse. “What is the news from Chevalerie?”
Michel hopped from his horse to embrace his cousin. “I am afraid we may be in danger at the moment,” said Michel. “Where is Philippe?”
“We were with him not long ago,” Laurent said. “He has gone after Alex. Back towards Ponce.”
