Page 48 of Marrying Bluebeard

“We?” I stare slack-jawed at the back of his head. “Surely you don’t expect me to be foolish enough to go with you?”

The slightest pause, then, “It’s either that or wander into town on your own. A lone woman wearing nothing but a ruined nightgown in the dead of night.”

Bloody hell, he’s right. Worse yet, I only passed through the town briefly when it was dark and rainy. Who knows if I could even find it on my own? Still… is the alternative any better?

“I won’t hurt you, Adelaide. I swear it.” His voice is resigned, as if he knows exactly what thoughts are running through my head.

My heart breaks a bit more as I whisper, “You already have.”

His shoulders slump, and he nods. “Well, I won’t tonight. You have my word, for all it’s worth.”

I shouldn’t trust him, not after everything that’s happened. I’m still not even certain what has happened or what exactly he is. But the truth is I’m cold, and the untold dangers lurking in the dark feel far more worrisome than the broken man standing before me. So I take a trembling step forward and utter the only word I can manage. “Okay.”

His sigh of relief is whisper soft. “Follow me.”

And so I do.

We stick to the road, Bertrand keeping his distance as we trudge up the hill. He must not be concerned about anyone from the castle coming after us, and I doubt anyone from town would come this way at night. We walk in wordless silence, the night wind and rustle of grass filling the space between us. More than once I open my mouth to speak, only to clamp it shut again. There are too many questions that need to be answered. Far too many for this dark, lonely road with my damp nightgown clinging to icy thighs and thin silk slippers all but falling off my feet. My muscles clench beneath the chill, protesting each labored step until they lock up altogether and send me tumbling forward with a soft cry. Pebbles dig into my palms as I catch myself, and I let out a strangled sob as the enormity of all that has passed lands on my hunched shoulders with a resounding crash.

I can’t do this.

I can’t…

“Adelaide?” Bertrand’s pained voice whispers through the night, the sound of my name on his lips driving the dagger of hurt even deeper.

We’re at a casual house party held by a family friend. It’s perfectly acceptable to use given names.

I couldn’t agree more. Adelaide.

A sob shudders through my chest, racking my shoulders as I grind my fingers into the gritty dirt road. What a complete and utter fool I was.

“Adelaide.” Bertrand’s increasing concern is evident in his tone as he crouches in front of me. “Are you all right?” His hand hovers over my shoulder for a moment, but he quickly retracts it, turning his face away as he mutters, “Idiot. Of course she isn’t all right.” He takes a deep breath. “Do you think you can keep walking? The road is quiet now, but it’d be unwise to tarry here too long. Best to get to the safe house before the village awakens.”

I shake my head slowly, the numbness of my body enveloping me in a cocoon of static. The words he’s saying sound right, but I can’t quite make sense of them. I can’t make sense of anything. The ground is opening up, sucking me into a black hole of oblivion. “I can’t…”

I barely register the feel of strong, cold hands lifting me up before the darkness swallows me whole.

31

BERTRAND

I’m trembling with fatigue by the time I arrive outside Jacob Bastin’s farmhouse, a full mile outside town. The windows of the light gray three-story are dark, but I rap on the door anyway. He’ll be grumpy as a bear to be woken, but there’s nothing for it. The room I pay him to keep for me is inside. My single, precious secret from Celeste.

Adelaide stirs in my arms, her delicate form curling into me as if seeking some modicum of warmth. I swallow a curse as I glance down at her blue-tinged lips and knock again, louder this time. Trudging footsteps from inside answer my summons at last, and I all but collapse with relief when the door cracks open and Jacob’s bearded face appears. Bushy eyebrows lower over a thunderous expression when he sees the woman passed out in my arms and his voice is a barely controlled growl.

“Is this what you meant by emergencies? You pay well, Monsieur, but I draw the line at disposing bodies.”

The door swings toward my face, and I only just wedge my foot between it and the frame before it clicks shut. “She’s not dead. But she will be if you don’t pull your head out of your ass and let us in.”

Jacob frowns, but he opens the door with a grunt and steps back, allowing me to carry Adelaide inside. His gaze flicks to her blood-smeared neck, and I can see his jaw working beneath the mass of facial hair that makes my own beard look like peach fuzz. “What happened to her?”

I cradle her against my chest as I attempt a staggered step up the stairs. “She married me.”

Another grunt, and I don’t have the energy to protest as Jacob takes her from my arms and carries her up the stairs ahead of me. I follow close behind, with Jacob turning sideways as we enter the narrow stairwell leading up to the third floor where I keep my private chambers—my safe house should Celeste ever cut me off as she has now. A temporary fix, but it’ll grant me enough time to see Adelaide taken care of. After that…

I grip the railing as thoughts of what I have to do threaten to drag me down. You knew this day was coming, I remind myself. It’s why you rent these rooms, why you studied and searched every time you were granted leave. You’ve just been too much of a coward to see it through. My knuckles whiten as my hold on the banister tightens, and I focus on the raven hair and bare feet peeking out from the other side of Jacob’s broad form.

I will see it through.