The circus made its uninterrupted way to Tours and then from Tours to Poitiers. They weren’t stopped on the road again, but as they grew closer to their destination, Leo became more and more concerned about how they were going to get the gold out from under the eyes of Sergeant Jordan. His biggest concern was that they do it in a way that would not incriminate Gabrielle. He tried to hide his concern from her—she was worried enough already—but the problem preyed on his mind.
Another problem that kept him awake at night was his own imminent disappearance from the circus. How was Gabrielle going to explain that? Everyone in the circus knew that the army was looking for the gold. What would they think when he simply disappeared at Biarritz? Luc was already suspicious of him. It wouldn’t take much for Luc to put two and two together.
She should never have agreed to carry this gold, Leo thought as he went over the situation for the hundredth time in his mind. Rothschild was wrong to ask it of her. She’s a baby when it comes to the business of smuggling.
It was up to Leo to make certain that Gabrielle wasn’t hurt. I wish to God I could make contact with the English command, he thought. They need to know about this bloody sergeant we have traveling with us. They have to come up with a plan to retrieve the gold without alerting Jordan.
The army could always shoot Jordan, but that would only point the finger of suspicion at Gabrielle. He would demand that they find another way.
These were the thoughts that were running through Leo’s mind as he lay awake next to Gabrielle on the night before the circus left Poitiers to go to Angoulême. He and Gabrielle had made love and now she was sleeping while he lay awake and worried.
She stirred a little in her sleep and he turned and looked at her.
She is so beautiful, he thought. And so good. I wonder if she would let me buy her that farm she wants so much for her horses. I hate to think of her burdened by this circus. She isn’t tough enough to make the hard decisions. She is too prone to see the good in people.
He rolled over on his back and stared up into the darkness. When the war is over, I’ll figure something out for her, he thought. The idea of Gabrielle on a farm, where he could visit her whenever he wanted, was very appealing.
He should be thrilled by the prospect of returning to the army. He had thought of little else all during his convalescence. Why was it that he felt so unenthusiastic now?
I’ve done what I swore I wouldn’t do, he thought. I’ve let her get under my skin.
It’s good that I will be returning to my regiment. I need to get back to my old life, to put my feelings into perspective.
He would feel much better about going once he was sure that Gabrielle was going to be safe.
Isabel Laurent joined the circus at Angoulême, bringing the band size back to four. She was a very pretty girl with lovely blue eyes, and Mathieu took one look at her and was smitten. Gabrielle was tenderly amused by her brother’s infatuation, and that evening, when Sully proposed playing a game of chess with Leo, she suggested that Isabel might like to play cards with her, Albert and Mathieu.
Isabel asked Antonio, who gave his permission, so it was a cozy group who gathered in the salon after dinner. Mathieu was Isabel’s partner, and, to Albert’s astonishment, he never once chided her for making a mistake.
As everyone was getting ready to go upstairs, Sully said in a low voice, “Thank you, Leo. I was very tempted to get drunk tonight and you helped me.”
“I told you before that I would be here for you,” Leo replied. He clapped Sully on the shoulder. “You’ll be a hero, Sully, if you conquer this. And, if you are determined enough, you will.”
Sully nodded, started to say something, then just shook his head. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Leo and Gabrielle said good-night to the others on the stair landing and turned to go into their room. As Leo closed the door behind him, Gabrielle went to the wardrobe and hung up her blue jacket.
Leo said, “That is a very pretty blue outfit you have, but don’t you have any other clothes?”
“I don’t need many clothes,” she said. “I wear my circus costume most of the time.”
She made that plain blue outfit look stylish, Leo thought. He imagined what she could do for some really nice clothes. He would love to take her shopping, but he knew without asking that she would never let him do that.
He admired that ferocious independence of hers, but it annoyed him as well. He could be of so much help to her if only she’d let him. He crossed the floor until he was standing behind her, then he put his arms around her waist. She leaned against him.
“We leave the day after tomorrow for Bordeaux,” she said.
“I know.” He rested his chin on the top of her head. “And we’ll probably be stopped again. I’m sure the army will be on the hunt on that particular piece of road.”
“Perhaps they won’t search us again. Perhaps the presence of Sergeant Jordan will put them off.”
“Just the opposite, I think. The sergeant will probably encourage them to search.”
She pulled away and turned to face him. “The closer I get to Biarritz, the more worried I get. I wish I knew what the army’s plan was.”
“Someone will make contact with us,” Leo said positively.
She looked up into his face and said in a low voice, “Are you going to leave with the army and the gold?”
He sighed. “Come and sit beside me on the bed.”
He picked up her hand and held it in her lap. “That was what I planned to do, but if the sergeant stays with the circus it will look suspicious at the very least. At the most it will convince him that you had the gold and have gotten rid of it.”
“Could they arrest me?” she asked.
He tightened his grip on her hand. “I won’t let things come to that. But I have to confess, I’m not quite sure how to do this. I need to rejoin my regiment, Gabrielle.”
“I have been thinking.” Her voice was so low that he had to bend his head a little to hear her. “What if you stay with the circus beyond Biarritz? Pau will be our next stop after that and I doubt that the sergeant will accompany us that far. Pau is still close to the border with Spain, but it is much farther east—a good distance from Portugal. And the gold is going to Wellington in Portugal. The sergeant will think that if we are indeed carrying the gold, we will have to unload it in Biarritz.”
He ran his thumb caressingly over her hand. “You’re right about Pau—it is out of the way for getting the gold to Wellington. But it is out of the way for me to get to Wellington as well.”
“The English can’t be planning to start their campaign in March,” Gabrielle said. “In the mountains it will still be too cold. You will have time to backtrack to Portugal.”
There was a little silence. “It’s a good idea,” he said at last.
He put his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder. “Have you by any chance thought up a story to tell the circus to account for my leaving?” he asked.
She nestled a little closer. “I thought we could tell them that you had received word from England that your father was dying. It would only make sense that you would want to go to his side.” She went on, “Then, when you don’t come back, I’ll tell the others that you inherited property from your father and want to stay in England, but I don’t want to give up the circus to join you.”
He felt the softness of her against him and tightened his arm. He didn’t reply.
“What do you think?” she asked, lifting her head away from his shoulder and twisting so she could see his face.
“I think it’s a perfect story,” he said. “When did you think it up?”
“I have been racking my brain for weeks trying to come up with a story that would account for your leaving,” she said. “This one came to me in the middle of the night. I woke up and it was there.”
“I have been racking my brain as well, but to no avail,” he said. “I suppose I’m not as inventive as you.”
“You mean you’re not as good a liar,” she retorted.
He shook his head. “I didn’t mean that at all.”
She sighed. “Well, it is a lie. But your whole masquerade with the circus has been a lie, so we might as well top it off with the biggest lie of all.”
“But I will be back,” he said. “Remember, I’m coming this winter to learn how to ride.”
“The story won’t matter then. The other circus acts don’t winter with us and everyone who does knows the truth.”
They both fell silent. The only sound in the room came from Colette, settling herself more comfortably on her bed.
He said, “Let me take the braid out of your hair.”
She blinked, then she smiled. “Well, that is certainly a change of subject.”
“I love to touch your hair,” he said. “It’s so silky.”
“All right, go ahead and unbraid it.” She turned her back to give him easy access to the long smoothly plaited braid.
He took the tie off the bottom and unplaited the braid until her hair was free on her back. Then he ran his fingers through the loose, shining strands. She closed her eyes, clearly enjoying the touch of his hand.
He slid his hand under her hair until it was cupping the nape of her neck. “Everything about you is so delicate and fragile,” he said. “And yet you ride and control thousand-pound horses.”
“I would be an even better rider if I were bigger,” she said. “Papa could get leverage just from the length of his torso. I can’t.”
“I’m glad you’re not bigger,” he murmured. “I like you just the way you are.”
“I like you the way you are, too.” She turned to face him and he bent his head to hers. They kissed deeply.
“Let’s go to bed,” he said huskily.
“Good idea,” she replied.
They both shed their clothes with swift efficiency and Gabrielle was the first to crawl in under the warmth of the covers.
He came to his side of the bed and pulled the covers back. “I like to see you,” he said.
“Too bad,” she replied, snatching the blankets back. “It’s too cold. You’ll just have to maneuver under them.”
“Oh, all right,” he grumbled as he pulled the covers up around himself.
She smiled up at him. “I’ll make it up to you.”
“Mmm,” he said. “I’ll take you up on that offer.”
She moved into his arms and he ran his hand down her back and over the curve of her hip. She touched his ear, his cheek, his mouth. “Kiss me,” he said, and they joined together in a long, deeply erotic kiss.
Finally he lifted his head. “I could eat you up,” he growled.
During the course of the journey they had learned how to please each other, and now they slowly and tantalizingly built up their passion until it was glowing white-hot and irresistible. When Gabrielle whimpered and lifted her hips toward him, Leo knew the time had come. As he entered her he thought that nothing he had ever done in his life could ever compare with the bliss of being inside Gabrielle Robichon.
She lifted her legs to encircle his waist and hung on to him with her hands on his shoulders. He drove into her wet, slippery heat and felt her soften around him. He groaned.
I love you. He wanted to say it, but the words just wouldn’t come out. They were words he had never said to a living creature since the day he had caught his mother with their next-door neighbor.
“Leo,” she cried. “Oh, Leo.”
Her fingers were digging into his shoulders and he drove again and again into the heart of her until he felt her spasms again and again in the shuddering ecstasy of orgasm. He increased his own movement until the moment of his own release came, and he cried out loud with the power of the sensation.
When it was over they stayed joined together for a long time, clasped in each other’s arms. Once again Leo had the urge to tell her he loved her, but once again he bit the words back.
After all, she had never said them to him.
“I feel much warmer now,” Gabrielle murmured.
He felt a pang of sadness as he withdrew from her and rolled away. “I hate to let you go,” he said.
She leaned back against her pillows and smiled at him.
Oh, the glory of Gabrielle’s smile.
“Will you get me my nightgown?” she asked. “It is in the first drawer in the wardrobe.”
He got out of bed, went over to the wardrobe and withdrew her nightgown. He brought it back to the bed and handed it to her.
“Thank you,” she said, and immediately pulled it over her head.
Leo went to his bag for his own nightshirt. It was a little chilly walking around this room with no clothes on. He put the nightshirt on and returned to his side of the bed, passing Colette who was asleep on her mattress.
He got in next to Gabrielle and she scooted over to rest against his shoulder. He put his arm around her.
“I think Mathieu is in love,” she said.
“Really? With the Laurent girl?”
“Yes. She was his partner at cards tonight and he never once corrected her or yelled at her. Albert couldn’t believe it.”
Leo chuckled. “Well it was bound to happen sooner or later. Matthew is nineteen, after all.”
“She seems like a nice girl,” Gabrielle said. “Henri told me they expect Carlotta’s cousin to join us tomorrow, so the rope-dancing act will be at full strength.”
“Good,” he said.
“I will miss having you to talk to at night,” she said sadly.
He bent his head and pressed his lips to her hair. “Don’t think about that. Let’s just concentrate on the pleasures of the moment.”
“I think it is easier for a man to do that than a woman,” Gabrielle said soberly.
He said, “You mean a great deal to me, sweetheart.”
She sighed. “I am glad to hear that, Leo.” She pulled away from him. “Now I think we should try to sleep.”
“All right.” He adjusted his pillows the way he liked them, and waited until she was lying on her side, the way she liked to sleep. Then he blew out the lamp.