The Battle of Vitoria was fought on June 21; Gabrielle learned of it, and of the thorough trouncing of the French army, on June 24. From that date forward, her mind was filled with the possibility of Leo’s being wounded—the possibility of his being dead.
I will never know, she thought. No one will contact me to let me know what happened to him. He could be in his grave right now, and I will never know.
She had thought she was miserable when he left, but the depth of despair into which she fell after she learned of the battle was anguish at its purest.
Mathieu and Albert worried about her. “This is worse than it was when André died,” Albert said to Mathieu one night as they got ready for bed in their hotel room. “Then, she mourned. Now she is just—frozen. It’s as if the Gabrielle we know has gone away.”
“He should have left her alone,” Mathieu said furiously. He kicked his boots into the corner. “He made her fall in love with him and then he just left her. I used to like Leo, but not anymore. Now I think he is a skunk.”
“He could be dead,” Albert said. “I think that is what Gabrielle fears the most. There were heavy casualties on both sides—and Leo was wounded once before. And there is no way of us knowing! That’s one of the things that’s so terrible. We have no claim on Leo—there’s no way of finding out what has happened to him.”
“He was dead to us, anyway,” Mathieu said angrily. He peeled off his stockings and threw them after his boots. “He befriended us and then he left. As far as I am concerned, he is dead.”
“Don’t say that, Mathieu!”
“Why not? It’s true. He is supposedly coming back to take you to England with him, but even if he does show up—which I doubt—I don’t think you should go, Albert. We can’t either of us desert Gabrielle now. She needs her family around her.”
Albert finished taking off his own boots and began to strip off his breeches. “But she said she wants me to go to England! And Leo has said he will help me to become an established artist. I can make money, Mathieu. Perhaps I can help Gabrielle that way.”
Mathieu pulled on his nightshirt. “Leo said a lot of things. I wouldn’t count on seeing him, if I were you, Albert.”
Albert took his shirt off over his head and went to get his nightshirt out of his valise. “You don’t think Leo will come for me?” He could not keep the worry out of his voice.
“I wouldn’t count on it, mon frère,” Mathieu said. “Leo is a great lord. Once he gets back among his own kind, he is likely to forget all about us.”
“I don’t think Leo is like that,” Albert said.
“If he’s not like that, then why did he break Gabrielle’s heart?”
Albert began to put on his nightshirt. His voice sounded muffled from within its folds. “What could he do? He had to go back to the army. He is an officer.”
“Then he should have left her alone,” Mathieu repeated.
Albert’s head emerged. “I think Leo fell in love with Gabrielle just the way she fell in love with him.”
Mathieu got into his side of the bed. “A funny way he has of showing it.”
“Maybe he will come back and surprise you,” Albert said stubbornly.
“Yes, and maybe he is buried somewhere in the Spanish Pyrenees,” Mathieu retorted. “He should never have gone off and left her like that. The not knowing is killing her.”
Albert got into bed as well. “I am going to pray that Leo comes back,” he said.
“Go ahead,” Mathieu said. “As for me, I am going to pray that Gabrielle gets over him.” He punched his pillow into the shape he liked, turned his back on Albert and prepared to go to sleep.
It was a month after Vitoria, and the Cirque Equestre was playing just outside of Lyons. The July day was warm and Gabrielle was hot in her velvet jacket as she put Noble through his paces in front of an appreciative audience.
The circus had been going well. After all of the disasters of the trip south to Biarritz, things had straightened out. Everyone was getting along with one another; the acts were all solid and well received; the horses were sound; even the weather had cooperated with a succession of rainless days that brought standing-room-only crowds.
Gabrielle knew that she should be happy. She tried to act happy, and she thought that she had most of the circus people fooled. But Mathieu and Albert saw through her. She had caught the anxious glances they sent her way, and she knew they understood how she was feeling. Thank God they didn’t say anything. She could just about manage if she kept her unhappiness bottled up inside of her; if she had to talk about it, she was afraid she would simply fall apart.
Leo came just after the second show of the day had finished and Gabrielle and the boys were settling the horses for the night. She had just finished picking out Sandi’s hooves, and when she straightened up, he was standing there before her.
She could feel every ounce of blood drain from her face.
“Gabrielle,” Leo said. “I have missed you so much. I love you. Will you marry me?”
For the first time in her entire life, Gabrielle fainted.
When she came to, she was lying on the grass outside the corral, with Leo, Mathieu and Albert bending over her.
“She’s coming around now,” Albert said thankfully. “Gabrielle! Gabrielle! Are you all right?”
She looked up into Leo’s eyes. No one had eyes like Leo, she thought. She ran her tongue over her lips to moisten them and said breathlessly, “What did you say to me?”
He was watching her gravely. “I said that I missed you, that I loved you, and then I asked you to marry me.”
“I told you so,” Albert said triumphantly to Mathieu. “Didn’t I tell you that Leo loved Gabrielle?”
“Shh,” Mathieu said in response.
“It’s Leo!” someone from behind them called, and the rest of the circus folk began to move in their direction.
“Where’s your wagon?” Leo said to Gabrielle. “You and I are going somewhere where we can be private.”
“I’ll show you where it is,” Albert said exuberantly.
Leo bent and lifted Gabrielle in his arms. “Just point it out to me,” he said.
“It’s there, in front of Henri’s,” Mathieu said gruffly.
Leo nodded and began to stride away, holding Gabrielle in his arms. She hid her face in his shoulder.
“It’s a good thing you came back,” a voice from behind them called. Leo kept on going.
Colette was reclining on her couch when Leo reached the open back door of the wagon. “I might have known,” he said humorously. “She always seems to be there whenever I want to be alone with you.”
“You can put me down now,” Gabrielle said breathlessly.
“Can we get into the wagon? Everyone is staring at us and it’s a little off-putting.”
Leo set her on her feet and the two of them climbed into the wagon. Gabrielle coaxed a reluctant Colette off the sofa, then the two of them sat down.
Gabrielle’s eyes clung to his face. “I was so afraid you had been killed,” she said. “There was no way of my finding out if you had survived the battle or not. I have been so miserable, Leo!”
He took her into his arms. “I am so sorry, sweetheart. I never should have left you the way I did. In my heart I knew that I loved you, but my mind didn’t understand. It was so stupid of me. It took a bullet to knock some sense into me. As I lay on the ground all I could think was I may never see Gabrielle again.
She pulled away to look him up and down. “You were wounded? Where? You seem all right now!”
He smiled reassuringly. “I took a bullet in the back. I’m fine now. It didn’t hit anything vital. The reason it took me so long to come was that I had to go home first to see my mother.”
She didn’t say anything, just continued to look at him.
“I told my mother that I wanted to marry you, and she has promised to help me make certain that you are accepted into English society.”
She stiffened a little. “You went home to ask her that?”
He caught the note in her voice and frowned faintly. “Please don’t misunderstand me, sweetheart. I would have married you no matter what she said. But I thought it would be more comfortable for you to know that you would be accepted by my family and by my world. And you will be. My mother will see to that. You will have no trouble joining English society as the Countess of Branford.”
Her brown eyes were huge. “This is hard for me to take in all at once,” she said. “You truly want to marry me?”
“If you don’t marry me I will be the most miserable man in the world.”
A smile trembled on her lips. “I would not want that to happen.”
“I love you,” he said. “And I want to make this clear. I love you as you are—Gabrielle Robichon, proprietor and chief equestrienne of the Cirque Equestre. I didn’t fall in love with some high-bred lady who never did a stitch of work in her life. I fell in love with you. I love you for your bravery, your loyalty, your sense of responsibility….”
“All right, I understand.” She was smiling. “You love me because I know how to muck out a stall.”
He smiled back at her. “Among other things. I don’t want you to change, Gabrielle. I want you to stay the same person you are today.”
“I love you, too,” she said. “Your leaving left me utterly devastated.”
“I was so stupid,” he said.
She took his hand in hers and raised it to her cheek. “You were the Earl of Branford and I was a circus girl. I didn’t blame you, Leo.”
“That’s what my mother said—that she didn’t blame me,” he said. “God, the generosity of women!”
She kissed his hand and put it down. “I am glad that you have made peace with your mother.”
“Do you know what she said to me? She said, ‘God bless Gabrielle. She has given you back to me.”’
Color flushed into Gabrielle’s cheeks. “Did she really say that?”
“Yes, she did.”
Colette, who had been lying on the wooden floor in front of them, decided that it was time to remind them of her presence. She got up and came to poke her nose into Gabrielle’s lap.
Gabrielle laughed and petted her.
Leo said, “Did you let her back into your bed?”
Gabrielle bent to hide her face in the dog’s long, elegant neck. “Yes.”
“Wonderful.” He sounded partially amused and partially exasperated.
“I was lonely,” Gabrielle said. “The bed was so empty without you.”
“I was lonely, too, but I didn’t share my bed with a dog.”
“That’s because you weren’t lucky enough to have a wonderful dog like Colette.”
“You’re right,” he said. “I want to have a dog again, and a family. The boys can come to live with us at Branford Abbey, Gabrielle. Albert can get the painting instruction he needs and I’ll see about getting Mathieu into Oxford so he can study mathematics.”
She looked up from Colette’s neck. Her smile was radiant. “That sounds wonderful.”
“And your precious horses can come, too. Remember how you said you wished they had a place with big stalls and green pastures? Well, they can have those things at Branford.”
“Leo…Leo…you are overwhelming me,” she laughed.
“All I want is for you to be happy,” he said. “It’s the one thing I want most in this life, for you to be happy.”
Tears glistened in her eyes. “That is such a wonderful thing for you to say.”
“I mean it.”
“Leo,” she said. She put her arms around Colette and rested her cheek against the dog’s deerlike face. “What will happen to everyone if I just close up the circus in the middle of the season and go home with you? Perhaps I should finish out the season before I go to England….”
“No,” he said. “I will pay everyone double the amount of money they would have made if they finished out the season with the Cirque Equestre. That way, they will have plenty of money until they find work with another circus.”
“But suppose they can’t find anything?”
“They are all premier acts—they will find something. You can’t take responsibility for the rest of their lives, sweetheart. They are not your family, you know. They all have their own families to rely on.”
“Sully doesn’t. And Gerard is too old to be taken on by anyone. And Emma helped to bring me up.”
“All right. Sully and Gerard and Emma can come with us if they want. I’m sure I can find a place on the estate for them.”
She kissed Colette and released her. “Gerard can help with our horses and Emma can help me with whatever duties I may have as your wife. And perhaps—if you spoke up for him—perhaps Sully could get a job at Astleys in London. He speaks English, you know. And he hasn’t been drunk once since you left, Leo. I think he did not want to do anything to distress me.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Leo said.
“This is wonderful,” Gabrielle said. “Oh, Leo, I am so happy!”
He held out his arms. “You could try kissing me instead of Colette.”
She leaned into him and raised her face. His mouth came down on hers and the world went away.
“Gabrielle!” Albert had to repeat her name several times before she heard it.
“Damn,” Leo said in her ear.
“We will be alone tonight,” she whispered as she pulled away from him.
His eyes narrowed and he gave her a very focused look.
Mathieu said, “I’m sorry, Gabrielle, but I couldn’t keep him away.” Albert had pushed the wagon door open and he and Mathieu were standing just outside, looking in.
“Is it true, Leo?” Albert said. “Are you going to marry Gabrielle?”
“Your sister has done me the honor of accepting my proposal,” Leo said.
“Hurrah!” Albert cheered. “I knew you would come back, Leo. Mathieu didn’t think you would, but I did. I knew you loved Gabrielle.”
Mathieu said, “He prayed. If ever I want something badly, I think I’ll have Albert pray for me.”
Leo and Gabrielle laughed. “Come,” Gabrielle said. “We had better give this couch back to Colette.”
As the two of them jumped down from the wagon, Mathieu said, “What is going to happen to the circus? Do you want me to run it by myself?”
Gabrielle’s “Of course not!” clashed with Leo’s “The both of you will come back to England with us.”
Mathieu folded his arms and looked at Leo, who was now standing on the ground next to him. “What am I going to do in England? The only thing I know is circus life.”
“You are going to go to Oxford and learn to be a brilliant mathematician,” Leo said. “You already are brilliant. The mathematician part you can learn.”
Mathieu stared up at him, looking so much like Gabrielle that Leo smiled. “Do you mean that?” Mathieu asked finally in a hushed voice.
“Yes,” Leo said.
“It’s true, Mathieu,” Albert said. “You are too smart to spend the rest of your life jumping on and off of horses.”
Mathieu was very pale. “I don’t know what to say, Leo….”
“You don’t have to say anything,” Leo said. “We are a family now, you and Albert and Gabrielle and me. We do things for one another. Isn’t that what a family is all about?”
“Yes, it is,” Albert said firmly.
Gabrielle said, “Leo also said that Gerard and Emma can come with us. And he will try to get Sully a job at Astleys in London.”
Mathieu finally smiled. “You are really taking this family idea to heart, Leo!”
“Yes, I am,” Leo said. “I enjoyed the time I spent with the circus. I never expected to, but I did. I didn’t even mind being the ringmaster.”
“Circus life is not so bad, eh?” Mathieu said.
“No, it’s not. But it’s not for any of you anymore. It’s time you developed the other talents that God has given you.”
“What about Gabrielle’s riding?” Albert asked. “Papa always said she was the most talented rider he had ever taught.”
“Gabrielle won’t stop riding,” Leo assured him. “Don’t worry about that.”
“I would feel like half a person if I didn’t ride,” Gabrielle said.
“I suppose we should go and talk to the others.” Leo looked at the collection of people gathered in front of the corral. “They look like they’re waiting for us.” He turned back to Gabrielle. “They still think that we’re married, don’t they?”
“Yes. I told them about the supposed death of your father and that you wanted me to come to England and that I wouldn’t go. We should probably just say that, now that I have seen you, I have changed my mind.”
“They won’t be happy to hear that the circus is closing down,” Mathieu said.
“Leo is going to pay everyone double for the rest of the season,” Gabrielle told them. “That way, they will be all right if they can’t find another job right away.”
“That’s very generous of you, Leo,” Mathieu gasped.
“I like them,” Leo said. “And I can afford it. Come along, Gabrielle. Let’s do the deed.”
“Are you very rich?” Albert asked as Leo started to move away.
“Albert, you don’t ask questions like that,” Mathieu said, embarrassed.
“It’s all right,” Leo said to Mathieu. He turned to Albert. “Yes, I am very rich. I can easily afford to educate you and Mathieu.”
“Will I be able to earn a living as a mathematician?” Mathieu asked. “I don’t want to live on your charity forever, Leo.”
“You’ll be able to find a job,” Leo assured him. “You can always teach at Oxford.”
“And I’ll earn my living by my painting,” Albert put in.
“I know you will,” Leo said. “But you both are going to have to learn English.”
“That will be easy,” Mathieu said.
Albert skipped like a small child. “This is formidable. Whoever thought, when Leo joined our circus, that we would end up like this?”
Gabrielle gave her rich, deep chuckle. “Not I,” she said.
Leo took her hand. “I’m a lucky man,” he said.
She looked up at him, her face radiant. “We’re both lucky,” she said.
“Leo!” Henri called. “Have you come back for Gabrielle?”
“Yes,” Leo replied. “I have.”
Everyone looked at Gabrielle’s radiant face. “I am going to return to England with Leo,” she said. “And Leo is going to pay you all double wages for the rest of the canceled season.”
A little murmur ran through the group. Then Antonio said, “Your father must have left you a lot of money, Leo.”
“He left me a generous amount,” Leo said imperturbably.
“I’m glad you changed your mind and are going with Leo,” Carlotta said to Gabrielle. “You were miserable without him.”
“Yes,” Gabrielle agreed. “I was. But I feel badly leaving you all in the lurch.”
“C’est la vie,” Carlotta said. “I will miss the Cirque Equestre, but it will be nice to have the extra money, too.”
The rest of the group murmured their agreement.
“We’ll have a lot of toasts to make at the café tonight,” Antonio said.
Leo felt a flash of dismay. Was he never going to get Gabrielle to himself? Then he looked at all of the people surrounding her. I shouldn’t be greedy. I’m going to have her for the rest of my life. Let these people who love her have a chance to say goodbye.
“Yes,” he said heartily. “We will have a party tonight at the café.”
Across the crowd, Gabrielle’s eyes met his. He sent her a silent message: Tonight, after the café.