A Sister's Quest (33 page)

“A spy?” Evan laughed, shocking her. “That seems to be a profession the Levesques excel at. For whom did she spy?”

“Whomever Alexei works for.”

“Alexei? Who is he?”

Michelle looked again at Rusak. How could she describe Alexei? What words would give life to his quicksilver personality? How could she explain to her family that she knew nothing about him other than how he made her heart dance with joy?

Alexei loves Michelle. Michelle loves Alexei
.

She smiled and squeezed his hand. Rusak was right. This was one truth that could not be denied. Looking at her family, she said, “He is the man I love.”

“But he abandoned you in Vienna?” Dominic's brows lowered. “A man does not abandon the woman he loves.”

His wife smiled up at him. “That is true.”

Michelle wondered how much of the truth she should reveal. Then she remembered what Alexei had told her soon after she had left St. Bernard's. Her family had become a part of his work by their kind act of welcoming her. Alexei's enemies, who had become hers, would believe she had told her family the truth.

Taking a deep breath, she began the tale from the beginning. She had to trust these people who had opened their home and their hearts to her. What the result of her honesty would be, she could not guess, but she hoped it would not be another disaster.

Chapter Twenty

Michelle was reaching for a cake on the plate held out to her when she heard a footman announce she had a caller. Looking across the grand room with ceilings that must be fifteen feet above the floor, she wondered who would be calling for her here.

Brienne asked, “Who do you know in Paris?”

“No one.” Michelle stiffened on the gold settee that matched the elegance around them. “And no one knows I am here.”

“Monsieur Mauriac is a skilled jeweler, but he has an unfortunate habit of gossiping.”

“But to whom?”

The footman said, “Mademoiselle, he said he has a message for her from a Monsieur LaTulippe.”

“LaTulippe?” Leaping to her feet, Michelle cried, “Show him in! Now!”

“Michelle—”

“No!” She faced Brienne as the footman went to do as ordered. “Don't try to protect me. He … he may know where Alexei is.”

“Because he abducted Alexei?”

“Yes.”

Slowly Brienne nodded, then turned as a man entered the room. He was unshaven, and, from the odors rising from him, Michelle guessed he had not bathed since he last shaved.

Michelle stepped between the man and her sister. “You asked to speak to me?”

“
You
are Michelle Levesque?” He laughed. “Not Collette?”

“Yes.” She hid her flinch. He must have been among the men who had attacked them in the apartment in Vienna. “I understand you have a message from LaTulippe.”

“You are to hear it alone,” he said in a growl.

Brienne cried, “No! I am not leaving—”

Michelle shook her head as she looked into her sister's dark eyes that were so like her own.

Brienne sighed and nodded. Holding her skirts close so they did not brush against the man's filthy clothes, she left. Michelle suspected she would not go far.

“We are alone,” Michelle said. “What is the message from LaTulippe?”

He smiled as his gaze swept along her, leaving a slimy sensation in its wake. The tip of his tongue scraped along his bottom lip, and he stepped toward her. Fighting her desire to flee, she did not move. He muttered something, then scooped up a cake and took a generous bite.

Around his mouthful, he mumbled, “You look very good now, Michelle.”

“Thank you.” She folded her arms in front of the light green gown that Abigail had lent her. Ruffles had been hastily added to the hem to make the dress long enough for her.

“Of course, fear makes you very pale, doesn't it?”

“Give me the message and leave.”

“You may order your lover around, but not me. I will tell
you
what to do.” He chuckled as he dropped into the chair where Brienne had been sitting. Motioning toward the settee, he commanded, “Sit.”

She did not hesitate. If she argued with him, he would withhold the message. She lowered herself to the very edge of the settee.

Picking up a cup, he held it out to her. “I am sure the
duc
has some excellent brandy in the house.”

“I am sure,” she said, but did not take the cup.

With a shrug, he set it back on the saucer. “It was worth a try. LaTulippe is anxious to meet with you.”

“I guessed that,” she answered serenely. When she saw his astonishment, she smiled.

“You have something he wants.”

“Do I?”

He scowled as he crossed one leg over the other. Flicking mud from his boots to the rug, he said with a growl, “Aren't you curious about your lover?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” He rubbed dried dirt from his hands and reached for another cake. “If you want to see him alive, be ready for a ride tomorrow at one.”

She nodded. “I will be waiting by the front gate.”

“Alone.”

“LaTulippe would not want to risk meeting anyone more dangerous than a woman, I realize.”

Grumbling a curse at her insult to his employer, he snapped, “And bring your lover's journal with you. It is a small brown volume. Do you know of it?”

Michelle blinked, trying to maintain her composure. She kept her gaze from the mantel, where she had placed the book last night after showing it to her brother. She had hoped Dominic might have some suggestion of whom it should be taken to. With the upheaval since Napoleon's arrival in Paris, no one knew who was trustworthy.

“Tomorrow at one.” She rose and was surprised when he did the same.

“If you have anyone else with you, LaTulippe will pass by on his way to watch your lover's death.”

She could not hide her flinch this time. Smiling, he set his battered hat on his head and bade her a good day.

Closing her eyes, she pressed her hands over her heart. Alexei was alive!

Michelle ran to the fireplace and took the small book off the mantel. She would hold on to it until the time she was to meet LaTulippe. Her smile faltered. Alexei had not wanted LaTulippe to have this.

No, she would not choose his work over his life. Her mother had died because of the work they did. Alexei must not become a martyr as well. She was going to try to save his life, even if she ended up destroying all he had worked for.

Michelle looked out through the trees edging the window of her room and watched the traffic on the Seine. Before the day's end, she would see Alexei again. Although Rusak was worried that LaTulippe was lying to her, she believed that Alexei's enemy would have delighted in sharing the news of Alexei's death. LaTulippe wanted the book she held in her hands enough to trade Alexei for it.

She opened the book and yawned. A few of the cryptic phrases she recognized as ones she had written in the letters for Alexei. It was gibberish. She hoped she had not made a mistake about this.

Closing it, she stared at her colorless face in the glass and forced a grin. “Are you ready to be a heroine?” The face reflecting back had no answer.

Her family and Rusak were waiting when Michelle descended the stairs.

Brienne handed her daughter to Evan and rushed forward to embrace her. “Why do you have to put yourself in such danger when we have just found you?”

“I must do what I can to save Alexei.”

“Take someone with you,” Abigail urged.

“No one. The message said I was to come alone.”

“They may kill you.” Dominic caught her by the shoulders. The fury on his face had not dimmed since their discussion yesterday when she had revealed her plans. Her ears still rang with his bellow that he wished they were on his ship where he could order her to heed common sense. His scowl eased as he said, “
Ma petite soeur
, you do not know if Alexei is alive. They could be lying to you to get what they want.”

Although she wanted to smile as he called her
little sister
, she squared her shoulders. “He must be alive.” She looked from his frown to the distress on her sister's face to Rusak's silent acceptance. He understood what her family could not. “I must try. I cannot let Alexei die to save my own life.”

“I understand,” Evan said, squeezing her hand. “This Alexei is so much a part of your life that you are incomplete without him.” He put his arm around Brienne. “The Levesques hold on to what is theirs. She is no different from you or Dominic.”

“Be careful, Michelle,” Brienne whispered.

Michelle hugged each of them. When she turned to Rusak, he signed,
Rusak walk Michelle to gate
.

“LaTulippe said I must be there alone.”

He made a sign she did not recognize, and she guessed by his tight face that it was a curse.
No see Rusak
.

She nodded, glad to have a concealed ally. With a strained smile for her family, she hurried out to the ornate gate. The door closed behind her, and she shivered. Mayhap she was mad not to heed their advice, but she could not let Alexei die now.

Michelle be safe
.

“I will try.” She watched as he hid out of sight from the street.

Exactly as the church bells tolled the hour, a carriage slowed to a stop in front of the wrought-iron gate. The carriage was as elegant as the one she had traveled in with Alexei to Vienna. When she saw the garish wheels, she realized it was the same one. She forced her dismay deep within her. LaTulippe wanted to disconcert her. She must not let him.

The door opened, and a deep voice commanded, “Come in if you are alone and have what I requested, Mademoiselle Levesque.”

Michelle stepped forward. A footman assisted her into the familiar carriage, giving her no time for second thoughts. As a hand grasped hers and tugged her down to sit, the carriage sped along the busy street.

An arm around her shoulders kept her from striking the side of the carriage as it rounded a corner at a dangerous speed. She stared at the hated face she had seen only once before. She pulled away.

LaTulippe chuckled. “I was being gentlemanly. I understand you hurt your left arm during the winter, and I did not want you to reinjure it.”

“Do you do all your dirty work in carriages, Monsieur LaTulippe?” she shot back.

He gaped at her, shocked at her daring words. Then he smiled coldly. “I can understand why your lover has been lamenting about you since we left you behind in Vienna, Mademoiselle Levesque.”

“You made an error by believing me in Vienna.” She gave him a condescending smile.

“Not if I get what I want.”

“How did you know where to find me?”

He laughed. “I have many ears that listen for me throughout Paris. One happened to hear how Mademoiselle Michelle D'Orage had a heartwarming reunion with her family, the Levesques. A few questions, and I knew where you were.” His gaze swept over her. “Intelligent women disgust me. I want one who knows only enough to serve my needs. Too bad, for you are a sweet morsel. If you ever tire of—”

“Never!”

He smiled coldly and crossed his arms over his chest. “Mayhap you are not so intelligent after all, if you prefer him over me.”

“I hope you
will
be insulted that I would prefer Satan over you.” Her laugh was as callous as his. “Unless, of course, you are one and the same. No, Satan would not make so many careless mistakes.”

He spat, “Did you bring it?”

“Until I see Alexei is alive, I will not answer your question.”

“I doubt if you can halt me if I decide to search you.”

She hoped her cloak hid her shiver as his gaze raked her again. It took all her strength to answer in the same tranquil tone. “You are probably right, but would that give you as much satisfaction as forcing him to watch as I give you the information in exchange for his life?”

He pyramided his fingers in front of his face. “Very questionable, Mademoiselle Levesque.” Suddenly he laughed. “He told me you were a novice and to leave you out of my attempts to gain the information I need. As usual, he was lying. Would you be interested in employment by the same people who hired your mother?”

“I thought—” She halted herself. The malicious twinkle in his eyes warned he was trying to trick her.

“A woman with your obvious talents could be as skilled at dealing with gentlemen as your mother was.” His fingers stroked her cheek. “In the satiation of desire, a man tells a lovely lady things he might not at other times.”

She slapped away his fingers. “
Maman
did not prostitute herself.”

“While you were being educated in that stuffy school, she was roaming Europe on the arms of some of the Continent's lustiest men. Do you think she charmed them with only her bright wit?”

“You are lying!” When her hand rose, his fingers caught her wrist and pressed her against the wall. Her breath came sharp and fast in fear as he leaned toward her.

Before he could fulfill the threat visible in his narrowed eyes, the carriage stopped. He glanced out the window and snarled a curse. Releasing her, he stepped from the carriage. Holding up his hand, he assisted her out. She tried to pull her fingers away, but he held them tightly. With a growled order, he led her around a stone house.

Her nose wrinkled as they stepped into a reeking alley. “Where are we going?”

“You will see when we get there.” He laughed, the sound ricocheting through the narrow alley. When he paused before a door set several paces below street level, he motioned for her to precede him.

Uneasily she did. Every sense waited for betrayal, but she heard nothing but his footsteps behind her. She opened the door and went down a flight of dimly lit stairs. Trying to breathe shallowly so the hideous odor did not sink into her lungs, she took each step cautiously. She was not surprised to see water pooling on the floor. A chill clung to the stones.