Page 83 of Love Beneath the Guillotine
“Yes!” Léon cried happily. “That’s me!”
“One moment.”
He toddled away through some curtains, whence they knew not, and Henry, stooping to see he was out of sight and earshot, wrapped his fingers around Léon’s. Léon turned to him, halfexcited to see his brother and Souveraine, but held in the heaviness of the scene. That this might be their last moment alone together.
He didn’t know what to say in the brief few seconds they had, but Henry did. “Please come to Paris. Please. Let’s not throw this away. It’s too perfect.”
Léon chanced a step towards him, a hand at his waist, two hips pressing together. “Don’t make it hard. We knew this was coming.”
“I don’t want you to go,” he whispered, his palm on Léon’s cheek, as though he’d never tire of the sensation. “Yesterday and last night, even just riding about in the cold… This is the happiest I’ve been in years.” He gave a furtive glance to the curtains, rushing out his final plea in a frantic whisper. “I’ve really had the best and most beautiful day with you, and if you could just give me a chance?—”
“No, Henri. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t give me that. What we have?—”
He silenced Henry with a finger on his lips, which drew a melting kiss. “When are you going to see?” He took the same finger from his lips and ghosted it across his cheek. “Fate does not want you and me to be together.”
The curtain ruffled, and they stepped apart as the landlord returned. “Sorry, it took me a few moments to find it. Madame Lyon left this letter for you.”
“What?” Léon’s fingers were busy ripping the seal off even as he asked the question, utterly ignorant of the scowl Henry threw his way at Souveraine’s use of his surname.
He shoved it at Henry to be read, studying him as he went through a violently differing range of emotions. Shock, worry, urgency, confusion, and somewhere in amongst it, an astounded and tentative sort of… relief? Happiness?
“They’ve left,” Henry reported, voice thick, heart beating wildly.
“What do you mean, they’ve left?” Léon whispered desperately.
With a beautiful smile and eyes that glowed so warmly Léon wanted to drown in them, “They’ve all gone to Paris.”
39
A SHARP TURNAROUND
Henry rushed Léon out the door of the inn to speak freely. He was perfectly insistent they should depart at once and try to overtake them on some imaginary ‘faster road’ he’d conjured up. Léon had never been to Amiens, and he’d certainly never been to Paris, and it took a lot of convincing Henry that there would be no faster road and no beating them there. Especially since they had no idea when they’d actually set out.
“No,” said Henry. “And they haven’t explained why either. Shit!” Worryingly serious, Henry turned on his heel and made towards Destroyer. “We’ll need new horses, and we’ll need to ride now. Fast. Try to find some sort of shortcut.”
Léon jogged in front of Henry. “What is it? I thought you’d be happy about this.”
“I am. It’s just that… That’s…” He looked down, setting his brow. “She’s given my father’s address.” Léon’s anxiety kicked up a notch, so Henry continued, for Léon’s sake, “They will be safe there—Souveraine and Émile. He’ll give them shelter, I’m sure of it, once they explain whatever the hell they’re going to explain. But Catherine…” After a harassed search of the ground,as though he might find the solution there, he spat out, “Jesus Christ, I can’t believe she’s done this! Why, after all these years?”
Fairly quietly, Léon admitted. “It’s my fault.” He winced at the flash of Henry’s eyes. “I told her you’d been arrested.”
“You did what?” he shouted. “I expressly told you not to tell her that!”
“Yes, well, you didn’t expressly tell me she’d have a magical breakdown and destroy half the town and then go running to your evil father. I didn’t want to lie to her!”
With an accusatory flippancy, “You should be dead right now.”
“Right, okay, well, I’m not dead, and…” He took a deep breath. “Listen, there’s more.”
“More?” Henry panicked. “More? How can there be more?”
“Shhh!” He pressed calming hands on Henry’s chest. “When your sister was in prison, and I had to find out what she was in for, they were telling me her history.” Henry nodded impatiently. “Your family came up. That the authorities had tried to contact your father in Paris. And that you supposedly had.”
“A thousand times,” Henry agreed. “And the bastard never responded.”
“No, because he wasn’t there.”
