Page 68 of A Question of Betrayal (Elena Standish)

“Yes.”

“Yes…what?”

“Yes…I would.” Then he smiled shyly, sharing the joke with her.

“Yes…please,” Gabrielle corrected him, but she touched his cheek so gently that he could hardly have felt it.

There was more shouting in the street, and several more shots, but Franz took the grapes and did not seem to be worried anymore.

“You had better stay here for a while,” Gabrielle observed, standing up slowly. “Go home when it settles a bit.”

“Do you know what’s happening?” Elena asked, as there were more angry voices in the street and then another volley of shots, sounding some distance away.

Gabrielle moved out of the line of the windows, taking Franz with her. Not that she had to grasp him, the boy was so close he was now practically standing on her feet.

Elena heard the front door open and then close. Not loudly, but as if someone had come in with a key. They all froze, Franz twisting the fabric of Gabrielle’s skirt with tight fists.

There were footsteps in the passage, then Aiden stood in the doorway. He was shaved, his hair tidy, and dressed with casual grace, but his skin was pale and his eyes shadowed. He took in Elena’s presence with a single glance. Had he expected her to be here? “You’ve got to get out!” he said to Gabrielle. “All hell’s broken loose. The streets are still safe, more or less, but they won’t stay that way.”

“What happened?” Gabrielle did not raise her voice, but it was hard-edged. “Did somebody jump the gun?”

“Looks like it,” he answered, coming forward into the room. “Some Fatherland men have stormed the arsenal. Thought they were making a preemptive strike.”

“Do you know who?” Gabrielle asked.

“What the hell does it matter!” he said sharply. “You’ve got to get out of here for a few days anyway. Get out of the city. You know where to go.” He left the rest unsaid, as if it were a previously understood plan.

Elena wondered how long they had known about, or expected, this.

Gabrielle nodded a fraction. “We’ll pack.” She took Franz’s hand in hers. “Come on, sweetheart, we’re going to go on that trip I’ve told you about. We’ve got everything ready.”

“Can we take the grapes?” he asked, looking at Elena, and then at the table where the grapes were still sitting.

“Of course!” Gabrielle took them up in her other hand. She looked momentarily at Elena, a question in her eyes.

“I’m going with Aiden,” Elena said. There was no other choice for her, no matter what shadows of doubt were at the edges of her mind. It was even more important now that she get him out of the city. It wasn’t only the list, which she had safely hidden now in her bag’s side compartment. It was also the assumption that he would be adding to it.

Gabrielle stared at her for a moment, as if digesting what Elena had said. “Then I have a gift for you. Wait a moment.” She turned, with Franz on her heels, and went into the bedroom.

Aiden’s eyes followed Gabrielle. He even took a step after her, then changed his mind and turned back to Elena. “We must go,” he said urgently. “We’ve got to get out of here, now.” He lowered his voice. “We can’t risk airports, even small ones. They will be watching every one of them. They can’t afford to let us escape. We know too much…”

“Rail?” she asked.

“No, they can stop any train, and the nearest border is Austria.”

“Road?”

“Where do we get a car?” He gave a tight little grimace. “We have the best chance of escaping without being followed if we go by sea.”

A ship. She tried to imagine going aboard secretly. How could they possibly manage it? They would be so obviously fugitives. And once they were aboard, they were trapped. No one gets off a ship at sea.

Gabrielle came back into the room holding out a small but beautifully ornamented hair comb. She met Elena’s eyes, smiled, and put it into her hands. For an instant, Elena felt the handle was loose and might come open in her grasp. “Thank you.” She smiled and put it in her handbag.

Aiden was increasingly impatient. “Gabrielle, please hurry. You and Franz have to go down into the city. If you try leaving, they’ll be watching the roads. Someone has betrayed us again, and I’m betting it was Ferdie.”

“Are you going?” Gabrielle asked, glancing at Elena, then back at Aiden.

“Yes,” he answered. “As soon as I’m sure you’ve left, I’ll lock up behind you.” He leaned forward, brushed a stray lock of dark hair from her brow, and kissed her very gently on the cheek. “Go now.” He turned and looked at Elena. “Are you sure? I could make my way out of here without you. Maybe not as well, but you…” He stopped and gave a twisted little smile. “If you could go with Gabrielle, it would be safer. If we get out, it could be rough, even at best we—”

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