Lessons in French (25 page)

body of the van shifted and rocked ponderously on its axles in a manner no sheep or pigs

would ever cause.

The crisp tarpaulins spread out in the morning sun, displaying a richly painted coat of

arms with the name
Malempré
beneath. A gentleman came to the door of the ancient half-

timbered tavern opposite to observe the proceedings. She could not quite see his face, but

he was dressed in a very smart cape and tall crowned beaver hat. The way he lounged

with elegant nonchalance against the doorway was all too familiar to Callie.

The pair of uniformed handlers paused as he spoke to them. A crowd was gathering, but

more men in green coats seemed to appear from nowhere, waving and pushing the

onlookers back. A boy who tried to peek under the tarp was summarily lifted by his collar

and deposited in a watering trough, much to the amusement of his elders. Such curiosity

about what lay behind the tarps was always discouraged by the jealously competitive

herdsmen, and often not so gently.

From her vantage point above, Callie could see the doors opened, but she caught only a

limited sight of horns and dark shoulders as the ramp thundered hollowly under the

hooves of something obviously huge. It was Hubert, without a doubt. She stood holding

her breath to see how he would accept the pen and tarps. But whoever handled him

seemed to have him in control, no doubt aided by a number of Bath buns. The hanging

tarps shook and shivered, waves passing over the coat of arms. Then they settled,

showing only the pokes of elbows and occasional tug to keep the corners firmly closed.

Behind her, at a scratch on the door, Lilly entered with a bandbox on her arm. "You're

desired to go to the dressmaker's shop in High Town, my lady," she said with a slight

curtsy, her eyes dancing. "And here is a new bonnet for you to wear after you go there."

Lilly was clearly privy to a good deal more of the scheme than Callie yet knew, but the

maid pressed her lips together and became provokingly mute about anything she had not

been instructed to impart. Trev's charm had taken full effect on "Miss Lilly." Callie had

already discovered that there was little hope of prying more out of her than she was

willing to say.

Drawing a deep breath to fortify herself, Callie allowed the maid to help her with her

cloak. Trev's plan was in full motion, and like someone caught in a rising flood, she

would be swimming as fast as she could to keep her head above water now.

The dress was a deep gentian blue, with a high-waisted satin ribbon over a corset that

cupped and prominently lifted Callie's breasts. From the puffy flounces at her shoulders,

the neckline swept so low, she hardly dared look down. This expanse of her skin was

covered, in a hypothetical sort of way, by a wisp of gauzy white scarf that seemed to

want to work its way free with every move. Callie feared that this was no more than a

false hope for modesty.

"
Magnifique
!" the dressmaker kept muttering to herself as she pinned and tucked and

then placed the hat on Callie's head. She drew the sweeping front of the brim down over

Callie's eyes and fluffed out the glittery blue veil that covered her face and the mass of

red hair that was displayed behind. When Callie looked in the mirror through the veil, she

saw a figure of mysterious fashion, slender and formidably stylish, perfectly dressed from

the tight blue sleeves to the raking plume of the pale ostrich feather in her hat.

"Magnifique!" The modiste congratulated herself again. "
Vous l'aimez, madame?"

Callie could hardly breathe in the tight corset. She swallowed and gave a slight nod.

Indeed, it was impossible to say she didn't like the dress—since she didn't even recognize

the lady she saw in the mirror, she could only agree that it was a splendid costume. The

modiste laid a soft cream-colored cashmere shawl over her shoulders, and Callie pulled it

round herself, trying to hold it over her exposed breasts. But the dressmaker would have

none of that.

"
Non, non, madame,
" she said in French, fussing with the shawl. "You will allow the

drape, eh? There. Perfect. If you will be so good…?" She gave a curtsy and opened her

hand toward the door.

Callie had been informed by Lilly that she was now a Belgian lady of some wealth,

who spoke both French and English, but she was to prefer French. Since Callie's French

was only as polished as her ancient weekly lessons with Madame de Monceaux—and

Trev's long-ago tutorials of quite another sort—she said nothing at all but did a great deal

of nodding and murmuring wordlessly.

She emerged from the fitting room, looking about for Lilly. But the maid had vanished

from the shop. Instead, against the light from the window, a tall figure turned toward her.

Trev held his hat and a polished walking stick together in one gloved hand, looking

extremely handsome and utterly continental. He smiled as he took her hand to his lips,

raising his brows in a glance of pure masculine appreciation.

Callie felt the color rush up into her cheeks. She lowered her face quickly, but he lifted

her chin on his fingers. "Magnifique, I must agree," he said softly. He also used French,

which only reminded her more strongly of those long-ago days of ardent secrets between

them. "Hold your head up,
ma chérie.
You're beautiful."

She raised her chin. She wasn't, of course, but she supposed that behind a dark veil she

could play the part. As he stood close to her, he bent his head and let his lips drift over

hers, with the gauze between them, while the dressmaker made little clucks of approving

delight. Callie's heart felt as if it were beating too fast for her to breathe.

He took her arm and nodded to the modiste as he escorted Callie from the shop. Once

on the street, she said, "Am I meant to be your… your—" She could not quite put into

words the scandalous role it seemed she was to play.

"You are my wife, and I am so much in love with you that I can't keep my eyes away,"

he said, still insisting on French. "Do you object?"

She really felt quite unable to reply. She managed to shake her head and give a small

shrug.

"We're come over from a small corner of Belgium near Luxembourg. You need not say

much, as you have little English. Are you comfortable in the French?"

"I will do my best." Her spoken French was only fair, she felt, but she could understand

it quite well after years of listening to Madame de Monceaux and her late daughter.

"Good," he said, as they strolled leisurely along. "I think it's safest. I wouldn't suppose

too many of your stockmen and farmers would understand us."

"No," Callie agreed. "But of course the gentry will. And I'm afraid Colonel Davenport

will know you by your face."

"I'll take care to avoid Colonel Davenport," he assured her. He paused to allow a

carriage to go by, the sleek team of matched bays swinging in under the sign of Gerard's

Hotel. "I've taken rooms here in the High Town. You'll be with me most of the day while

the show is on, but from time to time we'll see that you make an appearance as yourself

with your cattle. And at night, of course, you'll go back to the Green Dragon with Lilly."

This plan sounded both extremely alarming and enormously attractive at the same time.

She was not at all looking forward to impersonating a Belgian lady, but the thought of

three entire days in Trev's company, cast in the role of his adored wife, was… impossibly

wonderful, to put a point on it.

"We are newly wed," he said, as he touched her waist, guiding her up the marble steps

of Gerard's. "That will excuse a good deal."

Callie glanced through her veil at the footman who held the door, trying to swallow her

agitation. Gerard's was one of the most exclusive hotels in the city, but Callie had never

stayed there. She and her father had preferred the shabbier comfort of the Green Dragon,

where they were close to the fair and sales.

Seeing the world through the gauze made it all the more like a dream. She was with

Trev. They were going to his rooms. They would be alone together there, while everyone

outside thought they were newlyweds. She lifted her skirts and climbed the stairs,

preceding him into the chamber. The door closed behind them.

Callie stood looking at the gilded curves of the French chairs and reclining sofas, the

draperies held back by golden tassels. It might have been any smart drawing room in

Mayfair, with a silver tea tray and paper-thin slices of cake laid out on china and crisp

linen. Lady Shelford would have felt quite at home at Gerard's, but Callie felt anxious, as

if at any moment she might be called upon to make conversation at some tonnish party.

Trev tossed his hat and stick aside. He put his hands on her shoulders, turned her

around, and pulled the veil free. She blinked and tried to smile, to show that she was

primed for this adventure. He looked down at her a moment, his head tilted quizzically.

Then he drew her close and kissed her.

All her uneasiness vanished in an instant, lost in the wonder of his touch. She let her

head yield back under the searching kiss, the taste of him. She knew this—he had taught

her. She lifted her arms in answer, clinging to him in spite of herself, or because of

herself, because she wanted to feel him close to her so badly, and time was so short.

"Callie," he breathed against her skin. He held her cheeks between his palms. "Callie."

He kissed her again. "I do look forward to this."

She gathered her wits enough to pull back a little. "You don't—I mean—we needn't

pretend here, you know."

He laughed under his breath. "And decline the opportunity?" He held his hands at her

waist and rocked her. "I have you in my evil clutches now, my lady. You may consider

yourself lured to your doom."

It was only too true that he had her in his power. She seemed helpless to say or think a

sensible thing. A part of her was looking on, warning her of peril in her father's troubled

voice, but the most of her was simply full of joy at being here, at touching him, at being

free to look up and return his smile without fear that anyone might notice.

It was only three days. It was a lark. Whatever Trev was—wild and a rogue and a teller

of lies and tales—he had never abandoned her or allowed her to be hurt on one of their

adventures. He'd always played the mother hen, constantly making certain she was safe

and warning her of jeopardy, insisting that she remain in the background, so that it was

all rather like a game in which she participated from within a cradle of his protection.

They were friends. There was nothing more to it, of course. Merely very dear friends.

But she had three days to live in the one daydream she had never dared to indulge.

She felt the corners of her lips turn upward. She lifted her face and forgot herself, put

aside the thought that she was a wallflower and a spinster lady of advancing years, forgot

she wasn't beautiful, forgot anything but that she was standing in Trev's arms and he was

holding her tight and close as he bent to taste her lips again. He slid his hands up the

curve of her waist, taking her face between his palms. With slow deliberation, he kissed

the corner of her mouth, and then her chin, and her nose, and her temple. Then he stood

back and looked down at her.

Callie met his eyes. They both smiled at once, as if it were a conspiracy between them.

She pressed her palms together and held them over her mouth in excitement. She

giggled. "Oh my!" she said in a muff led voice.

Trev's smile turned into a grin. His dark lashes lowered. "Do you know," he said,

"when you smile at me that way, I'd like to…" He broke off his sentence and cleared his

throat. "Well. Slay dragons, or some thing along that line."

"Mere dragons?" she inquired. "I was hoping it would be giant squids."

"Take care, wicked Callie, or I shall stop hedging and tell you what I'd like to do in

fact."

"Is it something very wicked?" she asked expectantly.

"Very," he murmured, pulling her close at the waist. "You know I have a particular

talent for that."

She moved her hips in a daring way and had the pleasure of seeing him close his eyes

and draw in his breath. It felt a bold thing to do, but not entirely unfamiliar to her. And

the look on his face was reward enough; he had that dreamy, hot expression, his lips

parting in a slight smile. Callie put her arms around his neck, above the high collar of his

coat. "Will you show me?" she whispered.

He gave a low groan. "Ah, a little, perhaps." His fingers toyed with the single button

that held the upswept folds of the dress at her back. "Maybe just a little."

That was a familiar thing too. He had said it before—just a kiss, just a touch, he always

said—like a promise between them that they could never keep. Each time it had gone a

bit further, a little more dangerous, until that moment in her father's carriage that halted

everything for good.

Callie held her breath as he worked the button. One layer at a time, her dress loosened.

His fingers slid down into the open seam. Her father wasn't here now. There was no one

to interfere, nothing to hold back the cascade of sensation as the gauze slipped and the