Tonight or Never (16 page)

"I must; it sounds urgent, John." Chloe wiggled away from his warm embrace, reaching for her dressing gown.

"Bother it!" A few additional expletives from the center of the bed followed her to the door.

She couldn't really blame him: he was just preparing to… Well, he said he was going to show her how he best liked to cuddle.

Chloe grinned as she made her way to the door. She adored this other side of John.
This sexual side of him.

The pounding grew more intense, almost frantic. It was a good thing John had locked the door or else Chloe was sure whoever was on the other side would have burst in.

She chuckled, because when she had questioned John as to why he was locking it, he had crossed his arms over his chest and given her a dry look. "I know this household only too well."

He did at that.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Chloe hollered out as she tied the sash of her robe.

She unbolted the door and opened it a few inches to peer out.

Grandmere
was there, looking positively frantic. Chloe had never seen her grandmother appear so upset.
"
Grandmere
!
What is it? Is something wrong? Tell me!"

"Oh, it is terrible, my dear, terrible!" The countess stood in the hall, wringing her hands. "Something awful has happened!"

Oh no
! Chloe put her hand to her chest. "What is it; you must tell me."

"
Nonl
I will speak to John—he is the master of the house now; it is for him to deal with.
Only him."

"But John is—"
Naked
.

Chloe heard her husband pad smoothly across the floor. A strong arm circled her waist and she was drawn back into his warmth behind her.

Mon
Deiu
, he hasn't even bothered to put any clothes on!

His tousled blond head peered around the door frame. "What is it, Countess?" he asked calmly.

Grandmere
began wringing her hands again. "Something terrible has happened, John."

Her husband became instantly serious. "What is it?" He paled suddenly. "It's not my uncle, is it?"

"Good heavens, no; it is worse than that!"

"Oh, not Schnapps!"
Chloe wailed loudly.

John glanced down at the top of her head incredulously. She actually had
an affection
for the ugly little dog.

"No, no, my angel… worse, much worse."

John frowned in puzzlement. Not his uncle, the countess was obviously fine, Schnapps lived and growled, and one was never quite sure whether
Deiter
was alive or dead. So what could be worse? He asked as much.

Grandmere
drew herself up with the importance of the horrendous news she was about to impart. "
Zu-Zu
has arrived."

Chloe and John both stared at her blankly.

"Do you not understand what I am saying?"
Grandmere
threw her hands up. "The Countess
Zambeau
is here!
On your very doorstep!"

John just gazed at
Grandmere
. "So?" he said at last.

"Oh ho!
You will see what 'so'! You must come at once. I have given her a suite in the south wing; already she has gone through three maids! And she has only been here half an hour."

"Are you saying this—this woman is staying
here
?" John asked, appalled.

"
Oui
.
Come quickly!"

"I will not." He pulled Chloe closer to him. "I am busy with my wife."

The countess blew out a breath of exasperation. "You must deal with her! If you do not, she will have your house in an uproar."

John was not particularly perturbed.

The countess shook her finger at him. "My dear, young viscount, she will take it upon herself to run the household for you, then demand you thank her for the privilege." The countess waved her hand impatiently in the air. "I have seen her do it before. Say
au
revoir
to the
Chacun
à
Son
Goût
as you know it and
bonjour
to the
Zambeau
Chateau!"

John's nostrils flared. "Who
is
this woman?"

Chloe turned in his arms to look up at him. "You remember her, John; she's the one
Grandmere
was crying over when she presumably went to the guillotine."

"Ah, yes—the 'glorious bitch.' What is she doing here?"

Chloe turned back to her grandmother. "Yes—how did she escape the guillotine,
Grandmere
?"

"We don't know yet; I suppose she will inform us in minute detail of her harrowing adventure. In the meantime, John, you must come down and deal with her."

Chloe nodded in agreement. "Yes, John, you must go."

"What am
I
to do with her?" he thundered.

Grandmere
started down the hallway.
" '
Tis
simple, John, just smile at her.
Zu-Zu
adores men who smile."

"What do you mean by that?" he asked the countess suspiciously. When the countess didn't answer, he turned to his wife. "What does she mean by that?" he asked Chloe.

She shrugged her shoulders.

"Remember—just smile. The Countess
Zambeau
will take it from there,"
Grandmere
predicted from down the hallway.

"Hmm," was all he
said.

When she rounded the corner, the Countess de
Fonbeaulard
smiled broadly.

The two of them had looked so adorable standing together in the doorway like that. John seemed very protective of his new bride.
And much more committed than one would have believed.
As Sir Percy
said,
Res
ipsa
loquitur
. The thing speaks for itself. The task was to get John to listen.

Not to worry,
Grandmere
had a plan.

First she had to deal with that bitch,
Zu-Zu
.

What would she have done without the dear
Zambeau
to make life interesting? Thank God she had escaped the execution!

Spice was a very important ingredient in one's life.

Especially if one could use it to flavor a new marriage.

"It was right before my eyes! Looming enormous, it was raised to its full potential!"

Everyone in the room gasped.

Everyone, that was, except John, who groused under his breath something best not vocalized out loud.

Chloe, sitting next to him on the settee, elbowed him smartly in the side. Dutifully, he gave a feigned gasp.

The Countess
Zambeau
preened, taking the gasps as her due.

Grandmere
was the first to find her voice. "The man who saved you?" she verified, somewhat shocked at the description.

"
Non
!"
Zu-Zu
frowned. "I am speaking of the guillotine."

"
Ohhhh
…" everyone said, slightly disappointed at the turn of the tale.

"So how were you rescued, Countess?" Chloe inquired.

"Yes, do tell us,
Zu-Zu
!" Percy leaned forward in his chair, avidly awaiting the story. Considering it was fodder for his endless prattle, John wasn't overly surprised.

"
Bien
, there I was in the Place de
Greve
; I was being pulled from the cart by a soldier when I looked up to see a vision of unyielding determination and unrelenting precision."

"The guillotine,"
Grandmere
affirmed.

"
Non
!
The man who saved me."
Zu-Zu
leveled a catlike look at her lifelong friend and competitor. "He was quite something, Simone; it is too bad you could not have seen him."

Grandmere
rolled her eyes. "
Oui
, next time I will place myself before the guillotine so I may have a glance at this specimen!"

John snorted.

"Was it the Black Rose?" Percy practically drooled at the thought.

"Of course it was the Black Rose! Who else would save me, the Countess
Zambeau
!
"

A lesser savior would never have done. The woman was impossible.
No wonder the peasants are revolting
. Utterly bored, John closed his eyes and rested his head on the back of the settee.

"What did he look like?" Chloe wanted to know.

John opened one eye. "Why do you want to know?" There was just a hint of suspicion in his voice.

Chloe was overjoyed. She replied innocently, "Everyone wants to know, John; he's the talk of the ton."

"Oh, he's marvelous!"
Zu-Zu
sighed dramatically.

"Really?"
Chloe waited for more while she observed John out of the corner of her eye. The viscount was starting to sulk, which was a very encouraging sign.

"I hear he always appears in disguise, Countess; how could you tell what he really looked like?" Percy had a perplexed expression on his face, as if the intricacies of disguising one's appearance were too taxing for him.

"Well, he appeared that way for the others, but with me he was simply himself! We became very intimate during the long journey here."

"All the way across the channel," John said sardonically while smiling at the countess. Accompanied by his lazy, masculine smile, the sarcasm went right over her head.

"So what does he actually look like?" Chloe repeated her question.

"He's very handsome!
Tall, with the hair of brown and dark eyes.
Most compelling and quite accomplished in the boudoir."

"Really?"
Chloe remarked speculatively.

Not liking the contemplative look on her face one bit, John enclosed her hand
firmly with his own
. "You already have someone in that department, Chloe-
keet
. The position has been filled."

"Only for now, John," she whispered back, purposely goading him.

The jade eyes narrowed.

Zu-Zu
fluttered her fan in the air. "You should have seen that beautiful red hair of his in the moonlight; it was—"

"You just said his hair was brown,
Zu-Zu
,"
Grandmere
smugly reminded her.

Zu-Zu
faltered for a moment. "Did I? Well, I meant red-brown, of course."

"Of course."
It was obvious that
Zu-Zu
had never actually seen the true man. Whether she had consorted with him was another story. The Countess
Zambeau
was a stunning woman, and despite the fact that she was overbearing in the extreme, her exploits in the boudoir were a well-known fact.

"How did he get you away from the soldiers,
Zu-Zu
? Surely there were plenty of guards?" Maurice, who had been silent up to this point, chimed in.

"A whole battalion!
You should have witnessed his bravery, Maurice; he was incredible! Rarely have I seen such swordsmanship! I could have watched him all afternoon."

"If it weren't for the guillotine looming over your head, so to speak," John put in dryly.

"John!" Chloe admonished him.

Zu-Zu
wagged a finger at him. "He is being naughty and this I like." She smiled at him in an altogether coy way.

Out of habit, John winked lazily at her.

Chloe looked back and forth between the two of them.

The Countess
Zambeau
had been eyeing her husband since she met him an hour ago. At first Chloe hadn't put any assignation to the glances; after all, most women ogled John—besides his uncanny good looks, he had a certain steamy aura that seemed to call forth to females on a subconscious level.

On second inspection, however, she realized that the
Zambeau
was highly interested and planning a conquest.

Not with my husband
! Irritated that John had winked at the woman, Chloe turned her back on him.