Chapter Four #2
“Over here?” He gestured to the patio table just outside the door.
I shook my head. “Over there.”
Way, way over there, to a cluster of tree stumps that served as a table and chairs.
“For privacy,” I murmured at his puzzled expression.
He looked around. “Privacy?”
“Privacy.” I nodded firmly. We could be seen but not heard, and no one could sneak up to listen to us. “Besides, it reminds me of when we were kids.”
His lips curled into a tiny smile. “Playing in the woods, then coming here to play cards…”
“My grandmother bringing us tea and treating us like grown-ups.” I smiled. “Gen, Dora, and I had entire tea parties out here when we were kids.”
The original tree stumps had long since rotted, but my cousin had insisted on rolling replacements to the exact same spot.
I held up the teapot before we got too lost in the good old days. I would have plenty of time to mull over those from behind bars. For now, I might as well enjoy my last moments as a free woman.
God, what would my mother say?
“Tea?” I offered.
“Please.”
“Sugar? Milk?”
“I’ll help myself.”
Storks wading in knee-deep water would have been less stilted than this conversation.
I stirred my tea nervously and considered my pastry. Would it taste better now or after Clem read me my rights?
“So, your questions…?” I prompted.
His face fell, and his nostrils flared as he glanced back at the house.
Oh, I was definitely in deep shit.
“I saw the vampire, and I could smell the felines. Is that dragon shifter still around?”
“No. He’s…out,” I said in a major understatement. “Are they relevant to this conversation?”
Clement snorted. “They’re trouble, Mina. You know that, right?”
Boy, did I. And I would bet the ranch — or the chateau — that I knew more than Clem did. At least, I hoped so. If not, we were all headed for the slammer.
I pictured Bene running through the house as Clem and I spoke, collecting his things. Roux burning documents. Henrik gathering his favorite books. Then they would pile into their van and roar down the driveway. The longer Clem and I sat out here, the farther they could flee.
I could imagine it easily, and part of me wailed. They wouldn’t abandon me as their fall guy, would they?
I snorted, considering recent events. Of course they would.
“Like I said, they’re just renting a few rooms,” I repeated the lie I’d told myself a hundred times. “Just for a few weeks.”
Clem shook his head. “They’ve already been here too long.”
Not long enough, when it came to Marius. But I kept that to myself.
“People are talking in town…” he continued.
I huffed. “People will always talk.”
“About you letting four men stay in your home?” Clement’s voice took on a canine growl as his inner wolf paced closer to the surface.
I’d only let one man into my bedroom, but I doubted that would halt the rumors. Another thought I kept to myself.
“Do you want me to get a chaperone?” I crossed my arms. Clement meant well, but I wasn’t in the market for a knight in shining armor to save me.
But I sure wouldn’t mind a dragon shifter swooping in, to be frank.
“I want you to get yourself out of whatever it is you’ve gotten mixed up in,” Clement half pleaded, half growled.
Saying I want me to get out of this mess too would be a little too incriminating, so all I said was, “I appreciate your concern, Clem. I really do. But they work for my godfather, and he needed a place for them to stay.”
The truth, but not the whole truth, so help me God. And boy, could I use His help around now.
“Right. Your godfather,” Clement said flatly.
I cocked my head. “What about my godfather?”
Clement shrugged. “You tell me.”
I was totally at a loss. “You’ve met him. You know what he’s done for me and my family.”
Clement stared right at me, telling me to do the kind of deep thinking that had never occurred to me before Marius, Roux, Bene, and Henrik had spilled the beans. Was he onto Gordon too?
I’d long since concluded that I had to confront Gordon myself…soon. Now, I vowed to make that my priority…if Clem didn’t arrest me first.
He sure didn’t look too cheery — a bad sign. But that was par for the course with Clem, except in his moments of gazing yearningly into a shared future I had no interest in.
Briefly, it occurred to me that I could — maybe even should — reconsider. I could evict my guests and pretend I’d never met Marius. I could take up with Clem and live a quiet, normal life in Auberre. Well, normal apart from the wolf-shifter thing.
All rather appealing, I had to admit. He and I could wander the countryside at night and howl love ballads at the moon. We could have beautiful children and live happily ever after with our own little pack/family.
That that was a handy way to make my legal woes disappear also occurred to me, I was ashamed to realize. But as quickly as the thought came to me, I shoved it away and prepared to tell Clem the truth.
I gulped, gathering my nerves, then spoke.
“More tea?” I said, copping out with distraction instead of the plain truth.
He gave me a pointed look, then held out his cup.
“You are something, Mina Durant. You’re really something.”
“And you, Officer Dulaire, had a question for me,” I reminded him.
He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and my nerves jittered. This was it.
He opened his mouth…and promptly closed it again. But my ancestors’ powers reached out of the past and channeled into me at exactly that moment, and I read his mind as clearly as a bell.
What do you see in that dragon shifter anyway? he thought, more hurt than angry. What can he offer you that I can’t?
My heart bled. Unrequited love was a bitch, which made me… Well, the bitch. No matter how nice I tried to be, I would forever inflict pain on this man. A good man. Far better than me.
I gulped and touched his hand. “My grandmother always used to say, Everything works out for the best.”
Clement grimaced. “But it doesn’t, Mina. Not in my world.”
I stilled, picturing the cases he’d had to investigate. Murders. Rapes. Horrible injuries and terrible injustices. Crimes he must have witnessed every week, if not in Auberre, then in his previous post in Marseille.
But another image formed amid those heartbreaking scenes. A peaceful, countryside scene where a happy couple stood, wearing crowns of flowers. Other people cheered and threw more flowers. A wedding, I surmised. In a place very much like Auberrre…
I closed my eyes, grasping for more details, but the more I chased, the more they eluded me, until they were gone for good.
I stared into my teacup. Had I just glimpsed the future — Clem’s future? — or the past? And who was that woman? Not me, I felt sure. Who, then?
“Some things do work out for the best,” I whispered.
Clem pinched his lips. “I want them to. Believe me. I just don’t think hoping will get me there.”
“Neither do I. But the best we can do is do what’s right. For each of us, I mean.”
He looked sadder than ever. I gestured to the pastries.
“Time for these?”
A corner of his mouth quirked, and I saw a sprinkle of hope in his dark, canine eyes. “Good idea.”
I raised my teacup in a toast, eager to lighten the mood. “To Madame Martin.”
He chuckled and touched his cup to mine. “To hopeless romantics.”
Did he mean her, himself, or me?
When I took a bite, chocolate cream burst into my mouth, along with flakes of soft, airy dough.
“Oh my God. So good,” I moaned.
Clem shifted in his seat, and for once, I was glad no magical skills brushed over me just then to reveal his train of thought.
“Delicious.” He wiped a napkin over his lips, hiding his expression.
Bite by bite, that marvel of French baking disappeared.
“So good,” I sighed mournfully, scraping my plate.
He chuckled. “Next time, I’ll bring more.”
I froze at the next time part, then patted my belly. “One is my limit, thanks.” Then I pursed my lips and got back to business. “You never asked your question.”
His smile faded, and I braced myself for You have the right to remain silent.
But he stalled, clearing his throat. “Some of the guys back at QG were talking…”
QG was short for quartier général, the regional police headquarters. God, was I way, way up shit creek.
“The Pelletier farm flooded, so the regional police championships need a different location,” he continued.
I frowned. If he was going to arrest me, could he at least have the decency to get to the point?
But that was it. He just looked at me.
“The regional police championships?” I squeaked, wondering if that was code for Take cover, because I have agents surrounding the building, and we’re about to launch our raid?
He nodded. “Just three events. Cross-country running, mountain biking, and table tennis.”
“Table tennis?” Now I was really confused. Was I busted or wasn’t I?
He shot me a wry smile. “Yes, table tennis. Whoever wins goes on to the national championships, then the European police championships in November. They’re in Thessaloniki this year.” He brightened at the prospect, then gestured around. “It occurred to me that you have a lot of space here…”
I gaped. That was it? No bust, no arrest?
“You want me to host the police table tennis championships here?” I sagged in relief.
“And cross-country and mountain biking. On the third weekend of October. Unfortunately, there’s no budget to pay for facilities, but you did say you wanted to raise the profile of Chateau Nocturne…”
I had, but busing in dozens of police officers wasn’t high on my list — not while my houseguests were around.
On the other hand, it never hurt to have the local police indebted to you.
I was ashamed to even think such a thought, but tempted too.
Besides, I had bills to pay and loans in the works for things like new roofing. The chateau had to start earning its keep, and free publicity wouldn’t hurt.
“You wouldn’t have to do much, because the organizing committee has everything set to go. They just need a site that can host those three events.”
My life was in turmoil, and it would take more than a few weeks for things to settle down — if they ever would. But I was still euphoric at not being arrested. (Yet.) Shouldn’t I grab the chance to build good karma while I could?
“They’ll need to visit once to measure the cross-country and mountain bike courses. They’ll set up the previous day and take everything away right after the awards ceremony. So, that’s only three days on-site. Not too much of an imposition?” Clem asked hopefully.
No, except for my houseguests. But, hell. Maybe I could get Gordon to send them to Naples. That was where crime gangs operated, right?
And, oops. I really was internalizing this mercenary thing now.
“Everything okay?” Clem tilted his head.
I stuck on a smile. “Fine. Yes, that would be great. I’d be happy to help.”
He grinned. “And who knows? Maybe someone who attends will like it so much, they’ll come back to get married here.”
I forced a chuckle, thinking of the vision I’d had. “Yeah. Who knows?”
A cuckoo called from the forest. Clem checked his watch, gulped the rest of his tea, and stood. “Gotta go.”
He insisted on carrying the tray into the house, while I insisted on seeing him to the door before a vampire or a tiger intercepted him and set off a deadly fight.
I held the door open, and we traded three kisses. His sage-and-lavender scent wafted over me each time, making me question my life choices. Bene was right. I did have options.
But instead of temptation, all I felt was determination. I would find Marius and fight for a place in his life — or at least get closure on an ill-fated affair.
Clem’s scent wafted over again, assuring me he would be ready and waiting if — when? — that day arrived.
“Be good,” Clem said. Then he flicked his eyes upstairs. “Be careful. And please. Keep an open mind.”
Something told me he didn’t mean the police championships.
I nodded. “Thanks for coming. And thank Madame Martin.”
He flashed a grin that would make half the country swoon and stepped toward his car, calling, “à bient?t.” See you soon.
I steeled myself, because he would. Him, along with most of the regional police force. Was this really a good idea?
“à bient?t,” I murmured, forcing myself to wave.