Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
“Est-ce que ma stupidité ne conna?t pas de limites? The boat, always keep an eye on the boat, but no…”
Giselle stood without moving a muscle as she watched the gentleman pace up and down on the beach, his irritation at himself pouring out in her mother tongue, unable to look away from him. The night was cold, and she shivered slightly despite her thick cloak.
Her sense seemed to be partially overpowered, but there were three things she did know.
Firstly, he was one of the most handsome men that she had ever seen. The small glance that she had managed in the inn simply had not done him credit.
Secondly, that he was French, or at least could rant in French like a native. She would have to be careful to keep her wits about her, and at least in English she could be sure not to betray herself.
And thirdly, he had absolutely no idea that she was the Great Whisperer.
It was this last thought that had completely overwhelmed her, keeping her almost pinned on the sand like an imbécile.
He truly had no idea: had he not berated himself aloud, right before her, about not following the Great Whisperer on horseback?
This gentleman had only ever referred to the Great Whisperer as ‘him’, and her English was strong enough to follow that through his mutterings.
This man, the man who had ran after her and attempted to get information out of her, thought that her contact – thought that Jean – was the Great Whisperer.
Giselle tried to prevent her jaw from falling open as the man continued to mutter to himself.
“Without a boat, imbécile, you have two eyes and you could not even watch a boat? éduard, you fool!”
Relief washed over her. So, at least she was safe from him, no matter whether they were stuck on this island for the night or not. At least she did not have to concern herself with holding out any secrets, for it was clear that he assumed she knew nothing.
Now all she had to worry about was the small matter of escaping from this island.
“And you!” The gentleman stopped pacing and glared at her. “Why did you not shore up the boat properly when we landed here?”
Giselle felt the relief transform in her stomach into irritation. “‘Tis hardly my job to ensure that a boat which I have stolen to escape a maniac is safely on shore, éduard!”
He did look a little crestfallen at her description of him, but he continued to breath heavily through anger and pacing, staring at her.
Giselle took an unconscious step backwards.
Here she was, completely alone with this man, a man whose full name she did not even know, trapped on an island, a most perilous position to be in.
“What were you doing there, in the Loxham Inn, anyway?” He glared at her with steel grey eyes, eyes so sharp they seemed to be piercing into her very soul. “What business had you with the Great Whisperer?”
This éduard could hurt her. He was certainly strong enough, and her blow to his head had been an accident in the boat, she could not hope for such luck again. What could she do to protect herself? What could she say to ensure her own safety?
And then an idea crept into her mind; something insidious that would never have even crossed her unless she had been in dire need. If he had no idea who she was, then the opportunity for a trick was at her disposal.
Giselle calmed down her own breathing, slowed her breasts from rising quickly in panic, and smiled. It was a slightly brittle smile, truth be told, but it was the best she could muster.
“Ah, sir,” she said, curling her smile and tilting her head on one side just an inch. “You have found me out. I too was hunting the Great Whisperer, and I would have had him cornered, if it had not been for your foolish antics, frightening him away!”
She let the silence hang in the air for a moment, keeping her smile fixed on her face, hoping beyond hope that it did not look too disingenuous.
Everything depended on her ability to trick this man, and though she had never yet found a man she could not charm, she was hardly looking her best for this particular encounter.
She could feel her hair had dropped out of its perfectly positioned coiffure, and there were rips and tears in her gown now, thanks to their struggle in the boat.
Would her words be enough?
éduard’s jaw dropped. “You…you were hunting him too? You, a woman? You were hunting the Great Whisperer?”
The tangible surprise in his words forced another flicker of annoyance across Giselle’s heart.
“What, is it so surprising?” She snapped. “You think that I, Giselle, would not be able to track him? You think that this is a task difficile, perhaps impossible for a woman to do?”
“No! Well,” and here there was a sheepish grin on his face. “Perhaps. You are not like many women that I have met, I will say.”
Giselle rolled her eyes. “Quelle surprise! And yet you must admit, monsieur, that no one would ever think that a woman could be tracking down a spy, eh? When we met in that inn, did it even occur to you that I was tracking the very same man that you were?”
She watched éduard’s eyes for moment, as he took in this new information, and for a moment she felt sorry for him. What a fool. He could far more easily swallow the lie that she was hunting down the Great Whisperer than the truth that she was the Great Whisperer. Men. What idiots they were.
“I must apologise again,” he said finally.
“If I had known, if I had had any idea that you were on the same journey that I was on … my lady, I would have certainly gained your approval to work together, and we could have made sure of the Great Whisperer, instead of letting him slip through our fingers once more!”
Giselle blinked, and found that she had been holding her breath without realising – and only when she let it out and take a grateful gasp of air did she realise just how anxious she had been to ensure that he swallowed her lie.
“Work together,” she breathed.
His ears pricked, and he took a step towards her, tall and broad as she had never noticed before. “What did you say?”
She swallowed. Well, if she was going to commit to this charade, she should go all the way. What could it hurt, after all?
“Work together,” Giselle repeated. “Why do we not? Now that the Regent is making London so welcoming for the French nobility, we revolutionaries should expect them to go there. London is large, monsieur, larger than you could ever imagine. Just think what we could do, together, rather than divided.”
For a moment, she thought that she had gone too far.
After all, revolutionary France was full of people like him, hunting down nobles.
She was in danger enough just for being a spy and informant, but as the Great Whisperer?
She could not be in more danger here, alone with a revolutionary who was determined to bring down the spy that was ensuring that as many nobles as possible could escape France with their lives.
And yet this man was undoubtedly her enemy, and keeping her enemies closer was surely the best idea. Perhaps she could find out just how much he knows about the Great Whisperer. Perhaps she could send hm on the wrong track. Perhaps she could worm revolutionary secrets from him.
“Work together – work with a woman?” éduard did not seem entirely sold on the idea, and Giselle shivered slightly in the cold breeze that moved across the water now that the sun was setting.
“Do not think of me as a woman,” Giselle said quietly.
“Think of me as a partner, as your right hand, your soutien. And do not forget, cherie, that you found it almost impossible to believe that I was hunting the Great Whisperer, even after you had seen it with your own eyes. Who else could possibly suspect?”
It was almost amusing, Giselle thought, to watch him consider the idea. She had been as persuasive as she could, and if he was not willing to come over to her way of thinking, there was of course the one resort that she had never needed up to now, but had always been willing to consider.
Seduction as a backup plan was hardly the life she had been raised to, but for Pierre, she would do anything. Even lie on her back and open up her body to this man – and the more she looked at him, the less of a hardship that was starting to feel.
“You have a deal,” said éduard finally, and she felt a strange sense of disappointment flow through her.
But she smiled, and tried to introduce a hint of gratitude and relief into her tone as she said, “Oh, monsieur, I am so pleased. To have you alongside me, to be able to depend on you as we go after the Great Whisperer once more…”
Letting her voice trail off slightly was perhaps too much, but this fool seemed to lap it all up, throwing out his chest and trying not to smile too broadly.
“Ah, mademoiselle, you will have nothing to fear with me,” éduard grinned rakishly. “Although it is my painful duty to point something out.”
Giselle looked at him. These men, so proud of themselves, peacocking around as though they were God’s gift to the feminine world. “And that is?”
éduard raised his arms expressively, and waved them around. “How will we act on our plan if we cannot get off this island?”