The Paris Affair Part 1

The Paris Affair Part 1

THE PARIS AFFAIR.

TERESA GRANT.

For Melanie Cordelia, who arrived during the writing of this book and made life infinitely more fun.

Welcome to the world and a lifetime of reading.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.




Fervent thanks to my editor, Audrey LaFehr, and my agent, Nancy Yost, for their wonderful support of Malcolm and Suzanne and of me. From e-mails to lunches your advice, input, and friendship mean the world to me.

Thanks as well to Sarah Younger of Nancy Yost Literary Agency and Martin Biro of Kensington Books for answering questions, sending out ARCs and coverflats, and generally helping make a writer's life easier. To Paula Reedy for shepherding the book through copyedits and galleys with exquisite care and good humor. To Barbara Wild for the careful copyediting. To Alexandra Nicolaj-sen for the superlative social media support. To Kristine Mills n.o.ble and Jon Paul for a beautiful cover that evokes the mood of the book and looks like Suzanne. And to Karen Auerbach, Adeola Saul, everyone at Kensington Books, and Adrienne Rosado, Natanya Wheeler, and everyone at the Nancy Yost Literary Agency for their support throughout the publication process.

Thank you to the readers who share Suzanne's and Malcolm's adventures with me on my Web site and Facebook and Twitter. Thank you to Gregory Paris and jim saliba for creating my Web site and updating it so quickly and with such style. To Raphael Coffey for juggling cats and baby to take the best author photos a writer could have. To Jayne Davis for quickly, cheerfully, and brilliantly answering grammar questions. And to the staff at Peet's Coffee & Tea at The Village in Corte Madera for fabulous lattes and cups of tea and an always warm welcome to Melanie and me while I wrote and Melanie took in the world.

Writers work in isolation, but writer friends make the process infinitely easier and more fun. Thank you to Lauren Willig for series strategizing over lattes in New York. To Penelope Williamson for support and understanding and endless hours a.n.a.lyzing everything from Measure for Measure to Mad Men. To Veronica Wolff for wonderful writing dates during which my word count seemed to magically increase. To Catherine Duthie for sharing her thoughts on Malcolm and Suzanne's world and introducing them to new readers. To Deborah Crombie for supporting Malcolm and Suzanne from the beginning. To Tasha Alexander and Andrew Grant for their wit and wisdom. To Deanna Raybourn, to whom I totally owe a pony. And to my other writer friends near and far for brainstorming, strategizing, and commiserating-Jami Alden, Bella Andre, Isobel Carr, Catherine Coulter, Cara Elliott, Barbara Freethy, Carol Grace, C. S. Harris, Candice Hern, Anne Mallory, Monica McCarty, and the fabulous History Hoydens.

Finally, thank you to Raphael Coffey, Bonnie Glaser, David d.i.c.kson and Patrick Wilken, and Elaine and Wayne Hamlin for making it possible for me to be a writer and a mother. And to my daughter, Melanie, who was born during the writing of this book and was wonderfully cooperative about letting me finish it.

CHAPTER 1.

The hanging oil lamps swayed and gusted at the opening of the door. The wind brought in the stench from the Seine. A man and woman stepped into the Trois Amis tavern and stopped just beyond the door. The man was lean and dark haired and perhaps taller than he looked. He slouched with a casual ease that took off several inches. A greatcoat was flung carelessly over his shoulders. Beneath, his black coat was unb.u.t.toned to reveal a striped crimson waistcoat. A spotted handkerchief was knotted loosely round his neck in place of a cravat.

The woman, who leaned within the circle of his arm, wore a scarlet cloak with the hood pushed back to reveal a cascade of bright red curls, brilliant even in the murky light of the tavern. Glittering earrings swung beside her face, though surely they must be paste rather than diamonds. Her rouged lips curved in a smile as her gaze drifted round the common room with indolent unconcern.

The other occupants of the tavern glanced at the new arrivals. It was an eclectic crowd, a mix of sailors, dockworkers, merchants, women who plied their wares along the docks, a few young aristocrats in sporting dress. And soldiers, in the uniforms of Russia, Prussia, Austria, Bavaria, England. These days, less than two months after Napoleon Bonaparte's defeat at Waterloo, one couldn't go anywhere in Paris without seeing soldiers.

After a moment, the crowd returned to their dice, drinks, and flirtation. The accordion player seated in the center of the room, who had paused briefly, launched into another lively air.

The couple moved to the bar, where the gentleman procured two gla.s.ses of red wine. While he was engaged with the barkeep, several men ran appreciative gazes over the lady. One went so far as to put a hand on her back. "How much?" he asked, his head close enough to her own that his brandy-laced breath brushed her skin.

The lady ran her gaze over him. Her eyes were an unusual color between green and blue. She brushed her fingers against his face and then put a gloved hand on his chest. She gave a dazzling smile. "More than you can possibly afford."

The man regarded her for a moment, then shrugged and grinned. "Can't blame a man for trying," he said, and moved towards a fair-haired girl by the fireplace.

The gentleman turned from the bar and put one of the gla.s.ses of red wine into the lady's hand. If he had noticed the man making her an offer, he gave no sign of it. He touched his gla.s.s to hers, and they threaded their way through the crowd to a table neither too obviously in the center of the room nor too deep in the shadows. Experience had taught them that the easiest way to hide was often to remain in plain sight.

The lady tugged at the cords on her cloak and let it slither about her to reveal a low-cut gown of spangled white sarcenet. The gentleman shrugged out of his greatcoat, slouched in his chair, and ran an eye round the room.

"I don't see anyone matching the description," the lady said in unaccented French.

"Nor do I," the gentleman agreed in French that was almost as flawless.

"We're a bit early."

"So we are. But I'd give even odds on whether he actually puts in an appearance. He's never been our most reliable a.s.set."

The lady tossed back a sip of wine. "Oh, well. At least we've had a night out."

The gentleman grinned at her. "I can think of places I'd rather take you."

"But this one has a certain piquancy, cheri. An evening without diplomatic small talk. Bliss."

The gentleman slid his hand behind her neck, then went still, his fingers taut against her skin.

The lady had seen it, too.

The man they had come to meet stood by the door, a short, compact figure enveloped in a dark greatcoat. He removed his hat to reveal hair that was several shades darker than its natural color. A good attempt at disguise, but nervousness still radiated off him.

"Well," the gentleman murmured to the lady. "People can surprise you."

The lady touched his arm. "I'll take care of it, Malcolm."

Malcolm Rannoch caught his wife's wrist. "Be careful."

Suzanne Rannoch turned to look at her husband. "Really, mon amour, you'd think you didn't know me."

"Sometimes I wonder." Malcolm pulled her hand to his lips, the gesture flirtatious to anyone watching, but his grip unexpectedly strong. "Remember, we're in alien territory."

She squeezed his fingers. "When are we not?"

Suzanne moved into the room, her spangled skirts stirring about her, and bent over the accordion player. He gave her a quick smile. A moment later, he launched into a lilting rendition of La ci darem la mano. Suzanne began to sing, her voice slightly huskier than usual. She moved towards the nearest table and brushed her fingers against the face of the portly man who sat there, then bent over a young Russian lieutenant at the next table, her burnished ringlets spilling over his shoulder.

The buzz of conversation stilled. The dice ceased to rattle.

Malcolm allowed himself a moment to appreciate his wife's skill, then picked up his greatcoat and gla.s.s of wine and strolled across the room to the corner deep in the shadows of the oak-beamed ceiling where the man he was to meet had taken up his position.

"My compliments, Rivere." Malcolm dropped into a chair across from him. "I gave even odds on whether or not you'd actually put in an appearance."

Antoine, Comte de Rivere, cast a quick glance about. "For G.o.d's sake, Rannoch, what do you mean coming up to me openly?"

"You were thinking we'd pa.s.s coded messages back and forth instead of having a conversation?"

"If we're noticed-"

"My wife has things in hand."

"Your-" Rivere stared at Suzanne, who was now perched on the edge of a table, leaning back, her weight resting on her hands, her skirt pulled up to reveal the pink clocks embroidered on her silk stockings. "Good G.o.d."

"I don't think you've seen Suzanne in action before. We're both more accustomed to disguise than you are."

Rivere looked from Suzanne to Malcolm. "The way you're dressed you can't help but attract attention."

"But the man and woman people will remember seeing tonight will seem nothing like Malcolm Rannoch, attache at the British emba.s.sy, and his charming wife." Malcolm pushed his gla.s.s of wine across the table to Rivere. "You look as though you need it more than I do."

Rivere took a sip of wine. His fingers tightened round the stem of the gla.s.s. "I pa.s.s messages. I don't-"

"Indulge in this cloak-and-dagger business. Quite."

"It's all very well for you British." Rivere twisted the gla.s.s on the scarred wood of the table. The yellow light from the oil lamps glowed in the red wine. "You're protected by emba.s.sy walls and diplomatic pa.s.sports. It's getting more and more dangerous for the rest of us. The Ultra Royalists have been out for blood ever since the news from Waterloo. I sometimes think they won't rest until they've rid the country of every last taint of Bonapartism. I'm not sure even Talleyrand and Fouche can hold them in check." He grimaced. "Mon Dieu. That I'd ever be calling Fouche the voice of moderation."

"If nothing else he's a survivor," Malcolm said. "As is Talleyrand." Prince Talleyrand, who had once been Napoleon Bonaparte's foreign minister, and Fouche, who had been his minister of police, had both managed to survive in the restored Royalist government.

"Even they can't hold back the tide," Rivere said. "Look how Ultra Royalists are going after men like la Bedoyere-"

"La Bedoyere was the first officer to go over to Bonaparte when he escaped from Elba. You aren't on the proscribed list."

"Yet." Rivere cast a glance about and leaned forwards, shoulders hunched, voice lowered. "Fouche receives more denunciations every day. You've heard Royalists in the Chamber of Deputies clamoring for blood. Cleansing, they call it. It's the Terror all over again."

Malcolm cast an involuntary protective glance towards Suzanne, who was tugging playfully at the cravat of a Prussian major. He looked harmless enough, but these days Malcolm's every sense was keyed to danger. There was no denying France in the wake of Napoleon's defeat was a dangerous place. Frenchmen clashed in the street daily with soldiers from the occupying armies of Prussia, Russia, Austria, Bavaria. And, Malcolm could not deny, England as well. Royalist gangs had ravaged Ma.r.s.eilles and Toulon and other cities. "It's dangerous," Malcolm conceded. "But that doesn't mean you-"

"My cousin's in the Chamber, and he wants me dead. My father got the t.i.tle when his father was guillotined in the Terror. He wants it back."

"There are legal avenues he could pursue."

"But getting rid of me would be quicker. And it would be vengeance for his father. He's worked his way into the Comte d'Artois's set. It's only a matter of time before I'm arrested."

The Comte d'Artois, younger brother of the restored Bourbon king, Louis XVIII, was known for his zeal in exacting retribution on those who had supported Napoleon Bonaparte. It had been easier when Napoleon was exiled the first time. After his escape from Elba and his second defeat, at Waterloo, the Ultra Royalists wanted blood.

Malcolm studied Rivere's usually cool blue eyes. "The irony being that while you served Bonaparte you pa.s.sed messages to the British."

"But there's no way I can prove it, d.a.m.n it."

"We could help. But being a British spy isn't likely to gain you favor with the French, even the Royalists."

"Precisely. I'm d.a.m.ned either way."

"You're not generally one to talk in such melodramatic terms."

"I don't generally fear for my life." Rivere cast another glance round the tavern. Suzanne was now standing on one of the tables, arms stretched in a way that pulled the bodice of her gown taut across her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. A whistle cut the air.

Malcolm reclaimed his gla.s.s and took another sip of wine. "What do you want, Rivere?"

"Safe pa.s.sage out of France."

"I can talk to the emba.s.sy-"

"Not through official channels. That will take too long. Get me out of Paris and across the Channel within the week. Once in England I want a pension, a house in the country, and rooms in London."

"You don't set your sights low, do you?"

"Do you have any idea how much I'm giving up leaving France?"

For a moment, Malcolm could smell the salt air at Dunmykel, his family home in Scotland, and hear the sound of the waves breaking on the granite cliffs. It wasn't easy to be an exile. Even if one had chosen the exile oneself, as he had done. "We don't turn our back on our own, Rivere."

"No?" Rivere gave a short laugh. "What about Valmay and St. Cyr and-"

"I don't turn my back," Malcolm said. Far be it from him to defend the sins of British intelligence. "But I can't make you guarantees of that nature on my own authority."

"Take it to Wellington or Castlereagh or whomever you d.a.m.n well have to. But I want an answer within twenty-four hours."

"You seem very confident."

"I am." Rivere reached for the gla.s.s and took a long drink of wine.

A whoosh sounded through the tavern. Suzanne had jumped off the table and landed in the lap of a red-faced gentleman in a blue coat.

Rivere set the gla.s.s down but retained hold of the stem. "Tell your masters that if they don't meet my demands, the information I reveal will shake the British delegation to its core."

Malcolm leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. It was not the first time he'd heard such a claim. "It's not as though the British delegation has never weathered scandal. And the behavior of most delegations at the Congress of Vienna rather changed the definition of scandal."

"This goes beyond personal scandal."

Malcolm pulled the gla.s.s from Rivere's fingers and tossed down a swallow. "Enlighten me."

"Oh no, Rannoch. I'm not giving up my bargaining chip. But mention the Laclos affair to Wellington and I think you'll find the hero of Waterloo is all too ready to accede to my demands."

Malcolm's fingers went taut round the gla.s.s. "What the devil does Bertrand Laclos have to do with this?"

Rivere's brows lifted. "That's right. I forgot you were involved in the Laclos affair. I think I've said enough for now. Just take my message to Wellington and Castlereagh. I doubt either of them wants to see England and France at war again."

Malcolm kept his gaze steady on Rivere, trying to discern how much was bluff, how much was real.

"I may only be a clerk," Rivere said, "but clerks are privy to a number of secrets. I didn't just ask you to meet me because you're Wellington's best agent. I asked you because what I know about you should guarantee you'll help me."

"Oh, for G.o.d's sake-"

"For the sake of your family."

"A bit extreme, surely," Malcolm said in a light voice that sounded forced to his own ears. "My family are a long way from Paris."

Rivere leaned back, holding Malcolm's gaze with his own. "Given her varied career, it never occurred to you that she might have had a child?"

Oh, G.o.d. Rivere knew- "Your sister," Rivere said.

For a moment, the blood seemed to freeze in Malcolm's veins.