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Rollant went to the other three families before he went to élise.

The path to her door felt longer than the journey from Paris itself.

Rollant’s boots crunched against the frost-coated earth, with each step weighed down by the dread of finding them together—her as Hugo’s wife, the man who had taken his place.

Jacq had opened the door to Hugo’s family home, not Hugo as he expected, and with it, the flicker of hope he had dared to hold extinguished.

He braced himself as he stood before élise’s door. His fist rapped against the wood, louder than he’d intended. When the door opened, the sight of her clad in his shirt hanging loosely over her frame and a coat over her shoulders nearly undid him.

“Rollant?” Her whisper and the intensity of her gaze stole the air from his lungs. “You came back?” she asked with a quiver in her voice and a hopeful longing in her eyes.

For a moment, he couldn’t speak. His name on her lips was everything he had imagined in his sleepless nights—soft, reverent, aching with unspoken feelings.

The way she looked at him made his resolve falter.

He wanted to close the distance between them, to pull her into his arms and place a parted mouth upon hers as he had dreamed of a thousand times.

She shivered from the night’s winds, breaking his trance. “Why did Hugo let you come to the door in the middle of the night?” he asked, but he would deal with Hugo’s carelessness later. He held up his hand to redirect. “We must leave now, élise, pack your things—yours and Hugo’s.”

“Hugo does not live here,” she said, her eyes locking with his, before his gaze dropped to her bare finger. “He suggested we wait to be wed,” she whispered. “I always take off his ring at night and pull your shirt over my head and my heart.” The action was implicit in her resolve.

His jaw fell agape. “You are not married?” he asked in disbelief, wondering why she had chosen to wait. Why was he deserving of such devotion?

She shook her head, a question in her eyes, but it never flowed off her tongue.

He shifted as he ran her words through his mind once more. “It has been nearly a year since I saw you, élise,” he said. “You still hold on to me so tightly?”

Her lips spread wide. “You told me I’d always have you, and you’ll always have me too.”

The community was gathering on the road. Eyes were on Rollant’s back as he stood at élise’s door. She glanced over his shoulder. “I will pack my bag,” she said, retreating inside, letting the door close with a soft click.

He stared at the door’s wooden grains until a small smile took his lips and a soft sigh of relief. She wasn’t married. But as soon as the smile came, it fell. He didn’t deserve her. Didn’t deserve to ruin her life. Maybe she didn’t want Hugo and needed an excuse; perhaps that was her plight.

Rollant faced the gathered community until all were present, his breath fogging in the chill night air.

Torches flickered, casting long shadows over faces etched with fear and uncertainty.

élise stood near the front with a scarf pulled tight around her neck.

Hugo drew near her with a penetrating gaze, daring Rollant to take élise.

“What do we do, Monsieur de Montvieux?” Camille asked, her voice pleading.

“It is Citizen, now. Do not use formal titles anymore. This is one of the reasons why we must leave,” Rollant said. “I know your beliefs, and the community beyond my land also knows your beliefs. It is only a matter of time before the guillotine comes here.”

His voice cut through the murmurs. “There are already reports of the cleansing all across France. You will be killed for not believing as they do.”

“Where are you taking us? Hugo said you had an estate,” Camille called out.

“To my estate in the Chartreuse Mountains,” Rollant said. “We will travel by night and hide during the day. It should take us three days to reach.”

“By night? It is freezing,” a man called out.

“If we travel by day, we will be detained and questioned. We must travel by night and hide by day,” Rollant answered.

A murmur rose as members shivered in their winter clothes.

Rollant continued, “The village is old and isolated. They have customs that have not been seen in centuries. Do your best to learn them and follow them,” he said. “We need to leave now.”

Reluctance lived on their faces, but Rollant warned them. “You risk your life if you don’t come.”

“We risk our lives if we do,” Giselle spoke up.

Gasps rippled through the crowd, but élise stepped forward, her voice firm. “I will go. Rollant has only ever taken me out of danger. I trust him completely.”

Hugo’s gaze dropped upon seeing Rollant and élise lock eyes.

His shoulders slumped as if resigned to fate.

“That is true. I cannot argue.” He glanced at élise’s hand, now wearing his ring.

With renewed confidence, Hugo surveyed the hesitant community and spoke on their behalf, whether they were willing or not. “Lead us, Citizen Montvieux.”

Rollant held a finger in the air to silence the murmurs.

“Hear my warning well—when we reach the village living on my estate, you must respect their customs. They believe my ancestor’s home is haunted by a ghost knight. If you step onto the land and return alive, they’ll accuse you of witchcraft and burn you at the stake.”

Fear darted in their gazes, but they bravely followed Rollant to the south.

* * *

They finally came upon the far outskirts of Lyon, the Chartreuse mountains.

He led them off the main path into a grassy meadow, across an ages-old bridge, until a crumbling stone wall came into sight.

Rollant warned them again, “Do not enter here, for the village will convict you of sorcery should you return alive.”

élise glanced at the overgrown land with its bent iron gate. Vines had captured a small collapsing house in the distance, and rock sections had been dismantled.

Hugo had stopped to help his sister with a ripped bag, but élise made her way to Rollant’s side.

He hadn’t said much to her in the three days’ journey due to Hugo’s proximity, but every glance told her what he wished to say.

She took her chance and walked alongside him amid the chirping crickets and the owl’s hoot.

The community fell slightly behind as they picked up pace.

“Will you come back for us?” she whispered.

“Yes, when it is safe,” he said. He peered down at her over his shoulder.

There was hesitation in his gaze.

“What do you wish to ask me?”

Rollant chewed his lip. “For the last three days, I have wondered about the meaning behind what you told me. Do you truly mean I will always have you, or do you not wish to marry Hugo, and I am your excuse?”

Her hand brushed his. “It means I want you, and only you. As far as Hugo goes, he doesn’t want to let go. He thinks that in time, I will lose my love for you.”

Rollant pulled his arm away. “It may not be safe for years; you may be older than I am when I return.”

“Then I will wait,” she said.

His brow furrowed as if her response was impossible.

“The village should have eligible suitors, should you want to see if one of them might give you the life you imagine.”

She slipped her hand into his within the folds of her coat. The warmth instantly soothed the chill in her fingers. “I want to be with you.”

Rollant’s lip twitched like he was afraid to smile. “Then, promise me you will consider the possibility of growing old and dying while I remain as this. Consider the possibility of going years between seeing me and knowing I can never fulfill your physical needs as a wife.”

“I’ve considered it,” she said, hoping their eyes met, but his gaze was locked ahead.

Rollant shook his head. “I want you to experience life to the fullest, and it is not with me, but if you still choose me, then you can tell the village people you are my wife, and you will be allowed to go to my home where my first family is laid to rest. I have told you all the truths, but find the graves if you want to see how you will end under my curse. If you tell the village people you are my wife, you cannot consider any young man there. Of course, when you return to Charonne, I will not hold you to anything said here should you want to be free from me. But for a time, you will give up everything.”

He patted his coat pocket and pulled out a small pouch. “If you choose to say you are my wife,” he said. “You will need to wear this. It is a ring with my family’s insignia—a mountain with three stars for faith, honor, and duty.”

élise studied the pouch. “Have you always carried this on you?”

Rollant shook his head. “No, I had it made after the king’s execution for this very moment. I had to ensure your safety. I know you, élise, you would have gone into my home and risked your life to see if I told you the truth.”

She chuckled. “You do know me.”

“How much farther?” Camille cried out in a huff.

élise released his hand as Rollant turned to the community members. “Let’s rest here until dawn. We don’t want to scare the villagers. I will scout the village first and ensure it still stands before we enter,” he said.

The community nestled into the woods opposite the crumbling estate, and élise snuck off after Rollant. She had to make absolutely certain of her next action.

He turned around, letting élise bump into his chest. The village torches and their community traveler’s torches were specks of light in the distance on either side of their path.

“Why are you coming?” Rollant asked as the moonlight caused the shadows to dance across his face.

“Do you not want me? Is that why you push me away?” she asked.

“Of course, I want you. I want you more than death.” His hand clenched, and her heart broke at his struggle. “I love you, élise, but as I’ve said?—”

She rolled to her toes and pressed her lips against his cheek like she’d done in Le Marais. His lips followed hers until they almost touched, but he stopped, longing in his eyes. “I won’t drag you into my curse, élise. Only step into it if there is no other way and your life depends on it.”

“If I tell them I am your wife,” she said. “Will you take me back with you to Charonne?”

Rollant shook his head. “Not until it is safe. I cannot protect you if you are arrested in the morning and executed by sundown. It is safer here being so isolated and unknown.”

“But you will return for me?”

“Yes,” he said.

“Then I will say I am your wife.”

His eyes glistened with a pained gaze. “Consider it all first, please,” he whispered, pushing her hair behind her ear.

The village still stood, and they returned to camp. Hugo saw them and shot Rollant a deadly stare.

élise made her way to Hugo, and they walked to the edge of camp out of earshot.

“I can’t do it, Hugo. I can’t marry you. You’re right, I will always choose Rollant,” she whispered.

Hugo shook his head and rubbed the sides of her arms. “Let his presence wear off, élise. I promise you’ll forget him. I asked him to stop coming back, and once he does, you’ll see.”

She shook her head and attempted to return his ring, but he pushed it back into her hand. “I’m not ready to lose you,” he said. “Please, wear it . . . for me.”

“I’ll wear it because you are my friend,” she said. “But I cannot marry you.”

Hugo licked his lip and nodded. “Rollant will leave tomorrow, and then we can talk about it some more,” he said.

But she knew there wasn’t anything left to say.