Page 31

L izzie was rooted to the spot in the kitchen. Neither she nor Jack had time to reach for their guns and had been taken wholly unawares. They had made it safely back into the chateau, and the last thing she’d expected was to have a gun pointed at her on entry into the kitchen.

Jack stepped forward to stand with Lizzie in front of their cloaked and hooded assailant, who had moved from the bench by the table and now stood, still brandishing a gun.

‘There must be some mistake. We couldn’t sleep and went for a walk around the grounds,’ Jack said, holding his hands up.

‘Don’t move. Stay back,’ the low voice barked.

Lizzie suspected one of the male staff. How else could he be inside the chateau, waiting for them like this?

Lizzie’s pulse raced as she stared at the shrouded figure, illuminated only by a candelabra that flickered on a counter in the large kitchen.

‘Who are you and what do you want?’ Lizzie asked, sounding much calmer than she felt.

‘I’ll ask the questions,’ the voice commanded. ‘What were you really doing out there?’

Lizzie cleared her dry throat. Talking with a gun pointed at her head didn’t come easily. ‘Like Monsieur Dubois said, we couldn’t sleep. We were worrying about our family in Brittany and took a stroll to the vineyards.’

‘Why are you dressed like that?’ the voice questioned.

‘Like what?’ Jack asked.

‘All in dark clothing, as if you have something to hide. Are you spying on us?’

Lizzie calculated whether to draw her gun from her pocket. Not seeing the assailant’s face made it difficult to gauge how dangerous he was and how likely to react by shooting.

Jack’s voice was steady. ‘I don’t know about you, but it’s been a long night, and I’m tired. I’d like to get to bed. I don’t think Monsieur Luc will be impressed by this little hold up of yours.’

The figure remained quiet and seemed to consider Jack’s statement.

Jack stretched out his hand. ‘Give me the gun. I promise we won’t report you and we can all forget this ever happened. We understand these are frightening times and you’ve let your imagination run away with you.’

Lizzie struggled to breathe. Anything could happen if this man was a loose cannon. If there was one thing she’d learnt in the past year, it was how unpredictable people were.

The three of them stood there and all Lizzie could hear was the methodical tick tock of the kitchen clock on the wall. It was hard to believe they were being held at gunpoint in what she thought of as their safe haven.

No one moved. Lizzie knew whoever backed down first would be the loser. It was imperative they didn’t show their fear, and she decided it was too risky to reach for her gun. Jack had presumably come to the same conclusion and stood at her side.

A sound startled them, and the interior door, which had been closed, creaked slowly open. The man couldn’t move without turning his back on them, but Jack and Lizzie’s eyes swivelled to the door.

A wave of relief surged through Lizzie when she saw Luc’s familiar form, his silk nightgown visible in the candlelight, and his pistol pointed at the assailant.

‘Who have we here?’ he said, piercing the charged silence as he stepped into the kitchen with Beau at his side.

The figure removed their hood to reveal a pale face.

‘Suzanne!’ Luc said. ‘Why on earth are you holding our guests at gunpoint?’ He reached for her gun, and she let him have it with a sigh.

‘Suzanne!’ Lizzie echoed, astonished to see the friendly housekeeper who was her jam making partner.

‘Let’s sit down and calm ourselves. Whilst I appreciate your nighttime vigilance, I can’t have my relatives accosted by an armed guard, as I’m sure you appreciate. Please explain yourself, Suzanne.’

They all stared at the housekeeper as Beau licked her hand.

‘I’m sorry, but our guests are not who they seem.

I have heard them sneaking in and out of the house during the past few weeks and until tonight, I told myself it wasn’t any of my business.

But tonight, I saw from the window, they brought suspicious strangers onto our grounds, and I couldn’t ignore their nighttime prowls any longer.

We have enemies of the state in our midst, and I wished only to protect you, monsieur. ’

Luc smiled at Suzanne, and his voice was filled with tenderness. ‘Dear Suzanne, now you have explained the situation to me, I understand why you did what you did. You have lived here for over ten years, and I know how loyal you are, but let me assure you, we have nothing to fear from these two.’

Confusion swept over Suzanne’s face. ‘You knew about tonight’s goings on?’

Luc didn’t confirm or deny, but said he must ask her to keep her suspicions to herself and not talk to anyone about what she had seen.

Suzanne looked sheepishly at Lizzie and then at Jack. ‘I feel foolish now and must apologise. I did what I did only to protect Monsieur Luc.’

Jack stepped forward and patted Suzanne’s arm. ‘Think no more of it. You have proven yourself to be loyal and true in the face of what you thought was treachery. I applaud you for it.’

Lizzie met Suzanne’s eyes. ‘I didn’t guess it was you. How did you throw your voice like that?’

‘I acted in many plays at the theatre before I worked as a housekeeper. My roles were often of men, and I perfected a male voice. It came in handy tonight.’

Lizzie studied Suzanne, still surprised by the revelation. ‘It certainly did. I thought you must be one of the vineyard workers.’

Suzanne removed her long black cloak and hung it on a hook on the door. ‘One of my props, from when I played a highwayman in my last performance. I made it myself and kept it as a souvenir to remind me of those days.’

Lizzie was grateful the situation had been diffused. They would need to talk to Luc about Suzanne and make sure he trusted her to keep their secret, but it seemed her loyalty was to her master, and that was what motivated her bizarre behaviour.

Suzanne made hot chocolate to restore their spirits. ‘It’s the least I can do after making such a terrific blunder. Once again, I must apologise. I didn’t know Monsieur Luc was aware of your activities. You can count on me not to say a word to anyone.’

They drank the soothing chocolate and then Suzanne retired to her quarters after apologising repeatedly.

Luc spoke to Lizzie and Jack, merriment twinkling in his eyes. ‘What an uproar. I know Suzanne is protective of me, but I didn’t expect for one minute to find you held at gunpoint by Claude Duval in the kitchen!’

‘Claude Duval?’ Lizzie said.

‘He’s a famous French highwayman,’ Jack told her. ‘A bit like England’s Dick Turpin.’

‘Ah,’ Lizzie sighed. ‘Another hole in my French cultural knowledge. ‘Sometimes, I think it’s a miracle I’ve made it this far.’

The tension of the previous days, and the relief they had not been exposed, caught up with them, and they all started laughing, until tears streamed down their faces.

‘That must be the most ridiculous situation I’ve ever found myself in,’ Lizzie said, gasping for breath as she wiped her eyes.

Exhaustion was fast on the heels of their mirth. They drained their cups of the dregs of the precious chocolate and tiptoed back to their bedroom through the maze of corridors just as dawn broke over the Garonne Valley.

They had survived another day in enemy territory.