Tasha Alexander - Dangerous to Know

Emily was sick. I did the only thing possible for me: assist Mr. Capet in taking down the body. Being useful and facing the reality of what we’d found seemed preferable to standing outside and wondering how bad it was. The imagination, I always find, often weaves a more frightening picture than the truth.

Colin will not be pleased with what we’ve done.

Calm and focused as always, Colin paced the room, listening to our story when he returned the next day, deep lines across his forehead. His reaction appeared consistent with the myriad other times I’d seen him faced with grim news and difficult work, but something beneath the surface was different this time. His eyes did not linger on mine quite as long as they used to, and the concern with which he was treating me was identical to that he extended to his mother and Cécile—kind and compassionate, sensitive and understanding—but lacking the emotionally intimate connection we’d always shared. My stomach churned, more upset by this than the sight of poor Monsieur Vasseur’s body.

“You’ve done good work,” he said, directing the comment to Sebastian. Monsieur Leblanc had remained behind to liaise with the police. “And accomplished more than I. We need to find the child, that’s paramount now, as it’s evident she’s in a fair amount of danger.”

“I asked the police to send you a full report,” I said.

“Good girl,” he said, still hardly meeting my eyes. “It was a brutal day for all of you, and I think it’s best we have an early night. I’ll set off tomorrow for Rouen as early as possible.”

“I’m coming with you,” I said.

“We’ll discuss that later,” he said. “Capet, your particular expertise may come in handy. Can I count on you?”

Sebastian rolled his head back and forth. “So long as what you’d have me do is adequately amusing I have no objection.”

“Are you going to talk to Laurent?” I asked.

“Yes,” Colin said. “And Monsieur Prier.”

“If Monsieur Myriel visited Edith regularly during the entire duration of her commitment, he can’t have been Jules Vasseur,” I said. “He was in the Foreign Legion some of that time. What if Myriel had been hired to keep an eye on Edith? Her father may have wanted to ensure she wasn’t in contact with Vasseur.”

“An interesting theory,” Colin said. “I’ll pursue it. Now, if you ladies will excuse us, I need to speak to Mr. Capet. Emily, I’ll join you upstairs shortly.”

Hoping for a private chat, Cécile and I had gone to my bedroom after the gentlemen left us. “It’s not like him at all. He’s kind, but so impersonal. I know he’s furious with me.” I kept my voice low, not wanting even a hint of what I was saying to carry into the corridor. Cécile, holding her little dogs in her lap, shrugged.

“He is under great duress, Kallista, and has seen you nearly killed. Can you blame him for stepping up and taking care of you?”

“No, I can’t. But it feels like more than that.”

“He’s in a difficult position. Can you imagine the censure he’ll face upon your return to England? The gossip that will follow him? People will say his carelessness nearly cost you your life.”

“But he did nothing wrong! I put myself in danger. He wasn’t even in Constantinople at the time.”

“A husband is supposed to keep a firm hand on his wife,” she said, pulling her finger away from Brutus, who was bound and determined to bite it. “It is disgusting, of course, but can you see how him not doing that makes him appear less of a man to certain people?”

“I’d not thought of that,” I said. “But it should be the opposite—he’s man enough, enlightened enough, to value my strengths, even those deemed unacceptable to society. He encourages me, spurs me on, wants me to thrive. He’s not threatened by a lady’s quest for independence. If anything, he’s ten times the man who has to play lord and master over his wife.”

“You’re right. But that’s not how society views the matter. Like it or not, you can’t escape the fact.” She gave a fierce glare to the still-unruly Brutus, and petted Caesar.

“Society is infuriating.”

“That may be,” she said. “Yet it’s inescapable.” Brutus yipped, and I picked him up from her lap, stroking his silky fur, his tiny body warm and soft. He quieted at once. “I’m afraid he likes you, Kallista. Dreadful animal.”

“He’s very sweet really,” I said.

“Don’t say that within his earshot. He’ll become unbearable.”

“I adore Colin,” I said, keeping hold of the little dog. “I’ve not meant to cause him trouble with society. But he did know when he married me I was not going to be an ordinary wife—and he swore he wouldn’t want one.”

“And I’m sure that was the truth. He hadn’t, however, anticipated the extent to which the situation could be complicated by including you in his work. You should think hard on it—is there a way you can satisfy your needs for intellectual stimulation and adventure without compromising his reputation?”

“His reputation shouldn’t be compromised!”

“ Shouldn’t is irrelevant,” she said. “We are sadly forced to deal with the reality of the shortcomings of the fools who surround us. Unless, of course, you want to go completely eccentric and reject all of them. I’m afraid that would end up tedious. More trouble than it’s probably worth.”

“Trouble?” Colin peeked through the door and then entered the room. “What sort?”

“Only the best kind, my dear Monsieur Hargreaves,” she said. “Nothing to give you the slightest concern.” She took Brutus from me, and he immediately began snapping at Caesar in her other hand. “I’ll be off with these wretched creatures and shall see you both at breakfast.”

After he closed the door behind her, Colin leaned against it and crossed his arms close across his chest. “What were you thinking going to Étretat?”

“I thought Lucy might be there and couldn’t let her—”

“She wasn’t there, Emily, and you might have stumbled upon something far worse than another dead body. Where is the regard for your safety?”

“Sebastian was with me—”

“Yes, Sebastian. Just the sort of man I’d choose to protect you.”

“Monsieur Leblanc was there as well.”

“What a comfort. He might have been able to write you out of any predicament.”

“I wasn’t in need of protection, Colin.”

“You couldn’t possibly have known that before you knocked on Vasseur’s door.”

“We’d been told he was living there with his family!”

“Yes, but then his lover was murdered and his daughter abducted. And you choose to go recklessly to the scene of another crime.”

“There was nothing reckless in my behavior.” Anger welled up inside me. He was not being reasonable—I’d taken precautions, I’d not gone alone. I’d involved the police.

“What you believe about the situation is irrelevant. I shan’t have it repeated. From now on, your involvement in this investigation is to be limited to the discussion of evidence. No more gallivanting about.”

I was so stunned I couldn’t speak, couldn’t cry, couldn’t even tremble. How could he speak to me like this?

“Do you understand?” he asked, after I’d sat in silence for some minutes.

“How dare you question me as if you were my father—”

“I am your husband, Emily. And I will be obeyed.”

Nothing could have wounded me more deeply than his words.

“I’m sorry to upset you, my dear,” he said, coming to me and sitting on the bed. “I love you and I’m doing my best to reconcile the conflicting emotions racing through my brain. I realize I had not expressly told you not to follow any leads you uncovered. But I’d hoped that our previous conversation would have made you give more careful consideration to what you were doing. It’s not fair, perhaps, to have expected such a thing. So I shall make an effort to be more clear in the future. For now, though, we must get to the end of this case. I’m going to Rouen, and you are going to the Markhams’. They’re expecting Cécile as well, if she’d like to come.”