Free To Tame the Wind (Agents of the Crown Book 0) by Regan Walker Page A

gives in the note. Offer to meet with
him in Paris to arrange an exchange—his men for Claire. Warn him if he harms
her, the bodies of his men will soon be washing up on the coast of England.”
    Not long after, the carriage pulled up in front of the
imposing gray stone of the Valentinois château in Passy, a village just west of
Paris. Though his thoughts were consumed by Claire and what indignities she
might be enduring at the hands of the English privateer, he would not
disappoint the American commissioner.
    M’sieur Franklin was respected by all in Paris, a man wise
in his words. He cared little for the trappings of nobility while careful to
observe its niceties, the importance of which Jean well understood having once
been a part of that world. Beyond that, Franklin had a wit Jean admired.
Aligned as France was with America, Jean had been pleased to accept the letter
of marque Franklin had issued him.
    He and Émile arrived at the door and a servant graciously
escorted them into the large sitting room where Franklin greeted his guests.
    “It is good to see you, as ever,” said the aging American as
he extended his hand.
    “And you, m’sieur,” said Jean. He shook the man’s hand and
re-introduced him to Émile.
    “Welcome again,” Franklin said to Émile.
    Jean recognized the two men standing behind Franklin. The
one with the prominent nose, gray hair and dark brows, Edward Bancroft, was
secretary to the American mission in Paris. Standing next to him was Charles
Gravier, comte de Vergennes, the French Foreign Minister. Jean was quick to
acknowledge both.
    He respected Vergennes, for it was he who had convinced the
king to support America in the hope it would weaken Britain. Having secured the
king’s agreement to aid the young republic, Vergennes then worked tirelessly to
bring the Spanish and Dutch into the fold. But Jean believed the alliance now
in place owed as much to England’s vanity, ignorance and pride as it did to the
efforts of the French minister.
    “I have persuaded le comte to stay for tea,” said Franklin.
“He and I have been discussing the American situation and I know he will welcome
any news you have.”
    “Of course,” Jean replied. After all, he served both America
and France.
    At Franklin’s gesture, the four men took their seats on the
two brocade-covered sofas facing each other over a small oval table, where tea
was served. Jean marveled, as he always did, that the American commissioner
seemed so vital though he was now in his mid-seventies. His hair, which fell
thinly to his shoulders, was more dark brown than gray. The commissioner’s
waist had expanded since the last time Jean had been to Passy, but he was not
surprised. Franklin’s love of French food and wine was well known.
    Franklin took a sip of his tea and set down his cup. “I
trust you have brought me good tidings, M’sieur Donet. Something with which to
bargain for my Americans languishing in British prisons? Those who have escaped
tell me horrible stories of their confinements.”
    “ Oui , I bring you an English sloop and her thirty
crew. I had thought to bring you the crew of another ship, but at the moment my
efforts have been thwarted.”
    “You would be mysterious, my friend?”
    “I have no choice. Something I hold dear to my heart is
involved. But I promise you more British seamen and soon.”
    “I suppose I cannot complain,” said Franklin, “you have
brought me hundreds of English seamen and more than twenty prizes in the last
year.”
    Bancroft lifted his pen from the tablet on which he’d been
scribbling as if the figure had surprised him. As secretary to the American
mission, he had to know Jean had secured British ships and their crews for Franklin’s
prisoner exchange, but perhaps the secretary had not kept an account of the
number.
    Desiring to steer the conversation away from his reasons for
withholding the crew of the second ship, Jean asked, “How go the negotiations
for peace? Is there