Free Destiny's Kiss by Jo Ann Ferguson Page A

many ready to see us dead.” He handed her a pistol.
    Her question was halted by the sound of glass shattering. Shouts from the street flooded into the house. She had been right. The Revolution had been far away. Now she was in the middle of it.
    â€œWhere is Philippe?” she asked as the duc started up the stairs.
    â€œI don’t know, but if he tries to come here now, he’s dead.”
    Philippe was glad he had learned much about subterfuge in the past two weeks. Slipping into Blois’s house with the ease of a rat finding its way through a sewer, he doubted if anyone had seen him in the shadows. He hoped he was not too late, but he could not try to get back into the house before night arrived. A fortnight of searching for Lucien’s murderer had led only to betrayal.
    Hearing the shouts from the streets, he inched to the kitchen door. He glanced at the window where Lirienne usually sat and brushed her hair. A smile twisted along his lips. Watching her do that every evening was the sole bit of pleasure he had found in Paris. That and his fantasies of having her hair caressing him as he drew her to him in that bed where she spent the nights alone. He was not quite certain why he still slept on a pallet on the floor. The passion on her lips was honest and innocent and eager.
    He pushed those tormenting thoughts from his head as he reached the door. Calling out lowly, he waited for it to open. Mercier, whom he knew served the duc in the stable and drove the coach, motioned for him to enter.
    â€œThey are guarding the front of the house,” the man whispered. “Madame de Villeneuve—”
    â€œShe’s still here?” Philippe cursed. Lirienne should have been on her way out of Paris with Blois’s wife by this time. That had been the plan, if they were betrayed. “I thought you were taking her and the duchesse from here.”
    â€œMy son took the duchesse .” Mercier smiled swiftly. “He is young and daring, and my place is with the duc .”
    Philippe nodded, then gave the man some quick orders. He did not wait to see if Mercier obeyed them. Any man who would not avail himself of an opportunity to escape this maddened city was both brave and loyal.
    Striding through the door into the main section of the house, he wished for a lantern. A single drop of light could doom them all. From the street came the drunken sounds of the rabid crowd. He called the duc’s name lowly. A shadow moved and pointed to the stairs.
    Two shadows broke away from the others when he reached the top of the stairs. One rushed to him. With a smile, he drew Lirienne into his arms.
    â€œYou’re alive!” she gasped. “I—”
    He silenced her with a kiss. A mistake, he knew, when she softened against him, sweet and so enchanting he wanted to forget about everything but relishing each treat she had waiting for him. Her lips parted, and he could not resist delighting in the flavors of her mouth.
    â€œYou’re back, de Villeneuve!”
    Mallory Blois’s voice brought him back to his senses. Raising his mouth from Lirienne’s, he said, “I thought she was to go with your wife.”
    â€œShe was not here when Fantina left.” He glanced at the window, where the flicker of torches in the street warned of the growing crowd.
    â€œWe have to leave immediately. We—I’ve been betrayed.”
    Mallory nodded. “I warned you that asking questions so close to the Conciergerie would be too dangerous.”
    When Lirienne stared at him in amazement, Philippe wished he had time to explain how he had been seeking information during those nights he would have enjoyed spending with her. “I had no choice then, and we have none now. We must leave.”
    â€œYou’re right.” He scanned the hall and sighed. “We cannot hold out much longer. I thank you, Madame de Villeneuve, for your courage.”
    Philippe wanted to ask what had