Free The Heroic Baron by Nikki Poppen Page B

plan.
    Alain pushed open the door to his rented home and
came to a halt at the sight of Harker’s face and wringing hands. Harker was unflappable. Harker never
showed signs of distress.
    “My lord, we’ve been invaded!”
    Alain became aware of the sound of feet shuffling
above him on the second floor. Children’s voices cried
out in rough play. Children? Why would children be in
my home? Why would anyone be in my home? No one
was supposed to know him.
    Harker explained as Alain took the stairs two at a
time. “They said they were family of Pierre Ramboulet,
that he’d met with you and he told them to come to this
address. He told them you’d take them to England, to
safety. My lord, I didn’t know what to do”
    Alain stifled a chuckle at the sight of the disheveled
guest room. He imagined the other two guest rooms
looked the same. Pallets had been made up on the floor
and rag-wrapped bundles containing the family’s possessions were piled everywhere. It wasn’t exactly funny,
but it was certainly comedic. Daniel would have a fit.
    “What are we to do?” Harker asked again.
    Alain threw up his hands, a smile of consent on his face. “What can we do? We have to send them to England. Take the boat and go tonight. We can’t have anyone suspect they are here” Quickly, Alain summarized
the conversation from dinner. “The weather is mild and
who knows what kind of weather we may be forced to
face if we wait.”

    “What about you, my lord? Will you come too?”
Harker asked worriedly.
    “No, I must wait and bring the secretary” Alain tried
for levity. “Besides, I have an appointment tomorrow
that I cannot break”
    “With the young violinist you took shopping today?”
Harker eyed him suspiciously.
    “She’s delightful, Harker. You’d like her.”
    “I’d like you safely tucked away in Hythe building
your city.”
    Alain laughed away Harker’s fears. “I’ll be there
soon enough. Now, we have people to help and a boat to
disguise. I want to make sure someone can sail the boat
back here without it being recognized.” Otherwise, I’ll
be stranded. Stranded with Cecile. Well, maybe the
idea being stranded wasn’t so odious after all.

Cecile tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for Alain
at the appointed street corner. Was he late? Had he forgotten? Had he been detained at work? Had he simply
decided that mingling with the impoverished masses
was not a preferred way to spend a lovely spring afternoon? It seemed forever since the bells of the city had
chimed two o’clock.
    She shifted the heavy basket from one arm to the
other. At least she was finding out now what kind of
man Alain Stanislawski truly was. Better this than discovering it after she’d lost her heart to him, which
would be easy to do. A few more days like yesterday
and a few more kisses like the one they’d exchanged in
the general’s grove last night, and she’d be done for. It
would be too easy to love Alain, too easy to forget he
was a soldier who fought for a way of life she could not
believe in and that he was from Poland. Some day he’d go back to his country and resume his life there, most
likely as a wealthy man’s son with rank and funds.
There would be no place in that life for an impoverished violin player.

    Cecile scanned the street, shading her eyes against the
brightness. Undeterred by her misgivings, her heart
raced at the sight of Alain rounding the corner. An odd
sense of relief flooded through her at the realization he
had not forgotten her. He was merely late. Perhaps he
was late because he’d stopped to change clothes. As he
neared, Cecile noted his clothes were neat and clean, if a
bit worn. They were not the usual attire she was used to
seeing him in. How thoughtful of him to dress in a fashion that would not intimidate the people she would visit.
    Her cynical side snorted at the naivety of the
thought. How intelligent of him not to dress in a manner
that