Bride for a Night(101)
Annoying ass.
With an effort Gabriel dismissed the taunt. “I do not doubt your soldiers will be delighted to protect her.”
The Frenchman shrugged, not bothering to try to convince Gabriel they were alone.
“If you are so certain they are nearby, then why not allow Sophia to join them now?”
“I would not wish to encourage you to do something stupid.” Gabriel waved his pistol toward the nearby trees. “Her presence ensures your good behavior until we reach my yacht.”
Jacques stretched his lips into a humorless smile. “So I am to be taken to England?”
“You were pleased enough to visit before,” Gabriel mocked.
“So I was,” Jacques admitted. He ignored the fuming female at his side, her countenance warning she would not be left behind. “I presume that I am to be exposed as a French spy?”
“That is a decision to be made by a higher authority than me.”
“And your brother?”
Gabriel tensed, refusing to be distracted by the agonizing choices that awaited him once they returned to England.
“Harry is no longer your concern,” he snarled.
“Are you so certain?” Jacques arched a sardonic brow. “I would say his fate is very much in my hands.”
There was no mistaking the threat in his tone, and narrowing his gaze, Gabriel marched forward to grasp the man by his arm, yanking him across the uneven ground. He came to a halt on the opposite side of the carriage, far enough from the others to prevent their conversation from being overheard.
“What are you implying?”
Pulling from his grasp, Jacques smoothed a hand down his wrinkled jacket and tugged a lace cuff back into place. Gabriel clenched his teeth, barely preventing himself from smashing a fist into the sneering face.
“Once I have been turned over to the English authorities I am bound to be put to the Inquisition,” Jacques said smoothly.
“And?”
“And I can scarcely be expected to keep your brother’s priceless assistance in stealing information from the Home Office a secret. The poor boy will be forever ruined, if not put to death as a traitor.”
Jacques merely repeated what had been going through Gabriel’s mind since learning of Harry’s betrayal. But hearing it announced so bluntly was like a physical blow.
Christ, he would rather take a beating than imagine what was to come.#p#分页标题#e#
“Harry chose his fate when he agreed to your devil’s bargain,” he forced himself to mutter, his voice harsh.
“Fates can be altered.” Jacques nodded his head toward the faint outline of the distant yacht that was just becoming visible in the faint brush of dawn. “Return to England without me and no one need ever know that Harry is a traitor.”
“I would know.”
Jacques snorted. “I am aware you have always taken pride in being a pompous prig who considers himself superior to mere mortals, but I would have thought you have learned something from your wife.”
Gabriel flinched. Why? It was not the first occasion he’d been called a pompous prig. His preference for maintaining a dignified presence among society rather than prancing about like a silly fop did not endear him to his peers.
But the Frenchman’s well-played mention of Talia was a painful reminder that he had all too recently allowed his pride to rule in a decision he would regret for all eternity.
“What does my marriage have to do with Harry?” he demanded before he could put back the question.
“You nearly destroyed a fine woman with your desire to punish her.”
Gabriel’s brows snapped together. He needed no reminders of the damage he had caused his young bride.
“It was never my desire to punish Talia.”
“Non?” Jacques shifted his gaze back to Gabriel, his expression knowing. “You blamed her for having brought shame to the precious Ashcombe family, did you not? And you were anxious to prove to Silas Dobson and society you would not tolerate being embarrassed.” He gave a disgusted shake of his head. “Talia would have been crushed by your need for revenge if not for her considerable courage.”
He growled beneath his breath, once again fighting the urge to pummel the aggravating bastard.
“You know nothing of the matter.”
“I know you are threatening to toss your brother to the wolves to salvage your pride, just as you did with Talia.”
He knew Jacques was attempting to manipulate him, but the accusation sliced through Gabriel with silky ease.
“Talia was an innocent,” Gabriel muttered, as much to remind himself as his companion. “Harry betrayed his country for profit. If I truly desired to protect myself, I would hide his sins rather than expose them to the world.”