Where the Light Falls(101)

“It’s not safe,” Jean-Luc whispered, sighing. He had told Marie that he did not think they could offer a place to Sophie in their home. That she would have to go elsewhere.

“You heard her, Jean, she has nowhere else to go. She has no money to rent a room. And not a friend to speak of.”

Jean-Luc groaned, rubbing his tired eyes with his fists. “I feel terrible about it, believe me. I keep seeing André’s face in my mind and I feel overcome by the urge to tell her yes, she can stay with us. But I must think about you and Mathieu. It’s too risky.”

Marie looked toward the door, where Sophie slept—or tried to sleep—on the other side. She turned back to her husband and whispered: “You said yourself that her uncle is gone from Paris, back to the front with the army. I know this city has turned upside down and gone mad, but how would anyone know who she was? Perhaps we can pretend she is our maid?”

Jean-Luc showed the hint of a sad smile. “That woman, our maid? Even if we could afford that, which we clearly cannot, no one would believe it.”

Jean-Luc took Marie’s hand in his, pausing. Deliberating as to whether or not to tell her. But he was tired of the distance that had grown between them; he needed her back, as his full partner. “He’s seen her.”

“Who’s seen her?” Marie asked, her big brown eyes narrowing, holding his in the dim light.

“Guillaume Lazare. He saw Sophie arrive.”

“The lawyer? What’s the danger in that?”

Jean-Luc paused, as if searching for the right words. “There’s something about that man that makes me uneasy. I don’t trust him, at least not when it concerns the safety of those I love. Besides, he talks to Murat. I think—no, I’m certain—he will tell him.”

Marie nodded, her brown eyes catching a glint of the moonlight that spilled into the bedroom, giving her an otherworldly glow. When she spoke, her voice was determined. “André Valière came forward for you when you needed him most. He stood up for Christophe Kellermann, and it nearly got him killed.”

Jean-Luc nodded, reaching for her, pulling her closer and wrapping her in his arms as she continued.

“And then you stood up for André Valière. And saved his life. I can’t say why, or how it happened, but one way or another, you and he have been thrown into all this together.” Marie sighed. “This is his love, and she’s guilty of no crime other than falling in love with a man her uncle hates. I say, if this Guillaume Lazare poses a threat to her, that’s all the more reason why we will take care of her.”

Jean-Luc heard the resolve in her voice and had no choice but to match it with his own, to make her see his perspective now. “Marie, it’s not just her uncle or even Lazare. If anyone so much as suspects we’re hiding an outlaw, they will inform the authorities. She can’t stay here—”

“Jean-Luc, I won’t hear it. You risked our family’s safety when you took on those two trials. Consider this my turn to gamble on a worthy cause. Sophie Vincennes is a friend in desperate need of help, and we will provide it. If you won’t allow her to stay in our home, you will at the very least procure someplace where she can stay. You must know someone, perhaps a colleague or that foolish boss of yours. All I can say is that we’re not going to make that woman suffer any more than she already has.”

Jean-Luc looked at his wife in silence, his own will dissipating against the breaking wall of her resolve. “Marie.”

“My beloved husband, find her a place where she can stay, or I’ll find one for you,” she said, weaving a cold foot in between his ankles.

Jean-Luc sighed. “Oh, all right. I suppose I could look for a place.” He slid his body closer to hers in the sheets. “I haven’t seen you this passionate in a while.” He kissed her neck, wrapping his arm around her waist as he pulled her body flush against his. “I have to say, I rather liked it.”

“Good.” She smiled at him as she brushed a lock of hair away from his face. They kissed for several moments before she pulled her lips back, grinning. “I believe I may have just bested the man who defeated the great Guillaume Lazare.”

“Don’t even say that name.” Jean-Luc reached under the sheets for the hem of her nightgown. “The very sound will trouble my sleep.” She assented and allowed him to kiss her.

But she had triggered his memory, and he pulled away from her after a moment. “That reminds me, Marie: Gavreau told me he saw you at the trial. Were you there?”

He felt her body stiffen in his arms. “I…” She paused. “I stopped in, just for a moment. I was in the neighborhood.”