The Courtesan

by Susan Carroll

  “No!” Cass said sharply. She moistened her lips and softened her tone. “I—I mean no, thank you. I have been trying to conquer my old demon, avoid any manner of strong drink. I need to keep my wits clear, but it has not been an easy battle.”

  She lifted her hand to display a marked tremor. Gabrielle clasped Cass’s fingers to steady them and exclaimed, “But this is wonderful. You are obviously succeeding. I have never seen you look so well. So strong and beautiful.”

  “I will have to take your word for that,” Cass replied dryly as Gabrielle helped her find the settle. Cass eased down onto it, Cerberus sinking onto his haunches near her feet. When Gabrielle attempted to move away, Cass retained her grasp on her hand.

  “There is no need to ask how you are faring. I can feel it. You are positively glowing. You and Captain Remy must be getting along well. Very well indeed.”

  Disconcerted by how Cass was able to read her with but a touch, Gabrielle squirmed until her hand was free. A hot blush rose to her cheeks.

  “Yes, things are going well. I have much to tell you.” Settling onto one of the stools, Gabrielle positioned herself near the windows where she could keep an eye out for Remy. As succinctly as possible, she told Cass all that had happened at the tourney, the decisions that she had reached.

  Cass listened without interrupting, Cerberus’s massive head resting in her lap. She leaned against the back of the settle, absently scratching the dog’s ears. When Gabrielle had finished, Cass shook her head, a note of fond amusement creeping into her voice.

  “So you intend to fly in the face of your great destiny and count it all well lost for love? Ah, my foolish Gabrielle.”

  “Perhaps. But then again, perhaps I am being wise for the first time in my life.”

  “And you meant to quit Paris without even saying good-bye to me?”

  “Of course not. If you had not come here, I intended to visit the Maison d’Esprit and warn you about the witch-hunters, make certain you were all right.”

  “Would you have remembered to do so? I wonder.” Cass’s hand stilled on top of her dog’s head.

  “Certainly I would have,” Gabrielle said, surprised by the brooding look that clouded Cass’s features. “We are friends, are we not?”

  “Yes . . . like sisters, so likely you will have guessed why I have come.”

  “No, I must confess I am quite at a loss. You rarely leave the Maison d’Esprit and for you to risk it now when the witch-hunters have invaded Paris—”

  “Bah!” Cass lifted her hand in a dismissive gesture. “I told you. Witch-hunters don’t worry me. I have had experience of them before.”

  That experience had been horrible enough to scar any woman for life. She had lost her entire family. Gabrielle did not know how Cass could speak so cavalierly of such a dire event, but perhaps it was her way of coping with the grief.

  Cass returned to stroking her dog. “I only came here today to redeem your pledge to me. The promise you made to do me one favor in exchange for your use of my ability to conjure the dead. You do remember, don’t you?”

  “Certainly I do. I have long been anxious to repay you, especially if it involves helping you remove from that dreadful dungeon of a room where you keep hiding. Just tell me what you require.”

  “Only one small thing. Nicolas Remy.”

  “W-what!”

  “Before you get too distressed, let me explain. I only want to borrow him for one night.”

  Gabrielle was too stunned to say anything for a moment. She gave an uncertain laugh. “Great heavens, Cass. Whatever would you want to borrow Remy for?”

  “My dear Gabrielle,” Cass drawled. “What reason would a woman have for wanting a fine specimen like your captain for the night?”

  “To—to bed him?”

  “Don’t sound so shocked. You are not some prim creature with a rigid sense of morals. You’ve had lovers. You can easily spare me the use of this one.”

  Gabrielle shot to her feet, the sudden movement causing Cerberus to lift his head and regard her warily. But Gabrielle could not contain herself. She was not merely shocked. She was thunderstruck by Cass’s casual request.

  “We are not just talking about a lover, but the man I love,” she said indignantly. “And you are asking me to lend him to you like—like he was a horse.”

  “He will turn out to be a prime stallion, I hope.” Cass’s lips curled in a lascivious smile. When Gabrielle gasped, she added impatiently, “Good lord. I only want him for the one night.”

  Gabrielle paced before the windows only to check her steps when she realized she was making Cass’s dog nervous, never a wise idea with Cerberus. Her mind reeled with the extraordinary nature of Cass’s request. Never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined Cass would demand anything like this.

  “I don’t understand,” she said. “If you have a desire for a lover, I could find you plenty. Why does it have to be Remy? A man you’ve never met, never even seen?”

  “I have never seen any man,” Cass reminded her acidly. “But I sensed something about Remy that night you placed the hilt of his sword in my hands. I suspected even then that he was the one to serve my purpose.”

  “What purpose?”

  “To get me with child.”

  Gabrielle regarded her incredulously. “You want Remy to sire your child? But you once told me you had no interest in children, that you don’t even like them.”

  “This would be my child, my daughter. You are not the only one who has a great destiny before her. You may choose to turn your back on yours, but I do not.”

  “What destiny?”

  “Nostradamus has predicted that I will be the mother of a woman who will change history. A queen among queens. You thought you would gain power by becoming a king’s mistress. That would be as nothing compared to the power my child will have.”

  Cass sat up straighter, an impassioned look chasing across her features. “It will not be a power given to her by any man but rather taken, through revolution.”

  “Revolution?”

  “A revolution of wise women. You know the legends as well as I, Gabrielle. There was once a time when the daughters of the earth were not the slaves or playthings of men, when they could practice their magic and be revered, not burned for sorcery. Nostradamus has seen a time in the future when women will begin to resume their rightful place as the equals of men. I have no intention of waiting for eons to pass when I will have long been moldering in my grave. These changes will be effected in my lifetime and even more. The daughters of the earth will topple thrones, strip all men of their rights. They will become our slaves. We have all been wandering in darkness, but my child will lead us back into the light. She will be our messiah. Just think of it.”

  Gabrielle’s only thought was that Cassandra had been alone down in her cellars far too long. The woman had run quite mad. Gabrielle bit back the urge to tell her so, finding the fierce intensity of Cass’s expression more than a little unnerving.

  “Even if what you are telling me should come to pass,” she said. “Why do you want Remy to sire this child of yours? Why does it have to be him?”

  “Because when I touched his sword, I sensed valuable qualities in him, rage, ruthlessness, the ability to destroy without mercy.”

  “That is the part of himself that Remy deplores.”

  “Then he can pass his darkness on to our daughter and be at peace.”

  “No!”

  “No?” Cass echoed, the hint of a frown gathering between her eyes.

  Gabrielle moistened her lips, then said in as gentle but firm a tone as possible. “I am sorry, Cass. You have demanded the one thing I cannot grant. Ask me for anything else and I will be happy to keep my promise, but as it is . . .”

  Gabrielle trailed off, bracing herself for an explosion of anger. Cass heard her refusal with an astonishing calm, merely issuing a faint sigh. Bracing one hand on the arm of the settle, she levered herself to her feet, her dog rising with her.
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  “You are so foolishly in love with the man, I was afraid you might not be inclined to be reasonable. But unlike you, I have learned not to leave my destiny to chance. Tell me. Where is the good captain right now?”

  “Remy is gone,” Gabrielle said, fervently hoping that it was true, that Remy had departed on his errand. “He—he just left and won’t be back for some time.”

  Cass fingered the silver chain beneath her bodice, cocking her head to one side with an air of marked concentration. “Actually I think the captain is still here. Look out the window. I am sure you will spy him at the far end of the garden.”

  Heart thudding uneasily, Gabrielle glanced out to discover Cass was right. Remy was still in the gardens, but no longer within earshot. Beneath the shade of the oak tree, he bent down, carefully letting an awed young Jacques examine his sword.

  “Am I right?” Cass prodded. “Is he there?”

  “Yes,” Gabrielle replied, whipping her head around to stare at Cass with a mingling of confusion and suspicion. “But how could you possibly know that?”

  “Because he is wearing the amulet I made. The one that is just like mine.” Cass tugged at the chain around her neck, pulling it from her bosom to display a medallion that appeared similar to Remy’s down to the last detail. Gabrielle felt a chill of apprehension sweep through her.

  Cass said, “The two amulets were fashioned from the same mold, the same metal, the same charm. They are linked just as I am linked with your captain when he wears his amulet. Do you remember what I told you the charm could do?”

  “You told me it would help Remy sense danger, but obviously it does not work.”

  Cass gave a throaty laugh. “Those were not precisely my words. I said it would enable the captain to feel malice. Observe what I am about to do and keep an eye on your Scourge as well.”

  Cass cupped the medallion and pressed the amulet to her shoulder, her eyes glazing as she muttered some guttural-sounding words beneath her breath. Gabrielle turned uneasily back to the window. Despite the distance that separated them, she could see Remy pale and drop his sword. Staggering back against the trunk of his tree, he clutched at his shoulder, doubling over with pain. The frightened gardener’s children backed away from him.

  Gabrielle froze for a moment, unable to believe that Cass actually could—She rounded on the other woman, crying shrilly. “What are you doing to him? Stop it!”

  She surged toward Cass to rip the amulet from her grasp. Cerberus growled and snapped, keeping her at bay. As Gabrielle glanced frantically around her for some sort of weapon, Cass released the pendant. Gabrielle pressed her face back to the glass, looking anxiously at Remy. To her relief, he straightened up, his features clearing. Looking puzzled, he gave his shoulder one final rub before bending down to retrieve his sword.

  “Give me that thing. Right now!” Gabrielle advanced on Cass, holding out her hand in demanding fashion, ignoring the savage barks her tone elicited from Cerberus.

  “Calm down, Gabrielle. And you too, sir.” Cass lowered her hand to Cerberus’s head, quieting the dog with a low command. The mastiff settled back at Cass’s side, but fixed Gabrielle with his menacing stare.

  “That was but a small demonstration of my power, Gabrielle. I only touched the medallion to my shoulder. What do you think would happen to Remy if I placed the amulet against my heart? I’ll tell you what would happen. I could stop Remy’s heart before you can even draw breath to warn him.”

  “No, please. For the love of God, Cass. Don’t!”

  “I have no intention of harming your Scourge. Not as long as you are reasonable and cooperate with my plans. But entertain no notions that you can overpower me because you think me blind and helpless. I can move far quicker than you. It will only take a touch, a word. Try to take this medallion from me and he is dead. And from this moment on, if he tries to remove his, he is dead. Now keep back.”

  Cerberus reinforced Cass’s command with another growl. Reluctantly, Gabrielle obeyed. The dog that had licked her hand only minutes ago looked ready to rip out her heart and the woman she had foolishly counted as friend appeared just as capable of it.

  Torn between feelings of hurt and anger, she cried, “Why are you doing this? You said I had become like a sister to you.”

  “A selfish sister,” Cass replied bitterly. “You have everything. Beauty, intelligence, a loving family, and you have your sight. You also possess a magnificent man who loves you, who will continue to love you after I’ve done with him. You can surely be generous enough to let me have him for one night.”

  “Even if I did agree to your insane scheme, Remy is not my slave to do with as I will. He will never lie with you, even if you threaten his life. He is not the sort of man to carelessly bed a woman and sire a child.”

  “I am aware of the captain’s troublesome sense of honor. All you have to do is find a way to get him to visit me. You are a clever girl. You can think of something. Once he is with me, I will see to the rest.” Cass’s lip curled with scorn. “I can brew perfumes and aphrodisiacs powerful enough to overcome even his noble scruples. You get a man hard enough and very few of them have any. I could seduce the Pope himself if I wanted to.”

  “Then why didn’t you just go and seduce Remy?” Gabrielle demanded. “Why bother to involve me?”

  “Because I need to make sure he will be available the exact night I require him, not otherwise engaged. Besides it will mean more if he comes to me as a gift from you. It will strengthen the bonds of our friendship.”

  “If this is your idea of friendship, I would hate to be your enemy.”

  “Yes, you would,” Cass replied with a chilling smile.

  “You—you are worse than Catherine.”

  Cass shrugged. “I’ll take that as a compliment. I am sorry our transaction has had to degenerate to such unpleasantness. After my night with your captain, I promise I will let you have my medallion. Trust me. No woman could have a more effective method of keeping her lover under control.”

  “Miri’s cat was right about you. You—you are evil.”

  “No, I am a practical woman seeking to fulfill my destiny the best way I can. The same as you once were until you succumbed to love. You have had a great shock. I will give you a while to think about my proposition. The moon will have ripened to its fullness two nights from now. According to my chartings, my womb will have as well. Send me word before the sun sets today. Of course, we already both know what your answer must be.”

  Long after Cass had gone, Gabrielle remained in the parlor. The sun still poured through the windows, the birds in the garden chirping just as brightly, the leaves making a soothing shushing sound as a breeze rifled through the trees. But Gabrielle was numb to it all. She sagged down upon the settle and buried her face in her hands, the recent visit of Cassandra Lascelles assuming the proportions of a nightmare. A nightmare of Gabrielle’s own making. If only she hadn’t lied to Remy about the medallion. If she had told him the truth, he would have discarded it at once and be in no danger now.

  She would have time enough later to castigate herself for her folly. All the self-blame in the world could not help Remy. She needed to clear her head, to find some way to thwart Cass. If only she could have prevented Cass from leaving the house with that cursed medallion still in her possession. Standing helplessly aside, letting Cass walk away with the power of life and death over Remy, had been one of the hardest things Gabrielle had ever done.

  But what choice had she had? Cass had gripped the medallion tightly, ready to carry out her threat should Gabrielle make one wrong move. Cass’s extraordinary senses had been reinforced by Finette’s sharp eyes and the vigilance of her dog. Any attempt at outright force to retrieve the amulet posed far too great a risk to Remy.

  Gabrielle needed to find some way to trick Cass into surrendering the medallion. But how? The deadline Cass had given her, terrible images of Remy clutching at his heart, flooded Gabrielle with panic, rendering her unable to think clearly. The be
ginnings of a headache throbbed behind her eyes. She massaged her temples just as the door to the parlor was thrown open. Wolf bounded into the room, only to draw up short, appearing mightily disconcerted by the sight of her.

  “Your pardon, milady. I did not realize you were in here. I was just searching for Mademoiselle Miri’s cat. The wretched beast has gone into hiding. Mademoiselle Miri thinks Necromancer is angry with her because she—she—. Well, never mind about that. It is of no importance. I am sorry to disturb you.”

  Wolf bowed and stumbled back, preparing to beat a swift retreat. Gabrielle acknowledged his intrusion with no more than a bleak nod. She had no idea what sort of picture she presented to the younger man. But his sharp green eyes honed in on her face and something that he saw there arrested his movement just shy of the door.

  “Mon Dieu!” he exclaimed softly. “Are you all right, milady? You look as though you have seen the devil himself.”

  “Herself,” Gabrielle whispered.

  “Pardon?” Wolf looked bewildered.

  “Actually it turns out the devil is a woman.” Gabrielle made a weak effort to smile and was horrified to feel a lump rise in her throat. There were few people she had trusted in Paris, only one she had considered a friend, and that had been Cass. She was as distressed by her own lapse of judgment as she was by Cass’s betrayal.

  Wolf took a timid step closer. “You do not seem yourself, milady. Is there something I might do to help?”

  “No, I—I thank you, Martin. But there is nothing that anyone can do. Please. Just—” She made a helpless gesture, indicating he should leave. Wolf hunkered down in front of her, capturing her hand and giving it an awkward pat.

  “Nothing is ever that hopeless. Trust me, milady. I have been in many terrible scrapes myself over the years and you would be astonished by my ability to wriggle out of the worst situations. I have been living by my own wits ever since I was three. I am amazingly clever. You tell me what is wrong and I will fix it, non?”