White Horses

by Joan Wolf

  “Yes,” said Gabrielle.

  The sergeant looked at Leo, then turned his black eyes back to Gabrielle. “They are your wagons? I see that they are painted with the sign for your circus.”

  “They are my wagons,” Gabrielle agreed. “We have always used them for transportation back and forth to our hotel.”

  “I think it would be better for you to use other wagons from now on,” the sergeant said.

  “Why?” Gabrielle demanded. “We have used these wagons for years.”

  “I want them where I can see them,” the sergeant said. He looked around the field. “Use two of the wagons belonging to your troupe. I want all of your wagons to stay at the field.”

  Gabrielle looked as if she was going to argue, but Leo cut in. “Very well. If that is what you want, Sergeant, that is what we’ll do.”

  The sergeant regarded him with barely concealed suspicion. “What do you do in this circus, monsieur?”

  “I am the ringmaster,” Leo replied amiably.

  Sergeant Jordan looked surprised.

  “Yes,” Gabrielle said. “My husband has assumed that duty. He has been a great help to us.”

  “I am going to search these wagons while you are doing your shows today,” the sergeant said.

  There was a beat of silence, then Gabrielle said, “You are welcome to look through them, but please leave them in the same condition as you found them. The last search left us in chaos.”

  The sergeant scowled.

  “Come along, Gabrielle,” Leo said. “Let the sergeant do his job. We have to get the horses ready.”

  She hesitated, then went reluctantly. The two of them walked away from the sergeant and headed toward the horse corral.

  “What are we going to do now?” Gabrielle said in a low, despairing voice. “He has the whole afternoon to search our wagons.”

  “We’ll be all right,” Leo said. “I doubt that he will want to pull up the floorboards.”

  “He isn’t letting us take the wagons into town,” Gabrielle said. “How are we going to turn the gold over if he is watching the wagons all the time?”

  “The army will think of something,” Leo said.

  “They don’t even know about the sergeant!” she cried. “Do you have a way of getting in touch with them?”

  “No,” he admitted.

  “Then it seems to me you should be just as worried as I am,” Gabrielle said.

  Leo’s mouth set into a grim line and he didn’t answer.

  The noontime show was Leo’s third performance as ringmaster, and he approached this show differently from the way he had approached the others. Before he had felt humiliated performing in front of people so far below his own social station.

  Today all he could think about was Sergeant Jordan searching the wagons.

  He had spoken soothing words to Gabrielle, but he was worried. The sergeant had singled out the two Robichon wagons for his special attention. What if he decided to pull up the floorboards?

  After the show had concluded, Leo went directly to the first wagon to see what was happening. The soldier was standing outside the wagon, with his arms crossed over his chest.

  “Are you finished?” Leo asked. The back door to the wagon was open and he went to look inside. It was as orderly as it had looked when he left it. He turned to the sergeant. “Thank you for being so neat. We appreciate it.”

  The sergeant said, “Do you have a hammer? I want to pry up some of these floorboards.”

  Leo’s heart thudded in his chest. “What?” he demanded. “We have tried to be cooperative, Sergeant, but this is going too far. I won’t allow you to destroy our wagon.”

  His voice had taken on the tone of authority that was natural to him. The sergeant shifted from one foot to the other. “I’m not going to pull up all the floorboards,” he said, “but I want to see the ones that are under that sofa.”

  Shit, Leo thought. That’s too close to the gold.

  He saw Gabrielle approaching the wagon.

  Her face will give us away, he thought. He said quickly to the sergeant, “My wife will know where there’s a hammer,” and he moved hastily to intercept Gabrielle before she reached the wagon.

  “Can you find us a hammer, sweetheart?” he asked loudly as he came up to her.

  She looked up at him in surprise.

  He moved so that she would have her back to the sergeant.

  “Sergeant Jordan wants to pull up a few floorboards in the wagon,” he said. “We need a hammer.”

  She went white as a sheet.

  Leo went on, “Apparently he thinks we have hidden gold under the sofa. It’s ridiculous, but I suppose we will have to go along with him.”

  She raised her chin and said sharply, “I’m not going to let him damage my wagon.”

  “I don’t think we have a choice,” Leo said calmly.

  “I know it’s a nuisance, but the sergeant has the right. We must go along with him, Gabrielle.”

  She didn’t say anything; she just looked at him with huge brown eyes.

  “It will be all right,” he said. “Can you get us the hammer?”

  She stood there looking at him for ten more seconds, she turned and walked to the second wagon, where the tack was stored.

  “If you will excuse me, I will assist my wife,” Leo called to the sergeant.

  Jordan nodded and Leo followed Gabrielle to the sec- cod wagon. She was lifting a hammer out of a box when he climbed in to join her.

  “Mon Dieu, Leo.” Her face was still very pale. “We can’t let him do this!”

  “If he just looks at the boards directly under the sofa we’ll be all right,” Leo said.

  “What if he doesn’t? What if he looks in front of the sofa?”

  Leo opened his coat so that she could see the small pistol that was thrust into the waistband of his breeches. “Then we have to get rid of him,” he said.

  Her eyes became even larger. “You will shoot him?”

  “Only if I have to,” Leo said.

  “Mon Dieu.” Gabrielle said. “And how will we explain that to the rest of them?”

  “We’ll say that the sergeant found my pistol and was holding it when it went off.”

  “Mon Dieu.” Gabrielle cried again.

  “Do you have a hammer?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then give it to me. You stay here. Your face will give us away.”

  She handed him the hammer. He took it and went back to the wagon where the sergeant was awaiting him.

  “Good,” the sergeant said, and held out his hand.

  “I’ll do it,” Leo said. “I’ll be more careful than you. I don’t want the floorboards ruined.”

  “Fine,” the sergeant said. “First, help me to move this sofa.”

  Leo took one end of the sofa and the sergeant took the other. Leo lifted it first and the sergeant followed. Together they moved it so that it was now standing directly over the gold.

  Leo inserted the claw end of the hammer and began to pry up floorboards. There was nothing underneath. The only way to access the hidden bottom was through the floorboards that were now hidden by the sofa.

  When all the floorboards that had stood under the sofa were pulled up, Leo put down the hammer. “I am not going to destroy this whole floor,” he said to the sergeant. “Surely you can see that there’s nothing here.”

  The sergeant scowled. After a long moment of silence, he said, “All right. Put the floorboards back. This wagon seems to be clear.”

  “I could have told you that,” Leo said. “We are just a circus, Sergeant. There is no gold hidden here.”

  “Maybe,” the sergeant said. “But I still want these wagons left at the field.”

  “If you insist,” Leo said. “We will use two of the other wagons to get back and forth to town.”

  He moved toward the back wagon door. “I’m going to get some nails so I can put these floorboards back.”

  The sergeant scowled again. He was clea
rly very disappointed that he had not found gold under the sofa.

  Leo went directly to the wagon where Gabrielle was waiting for him. He opened the door, climbed inside and said, “It’s all right. He didn’t find anything.”

  Gabrielle was sitting on one of the tack trunks. “Thank God.” she said fervently. “I was so afraid.”

  “It was a close call,” Leo agreed. He sat next to her sod put his arm around her shoulders. “Were you praying?”

  “I certainly was,” she said emphatically.

  “Well, your prayers were answered. He only looked under where the sofa stands.”

  She put her head on his shoulder. “Would you really have killed him?”

  “I didn’t have to make that choice,” he said.

  She leaned into his warmth and strength and didn’t pursue the question any further.

  Twenty-Nine

  The two shows went smoothly the following day, and Leo actually found himself starting to feel comfortable in his ringmaster role. When the second show had finished, the job of taking down the tents and preparing the horses for the night began. Everyone was so busy that it was a while before they missed Jeanne and Luc.

  It was Antonio who first noticed that they were missing. Then word spread among the rest of the workers. Everyone stopped what they were doing and gathered around Leo and Gabrielle. Pierre was there as well and everyone studiously refrained from looking at him.

  Gabrielle said in a calm voice, “Has anyone seen them?”

  Antonio said, “She left the tent with us after the last performance, but I haven’t seen her since.”

  “I’ll go and check Luc’s wagon,” Leo said.

  “I’ll go with you,” Pierre said.

  Leo looked at him. Pierre’s square face was flushed with anger. “Perhaps you’d better stay here,” Leo said.

  “She’s my wife. I’m coming.”

  Leo glanced at Gabrielle. She looked pale and worried.

  “All right, but don’t lose your temper,” Leo said. “Let me handle this.”

  “She’s my wife,” Pierre said again.

  _ After a moment, Leo nodded briefly. “All right. Let’s go.”

  The two men strode across the field, the shorter Pierre rag to scramble to keep up with Leo’s longer legs. When they reached Luc’s wagon, the back door was closed.

  Pierre wrenched it open.

  Luc and Jeanne were inside, lying on a quilt that had been spread on the open area of floor. They were both partially disrobed.

  Luc sat up and cursed as he saw Pierre in the doorway. “I told you it was too late in the day,” he said to Jeanne.

  Jeanne pulled down her skirt and sat up as well.

  “You cheating little whore,” Pierre said to his wife. His voice came out as a growl. “This is it. I’m done with. You can find another dupe to live off of. I’m finished.”

  “You can’t blame your wife for looking for a man to satisfy her,” Luc said while pulling on his pants. “Evidently, you can’t.”

  “You bastard,” Pierre said through his teeth, and put his foot on the back of the wagon, ready to leap at Luc.

  Leo grabbed his shoulder. “Steady, Pierre. You have every right to be angry, but we’ll handle this without a right. Gabrielle can’t afford for either of you to get hurt.”

  He could feel Pierre quivering under his grip.

  Pierre turned to snarl at Leo, “You don’t know how this feels! You have a wife who is faithful.”

  “You’re not my husband,” Jeanne screamed at Pierre. “You can’t even get it up for me!”

  If Leo had not had a firm hold on him, Pierre would have gone for her.

  “Steady, Pierre,” Leo said. Then, to Jeanne, “A bitch like you would take the manhood from anyone.”

  “I didn’t take it from Luc,” Jeanne said defiantly.

  Pierre looked furiously at Luc. “Why don’t you find another place to work and leave Jeanne with us?” Luc taunted. “Your marriage is clearly a failure. Gabrielle can replace you in the band.”

  Pierre surged forward again, but Leo held on to him. “If we are going to replace anyone, Luc, it will be Jeanne, not Pierre. Pierre has been with this circus for many years and Gabrielle feels some loyalty to him.” She looked at Jeanne. “She doesn’t feel any loyalty toward you, however. And she cannot put up with your disruptive behavior any longer. We’ll give you a month’s salary, Jeanne, and when we pull out of Le Mans tomorrow, we’re leaving you behind.” He looked at Pierre. “Is that all right with you?”

  “Yes,” Pierre said grimly. “I don’t care what happens to her. I’m finished.”

  Jeanne stared at Leo in astonishment. “You can’t mean that.”

  “I couldn’t mean it more,” he said.

  Jeanne said, “If you dismiss me, then you’ll be dismissing Luc as well.” She turned to the equestrian. “Isn’t that so, cheri?”

  But Luc wasn’t looking at her, he was looking at Leo. “You don’t have the authority to dismiss anyone, Leo. This is Gabrielle’s circus, not yours.”

  “I can get Gabrielle over here, if you wish,” Leo said. “But first I think you both should get your clothes on.”

  “Go and get her,” Luc said.

  Leo looked at Pierre. “Can I leave you alone with them for a few minutes?”

  “Yes,” Pierre said from between clenched teeth.

  “Get dressed,” Leo said to Luc and Jeanne, and hurried to get Gabrielle.

  She was angry but not surprised when he told her what had happened. The rest of the circus folk, who were still crowded around her, felt the same way. Sergeant Jordan, who had come over to see what was going on, looked from Leo to Gabrielle and didn’t say anything.

  “I told Jeanne that we would not be taking her with us when we leave for Tours,” Leo said. “She is trying to get Luc to leave the circus with her. That’s when he said he wanted to see you.”

  “I will come,” Gabrielle said, and set off briskly in the direction of Luc’s wagon. For a moment it looked as if the rest of the crowd would follow her, but Leo told them to stay where they were. Then he strode off to catch up with Gabrielle.

  She said, “I cannot afford to lose Luc, Leo!”

  “I know that, sweetheart, and I don’t think you will. You may need him, but he also needs you. He’s not going to leave a steady job with good pay for a whore like Jeanne. Believe me, you will have nothing to lose and everything to gain if you get rid of Jeanne.”

  “I have to get rid of her,” Gabrielle said. “I can’t put up with this kind of behavior. Papa would have dismissed her. I know he would have.”

  “Then all you have to do is be firm. Luc isn’t going to go with her, no matter what he may say. Don’t let them bluff you, Gabrielle.”

  “I hate this,” she muttered. “I never understood how much Papa had to put up with to keep the circus going.”

  Leo said sympathetically, “You’re dealing with people, sweetheart. It’s like apples—there are some rotten ones in every barrel.”

  “I suppose so,” she said gloomily. “Jeanne certainly qualifies as rotten. And Luc does, too. He knew Jeanne was a married woman. He should have stayed away from her.”

  “I agree. But the fact of the matter is that you need Luc and you don’t need Jeanne.”

  “You said I would give her a month’s wages?”

  “That’s right. And I will pay them.”

  She opened her mouth to say something, and he forestalled her. “Don’t you dare say that phrase again. I know it’s your circus, but I’m the one who decided to dismiss her and I’m the one who will pay the wages. I only said I would do so because I knew you would never send her away without any money. She deserves it, but you wouldn’t do it. So I will pay the month’s wages— and that is the end of this subject, Gabrielle.”

  They had reached the wagon and the three people who were waiting for them. Jeanne and Luc had gotten dressed and were now standing with Pierre. Everyone was looking at Gabrielle.
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  “Jeanne,” she began. “I want you to pack your things and be gone from this circus by tomorrow morning. I will give you a month’s wages. That will be enough for you to be able to return to Paris, where I’m sure a woman of your—talents—will be able to find work.” Her voice dripped scorn.

  Leo smothered a smile at her comment about the talents.

  “If you dismiss me, then you lose Luc, too,” Jeanne said.

  Gabrielle looked at Luc. “Is that true, Luc?”

  Luc’s greenish eyes looked boldly back. “Yes, that’s true.”

  “I am sorry to hear that,” Gabrielle said pleasantly. “Then I expect you will be gone tomorrow morning along with Jeanne.”

  Luc looked stunned. “You can’t lose me! Next to you, I’m your main equestrian act!”

  “Mathieu and Albert can fill in until I find someone else,” Gabrielle said.

  “ They can’t do what I do! You know that, Gabrielle. Neither one of them could do the Courier of St. Petersburg.”

  “I think Mathieu could do it if he practiced enough.”

  “He can’t,” Luc said flatly.

  Gabrielle said, “I am not dismissing you, Luc. I don’t approve of what you have done here, but you’re right in that I need you more than I need Jeanne. I will be happy r you wish to stay on. But Jeanne goes. It is strictly your decision whether or not you will go with her.”

  Jeanne took Luc’s arm. “He will come with me, won’t you, cheri?”

  Luc pulled his arm away. “No, Jeanne, I am not coming with you. If I have to choose between my job and you, I’m afraid that the job wins.”

  Her mouth fell open. “Luc! You can’t mean that!”

  “Oh, but I do. Leo is right. You’re a whore. And I am not giving up a good job for a whore.” He stared into her furious face. “Sorry, but there it is.”

  “You bastard.” she screamed.

  He shrugged. “Call me what names you will. It won’t change my mind.”

  Finally, Pierre spoke. “Get your things out of the wagon. I want rid of you as soon as possible.”

  “This is not fair!” Jeanne said. Then, to Gabrielle: “You’re a woman. It isn’t fair that the woman should be the only one punished here.”

  “I gave you a chance, Jeanne,” Gabrielle said. “I spoke to you about your flirting and you told me you were a woman who likes men. Well, like them some- where else. I don’t want you in my circus.”