Enid said, “Susie is at a rehearsal.”
“And you?”
“It is a long story, so we had best be seated.” They sat down on the studio cot and she told him all that had happened, finishing with her wish to stay with him and Susie until she had contacted Armand.
“I know this Armand,” Gustav said. “I spoke with him only yesterday. He is a count.”
“Yes, he is. Do you think you can take a message to him?”
“I suppose so. He is staying in London for a little while.” The young Frenchman paused. “I’m glad you’re breaking away from that swine of an Andrew.”
“It is a permanent move,” she assured him. “I shall not go back to him.”
“And Kemble?”
“Will remain very close to me. But it is Armand whom I love, and he alone.”
“Your love is living a dangerous life.”
“I am well aware of that.”
Gustav eyed her closely. “Are you sure of your feelings about him?”
“More sure than I am about anything else.”
“I believe you. And I will try to find him for you.”
“If only you could!”
“I may meet him tonight,” Gustav said. “There is to be a conference about some new arrivals. We have to be wary. Would you believe that the mob already has spies here in London? They report what they can learn about our activities, and when our agents return to France, they are often picked up and sometimes convicted on the word of these spies. Not a few of us have been beheaded!”
“Don’t tell me about it!” she begged him.
His tone was grave. “If you give your heart to the count, you must be prepared to have it broken at any time. He could be executed on his return to France. He needs the luck of the very devil to escape that fate.”
“He is doing noble work. Let us trust that Heaven will protect him!”
“Too often Heaven seems unaware of what is happening down here,” the fencing master said bitterly. “I want to take the same risks as Beaufaire. I intend to go over there.”
“What about Susie?”
“Better that she be a widow than married to a coward.”
“She might prefer the latter.”
A half hour later Susie and Kemble returned from their rehearsal, and it was like old times at the studio. Fresh bread, ripe cheddar cheese, cold meat, and a tawny port wine were brought out for feasting. Kemble was in one of his better moods; having Enid near him always lifted his spirits.
He told her, “The boy, Graham, did quite well at the rehearsal. He is green, of course, but he is sound of purpose, and I think we can make an actor of him.”
“Just save him from Andrew,” she begged.
Since Kemble had picked up her luggage at his flat before coming to the studio, Enid was able to freshen up and don a more suitable dress. When she presented herself again, Gustav had left for his meeting and Susie had crossed the road to visit a sick friend, leaving Enid and Kemble alone.
“Are you still determined to make contact with Beaufaire?” Kemble asked.
“Yes,” Enid said. “I’m sure Gustav will find him.”
“That’s very likely. They are both working for the same organization.” The actor looked concerned as he went on. “London is full of gossip today. The card game between your husband and your lover is on the lips of every tattletale.”
“I wish them joy with it,” she said with disgust.
Kemble began to pace and then turned to her abruptly. “I do not want to lose you!” he cried.
“You never will. I shall always remember you,” she said softly.
“But are you ready to embrace this Frenchman?”
“He was my lover before I gave myself to you. And we had our terms.”
“I’m willing to forego them,” Kemble said in a rush. “You have the grounds to free yourself of Blair. I want you to be my wife.”
“But you were the one who claimed marriage would spoil our romance!”
“I was wrong,” he argued. “That wouldn’t happen, I swear it. Not in our case.”
Enid smiled, and rising, went to him and put her arms around him. “You must not renege on our agreement. I need you for a friend. I count on you!”
He grasped her by the shoulders and gazed down at her, his expression bitter. “You expect me to encourage you to carry on your romance with this count?”
“Yes, if you truly love me.”
“That’s nonsense. Ridiculous! You cannot expect it of a man. Perhaps in some stage comedy, but never in life. I want you for myself!”
She raised her lips to his and kissed him. “You are second in my heart.”
“That is simply not good enough, my dearest.”
“You must be content, John. Please. I cannot change my feelings.”
He held her tight. “Then I shall pray that fate will bring you back to me, that events will reverse themselves and you will be mine again.”
Enid was relieved when Susie returned from her visit and eased the tension. Kemble remained only a short time longer and then left. Enid knew he was upset and preferred to avoid a possible meeting with Armand.
Susie had also noticed this. With a wise smile she remarked, “John Philip is in a melancholy mood.”
“I know.”
“Because of the appearance of the count in London?”
“Yes. But we had agreed that our love affair was not to be binding.”
“And now?”
“He wants to go back on his promise and he expects me not to honor mine. He wants to marry me!”
“You could do worse,” Susie observed wryly.
“I have given my heart to Armand. That’s not something I take lightly, despite my feelings for John.”
“After last night Armand may feel differently about you.”
“He was a gentleman. He didn’t even try to make love to me, though my husband had wantonly gambled my virtue and lost to him.”
“That’s what you might have expected from someone like Andrew.”
“He has been paid for it,” Enid sighed. “I have been told that I scarred his pretty face.”
“He will hate you for that!” Susie warned her.
Enid shrugged. “He hates me in any case, and I cannot undo what is done.”
Gustav was late in returning. When he finally did arrive, Enid knew at once that something was wrong. “What has happened?” she asked.
He studied her grimly. “Your friend has had a change of luck.”
“Armand?”
“Yes.”
“What has happened?” she repeated imploringly.
“It is bad news. He has been captured by one of the top agents of the revolutionists. A vicious man named Louis Esmond.”
“He is here in London?”
“Yes, along with some of his cohorts. They’re seeking out information on Royalists like Count Armand who are helping some of the nobility escape from France.”
“You say he has been captured. Do you have any idea where he is?”
“Just one clue,” Gustav said. “The revolutionist group has been storing supplies here in London. They’re using a large warehouse near a dock. My guess is that somewhere in that warehouse is their headquarters and that Armand has been taken a prisoner there.”
“Is there no one to help him?” Susie asked.
“It is very difficult to organize a rescue group,” Gustav replied. “I have returned for my sword. Then I’m going down there to see what I can find out.”
“Do not go alone!” Susie begged her husband. “You’ll be killed!”
He put a comforting arm around her. “Believe me, my chances are better alone than in a group. Perhaps I can slip into the warehouse unnoticed and, when the opportunity presents itself, somehow rescue the count.”
“I will go with you!” Enid cried.
Both Gustav and Susie stared at her in amazement. Then Gustav shook his head. “No. It’s too risky for a woman.”
; “I can protect myself, at least with a sword. You know that,” Enid reminded him.
He hesitated. “I don’t see how you can help me.”
“You should both give up the idea. It is too foolhardy a mission!” Susie protested.
“The chances might be better than you think,” Gustav said.
“I can at least act as a lookout—someone to warn you of any movement,” Enid insisted.
Gustav eyed her with uncertainty. “You might be useful in that way.”
“I want to help Armand! Please let me!”
He nodded. “All right. I have a tiny pistol here that you can carry easily. It is not a formidable weapon, but it might come to your aid in a difficult situation.” He went into the next room to get the weapon.
Susie was distraught. “I say you’re both mad!”
“We must try to rescue Armand,” Enid told her friend. “So many other lives depend on him. And we can’t let Gustav go by himself. It is better that I join him.”
Gustav reappeared with the pistol and his sword. He handed the pistol to Enid and showed her how to use it. Then he buckled his sword onto a belt encircling his hips.
“How far is it to the warehouse and the dock?” she asked.
“A ten-minute walk. Perhaps a little more on a dark, cold night like this.”
She put on her cloak and drew the hood over her long blonde hair. “I’ll keep close to you in case we meet up with thieves.”
“The area between here and there is filled with predators of the night, and we must take great care to elude them.” Gustav tossed a flowing crimson cloak over his shoulders, amply concealing the sword beneath it. His wide-brimmed hat with its feather of gray might have belonged to any young merchant out on the town for the night.
“I shall share the danger with you,” Enid said firmly. “It is only right.”
Gustav smiled at her. “You’re a game little creature! I’ll play the role of a merchant who’s slightly fuddled with wine, and you’ll be the wench I picked up in the tavern!”
Susie continued to protest. “This is not a children’s game! How can you be so foolhardy?”
Gustav embraced his wife. “I take few risks. I remain here in London rather than travel to France because of you. I must do what I can for Count Armand. Otherwise I would feel I had to give up the work altogether.”
“Perhaps you should do that,” Susie said tearfully. “You owe France nothing. This is your country now!”
“No matter,” he told her. “I cannot stand by and see such grave injustices carried out.” He moved to the door.
Enid hastily kissed her friend on the cheek and whispered, “Do not worry—I shall protect him!” This was a bluff to make Susie feel less apprehensive, but at the same time it helped bolster her own courage.
11
Enid followed Gustav down the stairs and clung to his arm as they emerged into the fog-ridden night. The few people they encountered along the narrow back streets and mean alleys were either wandering drunks or elusive night denizens searching for likely prey.
Once they passed a girl huddled in a dark doorway. She came out with a querulous “Looking for a good time, sir?” and then when she saw Enid, she moved silently back into the shadows.
A sailor singing loudly and off-key staggered by and uttered some silly compliment to them. After he had disappeared, they passed another man, silent and sinister, who eyed them warily.
To quell her nervousness, Enid began to speak softly to Gustav. “You mentioned this man Louis Esmond, an agent of the revolutionists. What does he look like? I should at least have a description of him.”
“He’s past middle age,” Gustav said, ambling in a tipsy fashion along the dark lane. “He is totally bald and doesn’t wear a wig.”
“That alone should make him easy to spot.”
“Also, he wears a black eye patch over his left eye. He served in the army long ago and was badly injured. He walks with a slight limp.”
“He sounds more like an invalid than a dangerous foe.”
“Do not underestimate him,” Gustav warned her. “He is one of the true mad dogs of the revolution. He hates the nobility because he blames his injuries on an officer of noble blood who was in command of his regiment. Also, he is drunk with power and aiming for a top post in the tribunal of the revolutionists.”
“The more I hear, the more I fear him!”
“Be sure that you do.” Gustav’s voice was tense. “To be alarmed is to be prepared. And about the pistol—use it only if you must.”
“Please explain.”
“It will make a noise, not a loud one, but enough to warn our opponents. Let me try to settle things with my sword. Use the pistol only as a last resort.”
“I wish I had a sword,” Enid complained. “I would be able to use it well!”
“I know that, but it wouldn’t be seemly for a woman to be wandering about the streets with a sword!”
“It isn’t seemly for me to be out on such a night and at such an hour either,” she pointed out.
“Blame that on your romance with Count Armand, not on me,” he countered.
She gave a nervous laugh. “I’m not concerned about where to place the blame. I only wish to help Armand.”
At that point a watchman of the night strode by, ringing a bell and crying out in melancholy tones, “Eleven o’clock and all is well!” He kept repeating this as he moved away from them, his words echoing in their ears.
All at once Gustav came to a halt and whispered, “The large building directly ahead is the warehouse.”
Enid peered through the yellowish fog and made out a dark, two-story structure. “What now?” she asked.
“We must be very careful. It fronts on the dock, where the main entrance is.”
“And?”
“We dare not try that,” he told her. “We must seek out a window or door on this side of the building through which we can make our entry. If I find a suitable place, I shall have you stand guard outside it.”
“Where do you think they may have hidden him?”
“Probably on the upper floor. That would give them a better chance to defend their position in case of attack.”
“So shall we go on?”
“Yes,” he said. “All seems quiet thus far.”
He moved cautiously toward the warehouse and then inched his way alongside it, checking the windows in the hope of finding an open one. Enid silently matched his steps, her heart beating faster, her nerves stretched taut. And then she experienced a thrill of fear as she heard the unmistakable sound of a footstep behind her. She had barely enough time to whisper the single word “Danger!”
Gustav whirled around, his sword drawn and ready beneath his flowing cloak. And not a moment too soon, either, as two men, also armed with swords, sprang out of the darkness at them. Enid cringed against the brick wall of the warehouse and watched her companion bravely defend himself against the accomplished pair.
The clash of metal filled the silent air as blades locked, and locked again. Gustav was a master swordsman, and despite the odds against him, he managed to keep the two attackers at bay. They cursed in French and lunged at him fiercely, yet each time, by some miracle, he was able to withdraw and then return to the fray.
Enid held the pistol outside her cloak now, ready to use it if the struggle clearly went against Gustav. And with each passing it seemed as if it would. But he had warned her not to fire the weapon unless it was absolutely necessary.
The three men parried back and forth in the fog. Once Gustav fell to one knee, but even in that endangered position he held off his opponents. Moments later he found an opening in the defense of one of the men and plunged his blade into him. The man cried out and stumbled backward as Gustav freed his sword to fight off the second attacker. The wounded man fell face downward on the cobblestones, his own weapon clattering as it rolled from his limp hand.
Enid seized this moment to rush forward and retrieve the sword, as well as one of
his pistols. Then, with a purposeful look on her lovely face, she gave her attention to helping Gustav, who had almost lost his weapon to his opponent and had staggered slightly as he fought to regain his balance. Enid was certain the second man was about to finish her friend, so she lunged forward and thrust the sword deep into his side.
The bearded man turned to her, his face revealing his shock, and then he toppled down beside his companion. She picked up his sword and went over to Gustav, handing him the gun she had retrieved.
“He almost had me! You saved my life!” Gustav panted, smiling at her with effort.
“Please don’t think about it.”
“Let’s continue,” he said, still gasping for breath.
She glanced at the two fallen men. “What about them?”
“They’ll give us no trouble for a while,” he said grimly. “They’ll either live or die. This is war, you must understand.”
Gustav took the initiative again and began searching for an entrance to the warehouse. Enid followed close on his heels, the sword in her hand and his pistol beneath her cloak. He halted by a window and then turned to her and whispered, “This one will give us entry!”
She waited while he raised it carefully and climbed inside. Then he helped her over the sill. They stood for a moment in the dank darkness of the old warehouse, listening for some signs of life. After a few moments they heard footsteps moving above them and the low murmur of male voices, the words undistinguishable.
“My guess was right,” Gustav whispered. “They are on the level above us.”
“What do we do now?” she asked.
“We must find a stairway and try to get up there without their knowing it. Do you want to wait by the window?”
She shook her head. “You may need me and my sword.”
“If we have to attack, use the pistol as well this time,” he advised. “There will be no need for silence now.”
She nodded. “I understand.”
Their eyes having become more adjusted to the darkness, they began to explore the lower region of the warehouse. In one area there were stacks of wooden cases.
Gustav tapped one of the cases and whispered, “Weapons and ammunition!”
Vintage Love Page 42