Masque: A Hellfire Club Erotique

by Reed, Kristabel

  Olivia looked between the men inquisitively, but said nothing. He studied her for long moments, but couldn’t keep this from her. She still carried the poniard, kept hidden in an inner pocket of her cloak.

  By telling her of Rousseau and their change in plans, Sebastian risked endangering her. Rousseau would keep his word; Sebastian had no doubts as to that. But Olivia had never promised not to try and kill Rousseau. Revealing they now followed him would only spurn her forward.

  “I spotted Rousseau ahead,” he admitted, “and decided to follow. He’s veered off the mapped route and I want to know what he’s up to.”

  Left unsaid was his own desire for revenge. He didn’t look at Olivia, but could tell Julien thought along the same lines as he. The other man glanced at Olivia so quickly she didn’t notice. Sebastian gave the barest of nods; what they did was a calculated risk but needed to be done.

  Julien looked at the path ahead. “Where is he now?”

  Sebastian turned back around and maneuvered the cart off what passed for a road in the country. “He turned off, but I didn’t want to follow.”

  “Stop the cart,” Julien ordered. Sebastian immediately obeyed.

  Julien jumped out, and Olivia moved to follow. Stopping her from doing more than sliding along the cart’s bench, Julien firmly shook his head. Sebastian looked at the other man and waited, rather impatiently, for an explanation.

  He moved to the pair of horses and started to undo their bridle and reins. “I’m taking one of the horses and following.” Julien glanced up at Sebastian and said unnecessarily, “Keep her safe.”

  Already moving to stop Olivia, who clearly wanted no parts of keeping safe or being left behind, Sebastian grabbed her around the waist. She glared at him but kept her voice quiet.

  “We shouldn’t split up,” she snapped. “We’ve come this far, we need to stay together.”

  Julien leaned down and gave her a quick kiss.

  “We won’t be far behind him,” Sebastian assured her.

  Nodding, Julien agreed. “I want to see what this bastard is up to.”

  * * * *

  Julien swung onto the barebacked horse and urged it forward. He didn’t look back at his lovers, but knew Sebastian would protect Olivia. Olivia, on the other hand…Julien knew she wouldn’t stop until Rousseau was dead. She wanted to kill him herself, and Julien wanted to spare her doing so.

  Keeping to the tree line, Julien heard them before he found them. A second man stood with Rousseau, and neither seemed to care whether or not they were overheard. Smug little bastards, weren’t they?

  Backtracking slightly, Julien tied his horse and followed them on foot. They didn’t go far, five hundred yards at most, to a small campsite where a third man waited. Another horse stood cobbled next to a small fire.

  Creeping closer, Julien crouched behind a tree. He didn’t have to strain to hear their conversation. Obviously they didn’t expect anyone to be lurking about.

  “You took longer than expected to arrive,” the man by the fire snapped.

  Rousseau, ever the distinguished nobleman, shrugged. “This has been no simple task,” he said smoothly.

  The man stood and Julien, though he couldn’t place the man himself, recognized his uniform. It clearly boasted his allegiance: a member of Robespierre’s Committee for Public Safety.

  Rousseau had betrayed them all, the entire Hellfire Club; the very people who had protected him all these years. He’d sold out to those vermin on the Committee. Narrowing his eyes at the trio still talking about the ambush, Julien vowed to see all three of them dead.

  What a feather in Rousseau’s cap this would be, to deliver, single handedly, the Hellfire Club. That son of a bitch had aspirations to overthrow Robespierre with this little coup. He’d see Rousseau’s head through a pike before this was done.

  Julien had to warn the others. Not just Sebastian and Olivia, they’d be safe enough having not followed the rest of the group, but the others who continued on would be in danger. Rousseau now knew the entire escape route and every single safe house between Paris and the coast. The Hellfire Club would be rounded up and murdered, killed in the name of the Terror.

  Backing away, Julien didn’t wait to hear more of these plots. Whatever else Rousseau had to say, most likely along the same lines didn’t matter. He had to get back to Sebastian and Olivia. Julien wouldn’t allow Rousseau to win; he’d stand by Olivia as she exacted her revenge.

  Quickly untying his horse, he cast one last look behind him. The three conspirators didn’t seem to notice him, but Julien didn’t want to take a chance. He walked the mount quietly through the woods then onto the road before urging the horse to a trot.

  He had to keep Olivia safe, but also needed to warn the rest of the Club.

  Body tight with fear, Julien scanned the area he’d left Sebastian and Olivia. They weren’t there. His heart skipped a beat, only to pound harder in his chest. Were there other members of Committee for Public Safety in the area besides the pair Rousseau had met?

  Taking the knife from his boot, Julien slid off the horse and silently moved along the edge of the road. He didn’t make a sound as he strained to hear anything. If one of Rousseau’s men had harmed either of Julien’s lovers, Julien would see the other man gutted and left on the side of the road for the wolves.

  To his left he heard movement. Julien froze and crouched, ready to spring into the brush and attack.

  “Julien.”

  Sebastian’s voice was low and forceful, and Julien relaxed. He let out the breath he’d held and stood, crossing the ditch into the wood where his lovers hid. In the faint moonlight, he grabbed Olivia about the waist and kissed her hard. In those few moments he couldn’t find them all Julien could envision was killing Rousseau.

  He didn’t know what he’d do without Sebastian and Olivia.

  Sebastian stood beside Olivia and as Julien crushed her small warm body to his chest, he clasped Sebastian behind the neck, giving the other man a hard quick kiss. Still holding Olivia, the faintest scent of lavender wafted up to him, another reminder she stood alive and safe in his arms. Unable to release her or to move away from Sebastian, Julien told them what he’d overheard.

  “We have to divert Rousseau’s plans,” Sebastian agreed once Julien had finished.

  Julien looked over Olivia’s head to Sebastian and nodded. In the other man’s vivid blue eyes, shadowed in the evening, he saw his agreement. They’d divert Rousseau’s plan and make sure the scheming bastard could never again hurt Olivia.

  Chapter Eleven

  The moon barely lighted the area, and Olivia stumbled on the frozen uneven ground as she raced across the road. She didn’t stop; the more breathless she sounded the more convincing it would be. Her heart raced as she staggered over fallen branches.

  At least no snow halted her progress. The wind whipped through the wood, catching the hood of her cloak. Impatient, Olivia slowed only long enough to pull it back over her head. Even in the darkness, she didn’t want to take the chance Rousseau would recognize her.

  Julien had said Rousseau’s camp lay barely five hundred yards from the road, and she could just see the faint light from the fire. Her frozen fingers clutched the hem of her gown and cloak and she closed her eyes for a quick moment before she pitched herself into the camp.

  Six men stood round the fire, including Rousseau. They must have arrived after Julien returned. Rousseau stood off to one side with another man dressed in fine clothes; obviously the man in charge from his bearing. Olivia carefully averted her eyes from them. She raised her voice, a high breathless squeak she hoped wouldn’t be recognized.

  “Please help, monsieur,” she gasped, lowering her head and gazing at the man in the shabby Committee for Public Safety uniform. “My husband,” she continued, infusing panic into her plea and gesticulating wildly. “Our cart overturned and he’s trapped beneath it.”

  “Get out of here, woman,” the man snapped, dismissing her with an impatient wave of hi
s hand.

  “Please, please,” she begged, glad he hadn’t asked how she’d found his camp, well hidden from the road. “You must help. How can you leave a citizen to suffer?”

  At her citizen comment the Committee man grunted and rose. “Raul!” he shouted to one of the men sitting opposite the fire. He said no more but the pair of them rounded the fire and started for her.

  Not waiting to see if they’d actually help or would rather slit her throat because she dared interrupt them, Olivia spun on her heel and started back the way she’d come. Just behind the second row of trees, Julien and Sebastian waited. She wanted to warn them not to use their pistols, as per the original plan, but the men had quickened their step and now walked directly behind her.

  “Thank you,” she gasped, hoping her voice carried to where her lovers waited. “I’m so terribly sorry to interrupt you, Citizen, but I’m desperate. However, the cart is rather heavy; we return from Paris with cloth, and I’m not sure the two of you will be enough. Perhaps you should call one of your compatriots to help?”

  “No.” The Committee man snapped. “The two of us will be fine.”

  Olivia nodded into the darkness and slowed her pace. The men turned to look at her but before either could utter a word, Sebastian and Julien slipped from behind the trees. It was fast and brutal. Their knives slid over the Committee men’s throats before they even thought to struggle.

  Sebastian caught her arm, pulled her close. “You’re all right?” he asked in a harsh whisper.

  “Yes,” she said and hid a smile at his concern. She’d been gone barely five minutes. Still, his words touched her, warmed a part of her she hadn’t realized she possessed until she met them.

  “There are at least six of them,” she said. Olivia paused and looked to Julien, who had positioned himself before her so she couldn’t see the bodies. Again touched, Olivia smiled at the other man.

  “Four of them,” she amended, feeling loved and comforted despite the danger of the situation. “There are four of them left including Rousseau. One seems to be the leader; he’s better dressed and holds himself like he controls the power.”

  Sebastian nodded and drew his pistol. “Stay here,” he ordered.

  Olivia gave him a look he either chose to ignore or missed in the darkness. Julien saw it and glared at her. When she stepped in beside them, however, neither said a word.

  The last image she had of Louise, her body splayed at an awkward angle, blood pooling beneath her, burned into her mind’s eye. Olivia desperately tried to blink it away, to focus on extracting revenge on her beloved aunt’s killer.

  She drew the poniard from the inner pocket of her cloak. Her fingers, cold despite the gloves she wore, flexed around the hilt. She didn’t care what Rousseau said about ending this vengeance, and she certainly didn’t care what her family had done to him to warrant murder as his own form of revenge.

  Olivia planned to kill the deceitful bastard.

  She didn’t know how exactly this next part would play out, their original plan hadn’t included her, her lovers were more than a little overprotective. Plus, Julien had only seen three men, including Rousseau, so their plan hadn’t accounted for more.

  Julien pushed her behind him, and before she could do more than regain her footing on the frozen mud, he and Sebastian burst into the camp. They’d drawn their pistols and aimed them at Rousseau.

  “We only want Rousseau,” Sebastian said to the apparent leader, who’d jerked out his own pistol and aimed it at them.

  In the flickering light of the fire, Olivia saw the fear on Rousseau’s face. He suddenly looked pale as his gaze shifted from Julien to Sebastian. She stayed a step behind her men, unwilling to get in their way should someone attack.

  Rousseau lunged for the nearest man, a lackey from his dress, and tightened his arm about the man’s throat, holding him in place as a sort of shield. Apparently thinking this a good idea, the leader of the Committee men did the same with the second hapless man. Before Olivia could react, he fired his pistol over the man’s shoulder directly at Julien.

  Julien fired back. Olivia jumped as the report echoed through the clearing. The man Rousseau held jerked as the shot tore through him. Sebastian fired at the Committee leader, killing the man he held before him. The Committee man dropped the body in disgust, and it fell into the fire, sending sparks shooting into the air and sparking over the frozen ground.

  In the confusion, both Rousseau and the Committee leader escaped into the darkness. Julien ran after them, while Sebastian raced to the man Rousseau had held. Olivia saw him check the man, and realized with a start he did so to make sure the man was truly dead.

  The scent of burning flesh permeated the clearing and churned her stomach, but Olivia didn’t retreat. She couldn’t, not with Rousseau so close. Gripping the poniard tighter, she took half a dozen steps in the direction Julien had gone, intent on finding Rousseau.

  From where he still crouched by the body, Sebastian turned to look at her. In the sparking light from the fire, his normally blue eyes glowed. Fear, anger, and a deeper emotion Olivia only now thought she understood burned in those depths.

  But Sebastian didn’t say anything, only nodded to her as he raced in the opposite direction from Julien. The Committee leader; they still had the rest of the Hellfire Club to protect.

  Olivia gathered her skirts and ran in the direction Julien had gone. Revenge pounded in her blood.

  She’d never truly hated anyone. Robespierre seemed distant and unattainable from the relative safety of the apartment she shared with Louise. The Committee for Public Safety never bothered her, and while she feared a misplaced word, the malicious gossip of her neighbor, or even a random search, Olivia had never hated before.

  She hated Rousseau with a burning passion that threatened to eclipse even the burgeoning love she felt for Julien and Sebastian.

  Horses sounded before her, and Olivia knew she wouldn’t be able to catch them on foot. It didn’t stop her from picking up her pace. She slid over the icy mud and went down hard onto one knee. Pushing herself off the ground, Olivia continued in the direction she heard the horses.

  An arm grabbed her from behind, and she screamed in surprise and panic.

  “Olivia.” Julien’s voice sounded in her ear, but she continued to struggle.

  She had to get to Rousseau, had to avenge her aunt’s murder. Julien held her tight to his hard body. He said something to her, but her heart pounded in her ears and over the rush of her blood, it took Olivia moments to realize he was right.

  They wouldn’t be able to catch up to Rousseau on foot.

  Collapsing against Julien, Olivia closed her eyes. She’d lost her chance at Rousseau.

  “We’ll find him,” Julien promised.

  He held her close, and she felt as if his body molded around her, giving her strength. Olivia relaxed against him, taking that strength, the warmth and reassurance his touch brought to her. She believed him, knew he and Sebastian wanted Rousseau as badly as she.

  Footsteps sounded to the left of them. Olivia tensed, but Julien didn’t move.

  “Sebastian,” Julien said into the darkness.

  “I lost him,” Sebastian admitted, looking between her and Julien. “Rousseau?”

  “Gone,” Julien said. Olivia felt him nod in the direction Rousseau disappeared into the darkness. “He had a horse hidden here.”

  Sebastian nodded as if he expected as much. He met her eyes and Olivia knew she wasn’t going to like his next words. “We have to warn the Club,” Sebastian said. “They have no idea about Rousseau’s plan and we don’t know how many more men that Committee rat has in the area.”

  She wanted to scream at him, wanted to ignore the Hellfire Club and go after Rousseau herself. Julien’s arm tightened around her. Olivia slowly, reluctantly nodded.

  The walk back to their cart was short and done in silence. When they emerged from the forest, the sun brightened the horizon, a pale pink glow of morning. Olivia yawne
d, but knew she wouldn’t sleep anytime soon.

  They backtracked down the road, taking the left fork this time. It didn’t take them long to find the village where the Hellfire Club stayed the night. Despite the early hour, they were already preparing to move out. Sebastian caught the attention of the Club’s organizer, Bernard, who had been ordering a couple people about in preparation for the next stage of their trip.

  “There’s a serious problem,” Sebastian said without preamble the moment Bernard approached. “We spotted Rousseau meeting with the Committee of Public Safety with the intention of giving all of us away. It’s best that everyone and everything move now. We need to get out of the area as fast as possible.”

  “We have an alternate route,” Bernard said, fury lacing word. His face flushed with his emotion, hands fisting at his sides. “I should have let you kill him in Paris,” he muttered, shooting a look in Olivia’s direction. “I’m sorry about Louise,” he said softly and took her hand. “She was a good friend, but Rousseau still had many allies among the Club and we couldn’t take the chance of revenge against you.”

  In light of this revelation, Olivia wondered how many of Rousseau’s allies knew of his involvement with the Committee. And how many of them were a part of it.

  Bernard released her hand and nodded to Sebastian and Julien. “I’ll get us moving shortly, but you need to know that there have been reports of fighting behind us, Revolutionaries against Royalists. If what you say about Rousseau is true,” Bernard continued in a tone that clearly indicated he believed them, “he might be headed towards them. Reinforcements as it were.”

  “If you come across Rousseau,” Julien said in a hard voice, “push him in our direction.”

  Bernard nodded and called out to someone behind him. The woman ran up with a map, bobbed quickly at them, shot Olivia a curious look, and went back to whatever she’d been doing. Bernard spread the map over their merchant cart and stabbed a finger onto it.

  “This is where the fighting has been reported.” He stabbed his finger onto another road. “This is the only route available, this road,” another hard jab to the map, “winds too far out of our way and I don’t want to be in this country any longer than we have to be.”