Page 16 of A Fierce Wind

Freddie let his attention fall to the pebbles beneath his feet, all too aware of the promised help that had never arrived. “A regrettable chapter, I agree.” He looked up, meeting Donet’s disquieting dark eyes. “Still, ’tis better the help comes late than it never arrives at all, n’êtes-vous pas d’accord?”

Donet gazed toward the bakery they were fast approaching. “I suppose I must agree, but what has my niece to do with that?”

Freddie hoped he could be convincing. “D’Auvergne has ordered me to take Zoé with me. He believes she is essential to the effort, respected as she is by the Vendéens, whereas I, an Englishman, might garner only distrust.”

Donet paused, deep in thought. “He is right to think that of Zoé. Her loyalty to the Vendéens is well known. And the Chouans are their brothers-in-arms.”

“Notwithstanding her affinity for the Vendéens, I would not put her at risk and was hoping you could help.”

Donet’s brows lifted in surprise. “You want me to order her not to go?”

“It would help matters greatly if you did.”

Donet quietly laughed. “I could, but you know as well as I she is not one to be ordered about and I have not done so since she was a youth. Many times, she has faced danger for the good of others. It was not for nothing I taught her to use a knife. Why, one night in Lorient, she did not hesitate to save a child from a brute who would have killed the boy. With much practice, she has become very good at throwing a blade and does not hesitate to plunge it into warm flesh. Zoé can be fierce, yet she is not stupid when it comes to danger. Her instincts are good.”

“Yes, I know, but this will be different. She will be going into the wooded countryside fought over by both revolutionaries and royalists. And ’tis not close to the coast and your ships.”

Donet gave Freddie a sympathetic look. “Once she hears she is needed by her friends, she will insist on going. These may be treacherous times but you know Zoé will not be left behind. How can I praise the cause and hold her back from serving where her presence is required? She is well aware women fight with the royalists. It will be safer for her if you plan for her to go with you. Your mission, as I understand it, is to obtain information, not engage in battle. I can send Gabe along to guard her. He has known my niece as long as you have. He is now twenty-two, the same age as most of the Chouans from what I hear. More importantly, he would die to protect her.”

Freddie met Donet’s dark gaze but the words on his lips he spoke only to himself. So would I.