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‘My dear Miss Giradet, I am Not going to die. I will be going as a British envoy and as such will be protected by our government. Not even the French Assembly would dare lift a finger against me.’ He paused. ‘Did you write the letter I asked for?’
‘Yes, but I still do not think you should go. I am very sorry I burdened you with my problems; I wish I had never spoken of them.’
‘But you did and it is my pleasure and privilege to do all in my power to help you. If a simple little voyage across the channel and a few days in Paris can do that, then I will do it. I beg you, think no more of it. I shall probably be back within the week.’
‘Then let me come, too.’
‘Certainly not. I will not hear of it.’
‘But I could be useful.’
‘You could also be an encumbrance. Now, unless you wish to make me angry, you will say no more.’
She turned and left him, annoyed with him and with herself for not being able to persuade him. she climbed the stairs to her bedchamber and flung herself down on the bed. In her mind’s eye she saw him boarding the yacht and setting sail, saw him arriving in France and travelling to Paris. He would have to go by diligence or hire a carriage and, once in Paris, he would have to find lodgings. With no one to help him over the language and customs and the new laws being enacted all the time, he might well find himself in trouble. If she could save him from that, she ought to do so, whether he wanted her to or not. But how?
She rose and began throwing clothes in a bag, picking those she could manage herself because Hortense would be left behind and whatever she took she would have to carry. And she would need help to get her to Lynn. Whom could she trust not to betray her?
Lord Drymore had returned very late that night after the household had retired and it was only at breakfast the next morning that he and Jay were able to talk over the final arrangements. ‘Pitt has agreed you are to go to Paris as a special envoy on a peace mission,’ James said. ‘It will mean talking to Robespierre, Danton and their minions in the Jacobin party, who have just ousted the Girondists from power—in truth, it is difficult to keep up with all the changes—and making diplomatic noises which will be meaningless, but he said if he sanctioned your visit to Paris, then you had better have something useful to do while you are there. He wants you to find out how the war with Austria is going, what the Prussians intend and if there is any likelihood of France surrendering. We do not want to become involved if we do not have to.’
‘Spy, you mean?’
‘Intelligence gathering. I have your official appointment which you will take with you and the other orders which you are to destroy when you have read them.’ He paused before going on. ‘He did emphasise that if you were arrested, the British government would have to deny all knowledge of what you were doing.’
‘I understand.’
‘If you don’t want to do it, we can cancel the whole thing. God knows, I would rather you did.’
‘I can’t do that. Lisette is relying on me. I must leave within the hour if I am to catch the tide. I have to say goodbye to the children and Mama, and Mademoiselle Giradet, though if she starts to argue again I shall turn my back on her and leave her.’
‘She did not come down to breakfast. Her maid said she was unwell and would remain in bed today.’
‘It is nothing serious, I hope.’
‘No. The headache. The servant said it was probably the worry of it all. I should slip away quietly.’
Before he left, he wrote a note to Lisette, wishing her a speedy recovery from her headache and telling her to try not to worry. He would be back with her brother in no time. He gave it to a worried-looking Hortense. Sam bade farewell to his wife and they left with his mother and father and children waving goodbye from the courtyard.
Lord Drymore’s carriage was a strong one used by his lordship to ply between Norfolk and London and they fairly rattled along. They spent the time talking about the voyage and what they might expect when they arrived in France, but Jay could not banish the sight of Lisette’s tear-filled eyes from his memory, nor the feel of her soft body in his arms and the smell of lavender in her hair. It had shaken him to the core to find he wanted her. Jay Drymore, who had eschewed the company of women and had sworn never to become entangled with one again, desired this French spinster who was, moreover, the niece of Gerald Wentworth. It was as well he was going away for a few days; it might cool his ardour.
The Lady Anne, with its newly painted name, was at anchor on the quay, but she was ready to sail as soon as Jay and Sam were aboard and wind and tide were favourable. The breeze was from the north-west, which would aid them when they were out of The Wash, but until then they were obliged to tack slowly out to sea. Once in the German Ocean, they turned to sail along the Norfolk coast before catching a strong north-easterly and the vessel fairly skimmed along.
