His Silken Seduction Read Online Free Page A

reassuringly. “How long is it since the trunk arrived?”
    “What? Oh, several hours, I suppose. It would have arrived at the coach office last night, but it was not delivered until first thing this morning. I don’t see that the timing changes anything.” She was fighting back now, and sounding much more like her normal self.
    “It changes everything, my dear Suzanne,” Ben said firmly. “If Bonaparte’s agents were going to arrest us all, they would have done so by now. ‘Strike while the iron is hot’ as the proverb goes. And why would they have left you the letter, knowing that you would understand the danger as soon as you saw the broken seal? No, trust me when I tell you that they will not come.”
    Her eyes widened, and she clasped her hands together. Then her mouth opened just enough to allow the tip of her tongue to moisten her lower lip. Ben recognized it for an unconscious gesture, born of anxiety, but the effect on him was electrifying. It was the most sensuous move he had ever seen. Desire flooded through him, all over again.
    Suzanne seemed to notice nothing. “But it must have been Bonaparte’s agents,” she protested. “Thieves would have stolen the silk and ignored the letter.”
    Ben forced himself to respond to her words and not to her distress. ‘You are right about the thieves. And you are right to assume that Bonaparte’s men broke into your trunk and read your sister’s letter. Then they were arrogant enough to send you both trunk and letter. They want you to know what they have done.”
    “So they do suspect us!”
    “It is more likely that they simply want to display their power. They want you and all the people of Lyons to be afraid. They know there are royalists in this city, so they are sending a very clear message everyone is a suspect, everyone’s possessions can be searched at will, and no one is safe under Bonaparte’s law.” Suzanne’s pale skin was turning ashen at his words. “But in this case, your sister’s letter has passed their test. I am sure of that, Suzanne. Tell me, what did she say?” He had convinced himself, by his own hard logic. But could he convince poor Suzanne?
    She began to speak, but she soon faltered. Taking a deep breath, she straightened her shoulders and drew a folded paper out of her bodice. “I think it is best if you read it for yourself. I assumed we were all betrayed. Perhaps you can assure me that I am wrong? I hope SO.”
    Ben took the letter and unfolded it carefully. The paper was still warm from its contact with Suzanne’s body. There was just the faintest scent of the lavender in which she stored her clothes. It lingered in the back of Ben’s throat like the perfume of the finest wine. And one mouthful was not nearly enough.
    Ben tried to concentrate on the letter. It was short. And it was very cleverly crafted. Had Suzanne been so shocked by the broken seal that she had failed to notice that? Marguerite had given nothing away, not even her own name, but there were hidden messages here, nevertheless. She was going to visit someone she referred to as “the curé.” She mentioned the possibility of a visit to the coast. What did she mean by these tantalizing references? Was she planning to help Jack to escape to England? Ben could see no other explanation.
      “Who is the curé your sister speaks of? Do you know where he lives? She says that is where she is going. She makes no mention at all of Jacques, but I assume that he will go with her.”
    Ben’s factual questions seemed to restore Suzanne’s normal poise. “I was not sure at first. Then Guillaume reminded me. There was a curt, Father Bertrand, who, er, who knew our family well in the old days. But he had to leave Lyons during the troubles. Guillaume says he went to Normandy. A village somewhere near Rouen, he thinks.”
    “Ah. I see.” The tension began to leave Ben’s shoulders. ‘Your sister is a brave and resourceful woman, Suzanne. She is telling us, through