where a string of trees ran alongside a stream half a kilometer away. The closest cover. “The gardens inside are wonderful, but I always wanted a fountain. I wanted a place inside with running water where I could just walk out to the courtyard anytime without security hovering.”
Carlos ignored the scenery when he noticed the tremble in her fingers.
The driver was speaking into his cell phone so Carlos leaned over and whispered close to her cheek. “What are you worried about?”
She nibbled on her bottom lip, then turned her face to him and said, “I know it’s silly, but I spent most of the years here terrified of being sent to LaCrosse’s office, and now I’m going to face the man I worked so hard to avoid as a student.” She smiled sheepishly. “He’s brilliant and dedicated to the school. I make him sound like an ogre, but it was probably more his size and position that had scared us as children.”
Carlos moved his hand to cover hers.
She glanced at her hand, then at him.
“It’ll be okay,” he whispered. “I won’t leave your side.”
She smiled and nodded. “I can do this.”
There was the strength he’d glimpsed in her. He hoped it would be enough to keep them from being caught.
Inside the castle walls Carlos saw what Gabrielle had been trying to tell him. The gardens within view were so perfectly sculpted he wondered if the gardeners were engineers as well as artists. When the limo driver parked, Carlos stepped out and circled the car on cobblestones to open Gabrielle’s door before the driver could. He got another miffed sound for that.
Carlos offered a sinister smile at the little bastard, who shrank back with a frown.
At the top of stone steps was a pair of arched oak doors with heavy black hinges and a family crest with birds scrolled on the weathered surface. When the left door swung open, a fiftyish man with a dour face and thick lips too rosy for a guy appeared. His charcoal-gray suit was no more inviting than the stern set of his graying caterpillar eyebrows. He waited patiently while Gabrielle and Carlos climbed the steps.
“Welcome, Mademoiselle Saxe,” he said to her, then turned to Carlos. “You must be her security.” The slur came through in his words.
Carlos said nothing since he was the only person accompanying Gabrielle and the statement was meant to lower him to the level of hired help. Did this bunch really think their snubbing would cut him? He wanted to laugh.
“Please follow me.” Their guide inclined his head and walked away with them right behind.
The hall they entered had arched ceilings over twenty feet high that were painted in trompe l’oeil, basically a bunch of butt-naked baby angels pointing at each other. Their guide wound his way through more arched walkways with elaborately carved borders gold-leafed in what was likely real gold. The place could be a museum for all the intricate craftsmanship that had gone into every piece of structure and painted surface. Chandeliers so delicately designed they reminded him of lace glass hung in every open space.
They followed the guide up blue-gray marble steps of a sweeping staircase with gold-and-black rails of vines twisted around spear-shaped vertical braces. At the upper landing, which sprawled in a semicircle with halls off each side, plush handwoven rugs with scenes of ancient France covered the floors.
More impressive was the narrow cut Carlos had detected within the arched entrance to each area they had passed through. Had to be where this school hid their security-screening device since no one had asked him to empty his pockets or her purse.
He had no gun, but living on the streets alone as a teen had taught him how to find a weapon anywhere in any place.
A man in his late twenties with well-behaved short brown hair sat at a mahogany desk in the center of the area they’d reached. Priceless tapestries covered the walls on each side of him. He was facing a computer monitor until they neared, then he looked up and rose to his feet. He fixed a practiced smile on his clean-shaven face and dismissed their guide with a nod before he spoke.
“Mademoiselle Saxe. How nice to meet you. I’m Pierre Prudhomme.” He smiled at her.
Gabrielle angled her head in polite acknowledgment. “Monsieur.”
“One moment.” Pierre lifted a phone receiver, spoke too softly to be heard, then hung up and ushered Gabrielle toward a door several steps away. After two taps, he opened the door and stepped back and faced her.
“Monsieur LaCrosse is expecting you and has been informed of your preference for English.”
Gabrielle’s posture stiffened, to the point Carlos began to wonder if she could handle the pressure sitting on her shoulders. When she entered, he stepped inside, then stood out of the way, playing the role of bodyguard with his feet apart and hands behind his back. He left the dark shades in place.
No point in spoiling their image of hired security.
LaCrosse stood behind a dark-mahogany desk with intricate inlaid designs and birds carved into the corners. The piece had to be over two hundred years old and would dwarf a smaller man. But LaCrosse was close to six feet six and wore a tree-bark-brown suit that evened out the angles on his bony frame. Thinning hair cut in short layers matched his suit color. For all the blandness of his scholarly image, green eyes sharp as a cat’s took in everything with precision.
Carlos could see how this man’s size alone would terrify a young girl, but Gabrielle was now an adult.
Still, he regretted putting her in this spot.
“Mademoiselle Saxe, how nice to see you again.” LaCrosse stepped forward, took her hand, and pecked a polite kiss on the back of her fingers before releasing her. “I trust you traveled well?”
“Yes, merci.”
The hesitance in her submissive tone worried Carlos. If she failed this first test, they were screwed.
“Please, have a seat,” LaCrosse said to her. “I appreciate your coming to help us with this problem. I understand you’ve lived somewhat reclusively for a long time.”
“I’m happy to help my school,” she said with plenty of sincerity. “That’s why I continue the IT chat boards for your students.” She shrugged out of her coat, draping it over her lap when she sat.
“Yes, yes. We’re quite grateful for your assistance.” LaCrosse leaned back in a high-back leather chair. “Our IT department is eager to observe as you institute the new system.”
Gabrielle sat silently for a moment, then said, “I’ll instruct them after I’ve completed my work.”
Carlos was glad for the dark shades or LaCrosse might have caught his surprise, too, at her curt tone.
“You only have four days,” LaCrosse pointed out.
“I see no problem,” Gabrielle answered with less edge.
“Surely, you’ll need assistance while making the repairs and changes,” LaCrosse countered congenially, but his annoyance at being rebuffed showed.
Having others nosing around would complicate things, but Carlos would figure out how to cover for her.
“If I do, I’ll inform you of such.” Another sharp reply from her that wiped the smile from LaCrosse’s eyes.
Carlos cut his gaze at Gabrielle. If she rebuffed this guy a little too hard, they might get tossed out on their ears. What had happened to her fear of this man?
LaCrosse leaned forward, hands clasped together in front of him. “We prefer that everyone be escorted while visiting here.”
In other words, he would not allow Gabrielle free run of the estate.
Silence piled into the space between them while LaCrosse waited on her to acknowledge his decree, clearly not pleased with her countermanding his rules.
Gabrielle lifted her head, eyes calm and unwavering. “I came in good faith, as an alumni who walked these halls for many years unescorted. I still remember how to traverse the compound without getting lost, so I appreciate the offer of a guide, but respectfully decline.”
Carlos was torn between wanting to tell her “Atta girl” and wishing he was close enough to give her a warning nudge. Didn’t she realize he could keep any escort distracted while she worked? She was obviously making a valiant effort to maneuver an optimum situation, but getting tossed off the property wouldn’t aid their cause.
That’s when the difference in her dawned on Carlos. It was as if the clothes she’d donned beneath her coat were her armor and gave her confidence that came with her position in life.
LaCrosse studied her a moment, deliberating on something, then offered her a smile that looked as though he had a mouthful of tacks. “As you wish.” He stood. “Would you like to get settled in your quarters then take a look at
