The Caged Countess. Joanna Fulford

made no reply. She might be a married woman but she had no notion of what it meant to please a man in that way. What subtle arts could elicit the kind of pleasure she had heard from behind that door? Likely she would never know. With an effort she dragged her mind back to the task at hand, annoyed that she had allowed herself to be side-tracked in that way. Respectable women did not think about such things, much less discuss them. But then respectable women weren’t found in bordellos either. The knowledge did nothing for her peace of mind.

      They reached the end of the passageway and Madame Renaud gestured to the door on the right. ‘In there.’

      The room smelled of stale perfume and sweat. It was simply furnished with a large curtained bed, a wash stand with a mirror hung above, and a chair. Two wall lamps provided soft light but its range was limited and the edges of the room were in shadow. The window opposite was closed and shuttered. The silence felt charged. Claudine frowned.

      ‘Alain?’

      The shadows stirred and a man moved into her line of vision. Claudine’s heart leapt towards her throat. It was certainly not Alain. For a start he was a head taller than the person she had come to meet and the lithe, powerful figure bore not the least resemblance to the stocky frame she had been expecting to see. As he turned she drew in a sharp breath. The face with its almost sculptural lines must once have been handsome. However, two jagged scars marred the left side of his brow. Below it the eye and the cheek were concealed by a patch of dark leather. He seemed to emanate a dangerous virile power whose effect was both striking and unnerving.

      With an effort she gathered her wits. ‘Forgive me, monsieur. I must have mistaken the room.’

      Her expression and the indrawn breath had come as no surprise to the man opposite. He was accustomed now to the way others regarded him; in fairness his appearance was hardly calculated to reassure.

      ‘I think not, madame.’

      He moved further into the room so that he could see her properly. The result gave him a visceral jolt. In the first place she was much younger than he had expected; twenty or a little more perhaps. In the second she was stunning. The soft light fell on glossy brown curls whose colour reminded him of newly hulled chestnuts. They framed a lovely face dominated by huge dark eyes and the most seductive mouth he had ever seen. She was just above the average height for a woman and her figure slender. The details were hidden beneath her cloak. For a second or two he indulged the fantasy of removing it. Any man would want to do the same, he thought. Genet was clearly growing more subtle in his recruitment. In keeping with French tradition he employed women as well as men for intelligence work, but the women in question didn’t usually look like this one. Nor was her manner that of a courtesan. No doubt he utilised her beauty and apparent innocence in higher spheres. After all, government ministers and foreign ambassadors were no more immune to female charm than any other man. Several of them patronised Madame Renaud’s establishment. The connection was all too evident. He took another pace towards her.

      ‘You came here to meet Alain Poiret.’

      Claudine’s heart thumped. She used to think she was tall but this man towered over her. In the confined space he was altogether an intimidating presence. However, she couldn’t afford to let him see that. Lifting her chin she met his gaze squarely. ‘What do you know of Alain? Who are you?’

      ‘My name is Antoine Duval.’

      She guessed it was assumed: real names tended to get people killed.

      ‘You must be Claudine,’ he continued.

      ‘Perhaps. Where is Alain?’

      ‘Fouché’s men arrested him last night.’

      Claudine paled. The name of Napoleon’s Chief of Police was well known and with good reason. The ramifications filled her with silent horror. ‘Arrested?’

      ‘Alain suspected that he was being watched,’ her companion continued, ‘but he managed to get a message to me before they took him.’

      ‘Why you?’

      ‘Because I work for the same organisation as you do, and with the same aim in mind; to gather information for the British government.’

      ‘Alain never mentioned you.’

      ‘He never mentioned you either, until he feared that your safety had been compromised. I am come in his stead to warn you.’

      Unnerved by the news as much as by the man before her, Claudine had to make herself think. The story seemed genuine. It was very much in keeping with Alain’s character that he would seek to warn her somehow. If he had chosen Duval to do so it was because he trusted him. It went against the grain to be beholden to anyone, but she had perforce to acknowledge herself obligated.

      ‘I am grateful, monsieur. You took a risk.’ Then the rest of what he had said filtered through the chaos of her thoughts. If Alain was being watched did Fouché’s agents know who his other contacts were? Did they know about her? Were they just waiting for the right moment to spring the trap?

      As if he had read her thoughts Duval went on, ‘It is a matter of conjecture as to how much Fouché’s men have already discovered. What is certain is that Alain will eventually be made to talk. It is too dangerous for you to remain here.’

      ‘I can’t just leave him to his fate.’

      ‘There’s nothing you can do to help him now, except to make his effort count. You must heed the warning and get away while you still can.’

      That went against the grain too, but she knew he was right. ‘I must return to my apartment. There are things I …’

      ‘You can’t go back there. It’s the first place they’ll look. We must leave at once—tonight.’

      Claudine’s chin lifted. ‘We?’

      ‘I gave Alain my word I’d get you to safety. There’s a carriage waiting at the end of the street.’

      Having no intention of putting herself in the power of this stranger, she shook her head. ‘I can take care of myself.’

      ‘A woman alone? I think not.’

      ‘How do you think I got here in the first place?’

      ‘It’s easy enough to fall into a trap,’ he replied, ‘but a lot harder to get out.’

      ‘I have my own contingency plans for leaving France. The matter need not concern you.’

      ‘It does concern me, in every way.’

      ‘I can manage. You have done your part, monsieur.’

      ‘My part is just beginning.’ His hand closed on her arm and drew her towards the door. Feeling her resist he frowned. ‘We don’t have time to argue.’

      ‘I said I wasn’t going.’

      ‘Don’t be a fool.’

      The cutting tone and accompanying look raised her hackles at once. She stopped, swinging round to face him. ‘How do I know that this isn’t a trap?’

      ‘If it were you’d be under arrest already.’

      In spite of her protests, Duval threw open the door and drew her with him along the passage towards the staircase. Madame Renaud was waiting on the landing. She started to speak but the words were drowned out by heavy fists pounding on the door below. Then a man’s voice called out.

      ‘Police! Open up!’

      Before anyone could say more they heard the unmistakeable order echoed from the rear of the premises. Claudine’s stomach lurched. Duval swore softly. Then he looked at Madame Renaud.

      ‘Is there another way out of here?’

      Madame shook her head. The banging on the door intensified. She leaned over the balustrade and called softly to the flunky below.

      ‘Wait another minute and then open it, Raoul.’