I frowned. Something about what he was telling me didn’t seem right. “She wanted to leave Trianon?”
“It was her idea. She was tired of performing night after night and being away from the children, but after each pregnancy, her mother always convinced her to come back. When my father died, we had to make the decision of whether to take up the reins of the farm or sell it, and she was adamant we go. Sent me ahead with the children while she finished the run of the show she was starring in. I still have the note she sent a couple days before she was meant to arrive, telling me how excited she was for a fresh start. But she never showed.”
“I rode to Trianon straight away, certain that something had happened to her. I found her at the Opera – she told me that her mother had gone missing, and that she could not in good conscience leave until she’d been found. I wanted to stay to help her look, but she insisted that I go back to be with the children. Told me that she’d come to join us.” Louie rested his pipe against his knee. “She never came.”
“Did she give you an explanation?”
Louie sighed. “I went to see her several times, hoping I’d convince her to come home with me, but she always had a reason why she couldn’t leave. The law eventually declared her mother dead, but by then, I knew there was no hope. I confronted her directly, and she told me that she’d changed her mind. That her place was on the stage in Trianon, and if I truly loved her, I wouldn’t interfere.” He rested his head on his hands. “If only I’d gotten her away sooner, then maybe…”
Would it have mattered? It was no coincidence that Genevieve had changed so markedly following her mother’s death – a death that was perpetrated by Anushka. I had no doubt that the witch had done something to alter Genevieve’s desire to leave Trianon – what other explanation could there be? Another question rose in my mind; one that had been nagging at me since our encounter with Aiden and Fred at the opera. “During an argument your son had with Cécile, he said that Genevieve forced him to choose between you and her, and that when he would not, she took some sort of revenge on him. Do you know anything about that?”
Louie spat into a mud puddle, one hand balling into a fist. “No. I knew something had happened to turn him against her after he went to Trianon, but he refused to talk about it.” He sighed heavily. “She was keen to have him – arranged for a position in the city guard, a carriage to collect him from the farm, and a fancy room done up for him in her home. Didn’t last – he moved into the barracks in a matter of months.” He turned his head to me. “Why do you ask? Cécile is the apple of her brother’s eye, if that’s what concerns you. Not much he wouldn’t do to keep her safe.”
I shook my head and made a noncommittal noise, uncertain why Fred’s words wouldn’t leave me alone. Something about the way each fact I learned about Genevieve painted a clearer, but darker picture of the woman. And it wasn’t the portrait of a victim.
“Past time to turn in,” Louie said, interrupting my thoughts. “You two still set on going back to Trianon in the morning?”
“Yes.” Although what precisely we would do remained to be seen.
“I don’t care a whit for Genny,” Louie said, climbing to his feet. “But there’s nothing more important to me than my children. You keep Cécile safe.”
* * *
The floor creaked softly, and the door to the bedroom opened. Cécile padded softly on bare feet across the room and climbed under the covers next to me. “I thought you were supposed to be sleeping with your sister so as not to shock your father’s sensibilities,” I whispered, pulling her close against me. “I’m not convinced he believes our marriage is entirely legitimate.”
“It’s almost dawn, and Joss won’t even notice I’m gone.” She rested her head on my chest. “And I couldn’t sleep anyway.”
I traced her spine from the base of her neck down to the curve of her bottom, then up again.
She sighed, her breath warm against the bare skin of my chest. “I’m not going to let her kill my mother.”
I felt her hold her breath, as though she expected me to argue with her. “I know,” I said. “We won’t let that happen.” Even if Genevieve did deserve it.
She lifted herself up onto one elbow, her raised eyebrows mirroring the surprise I felt. “I thought you would argue about putting the life of one human ahead of the life of many.”
“She’s your mother,” I said, watching the tiny ball of light float above us. “Haven’t I caused enough hurt in your life without sacrificing your family members to a murderous witch?”