White Horses
“Yes, it cost me a bundle,” Henri said. “The peasants don’t have the cash to hand over, though. Poor bastards. They’re pushed into the army and they don’t know the first thing about military matters.”
“Napoléon lost a huge number of men in Russia,” Leo said neutrally.
“Yes, and the rest of the army is tied up in Spain by the English,” Henri said. “It’s time Napoléon made a deal with the Allies and agreed to give back all his conquered territory and rule within the boundaries of France.”
“Do you think he would be content with that?” Leo asked curiously.
“No,” answered Emma flatly. “That man will never give up his territories. The Allies will have to beat him on the battlefield. He will never give up voluntarily.”
“Unfortunately, I think Emma is right,” Franz said.
“Do you think that France would be content for Napoléon to rule it?” Leo asked.
“If he ruled in peace, yes,” said Henri.
“After all, what’s the alternative?” Carlotta asked. “The return of the king? Did we go through all that we have gone through just to see the Bourbons back on the throne again?”
“I hope not!” Henri said.
Gabrielle spoke up. “If the king ruled with a parliament, like in England, that would be all right, Henri.”
“Perhaps,” Henri said grudgingly. “But the history of the Bourbons doesn’t suggest that they would be willing to do that.”
“I think the Revolution changed things in France forever,” Gabrielle said gravely. “No king will ever again have the power of Louis XVI.”
“Napoléon has that kind of power,” Henri pointed out.
“Napoléon is on his last legs,” Gabrielle insisted. “The English are beating him in the Iberian Peninsula, and if he is going to march against Germany again, it will be with an army of raw recruits. I think we are in the days of a dying regime.”
“I think so, too,” said Franz soberly.
Leo was careful not to contribute much in case he inadvertently gave away clues to his real identity. He looked down now at his empty plate. Madame Gare came out of the kitchen. “How are we doing, eh? Finished? I have apple tart for dessert.”
Gabrielle jumped up. “I’ll help you clear, Madame Gare.”
“Such a good girl,” the landlady beamed.
Emma also got up and quietly went to the next table and began to collect plates. The two other women in the company, Carlotta and Jeanne Maheu, a band member, remained in their seats.
After dessert was finished, Gabrielle went into the kitchen and came out carrying a large bag. “Supper for Cesar and Jean,” she said to Leo, referring to the two grooms who stayed behind to guard the horses. “I’ll take it out to them tonight. It’s the first night on the road for the horses and I want to make sure everything is all right.”
Leo said, “Will they remain with the horses all night?”
“Yes,” Gabrielle said. “Cesar has his two Alsatian dogs with him. They will sound an alarm if anyone tries to get near the horses.”
“Are Cesar and Jean armed?” Leo asked.
“Yes,” Gabrielle replied.
Leo nodded his approval.
“Shall I go with you, Gabrielle?” Luc asked.
Leo gave the equestrian a long, hard stare. “I will accompany my wife,” he said.
My wife. The words sounded so strange rolling off his lips.
Gabrielle patted Luc on his sleeve. “Thank you, anyway, Luc.”
Luc’s handsome face looked grim.
“Come along, Leo,” Gabrielle said, and without even glancing at him, she began to walk toward the door leaving him, along with her dog, to follow.
This has got to stop, Leo thought. I am not her servant! He wondered if she had treated André this way. I pity the poor bastard if she did.
Leo drove out to the field while Gabrielle held the food on her lap. Colette lay sprawled across her feet for the twenty-minute drive. Leo was silent and Gabrielle made no attempt to engage him in conversation. When they arrived they were greeted by two large black Alsatian dogs, which barked excitedly.
“Yes, yes,” Gabrielle soothed them. “I am bringing your dinner, too.”
Cesar approached them.
“Is everything quiet?” Gabrielle asked.
“Yes. The horses are all tired from the day’s journey. No one has acted up.”
“Good. I have lamb stew for you and Jean and the dogs.”
“Wonderful. We’re all hungry.”
The two men had put out benches and Gabrielle began to set out their meal on one of them. They sat on the other and started eating. Gabrielle then went to the wagon and returned with two large dishes into which she poured the remainder of the lamb stew. The two Alsatians began to eat hungrily.
Colette stood and watched them, her ears pricked.
“Don’t look like that—you just ate, you piggy,” Gabrielle said affectionately.
Colette ignored her; she continued to watch the other dogs eat.
“Let’s go look at the horses,” Gabrielle said to Leo, and they walked the twenty feet that divided them from the corral.
Inside, the Lipizzaners, the Arabians, Coco and four of Gabrielle’s carriage horses were eating quietly from their separate piles of hay.
It was a mild, pleasant evening. Leo found himself very curious about Gabrielle’s work. “What do you do when it’s raining?” he asked. “Do they stay out in the rain?”
“I put them in the stable tent when the weather is inclement.”
“And do you make a profit with this circus?”
“Papa did. I hope I can do the same.”
“Is this your first season running the show?”
“I finished up the last weeks last year. This will be my first whole season.” Leo thought she sounded a bit less assured than usual.
As they were speaking, one of the horses left his pile of hay, went over to another of the horses, nudged him out of the way and began to eat his hay.
“Jacques, don’t be a bully,” Gabrielle called.
The other horse stood looking sadly at his hay being devoured by Jacques. Gabrielle ducked through the ropes and went up to him. “Come along, Tonton,” she said, and led him over to the pile of hay that Jacques had deserted. The horse lowered his head and promptly started to eat. Gabrielle came back to stand beside Leo.
“Poor Tonton,” she said. “He is low man in the pecking order and I worry about him getting enough to eat.”
“He looks fat enough,” Leo said.
“That’s because he was fed in his stall all winter.”
As they watched, Jacques deserted Tonton’s pile of hay and went over to reclaim his own. Once again Tonton was without food.
“Mon Dieu,” Gabrielle said. “My poor Tonton.” She went back to the wagon, and when she returned she was carrying a lead rope. “The corral opens over here,” she said to Leo, pointing. “Hold it for me, and I’ll bring Tonton out. He can eat out here with us.”
She took down the rope and went in after the large bay horse. Leo watched, amused, as she led him out, handed him to Leo to hold and went back for Jacques’s pile of hay. She brought the hay outside of the corral, dumped it on the ground and went to take Tonton’s lead. She held the lead and Tonton lowered his head and began to eat.
“I’ll have to tell Jean and Cesar to leave Tonton in the stall tent where the horses are tied. We did it last year—they must have forgot.”
“You take good care of your horses,” Leo said approvingly.
“They deserve good care,” she returned. “They are the heart and soul of our show.”
They stood quietly, side by side in the darkening light, as Tonton munched away on his hay. Leo suddenly found himself acutely aware of her presence. All of his nerve endings seemed to be attuned to her, and he scowled, not liking the feeling at all.
Gabrielle broke the silence and called to the grooms. “I am going to tie Tonton to the corral. Make sure you put him back inside when he has finished his hay.”
Cesar came over to them. “I forgot about Tonton. Is Jacques still stealing his food?”
“Yes.” Gabrielle was busy tying a knot in Tonton’s lead rope.
Then she turned to Leo. “Let’s get back to the hotel.”
They walked back to their wagon, and as Gabrielle put her foot on the step to climb up, Leo put his hands around her slim waist and lifted her. She was light and buoyant as he swung her up to the seat.
“You don’t have to do that,” she said from her place above him. Her voice sounded a little breathless.
“A husband helps his wife,” he returned as he went around to the other side of the wagon.
“Nevertheless, I can get into the wagon by myself.”
He climbed into the seat beside her. “If we want to present the picture of a happily married couple, you are going to have to be less independent,” he told her sternly. “I’m not the sort of man to stand by and let his wife climb into a wagon by herself.”
With this, he pulled the reins from her hands and started the horses on their trip back to the hotel.
Eight
It was dark by the time Leo and Gabrielle got back to the hotel. Leo parked the wagon in the stable yard next to the other one. No groom appeared to unharness the horses, so he did it himself. Then he and Gabrielle put the horses into their stalls and returned to the stable yard.
Leo looked at the two wagons and said, “I’m wondering if I should plan to sleep on Colette’s sofa. I don’t like leaving the wagons unguarded for the night.”
Gabrielle shook her head decisively. “Your job is to do everything you can to fit into this circus. If you start sleeping in one of the wagons, everyone will wonder what is going on.”
“My job is to protect the gold,” he corrected, “but I suppose you’re right.”
“I know I am, so come along.”
Together they went into the hotel through the back door. They found Emma in the lounge, knitting, the Maroni brothers playing cards, and Mathieu and Albert playing chess.
“Here they are,” Emma said, looking up over her spectacles.
“Everything all right with the horses?” Gianni Maroni asked.
“Everything’s fine,” Gabrielle reported. “Where is everyone else?”
“Gone to the café down the street,” Mathieu reported.
Leo walked over to look at the chessboard. Mathieu was winning.
“Would you care to have a glass of wine before going to bed?” Gabrielle said to Leo. “We could walk down to the café if you like.”
Leo agreed and Gabrielle said, “Let me change into something besides this skirt and boots.” As Gabrielle left the room, he turned his attention to the chess game. “Whose turn is it?” he asked.
“Mine,” Albert said. He picked up a piece and Leo said, “Are you sure you want to move that?”
Albert gave him a surprised look. “Why not?”
“Look at your bishop,” Leo recommended.
Albert looked. “Oh,” he said, and hastily moved his bishop out of danger.
When Gabrielle finally reappeared, Mathieu greeted her return with a disappointed “Oh, are you going to take Leo away? He is helping Albert and giving me a little bit of a challenge for a change.”
“If I’m so terrible, then I won’t play with you at all,” Albert retorted. “It’s no fun for me to get beaten all the time.”
Leo looked at his supposed wife. She was wearing a long dark blue wool skirt with a matching jacket. It was a very simple outfit, with little trim, hardly fashionable, yet she managed to look very smart. Her hair was bundled into a loose chignon on the nape of her delicate neck.
“Stop quarrelling, boys,” she said to her brothers. “Ready, Leo?”
“Ready.” He followed her to the door and out onto the street. Colette went with them.
The café’s outdoor patio was closed up for the night, with chairs upended onto tables, but when they walked inside they were greeted with brightness and the smell of cooking oil. Most of the tables were taken, the largest one by the circus people. Gabrielle and Leo went to join them.
“Good,” Carlotta exclaimed happily as they came up to the table. “Another woman. Come and sit by me, Gabrielle.”
“I’m sure Gabrielle will want to sit beside her new husband, chérie,” Henri said. “Bring over those chairs, Leo, and you both can squeeze in here.”
Leo dragged the chairs over and he and Gabrielle sat down.
Sully asked, “I was wondering—why are we starting out so early this year, Gabrielle? It’s colder and the light doesn’t last as long. We usually don’t start for another two weeks.”
Leo looked at the man who was the Cirque Equestre’s clown. Sully was a tall, thin man with mournful brown eyes and a receding hairline. He didn’t look at all jolly.
“I just thought it would be a good idea to get a head start on the season,” Gabrielle said easily. “The more performances we put on, the more money we make. No?”
Leo, who knew that they were starting early so they could move the gold as quickly as possible, shot a swift look around the table to see if Gabrielle’s reason was accepted. A few people nodded and the rest seemed indifferent. He relaxed.
Jeanne Maheu, one of the band members, smiled at him. “Have you been to Astleys circus in London, Leo?”
Jeanne was an exotic-looking woman, with long black hair and slanting brown eyes. She almost looked Oriental, Leo thought.
“No, I have never had that privilege,” he said.
“Have you ever seen any circuses at all?” she pressed.
He shook his head. “No, madame, I’m afraid I haven’t.”
“Jeanne,” she corrected him. “We are all on a first-name basis in this circus, aren’t we, Gabrielle?”
“Yes,” Gabrielle replied.
“Never seen a circus?” Jeanne’s husband, Pierre, was astonished.
Leo did his best to look genial. “I will remedy that omission tomorrow. And I’m looking forward to it.”
Gabrielle said, “You have to fetch our drinks from the bar, Leo. I will have a glass of burgundy.”
Leo stood up, annoyed to have taken orders from Gabrielle in front of the others, and went off to the bar. When he came back to the table the rest of them were discussing the next day’s program.
“I am going by the order that Gabrielle gave me, and that’s that,” Gerard said hotly.
Luc said to Gabrielle, “I don’t think I should come directly after you. That makes too many equestrian acts in a row.”
“What’s the matter, Luc?” teased Antonio Laurent, one of the band members. “Afraid of the competition?”
Luc’s blue eyes glittered. “No!” he retorted.
“Let’s go with what I have for tomorrow, Luc,” Gabrielle said matter-of-factly. “If it needs changes I’ll make them for the next day.”
Luc did not look happy, but after a moment he nodded agreement.
The conversation veered to what they had all been doing over the winter, and Leo leaned back and watched the various faces around the table. The atmosphere among the group was comfortable. Everyone seemed to know everyone else and there was easy laughter when Adolphe Laurent told a funny story, which was then topped by his brother, Antonio.
They were a kind of people who were utterly foreign to Leo, but they seemed a pleasant-enough group. This might not be so bad, he thought. I’ll do what I have to do for four weeks, and then it will be over.
“What kind of horses did you sell, Leo? Were they racehorses?”
He brought his attention to Jeanne’s inquisitive face. “Hunters, mainly,” he said. “There’s a big market in England for reliable hunters.”
“Oh, yes, the English and their hunting,” Gerard commented. “Pierre Robichon used to say that the English passion for hunting has destroyed their horsemanship.”
“How is that?” Carlotta asked.
“They have lost their seat. All they do is stand in their stirrups and gallop,” Gerard said.
“I don’t think it’s quite as bad as that,” Leo said mildly.
“Well that is what Pierre said.”
“Papa meant that there is no manège training in England,” Gabrielle explained.
“There isn’t any in France any longer, either,” Leo shot back.
“But there was before the Revolution and there will be again after Napoléon. There is a tradition in France of classical riding. There is no such tradition in England.”
“The Duke of Newcastle was English and he trained in the classical way,” Leo said.
“True, but Papa said no one in England studied the Duke of Newcastle any longer. The few Englishmen who were interested in learning to ride properly came to Papa when he was the king’s Master of the Horse.”
Leo was annoyed. It was one thing for him to think his countrymen were not the best riders, but it was quite another to hear the same opinion from foreigners. “It takes a great deal of skill to ride a horse cross country,” he said stiffly.
Gerard said, “It is easy to gallop a horse cross country. All you need is balance. Watch Gabrielle ride tomorrow, then you will see what real horsemanship is.”
Gabrielle smiled at Gerard. “Thank you, Gerard,” she said.
Luc said scornfully, “However did you come to marry such a barbarian? Your father must be turning in his grave.”
Barbarian? Leo was outraged.
Gabrielle flushed. “Leo is not a barbarian,” she said.
Leo did not find her defense overly enthusiastic.
Jeanne gave him a warm smile. “Don’t pay any attention to Luc, Leo. He is just jealous because you married Gabrielle.”
“Not jealous, Jeanne—amazed,” Luc said sarcastically.
Everything in Leo wanted to give this bunch of common people an icy dressing down. But he couldn’t do it; it would alienate them and would make them wary of him. He forced a smile to his face. “Talk to me tomorrow, after I have seen your horses perform.”
“Good idea,” Gabrielle said briskly. She stood up. “I am ready to go back to the hotel, Leo.”
He stood up also. He was really getting tired of her habit of issuing orders to him. It was a good thing she was so pretty, he thought, otherwise this assignment would be miserable.
They walked back to the hotel in silence. The only ones left in the lounge were the Maroni brothers, who were still playing cards. Gabrielle bade them good-night and started toward the stairs.
“I am just going to step out to the stable yard to check the wagons,” Leo told her quietly.
She nodded. “I’ll wait for you.”
The stable yard was quiet. The moonlight illuminated the two wagons with the white horses painted on their sides. Leo pulled on the wagon doors, content that they were securely locked.
Christ, but I wish this journey was over, Leo thought. It stretched out before him like an eon of time. But it was only four weeks. Four weeks wasn’t that long, Leo thought. Then the gold would be delivered and he would be free to rejoin his regiment. He looked up to the sky at the full moon. The same moon was shining on his compatriots in winter quarters in Portugal, he thought.
Four weeks, and he would be able to return to them.
He went back inside to rejoin Gabrielle, who was waiting in the lounge. Together they mounted the stairs to their bedroom.
Another plain, serviceable room, Leo thought as he walked in through the door after Gabrielle. It was furnished with one bed, one wardrobe, a bedside table with a lamp and another table with a basin of water. The floor was wide wooden planks with a small, thin rug just inside the door. Colette immediately jumped on the bed and established herself at the foot.
The floor looked very hard, Leo thought with discouragement.
“We will do the same as we did last night,” Gabrielle said. “I will tell you when you can turn around.”
Leo turned away and fished his nightshirt out of his bag, which lay on the floor, and proceeded to take off his boots. Behind him he could hear the sounds Gabrielle made as she took off her own clothes, and he tried heroically not to envision how she would look naked. Her waist had been so slim and supple when he grasped it this evening….
Stop, he thought.
But it had been a long time since he had had a woman. Too long, he thought. That’s why he was reacting to this circus girl, he reasoned.
“All right,” Gabrielle said, and he turned around. She was wearing the same long nightgown as the night before, and her hair was loose around her shoulders and down her back. She had a brush in her hand, and as he watched she went over to the bed, sat on the edge of it and began to brush her hair.
He watched, fascinated, as the silken strands slid through the brush. “You have beautiful hair.” The words were out before he could stop them.
“Thank you,” she said, clearly surprised.
He cleared his throat. “Well, if you will lend me a blanket, I will bunk down on this rug.”
She stopped brushing and looked at him. “You don’t have to do that. You can share the bed with me—as long as you keep to your side.”
He stared at her in astonishment. “Are you sure?”
“I am sure, but you must understand, Leo, that I am not inviting you to take liberties with me. I am simply allowing you to have a comfortable place to sleep.” She looked at the rug. “That rug doesn’t look too clean.”
He looked at the bed. It was an ordinary double bed, the kind that a married couple would share comfortably. But they were not a married couple. He thought about what it would mean to lie so close beside her.
I might get more sleep on the floor.
But the rug definitely did look dirty. And the floor looked hard.
“All right,” he said. “Thank you.”
She nodded. “Is there a side that you particularly like? André always had to sleep on the left side of the bed.”
“No,” he said. “Either side is fine with me.”
“Bon. You can have the left side, then. I am used to having the right.”
He walked barefoot to the bed, feeling huge in his white nightshirt. She looked so delicate and so beautiful as she sat there brushing her hair.
He got in under the covers and watched as she finished brushing and took a ribbon and tied her hair at the nape of her neck. She stood up, folded back the covers and slipped into bed beside him.
“This is awkward, no?” she asked.
“Very awkward,” he replied. He had to curl his legs because the dog took up the bottom of the bed.
“I am sorry that we seemed to denigrate your countrymen tonight,” she said. “We of the Robichon circus tend to be very proud of the quality of our riding.”
“So I gathered,” he said. “This disguise of you being my husband is very difficult,” she said. “You saw tonight how astonished everyone was that I would marry a man who is not a good rider.”
Leo sat up. “Wait a minute. Who said I wasn’t a good rider?”
She looked up at him. “I don’t mean to insult you, Leo….”
“Well you do insult me,” he said hotly. “I’ll have you know that I am a bloody good rider. You and your friends may know some circus tricks that I don’t know, but…”
She also sat bolt upright. “Circus tricks! I am not talking about circus tricks! I’ll bet you can’t even ride a horse in shoulder-in.”
“What the hell is shoulder-in?”
“Hah!” she cried. “Shoulder-in is the most basic training tool of all classical riding. And you haven’t even heard of it!”
Why am I even arguing with this girl? He forced himself to calm down. “This is pointless,” he said. “We should get some sleep.”
“Certainly,” she said. “There is no point in arguing with you. You are too ignorant.”
It took all his discipline not to reply.
“Turn out the light,” she said, then turned her back on him, pulled the covers up over her shoulders and shut her eyes.
She was giving him orders again. He set his jaw, leaned over to the lamp and turned it off. Her voice came through the darkness.
“Good night.”
“Good night,” he replied.
Silence fell on the room. He was acutely aware of her sleeping but two feet away from him. Under the same blankets. She breathed so lightly he could scarcely hear her. His pulse was racing from the argument, he told himself. This is going to be a long night.
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