Part 37 (1/2)
The door slammed shut.
It took a moment or two before Simon's eyes adjusted to the darkened cellar at Vaux-le-Vicomte. It was cool, dank, and empty. The chateau was so ma.s.sive Fouquet hadn't filled all the cellar storage he had.
They'd kept him apart from his men the entire journey to Vaux and, upon arrival, had taken him directly to be imprisoned in the cellar. Alone.
The trip from Robert's home had taken nearly twice as long as it should have. Fouquet wasn't accustomed to hard travel. The frequent stops he demanded only lengthened the ordeal. But Simon was pleased. It would give his men longer to reach Beaulieu, retrieve the ledgers, and bring them to Louis. He could only pray that Angelica had found enough men to make the trip or that more of the men due to arrive from his s.h.i.+ps had reached Nevelon in time to aid her. Having to leave her with slain bodies gruesomely sprawled in the chateau's foyer and courtyard tortured him. Each time he looked at Fouquet strutting about only enraged him more. How he ached to drive Fouquet through with any impaling object he could obtain.
A faint noise in a dark corner of the cellar drew Simon's attention. It was then that he noticed him-a man lying on the stone floor. His breathing was fast. He shook violently.
Simon approached. The man's face was turned away, facing the wall. His clothing was stained with blood. Bruises and cuts marred all of his visible skin, including his trembling hands on his chest. His right eye, the only one Simon could see, was swollen almost completely shut. Simon lowered himself onto one knee and leaned closer to him.
The man turned and met Simon's gaze. Recognition slammed into Simon like a fist in the gut when he realized that this badly beaten soul was Paul.
Paul covered his barely recognizable face with his hand and turned away. ”Dear G.o.d... No...” His voice was hoa.r.s.e and no louder than a whisper.
”Paul.” Simon placed his hand gently on the younger man's head. His hair was blood-encrusted.
”Ca-Captain...I'm sorry. Please forgive me.” He quaked harder, anguished.
”Easy.” Simon removed Paul's hand from his face and gave it a gentle squeeze. ”There's nothing to apologize for. There is nothing to forgive.”
”I was weak,” he moaned, refusing to look at Simon. ”You are here because I was weak. I wasn't strong like Thomas.”
”Paul, look at me.” Simon waited for him to collect himself enough to return his gaze. It was bad enough that he'd been tortured, but now he was torturing himself. ”You are strong. You've survived a horrible ordeal.”
”I tried to endure it... I really tried, Captain. B-but the pain...” Paul's breathing became more labored. ”It was...unbearable.”
”It's all right, Paul.” Simon kept his tone calm, trying to soothe him even though his ire burned white-hot. This was yet another example of the inhumanity of Nicolas Fouquet. No doubt he derived twisted pleasure in confining Simon with Paul, wanting him to witness firsthand the brutality inflicted on the young man. ”I don't seek the death of any of my men. A dead man is of no use to anyone. You have endured and survived, and that's what's important.”
”I want to make you proud, Captain.”
”You do.” Simon's words seemed to surprise Paul.
After a moment Paul asked, ”Wh-what do we do now?”
”Make Fouquet finally pay for all his sins.” Simon could barely contain his wrath, his need for vengeance scorching his soul.
Paul fell silent once more, although his body still trembled. ”My injuries, do you think...I may die?”
”No. I order you to banish that thought from your mind. Do you understand me?” Simon's voice was sharp and commanding, determined to cut through the haze in Paul's traumatized mind. Paul nodded, always eager to obey.
There wasn't much he could do to help with Paul's injuries at the moment. There was nothing in the cellar he could use to bathe his wounds.
”Why don't you rest now. You'll need your strength when we get out of here.” Simon returned Paul's hand to his chest.
”I never kissed her, Captain.”
”Who?”
”Suzette.”
Simon smiled, glad to hear the young man speak of anything other than death and torture. ”Oh? Why not?”
”Because she is too beautiful to touch.”
”Really?” Simon said, still smiling. ”What a shame you would deny the lady and yourself the pleasurable experience.”
”Oh, I don't intend to deny anything any longer. When we return to the island, I intend to kiss her the moment I see her on the beach. I won't stop kissing her until she swears she'll be mine.”
”Good. Hold on to that thought until we get out of this h.e.l.l.”
Simon heard the keys in the door and jumped to his feet.
For nearly two days, he'd paced. He was ready to leap out of his skin. Thankfully, Paul had slept much of the time, except when their meager meals had arrived.
”Captain.” Vilain smiled as he entered with three of Simon's men.
”Merde! Where the h.e.l.l have you been? It's been days!” Simon exclaimed to his spy.
”Have you any idea how many guards and guests there are?” Vilain replied genially. ”You have me playing the part of a servant here. I have been serving.” Vilain's smile grew into a wolfish grin as he added, ”Today, I finally got the opportunity to serve the guards a special burgundy-in celebration of the king's imminent arrival, of course. They'll be asleep for hours. Raoul has released the others. I will show you to them. But first, these men have arrived with a message for you from the Marquise de Nevelon.”
Angelica? It was then Simon noticed that the three men with Vilain weren't among the men who had been captured.
”Captain.” Anton stepped forward. ”Our group along with a number of others arrived at Nevelon shortly after you departed. The marquise wishes you to know that she and thirty men ride to Beaulieu. The rest are here, nearly two hundred in addition to the fifty already present.”
”Angelica is going to Beaulieu?” Simon was stunned, knowing how she felt about her former home, the very place where such a horrific act had been done to her.
”Yes, Captain. She insisted. She rides with Commander Jules de Moutier and Commander Armand Rancourt. She said that with her in attendance, they will open the doors at Beaulieu without the need of physical force. The additional men have come here to aid you, Captain. Commander Moutier wants you to know that they are planning to take the ledgers from Beaulieu along with your ledgers straight to the king.”
For a moment, Simon was speechless. He was moved by her act of bravery once more. Yet, putting herself before Louis, with the king's reputation and interest in her, gave Simon unease. Once again, she was aiding and protecting him. And overstepping him while he was trying to avenge her. He wanted to shake her. Could she not follow a single order he gave her? Yet, deep inside, he didn't want her to be any different. He wouldn't change a thing about her. ”The king is not here yet, I take it?”
”No,” Vilain answered. ”He is expected very soon.”
”And Fouquet?” Simon inquired.
”He struts about like a peac.o.c.k. I believe he's out in the gardens with his guests.”
Simon nodded. ”Take Paul. Treat his wounds. I intend to pay a visit to Fouquet.” The roar of fury was deafening inside him.
”Captain, Commander Moutier asked me to give you this.” Anton held out Robert's sword and sheath.
Simon took them, elated by the thought that he would seek justice with Robert's sword after all. Fouquet was about to know some overdue agony firsthand.
”Pellisson! The king will be here soon, and the ice sculptures are horrible,” Fouquet barked in the Grand Salon. ”Find someone to fix them.” The music and gaiety drifting in from the gardens was amplified by the domed ceiling.
”The ice sculptures are the least of your worries today,” Simon said, stepping into the room with Anton and two of his other men. At long last, he'd located the serpent that slithered out of the garden.