In the Eye of a Storm Read Online Free PDF

this?’
    ‘We will travel with an armed guard and I should be quite safe. I have
secured a courier who will deliver my letters to you every week. If anything
untoward should occur in my absence, Dunod will look after you as he will be
remaining here. I must now be away. Have courage, dear heart, for you will be
safe here until I return.’
    Laneve had barely enough time to say goodbye before Rene too had left
her. She and Malande were alone.

VII.
     
    Christmas had come and gone bringing little cheer as Laneve waited for
Rene’s return. Nearly six months had passed since his departure for Italy and
her concerns for his safely were being felt by all.
    Malande suddenly burst into the study with a joyous cry. ‘Laneve, at
last, a courier has just left you a letter.’ Passing the letter to her Laneve
tore it open, hoping to see Rene’s familiar writing.
    Instead it carried the following brief message, with no signature.
     
    On January 6, 1793 King Louis XVI of France was executed. The king
remained quiet and regal with his hands tied behind him as he mounted the steps
to the guillotine. A huge crowd was in attendance and when he suddenly turned
to speak to them, a loud roll of the drums covered his voice. He was hurriedly
laid down and within the following moment his severed head was held up before
the people. How they cheered and shouted. He has been buried in a common grave
like all the others, with his head placed between his legs. Vive la Republique!
     
    ‘So it has come to this,’ cried Laneve as Malande wept openly. ‘Who
sent me this dreadful message and what has become of Rene? I have heard nothing
since his last letter, which I received in September. In it he recalled the
discomfort of the back country roads, taken to avoid the parties of mounted
rangers. The loss of a wheel from one of the coaches kept them all waiting for
hours in the rain until a farmhand could be found to help with repairs. He and
his party had nearly reached Lyon where they would cross the border then move
straight east to Turin and south to Rome. By now he should be returning on his
way home, yet I’ve received no word from him. I have finally asked Dunod to
send an investigator who will discover what has happened to them all. We should
hear something within the next month or two.’
    Spring arrived and filled the gardens with cherry blossoms and scented
flowers. The warm sun lifted the spirits of both women who enjoyed filling the
rooms with bouquets of freshly cut flowers to welcome Rene when he returned.
     Finally, Dunod made his long awaited visit to the chateau. Laneve
welcomed him into the drawing room once again. ‘Oh Laneve, this room has been
the setting for so many distressing messages from me and I’m afraid that what I
must tell you will bring you no joy. Please be seated as I share what I have
learned.’
    ‘You have no happy news for me?’
    ‘I have been told by the investigator that the Marquis de Marais and his
party safely made the crossing into the Italian city states. But before they
could even reach Rome, a group of Austrian revolutionaries captured and
arrested them all.
     Their diplomatic papers were taken from them and read. It was
decided to charge them all as spies. None of the Austrians were sympathetic to
Marie Antoinette and her enemies now reach into every corner of Europe.
    The entire diplomatic mission was imprisoned, interrogated and finally
executed. Rene and his party have all been buried in an unmarked grave near the
grounds of the Dungeons of Mantou.
    I am so deeply sorry, Laneve, to be the one to bring this news to you.
There is nothing more I can say to give you any comfort. But I did learn that
Rene died with all the dignity and courage befitting a member of the French
nobility.’
    On hearing this news, Laneve lost consciousness as she fell from her
chair to the floor.
    Malande and the servants came running to attend to her as Dunod quietly
made his own way to the door.
    ‘I hope I will