Lani nodded. "But you still won't be able to reach the road without being seen from the veranda."
"Yes, I will," she whispered. "I hope. If I gave them enough."
Lani stiffened. "Enough?"
"Laudanum. The laudanum that we had left after I had the fever last summer. Remember? It was in the medicine chest in the back of my armoire."
Lani's eyes widened. "Mother of God.!'
"I slipped it into the lemon syllabub when I was in the kitchen talking to Clara. I know you never eat syllabub, and I hoped the strong taste of lemon would disguise it."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't know how much laudanum to use. I thought I remembered how much the doctor had given me, but I couldn't be sure. I tried to be careful, but I was afraid I'd-" She broke off, unwilling to put the dread into words.
"Kill them?"
She shivered. "I had to take the chance."
"But you didn't want me to take it with you." Lani shook her head. "You shouldn't have done it. We could have found another way."
"There's no time. What if Papa comes tonight?"
She shrugged. "Well, there's nothing else to be done now. I'll distract the sailors, and you get to your father."
Cassie grabbed her shawl from the bed. "Lani…"
Lani smiled understandingly. "I know. Don't worry. I'll watch over the English and make sure the sleep is not too deep."
Relief surged through Cassie. "I know they're Papa's enemies, but I don't want them to die. I don't want anyone to die."
"Then get to your father and tell him he must hide until the English leave."
"I will." Cassie gave Lani a quick hug. "I'll be back before they wake. I won't leave you alone to take the brunt of their anger."
"I've survived Clara for years; these English are nothing." She opened the door, looked both ways before pushing Cassie down the hall in the direction of the veranda. "Give Charles my love and tell him… Never mind. The decision must be his alone this time."
"What decision?"
"We cannot do everything for him this time, Kanoa," she said gently as she moved swiftly toward the back door. "There comes a time when a man must come to terms with himself."
Cassie stared after her in puzzlement. They had always protected her father in every way, and now Lani was saying there were limits. Well, there might be limits for Lani, but not for her.
Cassie braced herself and then walked slowly toward the veranda, dreading what waited for her. If she had given them too little, then all her plans were for naught. If she had given them too much… No, she did not even want to consider that possibility.
She stood in the doorway of the veranda. Both men were slumped in their chairs. Asleep? Dear God, they were so terribly still. Dead?
She moved slowly toward Jared until she stood before him. No, he was breathing, she saw with profound gratitude.
Then his eyes opened and he stared up into her face. Shock held her riveted. His eyes were ice-blue, cold as a sword striking at her.
"Luc… rezia," he muttered. "What a… fool…"
His lids closed again.
She backed away from him, afraid he would wake again and fix her with that accusing stare. It was unreasonable to feel that she had betrayed him. He was the enemy, and she had done the only thing possible.
She ran down the veranda steps and fled along the path toward the road.
Four
"Cassandra!" She skidded to a halt, her heart leaping with terror when she saw the man coming up the path toward her. "No!"
Her father stopped in his tracks. "Are you all right, Cassandra? Lakoa said you'd had a fall."
"It was nothing. Just a bump on the head." She glanced over her shoulder at the cottage. "You shouldn't be here."
"You were hurt," he said simply. "Where else should I be?"
"The English are here."
"I know."
She ran forward and dragged him into the underbrush beside the path. "You have to leave. Go back to the village."
"I can't do that," he said quietly. "I can't hide any more. Eleven years is long enough to be a coward."
"You aren't a coward. It's not cowardly to try to keep a madman from killing you."
"He's not mad. He merely wants justice done." He looked back at the cottage. "How much does he hate me, Cassandra?"
She shivered as she remembered that last icy glance from Danemount. "You have to leave here."
He grimaced. "That much?"
She took his arm and pulled him through the bushes toward the road. "I think we should leave this island. I've been wanting to go over to Maui for a long while to see if I could find a mare for Kapu, and you must be tired of painting that volcano. You could go first and find a place for us."
"You mean a hiding place."
"Only for a little while. When Danemount leaves, we'll come back here."
"You believe he'll give up? What makes you think he won't follow us?"
She knew as well as her father did that the Englishman would follow. "Then there are other islands."
"Not for me." He stopped when they reached the road and turned to face her. "Have you spent much time with the boy?"
She frowned. "Boy?"
"Danemount." He shrugged. "It was a slip of the tongue. I still remember him as a lad. It's difficult for me to realize he's a man now. But even as a boy he was très formidable. Is he the same?"
She could think of no more accurate description for Jared Danemount. "Yes."
"But just? Would you call him just?"
"Not if he wants to kill you."
"But in matters not connected with me?"
"Yes, I suppose so," she said impatiently. "Why are you asking these questions?"
"Because I have to be certain that you and Lani will be safe when I return to France. A just man wouldn't wreak vengeance on the innocent."
She went still. "France?"
"There's an American ship docked on the other side of the island that's due to sail for Boston at midnight tonight. The king has arranged passage and supplied me with funds to take me on to Paris once we reach Boston. He's also promised to make sure that your needs are taken care of until I return." He added ruefully, "He appears to be glad to be rid of me. My departure will evidently solve certain diplomatic problems for him."
She barely heard anything but the first part of what he had said. "Why are you going to France?"
"Raoul Cambre is there. I have to find him. I have to know-"
"What?"
"If I've been as much a fool as I suspect. I've been doing a good deal of thinking while I've been waiting in the village. I thought Raoul was my friend, but Danemount shouldn't have been able to find me. I covered my tracks in Marseilles very carefully."
"You believe Cambre betrayed you?"
"I don't know. I have to find out. Only Raoul knew I was going to Tahiti." He frowned. "No, that's not true. He might have told Jacques-Louis David."
"Who is that?"
"An artist…" His tone was abstracted. "Yes, he could have told David. They were close friends."
"What difference does it make now? It's all in the past."
"Not to me." He looked back at the cottage. "Not to him."
"Then you should forget about Cambre and worry only about hiding from Danemount."
"I'm weary of hiding." He turned to face her. "And I'm weary of making you hide. You should be back in Paris going to balls, surrounded by young men courting you."
"I'm not hiding. I love it here. I wouldn't know what to do at a ball."
"Exactly." He touched her cheek. "Pauvre petite, I fear I've done you a great disservice. Clara is right, this is no life for you."
Why was he talking about balls when there was so much else at stake? "Go to Maui," she said desperately. "There's no need for you to find this Cambre."
"There's every need. It may save my life. If Cambre did use me for his own ends, I'll have no compunction about surrendering him to Danemount." He added beneath his breath, "Though God knows if one life will be enough for him after what happened at Danjuet."