Happily Ever After by Pascal Francine

Author:Pascal, Francine
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-01-18T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

Jessica took a sip of her now cold coffee and wrinkled her nose.

"What's keeping Jacques?" she wondered out loud.

"I hope he hasn't disappeared on us," Elizabeth said ominously.

Jessica shot her an irritated glare. "Can't you cut him some slack, Liz?"

Just then Jacques burst back into the room.

"My father . . . he is gone! He left this note!"

Jessica could see Jacques's hands were trembling as he handed the note to Elizabeth. She clutched the crumpled paper in her hand, a bewildered look on her face.

"Well, Liz, what does the note say?" Jessica demanded.

She watched while Elizabeth scanned the note quickly, then went back to the beginning for a more thorough read. Then she began to translate. "I am worried that you are getting soft, my son. I have taken the diamond necklace to satisfy our friends. If they are not repaid, they will surely seek revenge."

Jessica sat back on her chair hard. "Oh, no," she moaned aloud. "This means we have to go back to the château without the necklace. They'll put us back in the dungeon for sure!"

"Calm down," Elizabeth said sternly. "Let's think about this."

But Jessica was too distraught to think.

"Why can't we just get on the train to Paris and never look back?" She jumped up, every fiber of her being screaming to run away. "We have to get out of here!"

"Running away isn't the answer," Elizabeth said. "Besides, where would we run to?"

"Home," Jessica said immediately, her mind racing. "Jacques can go with us. If he came to Sweet Valley, he'd be safe too." Yes, she thought, it's the only way. Jacques can't stay here—they'll put him in jail or maybe even kill him. The only thing left to do is get out of the country as quickly as possible. Suddenly she noticed Elizabeth's shocked face, her mouth hanging wide open.

"What's wrong, Liz?"

"What are you talking about, Jess? We can't take Jacques back to America with this hanging over our heads!" Elizabeth jumped to her feet and waved her arms in an agitated manner. "The countess is so powerful, she could make Jacques come back, and us too for that matter. It's called extradition."

"No one is that powerful, Liz," Jessica sneered. "Besides, I want to go home!"

"Jessica, this isn't some movie here!" Elizabeth cried. "This is real life! And they think we're criminals!"

"All the more reason to leave!" Jessica retorted. "They're convinced, and we can't change their minds."

"We already made it look bad by escaping from the dungeon," Elizabeth went on. "It'll look even worse if we try to leave the country."

Jacques put one arm around Jessica's shoulders and squeezed gently. "Elizabeth is right, Jessica," he soothed. "America is out of the question for me."

"Don't say that!" Jessica cried, jerking away from his arm. "We're all going home! Well be safe there!" She couldn't believe they didn't see this her way.

"No, Jessica," Jacques went on calmly and firmly. "We are going back to the château, where I will explain everything. Then all will be right again.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.