Lord Philip's Christmas by Michele McGrath

Author:Michele McGrath [McGrath, Michele]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Riverscourt Publishing
Published: 2016-12-02T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Next morning both Alice and Grace found it very hard to leave Philip, but they tried not to show their feelings as they climbed dry-eyed into the waiting carriage. Philip held out his hand to his brother-in-law.

“Goodbye, Edward and good luck whatever the future holds. Write to me once you reach Oncle Richard’s and tell me you are all safe.”

Edward nodded. “Don’t get yourself so deeply embroiled in affairs that you prevent yourself from ever coming back to England.”

“I won’t, be sure of that. I’m not important enough in either country.”

Agathe stood beside him. It had been decided that she would also return to Paris. It was better that the party should be reduced in case they had to leave France in a hurry. Agathe volunteered to stay with Philip and had promised Alice she would tend to his wound.

“He will be well before it’s necessary for him to travel again,” she said.

Indeed, so it proved. Good food, fresh air and careful nursing worked wonders. Exciting news came from Paris with every coach that stopped at the inn. The Emperor had been carried into the Tuileries on the shoulders of a cheering crowd and had taken up the reins of government again. The king had fled willy-nilly. Other reports were not so reassuring. As Edward had predicted, the foreign powers met in Vienna and declared General Bonaparte to be an outlaw. Their troops had been gathered and were marching towards France. As more and more information arrived, Philip became restless. His arm was almost well, except for a certain stiffness. He made himself exercise it every day and little by little his range of movement increased. If war was coming, he did not want to be incapacitated. His place was in Paris, not in this small town, so he was delighted when his cousin arrived at last.

“You look better,” Victor greeted him.

“I am and anxious to leave here. Are they safely settled?”

“Papa was very pleased to see them and so was my mother. I think your sister and Miss Talbot are staying there for the moment, but Edward is already making arrangements to go to Brussels where the British Army is gathering.”

“Before you ask, I haven’t changed my mind and have no intention of joining him. They say that Caulaincourt is the Foreign Minister again and he will be anxious to make peace, so I intend to ask for my old employment back. Please remember I am Baron Louis de Vezey once again, not Alice’s brother, Philip."

The following morning, Philip put Agathe aboard the stagecoach to Paris. He asked her to open his apartment again. Once the lumbering vehicle was out of sight, Victor and Philip mounted their horses and set off in the same direction. They rode swiftly, overtaking the coach and arriving in Paris that evening. Although tired, Philip felt better than he expected at the end of the journey. A meal, a night’s rest in Victor’s apartment and the two men were ready to discover exactly what had happened in their absence.

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