Aristide Ravel - 01 - Game of Patience by Susanne Alleyn

Author:Susanne Alleyn
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Mystery
ISBN: 9780312343637
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2006-03-01T07:15:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

26 Brumaire (November 16)

The examining magistrate replaced the police reports on the broad, gilt-trimmed table, cleared his throat, and leaned toward the witness, fingers steepled.

“Citizen Montereau: Please state the nature of your relationship to Philippe-Marie-Jean Aubry.”

Aristide shifted position to get a better look through the narrow spy hole in an anteroom of Judge Geoffroy’s chamber. Beside him, Brasseur stood stolidly, listening, arms folded, as an indifferent clerk sat copying a heap of documents at a desk behind them.

Montereau distractedly patted at his wig, sending powder flying. “I engaged Aubry as my private secretary in February of 1789. He was a younger son of a distinguished family fallen upon hard times. He came well recommended by an acquaintance from Marseilles, a shipowner, and I was pleased with his industry, his scrupulosity, and his intelligence. I trusted his competence and his discretion so far as to take him with me on a minor diplomatic mission to Russia lasting five months. Then, after he had been with me for nearly two years, I learned from a relative that he had once fought a duel and killed a man.”

“What relative? Is this person to be trusted?”

“My wife’s great-aunt. She knew Aubry personally at the time of the duel. She came to live in my house in January of 1791 and recognized Aubry at once.”

“Go on.”

“I—I have little more to tell,” he faltered. “Only that I immediately dismissed Aubry from my household not only because he had killed a man, but because he was the challenger in the duel and because Marsillac de Saint-Roch, the man he had killed, had been a distant relation of my late wife and her great-aunt.”

Of course, Aristide thought, remembering the portrait that hung in old Madame de Laroque’s parlor. He strained to listen over the monotonous scratching of the clerk’s ill-cut quill behind him.

“Are you accusing Aubry of a previous criminal history?” Geoffroy inquired.

“No. None on record, at least. By all accounts the duel was conducted honorably,” Montereau continued, as if reluctant to admit it, “and the matter wasn’t brought to the attention of the royal prosecutor, for the sake of Marsillac’s reputation and that of his family. Though I must add that Aubry fled Paris, and shortly thereafter left France, as I understand, to avoid any prosecution. Instead of surrendering himself to the king’s justice like a gentleman.”

“Had you any knowledge of a love affair between Citizen Aubry and your daughter Célie?”

“None whatsoever.” He burst out suddenly: “Whether or not he murdered my daughter, and I hope the law will strike him with its fullest severity if he did—I wish to state that Aubry is an unscrupulous wretch and a miserable coward, without the courage to accept the consequences of his actions! He has plenty of nerve with a sword in his hand, to be sure, but evidently he couldn’t stomach the idea of facing the public executioner if Marsillac’s family had pressed charges of murder—”

Judge Geoffroy raised a hand. “Have the kindness to calm yourself.” He took up a letter from the table before him and offered it to Montereau.

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.