Fearless as always, she turned to send their captor a fierce glare.
“Please do not hurt him.”
“He has left me little option, ma petite.”
Gabriel’s hands clenched at Jacques’s intimate glance toward Talia. By God, when would the bastard accept that Talia was his wife and that she would never willingly belong to another man?
“Do not blame me for your murderous tendencies,” he snarled. “And keep your endearments for your mistress. You will refer to my wife as Lady Ashcombe.”
Jacques smiled, clearly amused by Gabriel’s fierce jealousy.
“How did you discover the passageway?”
With a mocking smile Gabriel gave a smooth lift of his shoulder.
“Hugo is a remarkably stubborn gentleman who refused to accept we were trapped.” The words were not entirely a lie. “He searched until he found the entrance to the passageway in the library.”
Jacques considered a long moment before giving a sharp shake of his head.
“Non. It is too much a coincidence that you should simply stumble across a hidden passageway when you have need of one. Only someone who has spent time exploring the house could have known of it.” His eyes narrowed. “So who is the traitor? A guard? A servant? Ah…” A disdainful smile twisted his lips. “Harry.”
“Harry?” Gabriel lifted his brows. “He has made his decision to offer you his loyalty. I no longer consider him my brother.”
Jacques shook his head, too clever to be so easily fooled.
“So I believed, but then I have discovered never to place my faith in the cowardly sod,” he drawled. “He would betray me as easily as he betrayed you. Where is he?”
Gabriel gave a lift of his hands, futilely hoping that Hugo and his brother would obey his command to return to his yacht.
“If you speak of Harry I have no notion.” He smiled, his expression bland. “Hugo, on the other hand, has escaped and is currently on his way back to England to warn them of my brother’s treachery.”
Jacques heaved a patronizing sigh. “Must we play this tedious game?”
Gabriel managed to keep his smile in place even as he comforted himself with the thought of his fist smashing into the man’s arrogant face.
“It would appear we must.”
“No matter.” Jacques shrugged. “My guards will swiftly hunt down my missing guests.”
Gabriel could not deny the truth of his words. Even if Harry had managed to convince Hugo to escape from the cellars, they could not be more than a block or two away. What he needed was a distraction.
Not giving himself time to consider the danger, he paced forward, his expression taunting.
“As I have told you, Hugo has already escaped,” he said. “Any hope you might have to return Harry to England as a spy is ruined.”
“Stop right there,” Jacques warned, the pistol aimed directly at Gabriel’s heart. “I have delayed this long enough.”
Intent on the Frenchman, Gabriel briefly forgot his impulsive wife. A mistake he soon regretted as she darted toward Jacques, ignoring the pistol in his hand with a lack of fear that made Gabriel’s blood run cold.
Dammit. She was surely going to put him in his grave.
“No, Jacques,” she pleaded, reaching to place a hand on his arm. “Please, I beg of you.”
Gabriel came to a rigid halt, terrified he might accidently startle the Frenchman who had already turned his attention toward Talia. Christ, it would take no more than a stray sneeze to cause the twitchy man to pull the trigger.
“Forgive me, Talia,” Jacques murmured.
“Never.” She shook her head in vehement denial. “I will never forgive you.”