Sophie began to see through the words he was weaving. “You will not arrest me but in return you want me to help you gain access to my father’s office,” she completed.
“Intelligent and beautiful. What an awful combination,” he said, smirking.
“Are you looking for something specific?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Against my father?”
“No.”
“But he has the papers you need?”
“Yes. The specifics of our little agreement here are such that you do not need to ask any questions. I hold all the cards.”
“So you do. But if I am to help you, I need a little information.”
“You have all you need, Sophie. In return for my not arresting you, I require your help in gaining access to your father’s office. I will contact you in the next week or so to set my plan in motion.”
“When you succeed in becoming commissioner, what will stop you from arresting me then?”
“Such little faith in me, mademoiselle.”
“It’s madame,” she corrected him, as she was now married.
“Madame. Yes, of course it is. A newly married couple who sleeps in separate rooms. Madame indeed,” Alain said lightly.
Sophie jerked her head up. “What did you say?”
“So odd when a newly married couple sleep in different rooms, don’t you think?”
He was spying on her, she thought. He was spying on every movement she made.
“I don’t sleep at night,” she said quietly, lying to the inspector.
“I’m sorry to hear that. As commissioner I will have much more important people to occupy my time than a little girl who plays revolutionary,” he said with a laugh. “I plan to be the most powerful commissioner Paris has ever seen. And I will not waste my time or energy on trifles.”
“I will fulfill my end of the bargain.”
“Of course you will. You have no choice, madame,” he said, placing extra emphasis on the title.
“Is that all?” She sensed his dismissal.
“I will be in touch soon. And of course, this will remain our little secret. There is no need to tell your husband or father of our little talk.” Alain watched her face as she picked up her small bag.
“Yes, I understand.”
“Bonne journée,” he said to her.
“Inspector.” She nodded slightly.
Sophie left the small room atop the tavern and came down the wooden staircase, shivering in the sun’s warm light. She had set her own trap and there was no backing out now.
Chapter 23
She closed her eyes in the carriage ride home. Inspector Vennard was ambitious. Sophie had known he was, as he had told her so himself. But now she was trapped in his web and her own rash behavior had placed her there.
She would not be able to tell Sebastian, and her father was ignorant of her writings. She was alone in her own creation and she feared the eventual note that would come to summon her to