The Bargain (closed for Adara & cgraven)
Paris, 1790
The snow had driven most of the merchants of Le Vert indoors. It was not the best section of Paris. The cobblestones seemed to rumble beneath Sophie's feet as carriages passed her, leaving their muddy wet tracks in the slush. She walked with the conviction of a person who knew exactly where she were going. Her hooded cape was brown wool and completely unremarkable. No one would suspect that in the bodice of her gown, sewn in a pouch against her heart, she carried 500 francs.
By the time she reached the inn, "L'oiseau noir," she could feel the cold snow in her boots that was also making its way into the wrists of her gloves. She shivered against the whipping wind, her breath catching in her throat from cold and nerves.
"L'oiseau noir, "The Black Bird," was a small tavern on the east side of Le Vert with inn rooms upstairs. Despite being one of the better taverns in the area, it was not the most respectable establishment in Paris and one in which Madame Sophie Vidal had never before set her cultured foot.
With furrowed brow, she approached the counter confidently as if she were accostomed to her surroundings. She asked the inkeeper discreetly if they carried apricot wine. He merely grunted in response to the code and handed her a key with the number 9 blazoned into the chain and motioned upstairs. She passed him 30 francs with the same casual manner that she used to hand out invitations to her soirees.
Sophie increased her pace as she climbed the stairs. Her goal now was to get this over with swiftly. Le Captaine Louis Renaud would be there in that room. It would be easy. She would hand him the money pouch. He would, undoubtedly, count it. He would then give her the papers for her husband's immediate release. It would take no more than 5 minutes. Probably less.
The upstairs hall had a faint musty odor mixed with cheap French perfume. Sophie struggled with the key until the door finally opened with a reluctant groan.
He was standing with his back to her, looking out the window. At the sound of her entering the room, he turned to face her with the slow movements of a person who was in no hurry and who was used to the world waiting for him for things to begin. He was a tall man in his early forties. He did not smile.
"Madame Vidal," he nodded to her.
"Monsieur le captaine," she answered, her own voice colder than than the frost on the window panes.
Sophie Vidal then made the only error that she had made that day. She pulled back the hood of her cloak.
Louis had never seen Vidal's wife. They had corresponded through letters sent at unrespectable hours by the only servant she could afford to keep anymore. All he had known of her was the elegant handwriting of her notes and her determination to free Monsieur Vidal.
The cold had reddened her cheeks and there was snow in her red hair. It was a dark, vivid red mixed with amber and brown, as if the colors of autumn had faded from the foliage only to lend themselves to her silky hair. It had been neatly coiled into a soft chignon that showed the graceful angle of her neck. She had a face that was shaped like a heart and lips to match. Her eyes were a very dark blue, almost violet. She could almost hide the anguished worry that crept into her features beneath the resolute mask. Almost. The lines around her eyes betrayed her. She had not slept in two days.
She was far from the matron Louis had expected. She turned from him as she fumbled with the bodice of her dress. Her fingers were so cold that she moved them with uncharacteristic awkwardness. Finally, the pouch came undone.
She placed it in the captain's outstretched palm.
"It's all there," she said between breaths. "Count it."
Louis was suddenly in no hurry to count anything.
Paris, 1790
The snow had driven most of the merchants of Le Vert indoors. It was not the best section of Paris. The cobblestones seemed to rumble beneath Sophie's feet as carriages passed her, leaving their muddy wet tracks in the slush. She walked with the conviction of a person who knew exactly where she were going. Her hooded cape was brown wool and completely unremarkable. No one would suspect that in the bodice of her gown, sewn in a pouch against her heart, she carried 500 francs.
By the time she reached the inn, "L'oiseau noir," she could feel the cold snow in her boots that was also making its way into the wrists of her gloves. She shivered against the whipping wind, her breath catching in her throat from cold and nerves.
"L'oiseau noir, "The Black Bird," was a small tavern on the east side of Le Vert with inn rooms upstairs. Despite being one of the better taverns in the area, it was not the most respectable establishment in Paris and one in which Madame Sophie Vidal had never before set her cultured foot.
With furrowed brow, she approached the counter confidently as if she were accostomed to her surroundings. She asked the inkeeper discreetly if they carried apricot wine. He merely grunted in response to the code and handed her a key with the number 9 blazoned into the chain and motioned upstairs. She passed him 30 francs with the same casual manner that she used to hand out invitations to her soirees.
Sophie increased her pace as she climbed the stairs. Her goal now was to get this over with swiftly. Le Captaine Louis Renaud would be there in that room. It would be easy. She would hand him the money pouch. He would, undoubtedly, count it. He would then give her the papers for her husband's immediate release. It would take no more than 5 minutes. Probably less.
The upstairs hall had a faint musty odor mixed with cheap French perfume. Sophie struggled with the key until the door finally opened with a reluctant groan.
He was standing with his back to her, looking out the window. At the sound of her entering the room, he turned to face her with the slow movements of a person who was in no hurry and who was used to the world waiting for him for things to begin. He was a tall man in his early forties. He did not smile.
"Madame Vidal," he nodded to her.
"Monsieur le captaine," she answered, her own voice colder than than the frost on the window panes.
Sophie Vidal then made the only error that she had made that day. She pulled back the hood of her cloak.
Louis had never seen Vidal's wife. They had corresponded through letters sent at unrespectable hours by the only servant she could afford to keep anymore. All he had known of her was the elegant handwriting of her notes and her determination to free Monsieur Vidal.
The cold had reddened her cheeks and there was snow in her red hair. It was a dark, vivid red mixed with amber and brown, as if the colors of autumn had faded from the foliage only to lend themselves to her silky hair. It had been neatly coiled into a soft chignon that showed the graceful angle of her neck. She had a face that was shaped like a heart and lips to match. Her eyes were a very dark blue, almost violet. She could almost hide the anguished worry that crept into her features beneath the resolute mask. Almost. The lines around her eyes betrayed her. She had not slept in two days.
She was far from the matron Louis had expected. She turned from him as she fumbled with the bodice of her dress. Her fingers were so cold that she moved them with uncharacteristic awkwardness. Finally, the pouch came undone.
She placed it in the captain's outstretched palm.
"It's all there," she said between breaths. "Count it."
Louis was suddenly in no hurry to count anything.
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