Lessons in French (52 page)

dismayed."

Trev shook his head slowly. "No, it wasn't Geordie. Sturgeon said he was dead before

he got the blackmail note."

"Of course it was not him!" she said, shocked. "He was far too honorable a young man

to stoop to such a thing! In fact, it was upon a point of military honor that he took greatest

exception to his officer's behavior, I believe."

Trev's mouth quirked. "I see. And how did you dispatch the other two, ma mère?"

Callie took a sharp breath. She looked back and forth between her husband and the

duchesse. "Trev! You can't be accusing your mother of… of—"

"Of blackmailing them all into jilting you?" He grinned. "Indeed not. I'm not accusing

her. I'm about to get down on my knees and express my burning gratitude to her."

"It was nothing, my son," she said demurely. "Mrs. Easley obliged me by cutting up the

papers and pasting them and seeing the notes delivered."

"
Ma'am
!" Callie exclaimed.

"I hope you are not too angry with me, chérie. I know that it hurt you a little each time,

and for that I am very, very sorry." She gave Callie a worried look. "You did not greatly

wish to marry any of them, did you?"

"Well, no, I didn't, but—"

The duchesse lifted her chin. "None of those men could have loved you as you

deserve," she declared, "or they would not have paid the slightest heed to a silly note."

Callie was much struck by this view of the matter. "I suppose you're right," she said

wonderingly. "Though I never thought any of them loved me at all."

"
Fools
," the duchesse and her son said at one and the same time.

They sounded so much alike, the one word so full of haughty French disdain, that

Callie laughed and put her hands over her mouth. She wrinkled her nose against the sting

that came to her eyes. "Oh," she said, "I am so fortunate to have you both."

Trev took her chin between his fingers and bent to kiss her gently on the nose. "Not

you. I'm the lucky one here, ma mie. You are my fortune."

The End

Author's Note

After I finished
Shadowheart
, long before it was on the shelves and there was any

controversy among readers about it, I'd already decided that I wanted to do a much lighter

book this time. So I've pulled a complete 180—if books have family ties,
Lessons in

French
is a first cousin to
Midsummer Moon
and only a very, very distant relation of

Shadowheart.
I wanted to revisit some of the character styles that I've enjoyed in the

past—what I think of as "hedgehog humor." I find writing "light" to be even more

demanding than writing "dark," and so I owe a great deal to Charles Rutledge and Beth

Kingston, my team in charge of Plot Twists and Witty Banter. They kept me laughing

hysterically even while I was suffering through the usual trials and torments of finishing a

manuscript. A deep curtsy and profuse thanks; I couldn't have done it without your help.

This one stayed in the drawer awhile, and to be honest I forgot about it, but there comes a

time for every story to see the light, and now is the time for this one. Thanks to Deb

Werksman of Sourcebooks for reminding me!

About the Author

Laura Kinsale
, a former geologist, is the
New York Times
bestselling author of
Flowers

from the Storm
,
The Prince of Midnight
, and
Seize the Fire. She and her husban
d divide

their time between Santa Fe and Dallas.