A Darkness Strange and Lovely (Something Strange and Deadly #2)(52)

“This is Mademoiselle Laure Primeau,” I said. “Laure, this is Mr. Daniel Sheridan.”

“How do you do, Mademoiselle?” He gave another elegant bow, and I almost laughed as my discomfort melted away. Jie was right. I didn’t recognize this young man at all. This Daniel Sheridan was not the escaped convict I had fallen in love with three months ago. Whatever that book on manners was that Jie had mentioned in her letter, it had turned Daniel into a perfect copy of every other polite and dull gentleman in the world.

“You know each other?” Laure asked, her lips twisting up wickedly. “What a magnificent . . . coincidence, non?”

“He is one of the Spirit-Hunters,” I muttered, grabbing her arm. “Let’s go back to the hotel now, please.”

Daniel leaned toward me. “The Hotel Le Meurice?”

I nodded grudgingly, avoiding his eyes. “We were just headed back, were we not, Laure?”

But she didn’t answer. Her smirk merely deepened. “You are going to the same ’otel, Monsieur?”

He tugged at his collar. “Yes.”

“Parfait,” she murmured under her breath. Then, with an arch smile at me, she said, “Then he must escort us, non? It is his responsibility as a gentleman.”

I opened my mouth, a hissing retort on my tongue, but Daniel was already leaping up the remaining steps to us. “Allow me,” he said, swooping another graceful bow.

And it was as if all of France released its breath. That single movement sent a wave of sighs through the entire audience (for crowd they were no longer). Instantly, conversations resumed; the world returned to its natural course.

Laure’s lips stayed in a smug pucker as she took Daniel’s left arm and I took his right. Then we began an awkward promenade toward the hotel. He was as tall and lanky as ever, and I had to roll back my head to meet his eyes.

“That was quite an entrance,” I said, lifting my voice over the now-roaring crowds. “You would do well in the circus.”

“C’est vrai,” Laure chimed. “What was the purpose?”

He chuckled tightly. “The Marquis asked me to do it. When I returned to Paris, he told me to make it grand. So I did.” He spoke slowly, putting a great deal of emphasis on each word. “What brings you to Paris, Miss Fitt?”

“And why . . . are you . . . speaking so slowly? Also, do not call me Miss Fitt.”

“I ain’t—I mean, I’m not talking slow . . . slow ly. ” His teeth gritted, and I could see Laure bite her lip to keep from laughing. “I’m merely surprised to find you here,” he continued. “And with a . . . lady at your side.”

I wrinkled up my face. “Merely” was not a word in Daniel’s vocabulary.

“Eleanor was my roommate,” Laure explained as we walked down the sidewalk beside the busy street. “We were on the same ship to France.”

Daniel only gave her a cursory grunt, his focus still on me. Laure looked daggers at him—it would seem she wasn’t fond of being ignored.

But inwardly I grinned. Even in my mud-colored gown and unlaced waist, Daniel wanted to speak to me.

“You have not answered my question,” Daniel said, his eyebrows drawing together.

“What question?” I asked.

“Why are you here, Miss . . . er, Empr . . . uh, Eleanor.”

My breath skipped. He had almost said Empress, and strange behavior or not, that was too intimate for me.

I swallowed. “If you must know, Daniel, I was chased out of Philadelphia by Marcus, and now”—I flourished my left hand in the air—“here I am. And what about you? I thought you were due in later.”

He grunted again and lengthened his stride. Since we were attached, Laure and I had no choice but to pump our legs faster. I didn’t mind. The hotel was close now, and the columns of Le Meurice beckoned to me.

“What will ’appen to your balloon?” Laure asked

Daniel peered at her, giving an absentminded smile. “Actually, I prefer to call it an airship. Once I unload my things, I’ll move it outside the city, to a big warehouse that holds bal—er, airships.”

“And what will you unload?” she pressed, still trying to draw his attention.

But he didn’t answer right away. We strode through the street’s traffic, somehow walking even faster than before. It wasn’t until we were almost to the other side that he lifted his voice.

“I’m an inventor, Mademoiselle, and I have new inventions for my employer.” His face shifted back to me. “Things for Joseph.”

“Fascinating,” I inserted before Daniel could go into any detail. I was desperate for some space.

Plus, we had reached the sidewalk on the other side, and I could just make out the hotel’s white marble foyer. Freedom was so close! “We left our breakfast half eaten, Laure.”

Laure snorted. “Très horrible,” she said flatly. “To think of a breakfast unfinished—the world might stop spinning.” She pulled free of Daniel and sauntered toward the door.

“Must you be so sarcastic?” I demanded, trying to free my own arm from Daniel’s and scurry after her.

“Oh, I am only beginning,” she called, already disappearing into the hotel.

I pulled harder, throwing a glare at Daniel. “Let go.”