To Vanquish Darkness (Le Sombre #1)

Chapter 2

2

1824 BLOIS, FRANCE

R achel settled onto the verdant spring grass, the sun warming her cheeks. “Amalie!”

Her ten-year-old daughter turned, dark curls brushing her flushed cheeks. She looked so much like her father, it sent shivers down Rachel’s arms. Dark eyes set behind thick lashes with a brow always lifted in mischief. “Oui, Maman!”

“The river is full to bursting. No swimming, mon coeur.” It was redundant, but she couldn’t keep from calling out the warning. Amalie was wise enough to know that when the river reached the fourth stones on the bridge, it was deep and had a current too strong for bathing. Her brother Oren had told both girls the rules at least a hundred times, and yet every summer Rachel worried they’d forget.

There had been fourteen drownings in the Loire River that she knew of, but only one she couldn’t get out of her head.

Rachel clenched her teeth and observed the white choppy peaks erupting from the surface of the murky water, listening to the rush of the river through the arches that supported the half of Oren’s home where the elements had worn away the foundation.

The girls dipped their toes into the water and giggled, their voices echoing against the tree trunks like bird songs. They were safe. The bank wasn’t steep there. Rachel drew a deep breath.

She was here for six weeks. Six weeks of planting, pruning, digging, and harvesting. No more dirty streets and smoky air for the girls. No more threading needles and aching fingers for her. And by the time they made their way back to the city, thanks to Oren’s generosity, Rachel would have enough to pay off the last of their debt. To leave their flat and move north permanently.

“I thought I’d find you here.” Oren strode along the path next to the southern gardens.

Rachel raised an eyebrow. “You can see us from the windows.”

He chuckled. “I wasn’t coming from the house. I was down at the stables.” He sat next to her and watched the girls splashing their feet in the water. “They are happy?”

“Always. Thank you for this.” It was their third summer coming to the estate. Rachel had never been one to accept charity, but since Oren allowed her to work and earn her keep, this arrangement was acceptable.

“You look tired.”

“My mattress is lumpy.”

Oren threw back his head and laughed. “I’ll have Patrice take a look.”

“You know I’m teasing.” Rachel grinned, her heart filling too quickly to keep her eyes from brimming with tears. “Thank you, Oren.”

He glanced up, then cleared his throat and stared hard at the river. “This isn’t altruistic. You’re doing me a favor.” Rachel nodded, allowing him to get away with that story for the time being. He straightened his flat cap and pushed himself up from the hillside. “Maurielle wanted me to tell you all that dinner will be served at seven.”

“Would she like?—”

Oren held up a hand. “Enjoy the afternoon with your girls, Rachel. There will be plenty of work in the morning.”

She nodded and turned back to the river as he made his way to the path. She threaded her hands through the soft blades of grass and inhaled the scent of cherry blossoms wafting from the trees as petals danced in the breeze and littered the ground with pink.

Bethany squealed and threw up a hand causing Rachel’s spine to straighten. She then relaxed as Amalie pulled her little sister back and kissed her hand. Bethany giggled and resumed her splashing. Tears pricked Rachel’s eyes.

For three years she’d been without her husband Romane. Three years, and this was the first moment she’d felt hope.

Rachel wiped her cheeks and was about to lie back and close her eyes when a flash of movement in the shadow of the wood sharpened her senses. Her breath caught as she sat straight and peered into the trees. She glanced back toward the girls, her heart pounding, then scoured the gaps between the tightly clumped trunks.

The light was playing tricks on her mortal eyes as it worked to dispel the darkness.

It was probably nothing.