The Traitor's Smile

by Patricia Elliott

Published 4 November 2010
Eugenie de Boncoeur has fled the violence of the French Revolution to find sanctuary in England at the home of her cousin, Hetta. At first, the two girls find themselves at loggerheads: Hetta can't understand Eugenie's preoccupation with clothes and appearance, and scorns her politics. Soon, however, they are drawn together by a shared sense of danger, for across the Channel waits the vengeful Pale Assassin, determined to claim Eugenie for himself. With her brother's life at stake, how can she refuse his dreadful bargain? But it will mean sacrificing her chance of love and returning to Paris in the grip of the Terror. Eugenie must now decide her destiny - with or without Hetta's help.

Eugenie de Boncoeur is growing up in Paris, unaware that her guardian has contracted her to marry the sinister spymaster known as 'le Fantome' when she turns sixteen. She finds herself falling for the handsome lawyer, Guy Deschamps, but there is little time for romance; France is descending into chaos as the Revolution takes hold. Soon Eugenie is fleeing for her life. Her brother Armand has become involved in a plot to save the King from the guillotine, the mob is searching for aristocrats, and le Fantome, the pale assassin, is on their trail - desperate for revenge.