The Midnight Promise

<p><strong>Prologue</strong></p><p><strong>The Shadow of the Guillotine</strong></p><p><em>Paris 1789</em></p><p>The night was restless cloaked in a heavy silence that only the</p><p>weight of impending doom could bring. In the grand halls of the</p><p>Château de Valleroy Geneviève stood alone at the window her</p><p>delicate fingers brushing the lace curtains aside. Beyond the glass</p><p>the city of Paris was burning with the spirit of revolution the</p><p>distant flicker of torches lighting up the streets below like scattered</p><p>stars.</p>