And on top of all that she had been trying to launch her own business enterprise. Although she conceded that had been a disaster.

She looked again at the photo of Mr Hough. Felt a heat rising up through her body. Enough, she told herself. This has already gone too far. But she craved his attention. Craved the way he spoke to her like she mattered, like she wasn’t mad, or neurotic, when she advocated for Charlotte. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had told her she looked nice, or pretty, even, let alone beautiful.

She scrambled out of bed and pulled on a blue-and-white striped shirt dress, tying it at the waist. She needed to move, to shift her thoughts. In the main living area the shutters were open, framing a beautiful day. Pastries and fresh bread were arranged on the table with small pots of jam and butter. She walked into the kitchen, where Nina was brewing coffee in loose cropped jeans and a simple vest top, frowning. Alice could feel Paris calling, longed to lose herself in the Louvre or the Museé d’Orsay, but feared the reflection it could bring; the mirror it might hold up to the younger her, who trawled art galleries and worked at Sotheby’s and had dreams. Things she wanted to do. She felt a pang as she thought of her business, failing before it had even begun.

‘Let’s do something touristy!’ Alice said by way of greeting, suddenly nostalgic. ‘A boat trip along the Seine! Or the Eiffel Tower!’ She immediately cringed. There she goes, being all basic again. No doubt Nina and Jules would want to take in some sort of chic flea market, or a sample sale of a brand she’d never heard of on the outskirts of the city. But instead, Nina rearranged her frown into a smile and said, ‘Great idea!’ and when Jules emerged from her room half an hour later, she was enthusiastic too. ‘A boat trip would be perfect!’ she said.

Jules’s eyes were red and bloodshot, as though she hadn’t slept well, and Alice felt a pang for all Jules had ahead of her in the coming weeks. The hormones, the anxiety, the unknown. She tried to think of something she could do or say to help but reminded herself, that’s why I’m in Paris. What we’re all here for. To take Jules’s mind off things, to give her a chance to relax. A sojourn from her concerns and, hopefully, her phone. She pushed her own worries aside. She would do whatever it took to make sure Jules had a fun, relaxing day.

*

Nina

Nina had woken early – had she ever slept? – and made her way down to La Grande Épicerie, the food hall at Le Bon Marché. Because it had been her grandmother’s nearest place to buy food – and, as far as Nina could tell, the only place she would buy food from – it had been some time before Nina realised that ‘popping to the shop for a baguette’ and going to La Grande Épicerie was akin to popping into the Selfridges food hall for a loaf of bread.