She nods. ‘Last I heard, he was with his mum and dad in the north of England, working in some small circus. If I had the money, I’d go and find them.’

My stomach flips. ‘Kit’s dad’s alive?!’

She gives me a strange look. ‘As far as I know.’

I think of Kit sitting up in his van at night, watching old YouTube clips of his dad, Dimitri. It seems so unfair that Kit in this universe has his dad but my Kit doesn’t. And what happened (or didn’t happen) that means Dimitri is alive in this universe?

‘And the twins?’ I ask.

‘What twins?’

Oh. ‘It doesn’t matter. What about Merry?’ I say.

‘You mean Sylvie’s daughter?’ says Claudie as she takes a bowl of beans from Haz.

I nod.

‘I never met her. Years before I joined the circus, she left for London.’

Right. So, in my universe, Mum stayed with the circus in Australia, met Dad, and had me. Claudie joined when I was six and met us all.

While in this universe, Dad and Mum never got together, Mum came to London and Claudie joined the circus in Australia years later, and never met Mum or Dad. So Dad was right – this universe must have branched off fifteen years ago, when Mum went travelling. And that means …

There’s a version of Mum here!

I’m sure Mum would have tried to track down the other Merry once she realised she was stuck here. So if I can find the other Merry in this universe, that might lead me to Mum. A tiny flame of hope takes hold inside me, and I can’t help smiling. ‘Do you know where in London Merry is?’ I ask.

‘No idea,’ says Claudie.

‘Enough!’ says Asif. He points at me. ‘There’s something fishy here. How do you know so much about Claudie’s circus, but she doesn’t know you? And why are you so interested in these people you met once?’

I’m not sure how to answer these very reasonable questions. ‘Well …’ I start, but Asif’s hand jerks up. ‘Shhh,’ he says.

There are men’s voices outside. Claudie flicks off the lamp and Haz gives a small whimper.

The voices come closer. A man laughs, a hard, wheezy laugh. Claudie’s warm hand finds mine in the dark. My blood is pounding so loudly in my ears that I feel sure the men can hear it.

We are perfectly still, perfectly silent. The fear in the room feels solid.

A light flashes in the crack under the door. ‘Which key is it?’ says a man, and there’s a scratching noise.

‘Quick,’ whispers Claudie. She pulls my hand and before I know it, I’ve been bundled across the room and out a window into the freezing air. I land with a splat in the snow.

‘Hey!’ a man shouts.