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Back Dangerous Remedy
Chapters (86)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Epigraph
  6. Contents
  7. Paris, June 1794
  8. PART ONE
  9. 1
  10. 2
  11. 3
  12. 4
  13. 5
  14. 6
  15. 7
  16. PART TWO
  17. 1
  18. 2
  19. 3
  20. 4
  21. 5
  22. 6
  23. 7
  24. 8
  25. 9
  26. 10
  27. 11
  28. 12
  29. PART THREE
  30. 1
  31. 2
  32. 3
  33. 4
  34. 5
  35. 6
  36. 7
  37. 8
  38. 9
  39. 10
  40. 11
  41. 12
  42. 13
  43. 14
  44. 15
  45. 16
  46. 17
  47. PART FOUR
  48. 1
  49. 2
  50. 3
  51. 4
  52. 5
  53. 6
  54. 7
  55. 8
  56. 9
  57. 10
  58. 11
  59. PART FIVE
  60. 1
  61. 2
  62. 3
  63. 4
  64. 5
  65. 6
  66. 7
  67. PART SIX
  68. 1
  69. 2
  70. 3
  71. 4
  72. 5
  73. 6
  74. 7
  75. 8
  76. 9
  77. 10
  78. 11
  79. 12
  80. 13
  81. 14
  82. Postscript
  83. A Ship in Le Havre Port
  84. Acknowledgements
  85. About the Author
  86. About Zephyr

He looped his arm through hers. ‘Come on, let’s walk. Give our watchers something confusing to think about.’

Ada only hesitated for a moment. Camille could be angry at her for leaving all she liked. Ada didn’t really care right now how Camille felt.

They traced the riverbank, pot of coffee rapidly cooling where it was tucked under her arm. She spotted a news-sheet sticking out of the pocket of his olive frockcoat.

‘Is that today’s? What does it say about the fire?’

She reached for it but he shimmied out of her reach. ‘No, it’s old.’

‘It’s not – I can see the date.’

‘Oh, really? How strange.’

‘Al—’

‘You’ve got enough to carry as it is.’ He pointed to the parcels of food she was juggling. ‘You don’t have to be in charge of every meal, you know. But I will have some of that cheese, thanks.’

She let him tear off a chunk of bread as well.

‘I know. But I want to. My mother always fed us when things went wrong. It was how she showed us she loved us.’

‘Funny. My mother used to lock me in the nursery with no supper when I annoyed her. One time she forgot about me for a whole day.’ He folded up the cheese and bread in a handkerchief and shoved it in his pocket. ‘That’s when I learned to always be prepared.’

They stopped at the Pont au Change, gazing out at the muddy waters of the Seine.

‘Do I need to give you the talk?’

‘The talk?’

‘Don’t cry over stupid boys, he’s no competition, et cetera, et cetera.’

She arched an eyebrow. ‘Did you really say “et cetera” out loud?’

‘I am very cultured, what of it?’

She laughed softly, and hooking their arms together again turned towards Rue St Honoré and the safe house. ‘Well, whatever your mother was like, I think you turned out okay. Come on. Let’s go back.’

But Al didn’t move. He stared out at the tumult of ferries and ships and barges vying for space, at the gulls swooping to snatch fish from open barrels and stevedores hefting bails up to the quayside.

‘No. I don’t think I will.’

6

The Charnel House

Ada was out of the door too fast for Camille to catch her, but she’d spotted something lying in the mud. A screwed-up ball of paper. It looked too fresh to have blown in; it must have fallen from Ada’s pocket.

She picked it up, easing it open.

‘Camille? What is it?’ James asked.

She looked at him, heart in her throat. ‘What? Nothing – I’m going to check on Olympe.’