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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

‘Camille’s wig. You’re ignoring my point: failure is important.’

She looked at him from under one arched eyebrow. ‘This sounds an awful lot like an excuse for always bringing us impossible jobs, like today’s. Can’t your contacts ever find us anything easy?’

‘I’m afraid I don’t get to request the jobs that we want. If they were easy, no one would need us to do them.’

‘Yes, but maybe a few less involving rivers and sewers and cesspits? I’ll have no decent clothes left soon.’

‘This job wasn’t supposed to involve the river, that bit was your doing.’

She conceded that. ‘I think your family made a mistake disowning you. If they’d kept you around I’m sure you could have talked them out of all the charges and they wouldn’t have had to make a dash for Switzerland.’

His smile faded, and he hid his face taking a sip of brandy. ‘My family would happily die before acknowledging me. Inconvenient to have a son who likes boys. Not the “done thing”. Their endless affairs and scandals are fine, it’s just me who’s unacceptable.’

‘Oh, Al, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.’ She crossed the room and gave his shoulder a squeeze.

‘Tough luck for them the law doesn’t care and my name’s on the arrest warrant next to theirs. Do you think they’ll request my head doesn’t get put on the family pike?’

‘Your head’s not going on any pike. We’re the Bataillon des Morts, we cheat death. We don’t lose to it.’

Her words lacked conviction. The memory of their escape was still too fresh. They had somehow managed to swim through the thundering currents of the Seine and haul themselves out, dripping and exhausted onto the far bank of the river – only to see Camille jump from the roof hand in hand with a figure they hoped was Olympe Marie de l’Aubespine. Ada had wanted to dive straight in after them, but Guil had stopped her. He was the strongest swimmer, and the one in a soldier’s uniform who could blend in with the manhunt for the escaping prisoner. So she and Al left, hightailing it back to safety. She knew it was what Camille would have wanted her to do.