‘Oh, I know you are. If there was somewhere safe, don’t you think I’d have begged my family to take me back already and run to Switzerland with them? There’s nowhere safe for people like us. For people who are different.’

‘It’s not like a normal job where the person we rescue has family waiting over the border in Germany or Switzerland to take them in,’ said Ada. ‘Maybe we could send her to the New World. I don’t think they’d bother trying to follow her all the way there.’

‘You really think she’d survive a long Atlantic crossing on her own?’ scoffed Al. ‘Seems unlikely. This is what you need convents for. Best place to send your unruly womenfolk.’

Ada gave him such a glare he almost looked apologetic.

‘Or Belgium,’ he added. ‘I hear that’s equally depressing.’

‘We’re not handing her over,’ snapped Camille. ‘That’s final. I’ll think of something else.’

Al set his glass down loudly and glared at her. ‘You’re doing this because your pride was hurt. Stop trying to sell it to me as a good deed. We got her out of prison, isn’t that good deed enough?’

Camille fixed him with a sharp look in return, as the tension tightened between them. ‘If anyone here wants to trade Olympe’s freedom for cash, raise your hand.’

No one moved.

After a beat, Al slumped, a muscle flickering in his jaw.

‘You have my support,’ said Guil quietly. ‘Whatever difficult consequences it may bring.’

‘And mine,’ said Ada, squeezing her hand.

The three of them looked at Al. His eyes glittered in the candlelight.

‘Oh, don’t look at me like that.’ He tipped back the glass in one and stood with only a minor wobble. ‘You know I’m in. Wherever our glorious leader goes, so I follow.’

6

The Roof, Au Petit Suisse

‘Come with me.’

Camille stopped Ada before she could turn off the staircase at their rooms. Guil had already gone inside, and Al had left them to go ‘gather some more intelligence’ after dinner.

‘Where?’

Camille held out her hand. ‘Just come.’

Ada didn’t hesitate to take it, and let Camille lead her further up. The staircase eventually opened out onto the flat roof of the building. The café with its maroon and gold panelling stood at the junction of two streets, their building curving like a ‘U’ around the central courtyard before connecting with buildings on each street. The roofscape stretched into the distance. On a good day, they could see all the way to the hills of Montmartre.

It was late into the night, and above them, a thin blanket of stars rolled out from corner to corner, only slightly dimmed by the lights of the city. Ada paused on the threshold.

Camille’s hand closed around her own again, and pulled her into the starlight. ‘Come on.’

‘Why? What’s on the roof?’