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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

Molyneux cleared his throat. ‘And that’s why you’re here. We’d like her back.’

‘Tough luck, we don’t have her.’

Molyneux held her gaze for a moment before he spoke again.

‘Indeed. But you will get her back for us.’

Right. Of course.

Camille sank into her chair, exhausted and crushed under the weight of so many people expecting things from her.

‘Sounds fun.’

Referring back to the paper, Molyneux gave her a rough description that matched Olympe – bar the storm-smudged skin and electrocuting people – and detailed when and where they’d last seen her.

‘That’s not much to go on.’

‘I’ve heard you’re very talented.’

‘When I want to be.’

The door opened again. She tried to twist, but the gun nudged her to face forwards. A squat soldier led Ada into view. Holding her by the arm, he pulled the bag from her head. Camille’s gut cramped. A bruise was smudged across her cheekbone from where she had been struck in the carriage. She was so tense Camille could see her straining against the soldier’s grip. His knife still hung at his belt, but the threat was clear.

Molyneux watched Camille intently, pink fingers laced together. ‘I think you’ll want to be, Camille.’

Camille looked at Ada. She was so exhausted she couldn’t pull her thoughts into order.

Molyneux leaned towards her again, his round face softening.

‘Everything is a choice, Camille. We both remember your father’s lessons. I think we both know he would have done the right thing. What are you going to choose?’

A riot of emotion stole the breath from her lungs. For a brief second, she was back on the riverbank in the gardens of the house at Henley, her father in rolled-up shirtsleeves reading to her. There is no fate. No destiny. Everything is a choice.

‘Give me two weeks.’

Molyneux folded up the paper and held it out to her.

‘You have four days.’

12

On the Way to the Au Petit Suisse

They were thrown out of the carriage into a gutter on the Rue de Grenelle. Ada landed on top of Camille and heard her oof as her weight forced the air out of her. She rolled sideways into a puddle of something dubious. Oh, well, she’d had a worse dunking in the open sewer that was the Seine.

As the carriage rattled off into the dark, she sat up, shaking her skirt, and bent to help Camille.

On the other side of the street, a passing gang of men leered at what they thought was a clandestine tryst. Ada made a rude gesture.

Camille straightened her cap and they started towards the Au Petit Suisse.

‘Well, they were charming.’ Ada gingerly touched the tips of her fingers to the bruise on her cheekbone.

Camille gave a noncommittal grunt in response.

‘Was that really the docteur Olympe spoke about?’

‘Unfortunately.’

‘Oh. He’s very young.’