The laugh of a woman echoed over the wall. Jane lifted her head and stared at the gates as the first of the camp followers arrived. Still, she did not move, waiting for more to come so that they might distract the guards. As the women arrived in twos and threes, there came an unexpected but hoped for sound: the clop of horse hooves and the rolling grind of wagon wheels against gravel filtered through the orchards to the east of Gemioncourt. Anne-Marie and an aged driver pulled up to the gate of the farm. Piled in the back of their wagon were the crates and trunks holding Jane and Vincent’s possessions.

She had not been sure if Anne-Marie’s guilt would exceed the opportunity offered by Jane’s supposed departure from Binché. It is a grim situation when one finds oneself hoping to be betrayed, and yet that is exactly what Jane had wished for. She could not ask for a greater distraction than that which Anne-Marie unwittingly provided.

Laughing gaily, Anne-Marie hallooed the farm. Lieutenant Segal swung her down from the wagon, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek. From across the courtyard came fragments of Anne-Marie’s merry chatter as she talked of how she had fooled Mme Vincent and assured her of sending her things on to her in England. How she was certain that the secrets Lieutenant Segal sought would be in one of these trunks.

Jane coughed once. Before she could draw her breath to cough again, Lieutenant Segal turned to the trellis. He strode across the yard, beckoning a soldier to accompany him. His intent was clear. He wished to question Vincent about the contents of the trunks. This, Jane had not considered.

When he arrived, Segal would find Vincent unbound. With his attention fixed on the trellis, there was no time for Jane to swap the manikin for her husband. Her mind raced, seeking some answer, but Lieutenant Segal was upon them too swiftly for any to present itself.

Segal’s soldier bent down to untie Vincent’s bonds. The moment the soldier’s hand touched Vincent’s wrist, he moved with a speed that belied his wounds, grabbing the man’s leg and toppling him.

With a single motion, Vincent pummelled the soldier and forced himself to his feet. Lieutenant Segal drew his pistol, aiming it at Vincent.

Jane leaped forward with the Sphère Obscurcie held firmly in her grasp and pushed Vincent out of the way. Lieutenant Segal cursed as Vincent came within the influence of the Sphère and vanished from view.

‘What good will it do you to be invisible, Vincent?’ Lieutenant Segal shouted. ‘You cannot run from us.’