As he kept his gaze on the spot where Vincent had last stood, Jane and Vincent crept away from the trellis. It was apparent to Jane that the cost of his flurry of movement was great. Vincent leaned much of his weight on her. She transferred the glass Sphère to her left hand and wrapped her right around his waist to help support him. Her hand brushed something rough and sticky as Vincent gave a muffled cough and tensed under her arm.

She had touched the mass of wheals on his back. Moving her hand lower, she braced herself as he put his arm around her shoulders.

Jane risked a glance behind them.

Lieutenant Segal had his men surround the area where Vincent had been and tighten the circle. This gambit would have worked well, had Vincent still been there. As it was, their attention was drawn away from the Vincents’ careful progress. Locked in step, Jane led her husband through the maze of sunlight.

The manikin tangled their footsteps, slowing them. Jane squeezed Vincent’s waist as they passed a supply wagon, bringing their progress to a halt. She eased the manikin off her shoulder and tucked it into a nook in the supplies. Though it would not serve her intended purpose, she hoped it would still act as a distraction.

The progress was slower than her route in, as Vincent needed to stop every few feet. His breath was ragged and hot against her skin. She feared what would happen if he fainted while they were in the middle of the courtyard.

Lieutenant Segal shouted in rage, drawing Jane’s attention back to the trellis. He and the soldiers patted the ground where Vincent had been, clearly bewildered about where he could have gone. Crossing the yard in great strides, Segal bore down on Anne-Marie where she stood by the wagon. ‘Where is he?’

‘I do not know!’ She held up her hands in protest.

Segal slapped her. ‘Liar. You brought us the news of his technique. Tell me how he can walk with it.’

Anne-Marie’s hand went to her cheek and her voice caught before she answered him. ‘He cannot. It is impossible.’

Snorting in disgust, Segal looked at the items on the wagon. ‘I am not insensible to the fact that he made his escape only after you arrived with the Vincents’ effects. Do you think me such a fool as to believe that this is a coincidence?’

The astonishment on Anne-Marie’s face was unmistakable. ‘I tell you, it is not possible to walk any distance and support a glamour.’

‘And yet, he is gone.’ He gestured to the wagon, directing soldiers to it. ‘Unload it. I will find the answer even if I have to throw sticks instead of arrows.’

Jane watched this activity, wincing. The carter had stopped the wagon in the sun.