She beamed, taking Lottie’s arm. ‘We’ve been looking for you.’

How did they find me? Lottie thought, blinking in confusion.

Before she could make sense of what was going on, the other men shouted a list of expletives, marching towards Saskia, furious at being humiliated.

‘Come here, you little –’

‘Excuse me.’ From behind Saskia, Anastacia stepped into the light, sweeping her hair behind her. ‘I must be mistaken. Are you threatening the French ambassador’s daughter?’ she asked, walking up to the tall man without an inch of fear. He looked like he’d just realized he was trapped. ‘Because if you were, I would have no choice but to alert Security at Rosewood, who would have you put away for the rest of your sad little lives.’ Her eyes narrowed into slits, leaning forward in a way that made her appear to tower over the two remaining men. ‘I would make sure of that, comprenez-vous?’

Saskia released the man underneath her. The three men gulped and shook as they retreated down the alley, but Saskia kept at their back, cracking her knuckles, itching for one of them to make a wrong move.

‘Lottie, do you have anything to say to these men?’ Binah asked, nudging her forward. ‘Remember you’re your own person, and we’re your friends no matter what,’ she whispered into her ear, her breath tickling her neck. ‘What would Lottie the friend do?’

Face to face with the three men cowering at her and the rest of her gang, she couldn’t believe how blinkered she’d been. She wasn’t alone. She wasn’t nothing without Jamie and Ellie. She had everything she’d learned from Rosewood and her friends all thumping in her every heartbeat. She was Lottie Pumpkin, built from every experience, good and bad, kind, brave and unstoppable, and she wasn’t going to let anyone push her around.

Taking a confident step forward, she brushed off her pinafore, and flicked her hair as she’d seen Anastacia do, coming right up to face the three sweating pigs in front of her.

Cocking her head to the side, refusing to smile, she asked, imitating their earlier tone, ‘Want us to walk you home?’

‘N-no thank you,’ they stammered, squeezing together.

Smiling now, Lottie leaned forward. ‘Then kindly get the hell away from me.’

Saskia moved aside and the three of them bolted off down the alley with all the frantic energy of a balloon rapidly deflating.

The moment they were out of sight, the four girls burst into laughter. It only lasted a few seconds, until Lottie felt the laughter catch in her throat and twist into a sobbing fit, tears rolling down her cheeks.

‘How did you guys find me?’ she asked through her tears. But she wasn’t sad. She was simply overwhelmed and relieved, not able to comprehend everything she was feeling.

‘Binah saw you heading to the gates,’ Anastacia said. ‘She came to get us.’