She stepped forward through her women and came to a stop directly in front of the man. They faced each other, about two feet apart. Then she pulled out her paper once again and read out, in a strong, clear voice all their new demands and the cockade law. The longer she read, the more disgruntled noises Scarlet heard from the people gathered behind this man. She assumed them all to be shopkeepers, workers, and owners.

When Pauline read the last bit about how every citizen must now wear an armband, the merchants were visibly upset, and one woman shouted, “I will not wear such a thing, lest I be branded a prostitute, in cohorts with the likes of you.”

A hiss followed her remark, and several of the women near Scarlet clenched their fists.

Another merchant called, “No one wears those but the Jacobins.”

Shaking a fist in the air, another man, a blacksmith, said, “Go home! Make your own bread then. Wear your own bands.”

The tone of the interaction darkened, shopkeepers demanding that Claire and Pauline lead the women away.

One merchant woman stepped around the baker in front of them and walked right up to Claire. She placed a finger on her chest and pressed into her, hoping, no doubt, to push her backward, but Claire was much stronger than she looked. The merchant leaned into Claire’s face and sneered. “Filthy.”

Scarlet raised a hand up to her opened mouth.

The women around Claire hissed and growled in a low guttural noise. Claire grabbed the merchant woman’s hair at the back of her head and yanked it to the side. Others grabbed her arms. Pauline’s women all circled Claire as she forced her captive to the ground, jerking her head around by the hair. Claire called out to her group, “Are we dirty women?”

They shouted, “No!”

Claire called out to the shopkeepers, “We are no dirtier than you are. You merchants, with your inflated prices and fancy clothing, have made us who we are. If we don’t have new dresses or fancy bath oil, it is because our last sous go to buying bread to feed our families.” She leaned forward and hissed into the woman’s face. “How dare you keep food from our families!” Claire bent the lady’s head back so that her neck was exposed. “A lovely neck, no?”

“Guillotine! Send her to La Guillotine!” Pauline’s crowd was held back from tearing into her only by their curiosity.

Scarlet looked away from the captive woman, who trembled and cried out whenever Claire pulled on her hair. Pauline tied a cockade armband around the woman’s face as a gag.