‘I don’t know,’ admitted Annette. ‘I don’t know how long. But I’m getting fatter, so it must be soon.’

Agathe sighed. What could she do? She had her room in Fleur’s apartment, but it was tiny, and she could just imagine what Fleur would say if she brought home a girl from the streets, six or seven months pregnant. She and her sister had been rubbing along reasonably well over the past few months, but Agathe was still adamant that the arrangement was temporary. She was determined to find another position and move out by the end of the summer. In the meantime she didn’t want to upset the status quo. Could she persuade Fleur to give the child houseroom, promising it would not be for long, just while they worked out a plan and decided what to do? Possibly, but unlikely. And what could they do? Where would Annette be safe? Where could she go to have her baby if it wasn’t somewhere like St Luke’s?

It was then that Agathe thought again of approaching Madame St Clair. She had not done so for her own benefit, but this was for someone else, a child whom over the past few years she had come to love and who now was in desperate need of help. Perhaps the St Clairs could find a place for Annette somewhere in their household. Not in Paris, but out at their country home in St Etienne. No one would know the girl there and she could be passed off as a very young widow, whose husband had fallen victim to the influenza that was rife in the city. Rosalie St Clair was a woman of the world. Her own daughter had once been subjected to abuse by a man, so surely she would have compassion on a girl of the same age, now in a dreadful situation, but not one of her own making.

She made a decision and rose to her feet. ‘Come with me now,’ she said, ‘and let’s see what we can do for you.’

‘Where are we going?’ Annette picked up her bag and together they walked back across the market square.

‘I’m taking you back to where I’m staying,’ Agathe explained as they threaded their way through the narrow streets. ‘Just now I live with my sister, and I’m hoping she’ll let you stay with us while I visit a friend and try to get you some help. When we get home I shall open the front door and you must go inside straight away. Go down the hallway and into my room… the door straight ahead of you. Stay there and stay quiet, while I talk to my sister and explain to her what I’m hoping to arrange.’

‘But what if she won’t let me in?’ muttered Annette.

‘She won’t know you’re there if you stay in my room,’ Agathe said reassuringly. ‘She seldom comes out of the salon except to her own bedroom. I will go in and talk to her, and once she understands the situation, I’m sure she’ll let you stay for a short while.’ Agathe was sure of no such thing, but she was determined to do her best for the child, and would stand up to Fleur if necessary.