She guiltily wondered if they would have been at the table downstairs had she not been out with Wolfgang; Addy could only imagine their fear at the prospect of her arriving home with him.

“Hi,” she said, raising her hand as she stood in the doorway. Every pair of eyes turned to watch her.

“Hi.” It was Cate who spoke first, gesturing to the meager quantity of food laid out on the blanket. “You must be hungry, come and join us.”

Addy smiled and walked silently over to Elise, her head down as she sat beside her, wriggling closer even though her sister hadn’t said anything to her. They’d been so close all their lives, Elise always only one step away, always there for her, and she suddenly needed to be with her, no matter how angry she was.

But as she lay her head on Elise’s shoulder, her sister still didn’t say a thing; she just took her hand and held it as she resumed a conversation that must have started long before Addy had arrived home. She’d been expecting an interrogation about where she’d been, anger followed by a stern telling-off, but Elise acted like she’d been there all along, and she certainly didn’t seem angry. It was like a silent truce of sorts, and as she held her sister’s hand, she realized there was nothing in the world she cared more about than Elise.

“So we have maybe ten days, give or take, until the new moon,” Harry said, putting down his plate of mashed artichokes. “We had a full moon a few nights ago. I couldn’t sleep and I just stared out at it for hours, it was so high and round in the sky.”

Addy looked away guiltily, thinking of the food that Wolfgang had given her, which was so much more palatable than the tasteless slush Harry was eating.

“Why are you concerned about the moon?” Addy asked, lifting her head slightly from Elise’s shoulder.

“Because that’s the night they’re leaving,” Elise said, as Jack and Harry turned their attention back to their dinner. “We made contact with Papa’s old friend Mr. Bernard, and he’s arranged passage for us, so long as we can all make it to the beach and stay hidden until the boat comes for them.”

A shiver ran through Adelaide. “Will it be safe?”

Harry’s eyes were hard. “As safe as sneaking into a boat on a beach potentially surrounded by enemy troops could ever be.”

Cate’s expression was kinder, softer than Harry’s, and Addy wondered why he was being so short with her. Had something else happened while she was gone, or was he just worried about leaving?

“An underground movement has started, a resistance of sorts, and they’re helping to liaise with the British army,” Cate told her.