The crowd envelops us, and soon we are mere pieces of the sparkling, silk landscape. When we went to the Musée D’Orsay last week, I saw a painting made up of thousands of little dots. From far away it looked like a seascape, but the closer you got the less it made any sense.

I imagine us now as single dots in a painting. Blurry and inconsequential on our own. Hopefully, no one will look too closely tonight. The plan depends on it.

Maxine presents our thick invitations to the doorman, who looks them over with white-gloved hands and waves us inside. I don’t know why I’m already nervous. We are invited guests. Nothing about what we’re doing now is a trick.

The marble entryway of the Louvre buzzes like a beehive. I take a moment to really feel the ground beneath my fancy borrowed shoes. I savor the peace that comes with being in the eye of a hurricane before steeling myself to join the storm.

Oliver must sense my panic because his warm hand finds mine and squeezes. “Shh, I’ve got you.”

A hand appearing as if from nowhere passes me a glass of champagne.

Oliver and I pour our flutes into a massive arrangement of white lilies.

Finn raises his to his lips, but it is promptly swatted away by Maxine, who finds a potted plant to dump it into.

We made an agreement tonight. We need to have our wits about us.

It’s easy enough to get through the terrible banquet dinner. Oliver quiets the incessant shaking of my leg with a gentle touch of his hand. Finn complains about not being able to get a drink. Pascal makes jokes in French that only Maxine laughs at. And Lena just watches, her eyes wide, like she’s seeing somewhere beyond this room.

It’s after the delicate porcelain dessert plates are cleared that our work truly begins.

There are easily three hundred people here tonight and our main task is simply not to draw attention to ourselves. It’s why we came with male escorts. Three unaccompanied ladies would have drawn too much attention, and our work is easier to get done without the son of a steel magnate asking if he can call on us at the flat tomorrow.

Oliver leans down to whisper in my ear. “Two dances, then up the stairs.” I nod.

The front hall of the museum has been turned into a ballroom. A stage has been set up on the far wall and is currently playing host to an entire orchestra and a corps of twirling ballerinas.

Lena appears at my side. “Five minutes until Pascal and I go up.”

“You sure you can get it unlocked?” Oliver asks. We didn’t have great luck before, but without Nina present as a distraction, we’re hopeful we’ll be successful tonight.