‘I can handle myself. What about Al?’
‘There’s time, he was in one of the last tumbrils to leave.’
James hunkered down next to her, and gingerly lifted the edge of her shirt to see the knife wound along her ribs. He sucked in a breath.
‘Oh, lord, Cam, this isn’t good.’
‘You’re not wrong,’ she said, wincing.
Then she looked up at him and blinked.
Her pistol was in James’s hand, the muzzle pointing at her head.
James smiled at her regretfully, his blond hair tumbling into his eyes.
‘Oh, Cam. You do always trust the wrong people.’
10
The Crypt at the Saints-Innocents Safe House
Ada had lost no time picking the locks and escaping her father’s house, then walked out, head down and hurrying like any other servant. As soon as she was far enough away to avoid drawing attention, she ran, pelting alleys, until she reached the crypt. She was unwrapping oilcloth from her crossbow, when the door opened, wood scraping against stone.
She flattened against the wall. There was no other way out. Had someone followed her?
She watched a pair of soldier’s boots descend the stairs, and then a tall figure came into view, wearing a military bicorn hat above his brown skin and dark curls.
‘Guil!’ Ada leaped up.
A smile crinkled the corner of his eyes and he folded her in a brief hug.
‘What are you doing here?’ She looked down at his side. ‘Should you be out of bed?’
‘Perhaps not. Camille left me in charge of Olympe, but she bolted as soon as my back was turned – and anyway, I do not feel comfortable letting my battalion take on a fight alone.’
‘You didn’t need to take it so literally.’
She gestured to the uniform.
‘Ah. Only half-clean thing left.’
‘How did you know I’d be here?’
Guil gave a sheepish grin and scratched the back of his neck. ‘I didn’t, if I’m honest. I came for the same reason it looks like you did – weapons. We moved to the Cordeliers safe house but it’s bare bones there. How did you escape?’
‘They thought I was a stupid naive girl.’
Guil smiled. ‘Ah. Unfortunate.’
‘For them.’ Ada crouched and finished freeing the crossbow from its protective cloth. Her face darkened. ‘We have to hurry. I think they’re up to something – they know Al’s execution is today, and any fool would guess that Camille would try to rescue him.’
‘Do you have any sense of what the Royalists are planning?’ he asked.
‘No. But I think it’s happening now. Dorval was summoned. He seemed in a hurry.’
Guil rifled through a crate and pulled out several short blades, a mask and a bag of money. Ada added a large sun hat, pinned it in place, and counted out the bolts for the crossbow.
‘They conned my father,’ she said, swinging a crossbow over her shoulder. ‘That’s how they got me. I’m a fool, and now Camille is trying to pull off a job on her own.’
