Page 136 of The Last Library of Paris

‘He’s dead?’ Cassandra said in alarm.

‘No, he left,’ I said tightly. ‘He left us.’

‘So he could have told someone where you are?’ Henry asked.

‘Possibly.’

‘Then we should leave as soon as we can,’ said Archie. ‘We’ll come and help you gather your belongings, and you can fill us in on everything that’s happened.’

I nodded. ‘This way,’ I said, getting to my feet. ‘Everyone’s downstairs.’

Chapter 36

Cassie

Paris

Frances led us down some stone stairs to the basement. There was a large storage area filled with crates of books and then a smaller room, where she said they’d been sleeping. It was dark and cramped, but I could see why they’d hidden out there. It was solid and felt safe.

‘This is Sylvie,’ she said, gesturing to a small, very pretty, young woman, who eyed us with suspicion.

‘Who are these people?’ she asked Frances in rather blunt French.

‘Nous venons de British intelligence,’ I said.

She wrinkled her nose up in disdain. ‘You are late,’ she said, in English.

‘And this is Guy,’ said Frances, gesturing towards a man who had been lying on the camp bed. He sat up, looking confused. ‘Guy, these are the British people who sent us the Peacock books. They’ve come from Lisbon to help.’

‘It’s too late,’ he said, echoing what Sylvie had said.

‘We came as soon as we heard,’ I said. I’d sort of been expecting a little fanfare and lots of thanks, not this – well – hostility.

‘What happened here?’ asked Archie.

Frances explained that the Nazis had arrived unexpectedly and there had been a confrontation.

‘I’m afraid that’s down to us,’ said Archie.

Frances winced. ‘They were looking for me.’

I forced myself to hold her gaze, even though I felt awful. ‘I think that might have been my fault,’ I said.

‘It wasn’t,’ said Lara, but I ignored her.

‘There was a chap at the embassy in Lisbon. He had a bit of a score to settle with me. And he told the Nazis you were helping us.’

‘The only person to blame is Steven Parrish,’ said Lara, quite fiercely.

‘She’s right,’ said Archie. ‘But I apologise for bringing this trouble to your door.’

But Frances shook her head. ‘We’ll never know who brought the trouble,’ she said. ‘It could have been your guy, or it could have been Alain. He loved to talk.’

‘It wasn’t Alain,’ Guy said. He was hugging his knees as he sat on the bed, and he fixed Frances with a cold stare. ‘He took a bullet for me. He’d never betray us.’

Frances made a little face at me, letting me know she wasn’t as convinced of Alain’s loyalty as Guy was. Behind her, Sylvie rolled her eyes. I wasn’t sure what that meant.

‘It could even have been far more mundane,’ Frances went on. ‘They’ve moved very quickly to clear the library and from what we’ve overheard, they want to use this building as some sort of office for their staff. Perhaps they just wanted us out.’