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“Eleven,” Andrée tells them.

Louis walks over to stand behind the chair Tina sits on, his hands gently on her shoulders as he addresses the group.

“Thank you for your support and acceptance of the situation we find ourselves in. We will explain to Josie that we have friends who visit to talk about politics and the war. She is a very clever little girl. She will understand.”

He isn’t as confident as he makes himself sound. But what else can they do?

“It won’t be easy, Andrée,” says Cat, “but I’m sure Doctor René will provide an identity card and ration card for her.”

“We’ve all become adept at stretching what food we have. I’m sure, Dancer, you can feed many mouths with a single egg, just as I do,” Tina says with a smile.

“We will leave it up to you to inform René and the others. Josie will never be mentioned or discussed outside this apartment. Agreed?” Agent is brisk.

“Shall we get down to business then? I have mail for each of you,” Louis tells them.

He opens a kitchen drawer, removes the false bottom, and retrieves the folder he received from Colonel Pallas. He takes several envelopes from the folder. They have all been opened already, and he has written a code name on each.

“Dancer, this is from Colonel Pallas for you and Andrée.”

Looking at Agent, Louis hands him a large envelope. “Agent, can you deliver these to your contact at the Sorbonne? He will know what to do with them.”

“Am I allowed to look at the contents?” Agent asks.

“Yes, you should know what it is you’re being asked to handle. We all know the rules. If you feel you are being asked to do something you’re not capable of doing, you say no. That won’t change. Ever. When you’ve got a response, I’ll forward it on. Just let me know next time we meet.”

Louis hands a smaller envelope to Cat. “We have another lead on the matter you’ve been following up. Details in here,” he says. He looks around the small group. “Please take your time reading what I’ve given you.”

Once they have finished reading their correspondence, they leave, one by one. Louis burns their letters in the kitchen stove.

For a moment they stand in silence.

“That went well,” Tina says eventually. “What would we have done if they’d said she couldn’t stay here?”

“We’re all fighting the same enemy, and none of us is more threatened by them than Josie,” Louis says, reaching for Tina’s hand.

Andrée looks at her parents. “I’ll wake her now. There’s no one else we’re expecting today. The sooner we explain to her the new living arrangements, the sooner she can begin the process of adjusting. It’s not going to be easy for her. Slow and steady, I’m thinking.”

“When are you meeting Doctor René?” Louis asks.

“It was meant to be tomorrow, but I don’t want to leave Josie so soon. Maman, when you go to line up for rations, could you pop in and arrange another time for next week? Don’t tell him anything about Josie—I’ll do that when I see him.”

It is early evening. Andrée sits with Josie while she eats some bread, observing how she breaks off small pieces, chewing slowly. She imagines this is something Ruth has taught her, as the significantly smaller rations allotted to the Jews of Paris made feeding a family of three increasingly difficult. The girl’s thick dark hair tumbles around her face. Andrée and Tina are unsure how it is to be tamed when the time comes for her to leave the apartment—neither of them has hair like her thick curls, but they’ve agreed that Tina will help her to undertake the chore.

“Thank you again,” Josie mumbles, a crumb escaping onto the plate and quickly picked up and consumed.

“Josie, this will be your home until your mother and brother return. Anything you need, you just have to ask and we will do what we can. I’ve shown you what I got from your apartment. Is there anything I missed that you would like me to go back for?”

“Maman and Léon,” Josie says with a watery smile. It’s the first time Andrée has seen her smile.

“You know I would if I could. Anything else?”

“No, thank you, mademoiselle. I have my clothes, my books, and the photos you brought me.”

“And your bear.”

“And my bear.”

When the child has wiped every crumb from her plate and drunk her warm milk, Tina opens her arms for Josie to join her on the sofa. Andrée takes the spare chair alongside her father, facing the sofa.