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‘Stand guard outside,’ a voice commanded him.
Lisette found herself in a small room which contained a table, on which lay a leather satchel, and two chairs. There was a window opposite the door. A man stood looking out of it with his back to the room. It was he who had spoken.
The door shut behind her and a second man came out from behind it. ‘Lisette.’ It was spoken quietly.
She whirled round to face him. ‘Jay!’ Then she was in his arms, being hugged and kissed and she was crying all over him. ‘Oh, Jay.’
‘We have very little time.’ Harry turned from the window. ‘Save your embraces for later.’
Jay held her at arm’s length and looked into her face. ‘Are you ready, my darling?’
Her spirits soared at the endearment, but she was worried too. ‘Do you mean to try to take me out of here?’
‘Of course.’ As he spoke, Jay pulled her gown out of the satchel, the one her brother had been wearing. It was sadly grubby and creased.
‘You have seen Michel?’ she queried, realising the significance of it.
‘Yes, now take off that disgusting coat and put this on. Michel is waiting for us at the Cross Keys. Commodore and Mrs Drymore will leave Paris a little later than planned. Be quick before that guard becomes impatient.’
Lisette stripped off the coat and flung it on the floor. Jay helped to lace her into the gown, for her fingers were all thumbs. Then he wrapped her in the burnous. ‘Go behind the door,’ he said.
She did as she was told. Harry rapped on the door and when the guard opened it, delivered a punch to the man’s jaw which felled him instantly. He dragged him into the room and took his keys from him. Jay took Lisette’s hand and ran with her into the corridor. Harry paused only long enough to lock the guard in the room before following.
All three hurried along the deserted corridor and were soon in the foyer of the building, which was lit by oil lamps at intervals that cast a pool of light in the vicinity, but left the rest of the space in darkness. At the outer door they were stopped by a night watchman. Jay tucked Lisette’s hand under his arm and squeezed it. ‘Courage, my sweet,’ he whispered, giving her his handkerchief. ‘Pretend to be weeping.’
‘What are you doing here so late?’ the guardian of the door demanded. ‘There is no business being conducted this night.’
‘We have been allowed to visit a prisoner, kin to my wife, who is due for execution in the morning,’ Jay said, waving Danton’s pass at him. It was a document which had already proved useful. ‘A last goodbye.’
He looked from Lisette, who was blubbering into the handkerchief, to the two men. ‘All of you?’
‘I administered the last rites,’ Harry said, crossing himself. ‘There are still some people who hold to the old ways and seek absolution before the hand of death takes them.’
‘Off you go, then.’
Harry stopped to bless the man before following Jay and Lisette.
‘Now all we have to do is find Sam and the coach,’ Jay said as they crossed the bridge, trying not to break into a run.
They found Sam standing beside the coach a few yards away along the quay. As soon as he saw them, he jumped up on the box. ‘Cross Keys, Sam,’ Jay said, helping Lisette into the vehicle. ‘As fast as you like.’
Harry climbed up beside Sam and Jay joined Lisette in the coach. In no time the horses were whipped up and they were on the move.
Jay took Lisette into his arms and kissed her. ‘So far so good,’ he said.
It was almost dawn; there was a pink light in the sky in the east and early risers were already going about their business on the street. ‘Oh, Jay, I never thought I would see the light of day again except on my way to the guillotine.’ She was shaking, not with cold this time, but with nerves and excitement and the realisation that she was free and in Jay’s arms and he was kissing her with every appearance of fondness.
‘Do you really think I would leave you in that place, you foolish woman? Did you not know I would move heaven and earth to fetch you out? I love you. You mean more than life to me, I would rather have died.’
‘You love me?’ she queried, not quite able to believe it.
‘Yes, I do. Did you not guess?’
‘No. I thought I was a hoyden, an encumbrance, and inconvenient spouse who would not do as she was told.’
‘Well, of course, you are all those things,’ he said, laughing. ‘But it did not stop me falling in love with you. I believe you love me too, just a little, do you not?’
‘Not a little,’ she said. ‘A very great deal with every fibre of my being.’
