Page 129 of The Last Library of Paris

I had a sudden vision of us strolling across a bridge over the Seine, hand in hand, the Eiffel Tower in the distance, and I felt my cheeks flush.

‘I’ve never been.’ Lara looked sad. ‘What a time for my first visit.’

‘You can go back,’ I said. ‘When all this is over.’

‘In all seriousness I think we do have to be prepared,’ said Archie quietly. ‘I’ve not been for months and by all accounts the city is now unrecognisable. We get in and get out as quickly as we can. It’s dangerous.’

‘We know,’ I said. ‘We’re prepared.’

Archie gave me a little smile that made my heart flip in a most concerning way, when I really had to concentrate.

The train was slowing down now as it rattled through the Parisian suburbs. The streets looked quiet and still.

We started gathering our bags. I opened my suitcase, and with Henry watching the corridor this time, pulled out the pistol I’d put in there.

‘Welrod?’ asked Archie.

‘Of course,’ I said, strapping a belt round my waist and tucking it in under my skirt.

‘Me too,’ said Henry, opening his jacket subtly to show his own pistol.

Lara looked furious. ‘I don’t have anything.’

‘You have us,’ I said. But she didn’t look any happier.

I chuckled, putting the pistol into my belt and checking it didn’t show underneath my jacket.

The train was pulling into the station, and I felt horribly nervous all of a sudden. This seemed so risky, but I knew it was the right thing for us to be doing.

Gare Montparnasse was busy, as we’d known it would be. We were prepared for that. What we weren’t prepared for was how German everything would be. All the signs were in German.

‘Paris is on Berlin time now,’ murmured Archie. ‘Not London time like Lisbon.’

I nodded. ‘Why is time one of the first things a dictator alters? Is it proving how powerful they are? That they can change time?’

‘Probably,’ said Henry. ‘Eyes front everyone, we’ll need our papers.’

Ahead of us, a group of Nazi soldiers were checking documents.

‘I’ll catch up with you outside,’ said Archie, hanging back. ‘Don’t want to raise suspicions with a larger group.’

He melted into the crowd, and I turned my attention to the Nazis in front.

‘Stay calm, everyone,’ I said. ‘Nothing to worry about.’

At the barrier, I handed over our Certificates of Travel, and we all stood as the guard inspected them carefully.

‘American?’ he said to Lara, his face stern.

She gave him a dazzling smile. ‘As Mom’s apple pie,’ she said. And then she put her hand on his arm. ‘Ich bin halb Deutscher,’ she added. I thanked my lucky stars that we’d come up with the story of being half-German as Lara leaned closer to the soldier. ‘Die beste hälfe,’ she added. The best half.

The soldier couldn’t stay stern in the face of such a charm offensive. He smiled back at her. ‘Wilkommen in Paris,’ he said, handing us our documents.

We all walked past the guards, resisting the urge to run, and chatting all at once about anything and nothing, as our adrenaline subsided.

But outside in the street we stopped, shocked at the sight that waited for us. Paris was not as it had once been. I remembered bustling pavements, cafés with metal chairs outside. Bookshops, clothes shops, bakeries. Now most of the shops were shut. The streets were quiet, and on the building opposite the station, a red Nazi flag flapped gently in the breeze.

My breath caught in my throat and Lara took my hand.