Page 52 of The Last Library of Paris

A man I didn’t much like.

And whom I still didn’t trust, despite what Sylvie was saying.

‘I’ll open up,’ I said.

She reached over the desk and took my hand. ‘Alain is the most annoying man I have ever met.’ A tiny smile twitched on her lips. ‘And I admit I find many people very annoying.’

‘He is annoying,’ I agreed.

‘But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t trust him.’

‘I suppose …’

‘It also doesn’t mean we should trust him,’ said Sylvie firmly. ‘We will be careful.’

I nodded, still full of worries, but glad to have spoken to her. I wondered if I should tell her about Marcus, too. But perhaps not. If he was who he said he was – and I had no reason to doubt him – then it was too risky to tell anyone.

All this subterfuge was too much for me. I was a librarian, not a spy. I had a sudden, fierce longing to be curled up in my childhood bedroom reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

‘Hauts les cours,’ said Sylvie, obviously seeing my stricken expression.

‘In America we say “hang in there”,’ I told her.

‘The British say “chin up”,’ said Sylvie. She lifted her delicate chin and peered at me down her nose. ‘I think this works. It feels brave.’

I did the same, and found she was right; it did give me an air of defiance.

‘Chin up, hearts high, library open,’ I said. ‘And trust no one.’

Chapter 14

Cassie

Lisbon

For all his declarations welcoming me to the team, Valentine did actually need to get Digby’s approval for me to join him and Hughes in working on the escape routes. He assured me it wouldn’t be a problem. ‘Five days is nothing,’ he said, looking at me with a slightly tilted head. ‘And you seem to be firing on all cylinders.’

‘She’s just come up with a plan to help soldiers escape,’ said Hughes, who I was beginning to rather like. ‘If this is how she is when she’s not firing on all cylinders, we should definitely have her on the team.’

I laughed.

‘It’s getting quite late,’ I said. ‘Shall I just come and find you tomorrow and we can start work?’

‘Not tomorrow, sorry,’ said Valentine with a grimace. ‘Hughes and I have meetings all day. But I’ll speak to Digby and get everything approved, don’t worry.’

‘You won’t forget to speak to him?’

‘I won’t forget.’

‘Good,’ I said. ‘Great. I’ll head home, then.’

‘Actually, I should make tracks, too,’ said Valentine ‘I have dinner plans.’

Chuffed as I was to be part of the team, I rolled my eyes as I walked away.

The hours in clerical sped past the next day, and I even worked later than usual, making notes about our plans for the books.

By the time I left that evening I was feeling happier than I had since I came back to Lisbon. I made my way along the hall towards the main door just as Edith was coming down the stairs. She called to me.