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She pulled the door open and grunted. The boy on the stoop held out a crumpled paper. “For you, citoyenne.”
Since Alex had her doubts as to whether or not the boy could read, she craned her neck to see the name and address on the paper. It was indeed addressed to her. She took it and gave the boy a coin, then closed and locked the door.
She carried the paper back to the table where her coffee cooled. Perhaps she should pretend to hire Honoria as a servant. No, that was too dangerous. Honoria and Montagne had been rescued from the guards at the Temple recently, and their faces might be known. Dewhurst was not known. She could hire him as a footman. That idea appealed. She’d like ordering Dewhurst around...
“What is that?”
Alex spun around and found Ffoulkes standing in the open panel of one of the secret escapes to the attic. She scowled at him. “You know I hate when you do that.”
Ffoulkes raised his brows, all innocence. “You do?”
“I haven’t opened it yet.” She waved the paper. “It may be nothing.” She broke the unadorned wax seal and stared at the single word printed in the middle of the page.
Oui.
“Well?” Ffoulkes prompted.
“I think I had better come upstairs.”
She brought her coffee, and when all five of them had gathered around the small table, she showed them the letter.
“How do you know it’s from Chevalier?” Dewhurst asked.
“When I saw him last night he said he would think about what he’d seen at the Temple and send a simpleyesornoto my residence.”
“How do we know this isn’t a trick?” Ffoulkes asked.
“We don’t. But if he betrays us, we will betray him back.”
“Small consolation that will be when my head is under the blade of the guillotine,” Montagne grumbled.
“Have faith, Laurent,” Honoria murmured. To the group, she said, “We need to involve him in our planning sooner rather than later. You said he had a pass to enter the Temple. If I could see it, I could more accurately reproduce it.”
“But first we take precautions.” Ffoulkes looked at Honoria. “Miss Blake, have you copied the documents Chevalier gave to our friend?”
“Yes.”
“Good, then we keep those and send the originals to Mackenzie. If anything happens to us, he will know what to do with them and Chevalier will be doomed.”
“How do we contact Mackenzie?” Dewhurst asked.
Ffoulkes waved a hand. “Leave that to me. Miss Martin, you meet with Chevalier today and arrange a time for him to come here.”
“Here?” Montagne asked, sitting straight. He tended to lounge as though affected by an eternal ennui. “You want to bring the wolf to the chicken coop?”
“He has been here before,” Alex pointed out.
“But he didn’t know where he was. He did not know your residence is the league’s hiding place.”
“It can’t be helped,” Ffoulkes said. “We have to trust him at some point.”
“Shall I tell him to come tonight or do you need more time to contact Mackenzie?” Alex asked.
“Tonight,” Ffoulkes said. “Tell him to come an hour before curfew. That’s early enough that those with evening business won’t be scurrying home yet, but late enough that most people will be off the streets. The fewer people who see him arrive here, the better.”
“The neighbors already think me a loose woman. If they see a man come here while Hastings is away, they’ll think I have a lover.”
“If only they knew how many men youreallylive with.” Dewhurst wagged his brows suggestively.
