My heart was in my mouth. Frank looked absolutely terrified. Taking me by the shoulders, he announced:
‘They’ve arrested my family – all of them: Mama, Father and Lizzie – on suspicion of helping the king to flee.’
* Struck through by censor
Interlude – A Country Dance
Paris, 22nd June 1791
My dear Patron,
I had not expected to have so much to write after being here only a day, but Paris has turned out to be far more interesting than I had imagined and I can wait no longer with my news. The chief point is that the king and his family fled last night, leaving the city in confusion. Fortunately the streets, with a few exceptions, are calm. My impression is that most care little for the king himself but no one wants war. Death and destruction is bad for business, one entrepreneur told me.
This is not my only news. A disaster has struck much closer to home: our friends from Grosvenor Square have been arrested on suspicion of aiding the king’s escape. On what grounds I know not, other than the unfortunate fact that they are English. Please do all you can through your channels to secure their release; I’m doing what I can here. I’ll be meeting our friend, the Captain, as soon as possible. He may be able to help.
Your Diamond.
P.S. By the by, Frank and I almost got hanged today were robbed by a charming gang of thieves so there is no need for you to worry that I will feel homesick for old London.
P.P.S. I hope you agree my first letter is not devoid of interest and worth a guinea.
ACT III
SCENE 1 – CAPTAIN SPARKLER
‘The first thing we need to do, Frank,’ I told my friend as we huddled together in my little room, ‘is we need to disguise you. If they’re after the Avon family – and they can’t be too particular if they took Lizzie – they might just arrest you to make it a round number.’
Frank nodded, staring blankly at his feet, not yet recovered from the shock of finding his parents had been led off in chains. Joseph stood sentry at the door, on the watch for any snooping ballerinas, but he kept casting anxious looks at his master. Neither of us liked this dejected mood: Frank was normally so full of life you usually wished someone would sit on him to keep him quiet.
‘Why the handcuffs?’ I asked Joseph when I realized that I was going to get very little from Frank for the moment. ‘I thought they’d treat a duke with more respect – he must have some sort of standing, even in France.’
‘It wasn’t for the duke, miss,’ said Joseph solemnly. He need say no more: I could see it as if I’d been there. The duchess was not a woman to allow herself to be dragged off without a struggle.
‘How many did she injure?’
‘The butler said that she felled two guardsmen before they resorted to the irons, miss. The duke also sustained an injury to his nose, possibly broken.’
‘What! They didn’t dare mistreat him, did they?’
Joseph shook his head. ‘Not them. Her grace accidentally caught him with a punch right in the face when he tried to restrain her.’
‘Ah. And Lady Elizabeth?’
‘Distressed but otherwise calm.’
Of course. I expected nothing less of my friend.
I got up from the bed and walked to the window to think. We’d already sent a message to Johnny and were expecting an answer at any moment. After that, the next step would be to find out where they were being held and see if they had any immediate wants; I knew from my own brief experience of prison* that it would be short on any comforts. We also needed to inform the British representative in Paris. My letter would take days to reach London and we had to have help much faster than that. Secretly, I was hoping that this would all be over before Mr Sheridan even had time to break the seal on my letter. The Avons were bound to be released before the day was over, weren’t they?
I gazed at the sun setting over the rooftops, shafts of light spotlighting the smoke twisting up from the cooking fires. A sparrow hopped on to the ledge beside me, looking hopeful. I had nothing to give him; in fact, I realized I’d eaten nothing since breakfast. My stomach rumbled.
‘I’m going down to the kitchen,’ I told my companions. ‘I’ll see if I can arrange a place for you to stay. It’s best, I think, that we say nothing to Madame Beaufort about this until we are sure of her – she’s been acting strangely since she returned home and I couldn’t swear that she won’t hand you over to the authorities.’
Frank nodded glumly.
‘At least, sir, we have our disguise already provided for us,’ said Joseph brightly. ‘Courtesy of that extraordinary young gentleman we met this morning.’
‘Thanks, Joseph,’ I said, patting him on the back as I passed. ‘Keep an eye on him for me, will you?’
‘Need you ask, miss?’
‘No. Of course not.’
The kitchen was quiet. The ballerinas had already dined and gone out with Madame Beaufort to visit the Opera, the place where they were to perform. Only the old concierge was there, stirring the fire with a long black poker.
‘There you are, mademoiselle,’ he said gruffly. ‘Your dinner is still in the pot, if you want it.’
My growling stomach decided rapidly that I might as well have some before sorting out supper and lodgings for my friends.
‘Thank you, monsieur.’
I helped myself to the stew and broke off a piece of bread from one of those long sticks the French prefer, a little too dry for my taste but not bad when dipped in the gravy.
‘What have you done now, miss?’
‘What?’ I was surprised to be interrupted by the concierge. ‘I mean, pardon, monsieur?’
‘Those little madams were talking about you as if you were the worst of the worst. “What, her? That little thing?” I thought to myself. You must have done something very bad to earn their dislike.’