226

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

227“Are we late?” asked Madame Éclair, as she and Alice dropped into a seat next to Monsieur Rejewski. It was a week later and the velodrome was packed with spectators. Alice tucked the cake box she had been carrying under her seat, looked down the list of races on the paper that she’d been handed as they arrived and shook her head.

“No, Adele is up next. Look, there she is, with Sophie!” Alice pointed to the centre of the track where her two friends were checking over Adele’s bicycle. Hugo was busy writing something in his notebook. He looked up, spotted them and waved.

“So that’s Sophie,” said Madame Éclair. She leaned over and whispered in Alice’s ear. “And she’s also a spy?”

Alice grinned. “She’s an engineer,” she whispered back. “Not everyone is a spy.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” said her mother.

Alice took a sideways glance at her, but Madame Éclair was smiling. She had not been smiling when Alice sat her down in the kitchen of Vive Comme L’Éclair the day before and told her all about the missions she had been on and what had happened with Uncle Robert. She had been furious with Alice 228for putting herself in such danger and for lying to her all this time. Alice had sat silently, knowing deep down that her mother was right. She should have told her. She was especially sure of that when Madame Éclair reached across the table and took her hands.

“I know how capable you are, Alice,” she had said. “But in future you tell me. You never know, you might find that your old Maman has a few tricks up her sleeve herself. I can’t be the only person in this family not to be a famous spy.”

“Just in time,” cried Stella, dashing up the steps towards them, followed by Claude. They squeezed into the seats by Madame Éclair, and Stella opened her handbag, drawing out four pairs of binoculars that she handed round.

“Sorry, Claude,” she said. “You’ll have to cope on your own.” She squinted through her own pair. “It looks as though Sophie is doing some last-minute adjustments.”

“Such an impressive young engineer,” said Monsieur Rejewski. “She has asked me to teach her something about watchmaking. She thinks it might help with miniaturising some of the mechanisms for 229her next plane.”

“Next plane?” said Alice. “Don’t tell me that Ariadne is still stuck up on the mountainside.”

Stella shook her head. “Don’t worry. We’ve had her flown back and checked over. No bruises, even though she took quite a beating coming down on the mountain like that.”

Alice flashed an alarmed look at her. Madame Éclair coughed gently and raised her eyebrows at Alice, but thankfully the crowd began to murmur at the prospect of a race so she avoided a telling-off for putting herself in danger.

They watched as Adele took her place alongside the other cyclists. This was the final test to see who would make it on to the team to go to the Olympics. Only the first two finishers were guaranteed a place. Alice held her breath and crossed her fingers for her friend. A hush fell over the crowd. The starter was raised and then, with a loud crack of the pistol, the race began.

Adele quickly took the lead, hurtling round the track, spinning her way up till she was at the top, head down, heels racing. As she reached the halfway point Chloé was gaining on her. Adele 230shifted position to block her, forcing Chloé further down towards the bottom of the track. Chloé burst ahead, overtaking, and Alice crossed her fingers still harder. As they were a few metres from the finish, Adele suddenly swept up to the top of the track. Alice leaned forwards. As they reached the line, Adele surged ahead, her front wheel crossing seconds before Chloé’s.

Alice jumped to her feet, cheering and clapping. As Adele took a victory lap of the velodrome, Alice looked through her binoculars to see Sophie and Hugo celebrating in the middle of the arena. Hugo was stabbing at his notebook and waving it in front of Sophie.

“What on earth does that mean?” asked Madame Éclair as Alice pointed it out.

Alice grinned. “I think it means that Adele has beat her personal record,” she said.

Adele was on her way to the Olympics.

As soon as they could, they dashed down to the hut to celebrate. Alice walked through the door and Adele ran to hug her. Stella went to reassure Sophie that Ariadne was safely back at the camp 231and Claude dusted off a chair for Madame Éclair to sit on next to Monsieur Rejewski, who was beaming at his children with the sort of expression that Alice usually saw on Madame Éclair’s face after she had mastered a particularly tricky baking technique.

“FOUR seconds off her personal best!” cried Hugo. “Can you believe it! She’s going to win gold, I just know it.”

“Oh, Hugo,” said Adele. She grinned at Alice. “I’ll be getting the most important medal – your team medal.”

Alice glanced at Hugo.

“Your? You don’t mean…”

He nodded.

“He WON!” cried Adele. “Hugo’s design is going to be on the medal that the entire team wears as they enter the Olympic stadium! Isn’t that amazing!”

“Entirely deserved,” said Monsieur Rejewski. “I really don’t know what I did to have two such talented children.”

“Speaking of talent,” said Hugo, “is that another Alice Éclair masterpiece in the box?”

Alice grinned. “It’s a present,” she said. She untied the ribbon that held the box together and the sides 232fell away. Inside was a layered cake topped with a perfect re-creation of the Rejewski medallion. The arms of the athlete were stretched out to resemble an archer. Alice leaned forwards and spun the top layer of the cake and everyone gasped.

“It’s changing,” cried Adele. “Look!”

The cake spun and the athlete turned into a runner, his arms powering away at his side.

“But how?” asked Monsieur Rejewski. “With cake?”

Alice smiled “It’s a biscuit topping,” she explained, “with cut-outs that will reveal the layers below. If you spin the top, you reveal a different layer.”

“Amazing,” said Monsieur Rejewski.

“You can do almost anything with cake,” said Alice.

“Like rescue your friends from deadly peril,” said Adele.

 “Well, cake helped, but I couldn’t have done that without Sophie,” said Alice. “Or without you both being so brave.”

“And Columba!” said Hugo. “Don’t forget it was she who brought the message that told you where we were.” 233

“Oh, yes,” said Alice. “I nearly forgot. I have a present for Columba too.”

She drew a small parcel from her pocket.

“They’ve had me making healthy cakes in that kitchen for days, so I thought I would make one for someone who would appreciate it. All bird-friendly ingredients and fit for the cleverest pigeon in France.”

Alice unwrapped the parcel and laid it in front of Columba, who was sunning herself on the windowsill. The cake inside was the most unusual Alice had ever made – a seed cake shaped like a pigeon with sunflower-seed wings and a spray of millet for a tail. Columba nudged it with her beak and then, as if realising it was a present, cooed happily and began to peck at it.

“I think it has the seal of approval,” said Hugo. “You’ll be her friend for life now.”

There was laughter and Sophie offered to make tea for everyone. Madame Éclair began to quiz Adele about her training and told her that she and Hugo must come to dinner at Vive Comme L’Éclair as soon as possible. Claude and Stella joined Alice by the window. 234

“Another successful mission, Alice,” said Stella. “And this time you’ve helped someone achieve their dreams.”

Alice grinned. “That’s all on Adele,” she said. “She’s brave as well as talented.”

“She’s not the only one,” said Claude.

Alice gave Columba’s head a tickle. The pigeon cooed.

“And we finally caught your uncle,” said Stella. “Handing him over was brave too, Alice. I’m so sorry.”

Alice smiled sadly.

“I hoped he would turn back to the good side,” she said. “But he made his choice, and I couldn’t change that.”

“And now your Maman knows you are a spy, do you think she’ll let you do any more missions?”

Alice looked across at Madame Éclair, the person she loved more than anyone else in the world, surrounded by Alice’s good friends. She nodded.

“I always thought it was Uncle Robert who made me a spy,” she said. “But it wasn’t. It was Maman. Every time I’ve been stuck, her voice has given me the answer. I learned my spycraft through baking 235with Maman, not through silly cipher games with Uncle Robert. She’s helped me every step of the way. And she’ll keep on helping me and France, whenever we both need her.”

Stella laughed. “So now she knows you are the lightning bolt.”

Alice nodded.

“But she has her own name for me.”

Stella raised an eyebrow. “What does she call you then?”

“She calls me Alice,” said Alice. “Alice Éclair, spy extraordinaire.”