“Hey, Lola, who’s your friend?” a short, handsome one called.

“My friend is none of your business, Pedro, so you can stick your eyeballs back in their sockets,” Lola replied, and gave me a conspiratorial grin.

“Pedro’s from Brazil,” she explained. “He always uses the accent to get women into bed. You don’t want a slice of that venereal-disease-ridden action, believe me.”

“Oh,” I said, lost for words.

She laughed. “Oh, my God, has anyone ever told you that you have the best facial expressions?”

“Um, no,” I said while she opened a door and led me out the back of the tent. There were motor homes parked all about, two large trucks, and a big open-air gazebo with rows of tables and benches. Lots of the performers had gathered there, drinking and eating. Some people I didn’t recognise, but I guessed they were the ones who worked behind the scenes. It must take a good deal of manpower to set up the tent and transport everything from one location to the next.

Lola was still linking me by the arm when she brought me to a table where Marina sat with Jack and the husband and wife lion tamers.

“Everybody, I want you to meet my new friend, Lille,” Lola announced, pushing me forward to sit in the empty space beside Jack and directly across from Marina. I felt kind of buzzed to be sitting next to him, but was disappointed when he didn’t acknowledge me.

The red-haired ringmaster (mistress?) smiled. “We’ve already met. Nice to see you again, Lille. How’s the hand?”

I touched my good hand to the bandage and shrugged. “Sore.”

She nodded and introduced the lion tamers. “This is Winnie and Antonio, and you know Jack.”

I smiled politely at Winnie and Antonio. Lola poured some red wine into a plastic cup for me and I took it, murmuring my thanks.

“Hi, everyone,” I said, feeling stupid, mainly due to Jack’s silence. What was his problem? He was flexing and releasing his hand repeatedly, like he wanted to hit something. I took a sip of wine and tried not to look at him anymore. It was difficult, since he was so flipping beautiful, and as an artist I was drawn to memorising beautiful things.

“Give me your good hand, Lille,” said Marina, interrupting my thoughts.

I lifted it from my lap, and she took it into her soft, wrinkled fingers. I loved how they felt. Marina had a kind of maternal warmth about her that I’d always longed for in my own mother. And she had a twinkle in her eye that reminded me so much of Gran.

She smoothed her fingers over my palm. “You’ve got a good distinctive life-line here. See how it’s deeply indented? It indicates a certain quality — you’ll do lots of living.”

“You read palms?” I asked, even though the answer was blatantly obvious.

She nodded. “Learned it from my grandmother, the mad old coot.”

I smiled.

“How long have you been an artist?” she asked, noting the dried paint stuck under my fingernails.

“Ever since I was little. Funny coincidence, just like your gran taught you to read palms, my gran taught me how to paint,” I answered. I thought I could sense Jack looking at me then, but since I was determined not to make eye contact with him again, I couldn’t be sure.

“You should come to France with us,” Marina went on, like it was a perfectly natural continuation of what we’d just been talking about.

“Um, I don’t….”

“You can do your face painting with the children. The punters will love it, and you’ll make enough money to live off of. I’ve been meaning to set up something fun for the kids before they come in to see the show. What do you say?”

“France?” I said, blinking, heart racing. This night was moving way too fast for me. It was confusing.

“We’re leaving by ferry at nine in the morning, so you’ll have to make a decision soon.”

“Oh, my God! You have to come,” Lola put in. “I’ve been dying for someone new to hang out with, and Violet’s so bloody annoyed with me all the time. Oh, oh! You could sleep in our camper. We’ve got a spare bed.”

“Shouldn’t you consult Violet about that first?” said Jack, finally speaking.

Lola waved him off. “Pffft, she’ll be fine with it so long as Lille doesn’t get in her way.”

“Violet’s the contortionist?”

“And just about the crankiest woman ever to grace the earth. Seriously, Lille, you’ll be doing me a huge favour. I’m gonna crack if I don’t get a new roommate soon.”

I was flabbergasted. “None of you even know me.”

“Ah, but you’ve got the heart of a traveller,” said Marina. “I can see it in those stormy grey eyes. And that’s good enough for me.”

“Look at you,” said Lola, wearing the biggest smile I’d ever seen. She was all lips and teeth. “You’re dying to say yes, aren’t you?”

“Well, I’d have to run it past my mother first,” I said, eyes downcast, and I heard Jack make a sound of derision. “And I have my summer job at the restaurant in town.” Why was I being hesitant? This offer was my hot air balloon ready and waiting to bring me on an adventure, and yet I was making excuses. I think I was just suspicious of the randomness of it all. Plus, the sad fact was that I’d probably have said yes right away if it weren’t for Jack. He clearly didn’t want me around, and I’d just end up feeling awkward every time I saw him. I wasn’t sure how obvious it was to him that I fancied him something rotten. Perhaps that was the reason for his disdain. He didn’t enjoy being ogled by some dumb girl. He probably had a girlfriend. Probably had several.

“I’m going to go find Violet and ask her what she thinks. She’ll say no, of course, but I’ll talk her around,” said Lola, rising from her seat with a wink.

“The men are taking down the tent tonight so that we can leave first thing in the morning,” said Marina. “You’d better go home and start packing.”

“I haven’t agreed to come yet,” I replied.

She only smiled and pursed her lips, a glint in her eye. “Haven’t you?”

Winnie gave me an encouraging look, and Antonio told me I’d have a great time if I came. As expected, Jack said nothing. Still, the encouragement of the others spurred me on and I rose, determined to go home and tell Mum I was going to France. I felt like I was walking through a dream. Who makes an offer to some random girl to join their circus? It was crazy, and I was happily drowning in the madness.

Gran would have been proud. She’d had Mum late in life, and before that she’d travelled the world, met with some amazing people. Even though I was only ten when she passed, she’d already made a powerful impression on me. I wanted to be just like her. She was strong in a way Mum wasn’t, strong through love and kindness rather than cruelty and control.

I said goodbye to everyone and made my way out of the gazebo. Just as I turned in the direction of town, a strong hand gripped my arm, and I yelped. Aside from a few dim street lights, it was dark out here, and mostly everyone was gone now.

I turned, and my heart stuttered when I found Jack standing behind me, his dark eyebrows drawn into a frown.

“You shouldn’t come,” he said, voice low.

“Let go of me,” I complained, feeling nervous and trying to pull my arm from his grasp. When he realised how tight his grip was, his eyes widened, and he dropped my arm. I turned and began walking again, more speedily this time, wanting to get away from him. No matter how hot he was, I didn’t trust being alone on a dark road with a strange man.

I could hear his steady, booted pace behind me, and I didn’t know why he was following me. My skin prickled with apprehension, and I pulled my phone out of my bag, pretending to dial my mum and proceeding to carry out a one-sided conversation.

“Hi, Mum, it’s me. I’m on my way home now. Yeah. I’m on Frederick Street. See you in a minute.”

I’m not sure why I thought letting Jack know that someone was waiting for me would deter him from harming me, but it was the only thing I could think of, and I didn’t have anything on me that could be used as a weapon. Plus, I couldn’t actually call my mother, since I’d sneaked out to go to the circus and she thought I was still in my room, tucked up safely in bed.