They ate in the room with little talking and left the inn before eleven. From the inn, they traveled northeast. Bram figured they had a bit of time before anyone in his circles would know things had gone horribly wrong for them. If things had gone according to their plan, Bram would have shown up to the inn that they had left from around lunch. Which gave them at least an hour of walking before the innkeeper even began looking for a single man, covered in dirt, to come to collect what was owed to him. By the time the innkeeper began to worry things had gone awry, hopefully he'd have forgotten all about the family he'd served earlier in the day.

"Bram?" Bijou called, breaking Bram out of his thoughts. "Everything okay?"

"Yes, yes. Just thinking."

"When… we have a moment. Now that we're rested and fed. Can we talk?" Bijou was watching Bram out of the corner of his eye as he walked.

"Yes, of course."

"Thank you."

Bijou shifted Maria in his arms. They were carrying the kids for now. It was faster, and they'd agreed that carrying the kids in the beginning would keep them from getting tired too early and having to stop. Bram had both the boys.

"Bram," Bijou said, "how long have you been in France?"

"Four years," Bram answered, offering only that.

However, Bijou wasn't done. "Why leave home?"

"For… a second chance."

"At what?"

"… Happiness."

"And how did you end up where you are?"

"Where am I?" Bram asked.

"Working for such people that would ask you to… get rid of us. You're too smart for that sort of work."

Bram wasn't sure how to respond to that. He wanted to bring up The Madame, but not in front of her grandchildren. Although, thinking about that, something crossed his mind.

"You said you were adopted," Bram said. "Is that true?"

"It is." Bijou said. "My birth-mother was… I don't know. I was told she was a gypsy. Who knows. I lived in an orphanage. At ten I ran away from the place and started stealing to feed myself."

"You?" Bram huffed. "I can't believe it. I don't."

Bijou laughed lightly. "It's true. But only from easy targets. One day I saw a grand car parked in the strangest place, in a back alley. I thought, I can steal from the car and get away before I'm seen. So I climbed up into it and went to strip it clean. But as I went to climb out, I bumped into a woman. The Madame. Mama."

"What did she do?" Bram breathed.

Laughing again, louder this time, Bijou answered, "You know what! She adopted me. She was so impressed that any child would try to rob her car that she kept me."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"I thought she only kept beautiful omega girls."

Bijou rolled his eyes. "Mama takes many lovers. But they're always treated well. She's an alpha, she can't help it."

"Oh. That makes sense. What about Molly the Butcher?"

"What about Molly? She's just like you, only a beta. And no, she doesn't keep bits of men in jars. She doesn't even like men."

"Oh. What about… well, there's a rumor about a carpet."

Bijou's face fell. "Let's not talk about that in front of the children."

"What about the carpet?" Theodore asked.

"Is it about the time I spilled perfume on the carpet?" Maria asked.

"No, Darling," Bijou said kindly.