As things turned out, Nadir had plenty of time to ponder both matters. Erik stayed by the girl's bedside, distracting her from her pains the rest of the morning and the whole afternoon. He told her stories about Persia, played small tricks of magic for her and plundered Nadir's stock of writing paper so she could draw pictures, which he then pinned on the wall, above the bed, so she would have something familiar to look at. He sent Darius to buy a nightgown and a dress, and made sure she was comfortable enough, requisitioning all the pillows and cushions in the apartment. Early in the evening, when Gracie fell asleep, he finally emerged from the guest room.

Nadir watched him come down the hall, stop at the entrance of the sitting room and measure him with scathing eyes.

"Please, Erik," Nadir begged, regretting every word he'd uttered that morning. "Sit down. Let's talk about this."

After a heartbeat in which Erik cast a glance down the hall, he joined Nadir in the sitting room. Nadir noticed he had chosen the couch instead of the armchair, which would have given him a narrower perspective of the room, and would have forced him to sit with his back to the entrance. He tried not to sigh. Every one of Erik's instincts of self preservation was now on edge, triggered by Nadir's careless attitude that morning. He wondered whether he'd be able to regain the confidence of his friend. He decided he wouldn't apologize any more. Too many words of excuse and explanation would only increase Erik's misgivings. Instead, Nadir chose to explain his plan to Erik right away.

Erik weighed Nadir's words carefully, while he kept a vigilant eye on the hall, part of his attention still on the room where Gracie slept. The familiar, comfortable apartment was no longer a safe retreat but a court in which his actions were judged and his motives condemned, and Erik was still fighting the impulse to run away. He had been fighting it the whole day, for Gracie's sake.

He knew he could escape from Nadir's apartment and build a new life for himself without any money and without the help of anyone. It would be difficult at first, but he would find a way. He had got out of even tougher situations in the past. But it would entail a great deal of hardship at first, and he couldn't expose Gracie to more hunger or need. She needed a safe, warm place. She needed a home, and he would be damned if he denied her that.

He didn't like the course of action the Persian had drawn. It was too convoluted, too complicated and it would take a long time to carry out. Too many things could go wrong. Worst of all, it entailed him being separated from Gracie for, at least, a week. In that week the Daroga could arrange for her to be sent away, to an orphanage or to another home, one Nadir thought more appropriate for a small child.

Without mentioning his troubles, Erik opposed every objection he could think of to Nadir's plan, but the Persian found a solution to each of them. Erik argued further, going back to previous points, trying to exasperate Nadir. A furious man tended to speak his mind outright. But the Daroga seemed determined to hold to his patience and to use reason to convince Erik of the need to stick to his scheme.

"It would be much easier to travel out of Paris tonight," Erik insisted for the thousandth time.

Nadir closed his eyes for an instant. He knew Erik's objections had been raised because of Erik's lack of trust in him and not because the scheme was flawed. But his friend had not voiced his concerns in their long talk. He hadn't even hinted at what those concerns were, so Nadir hadn't been able to reassure him that they were unfounded, and Nadir was not going back to apologising. He twisted the tip of his moustache, and then he found the answer he needed. Maybe reminding Erik of his sustained loyalty would take them out of the vicious circle they had been treading for the past hour.

"It would be. But the apartment has been rented in my name. It won't take a very intelligent chief of police to connect the disappearance of the child with the disappearance of the tenant on the third floor. And I have no desire to reside in a French prison, my friend. In fact, I have no desire to look inside a prison again."

Nadir watched Erik as his words sunk in. Praised be his mother tongue to which he had resorted to at the beginning of the discussion. He wouldn't have been able to allude with any measure of tact to the time he'd spent in jail in a foreign language.

"But I'm still at risk to have a look at the inside of a prison myself," noted Erik wryly.

Nadir lifted his eyebrows. Erik was as incapable of being tactful in Farsi as he was in French.

"Do you really believe me capable of turning you in?"

Nadir watched Erik evenly. They engaged in a staring contest for a few minutes and, at last, Erik answered, still sustaining Nadir's gaze.

"No, I don't think you would. But. . ." Erik faltered, and his eyes darted away.

That was the opening Nadir had been waiting for such a long time, and he seized it.

"But what?"

Erik rubbed his left eye, annoyed at himself. He was tired, and he had made the mistake of steering the conversation precisely into the topic he had wanted to avoid. Oh hell. Better to address the matter directly, then.

"But I think you still consider the child will be better off someplace else. You'll send her away as soon as I turn my back on you."

"I would never do that," whispered Nadir. And then in a firmer tone: "I will swear it, Erik, if that's the only way you'll believe me. I swear to Allah I will not take the child from you."

Erik smiled, scornfully.

"That's an oath taken in front of an infidel, Daroga. Does it count?"

That sent Nadir over the edge. He glared at Erik for a second, and then he burst:

"You distrustful, stubborn fool!" he exclaimed, striding towards the foyer. "Darius! Darius!"

"For heaven's sake, Daroga!" cried Erik behind him. "You'll wake her!"

He stood up and was about to make his way to the guest chamber when Nadir's hand shot up and grabbed his left shoulder. Nadir's hand landed precisely on Erik's healing wound, and the pressure made Erik flinch with pain. It was startling enough to stop Erik who would have, in other circumstances, pushed away the shorter and weaker man.

"Oh no. You stay here. If you make me swear upon Allah's name, you'll be here to listen to me take my oath in front of witnesses."

Erik stared down at Nadir's raging features. He had never seen the even-tempered Persian so out of himself.

Darius had rushed down the hall by then and stood, startled, in the foyer.

"Darius, bear witness of this," said Nadir, still grasping Erik's shoulder. "I swear, on the name of Allah, that I will not separate Erik from the child that's sleeping in the guest bedroom."

His gaze landed on his manservant.

"Do you bear witness?"

"Yes, my lord," answered Darius.

Nadir pinned Erik with his gaze.

"Are you now satisfied?"

"Yes," answered Erik while he pried Nadir's fingers from his shoulder. "Perhaps you could stop pressing my wound now? I am quite sure the bleeding stopped some time ago."

Nadir released him. They regarded each other until Erik broke the contact.

"I'll see to her. You must have scared her out of her wits with your screaming."

He went down the hall, and into the guest room. Nadir, his angry outburst having come to an end, followed suit. He stood by the door.

Erik had lighted the lamp on the bedside table and was kneeling down beside the child. She had curled up in the bed, the covers covering her completely, as if she was trying to hide. Nadir felt a twist of regret.

"Gracie, Gracie," called Erik.

It took him some time to get the child to lower the covers and look at him. She was truly terrified.

"It's all right, Gracie. Did we wake you up?"

She nodded.

"I'm sorry we did. We forgot how loudly we were speaking. But you must not fear. Everything's all right," explained Erik quietly. "You are safe here. Nobody is going to harm you. Gracie, look at me. Do you believe me?"

The child nodded and Erik smiled.

"Good girl. . ."

He paused, drew in a deep breath and apparently made up his mind.

"You will stay here, in Monsieur Kahn's home, for some time. He and Darius will look after you. I must be away for a while..."

At that, the child stared at him in panic. Erik smiled again. His hand reached out for her, but his fingers didn't quite touch her, just hovered over her shoulder for an instant, and drew away.

"They will take good care of you," he continued. "And before long, I will come back. I will look for another apartment with a piano, so we can play again. Would you like that, Gracie? To live in a big apartment?"

She didn't answer him for a moment, but, at last, she nodded.

"All right. I will go and look for one, then, and will come back when I have found it, so you'll never have to live with your mama again. Is that what you want?"

Erik held his breath, waiting for the answer, and released it when she nodded.

"So you'll be a good child and obey Monsieur Kahn and Darius until I come back?"

Another nod.

"Go back to sleep, then."

Erik reached out to lower the light on the lamp, but then a small hand grabbed his. Gracie's grave eyes were set on him.

"I wasn't going to turn it off," he explained. "Just to lower the light a bit, Gracie."

Still, she wouldn't let go. Her little fingers were warm against his skin, her palm slightly sweaty. Erik looked at her hand for a long moment, relishing the touch.

"Do you want me to keep you company until you fall asleep?"

She nodded again, and he sat on the floor. Carefully, he wrapped his fingers around hers. Her small hand disappeared within his. Gracie closed her eyes. Erik waited. He heard the floorboards on the hall creak as Nadir retreated to the sitting room, and he heard Gracie's breaths become deeper and more even as she rendered to sleep. After some time and much inner debate, he pulled himself from her side, and made his way back to the sitting room wearily.