In the Shadow of the Guillotine: A Revolutionary Romance
Letter I: Henri Laurent to Élise de Chamont
Dated: 14 July 1793
Citoyenne Élise,
The bells of Notre-Dame toll this morning not for Mass, but for the execution of another traitor to the Republic. The air reeks of smoke and iron—always iron. I write to you now at great peril, for if this letter is intercepted, we shall both meet the National Razor before dusk. Yet silence is a heavier sentence.
