The Little Perfume Shop Off The Champs-Élysées. Rebecca Raisin

me, so it’s not as if I’ve got the golden ticket.’ My pulse raced in spite of it all. Was it an advantage having Sebastien? What if he was too busy to spend time with me? What if he wore that same look of disinterest I kept catching crossing his features? I had the feeling Sebastien’s heart wasn’t in it. Still, I kept my face neutral and wouldn’t let Clementine bully me, or there’d be no end to it.

      ‘We’ll see,’ she said. ‘It doesn’t seem fair to me that you have one of the Leclére family, and we have their employees. Next minute you win, because you’ve spent all that time flirting with him!’

      I shot her a despairing look. ‘Don’t be so ridiculous! I’m here to win on merit alone, Clementine. Unlike some people.’ Two could play at that game.

      They might have been invisible to the eye but I sensed battle lines had been drawn.

      With one last withering glare she turned away and whispered to Kathryn. Oh boy. Did they give me Sebastien because I was the wildcard and therefore expected to need more help? I wished that self-doubt would disappear!

      Aurelie clapped to get our attention once more. ‘So, that brings us to the challenge today. Behind you are backpacks filled with supplies you might need like Metro tickets, and maps, Euros, snacks, water. It’s up to you what you use.’

      Lex grinned at me. ‘I wonder if there’s any vin blanc in the bag?’

      ‘We are in Paris.’ I winked.

      ‘Your first challenge is a fun one, designed so you get to see a bit of our beautiful city,’ Sebastien said. ‘At one of our landmarks, or places of significance there’s an envelope, in it is a key. This key unlocks my papa’s private studio and whoever finds it can use it exclusively for the week. For the rest, you will use the Leclére lab to make a perfume that shows us who you are, your style. The judges are looking for originality, something they wouldn’t expect, surprise them. After that you’ll work closely with your mentors for the rest of the competition.’

      I had to find that key! I so badly wanted to see Vincent’s perfumery studio, to sit where he did, to concoct perfume there…

      I’d studied maps of Paris, and all the landmarks, but put on the spot all I could think of was the obvious ones, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, Notre-Dame… Surely they’d choose something a little left of centre? Or was that what they expected we’d all think, in which case wouldn’t they hide the envelope in plain sight?

      Before I could ponder any more Aurelie spoke again. ‘In your backpacks are directions to the Leclére Parfumerie laboratory, which is just behind us here near the parfumerie. Inside the lab you’ll see a workspace with your name on it and everything you could possibly need to formulate a perfume. Of course, we know your perfumes won’t have time to age, but we can still get a sense of who you are as a perfumer.’