kind.'
'I hate it when they say that,' Bea murmured, and Corrine raised her cup in agreement.
Though Maddy had thought the memory of the Scot would be too fresh, too raw, she found herself saying, 'But there was another man….'
'And?' Corrine prompted.
'He was a tall, strapping Highlander whom I met at a masquerade ball. We had this…thisje ne sais quoi , a connection—a strong one, I believed.' Since that night, she'd thought about him at every hour, no matter how hard she tried to put that man from her mind. 'And I don't even know his name.'
'Le coup de foudre,' Bea said, nodding enthusiastically.
'Love at first sight?' Maddy gave a humorless laugh. 'I thought so. I'dknown so after strong punch and his sinful kisses.'
Bea's eyes lit up. 'Oh, Maddée, you finally took a lover,non ?'
Maddy sighed, then explained everything that had happened, before finishing, '…and after that, he tossed money at me like I was a pesky problem to be resolved and abandoned me in the cab.'
'It won't be painful like that again,' Bea assured her. 'The first time is always the worst, and if he wastrès viril…'
Maddy knew that had to be true, but she still feared what her next experience might be like—though she could say with certainty it wouldn't be with anyonetrès viril. 'On my trip back here, I decided if I'm never with another man again, it will be too soon.' Affecting indifference, Maddy briefly raised her face to the sun, courting freckles on her nose, but she didn't care. 'He turned out to be an ass, anyway. I wouldn't want him if he begged me to marry him.'
'What about your instincts?' Corrine asked. 'Surely you were warned away if he was so terrible?'
'My instincts told me he was…good.' She didn't miss that Bea and Corrine shared a look. Corrine never rented a room to a male unless Maddy gave approval.
'Why didn't you tell your London friends of your plight?' Corrine asked.
'I thought about it. I imagined revealing all over tea and scones. I would begin with the setup: 'Well, the thing of it is…after Papa died, my mother and I didn't move to Paris because she'd missed her birthplace—we fled creditors in the middle of the night. After a year in a slum, she did marry a rich man, named Guillaume, and for a while we lived in the wealthy part of Paris—what you believe is my current address and my present situation. But it's not now! I pay the maid there to save my mail for me and tell visitors I'm away.'
'Then would come the denouement: 'Sylvie died years ago, and my miserlyoncle Guillaume tossed me out on my ear. Actually, I live in a slum teeming with danger and filth. I'm really an orphan, and not in the exciting sense of an heiress orphan but in the penniless pitiful sense. Because I couldn'tsteal enough to pay for the dresses and paste jewels necessary for my plot to ensnare Quin, I borrowed money from a lender who will happily break my arms over a late payment.''
Corrine pursed her lips and sniffed, 'Well, when you put it that way…'
Bea added, 'Oh, Maddée,c'est déplorable !'
As if bored by Maddy's dramatics, Chat Noir deserted her with a yawn. He leapt to the railing, sidling along, drawing Maddy's gaze down to the street. Two burly men had just arrived at the building. 'Are those Toumard's men?' she asked without looking back. 'Who else besides me would be foolish enough to get involved with Toumard?'
She'd borrowed heavily—for more than she could make in a year with sporadic work selling cigarettes, serving in the cafés, bettingmutuels, or picking pockets. When she turned back, she saw that their expressions were pensive. 'What is it?' Maddy asked. 'Tell me. My day can't possibly get worse.'
'Come, then, let's go in so they can't spot us,' Corrine said. They grabbed their milk crates and hurried inside. 'Maddy love, those henchmen came round yesterday, too. They were searching for you, demanding to be let into the building. We're keeping it locked at all times.'
'And I will only see regulars!' Bea added with an earnest nod.
'They were here already?' Maddy pinched her forehead. 'I'm not even late.'
'They said Toumard raised his rates. The interest is escalating each week.'
Maddy sank onto her bed again. 'But why?'
'You know how gossip spreads around here,' Corrine said. 'You went into debt to buy a new wardrobe, and then you left town. Everyone figured a cull was happening. Berthé or Odette probably told him, and he could be betting on your success.'
But even after delivering the news, Corrine was still wringing her lye-eaten hands. Beatrix had begun studying her chipped cup.
'What else?' Maddy forced a smile. 'I can take it.' She could find a way to weather bad news. Somehow she always did.
Corrine hesitantly said, 'Toumard might have another agenda. He might not be keen on getting paid back at all.'
Maddy swallowed. She'd heard that was how Berthé and Odette had gotten started in their present line of work. They were barmaids who'd owed money. Instead of getting their arms broken, they'd gone into a more lucrative trade—facilitated and overseen by Toumard.
Corrine set her cup aside. 'If we can't come up with the money…'
Bea's eyes started watering. 'Maddée will have to flee for her life.'
'No, Bea, no,' she rushed to assure her. 'Maddée'snot fleeing anywhere. I have all this under control. I'm going to marry the count.'
Le Daex was her mother's only legacy to her, the alliance having been arranged by her years ago. Maddy was supposed to have wed him when she'd turnedfourteen— but her mother had died just before then, Maddy had balked, and that's when Guillaume had kicked her out.
'But you told me you sense Le Daex is a bad man,' Corrine said. 'And there are those rumors….'
Maddy stifled a shiver. 'No, no. I will outwit Le Daex, outlive him, and inherit.' She'd heard his last three wives had entertained similar aspirations before dying under mysterious circumstances. 'Then we'll all be rich, and we'll leave La Marais for good. Everything will be fine. You'll see.'
Chapter Ten
Maddy lived in a ruthless world.
Growing up in La Marais, she'd made observations—she'd learned her environment. And she'd quickly comprehended that here, for most, civility and ethics had been stripped away, until nothing remained but the pursuit of elemental needs—food, shelter, intercourse—and the overwhelming drive to avoid death and pain.
The latter had compelled her to don her last gown, trudge down one hundred and two steps, and begin making her way to Le Daex's. She couldn't afford the omnibus fare to the count's, so she walked. She didn't need to be walking—she was losing weight already, after just a week back—and she'd had to take in her clothes, including this last fine gown she owned.
Each day in La Marais, Maddy made countless decisions, and the stakes were high. At every turn, her choices could lead her to reward—or fate would ruthlessly check her.
Each night before she went to sleep, she catalogued her actions for the day, analyzing them for weaknesses or exposures. She would ask herself,Did I do anything today to leave myself vulnerable…?
Marrying a man like Le Daex would be one of her most critical moves, yet she would do it to avoid Toumard's punishments—or plans. She'd sold her other gowns and paste jewels, but she hadn't been able to keep up with the man's demands for money. His lackeys hounded her more and more.
Out on the street, Maddy passed the usual prostitutes in the usual alleyways, perched on their knees servicing clients. The pained expressions on the men's faces had always fascinated her. The young ones, usually dressed in regimental uniforms, pleaded with the tarts not to stop. The older ones commanded them not to. Maddy had always wondered what could be so pleasurable that they feared its incompletion so much.
The Scot had certainly made sure he'd completed his, by his own hand. She stumbled, nearly catching the
