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Often Tessa had wondered how those within his household, knowing he was a monster, could let him live. Now she knew.
    Al the servants were lined up on that bright autumn day to welcome him home; they formed a double column deep into the great hal and spil ed out onto the steps. The most highly ranked were placed first within his sight on the steps, and Tessa, who ranked wel below the parlor staff but somewhere above the scul ery, was relegated to the shadows of the interior hal , where she concentrated on rubbing one foot against the other to keep her legs from fal ing asleep.
    He consigned his two females to the care of his personal valet, who had arrived with him, and began a leisurely strol down the line, pausing to greet each and every member of his staff and taking time to carry on long conversations with many concerning matters that had transpired during his absence. Occasional y he would inquire about a family member or the state of one's health. Some might have found such a gracious display of concern for the personal affairs of one's underlings admirable, particularly in a bachelor, but Tessa, whose back hurt and whose toes tingled unbearably, found it annoying in the extreme. Until he came to her.
    She had hoped he would pass her by, that he would be tired or bored by the time he got to the chambermaids and let her go with merely a nod. He did seem to pause less often as he came down the line to the lower ranks, and except for a flirtatious word or two with the prettiest of the girls, he did little more than cal a name. But when he saw her an alert spark came into his eye and he said, "Ah, Poinceau, what have we here?"
    The majordomo, who walked beside him, explained,
    "A new chambermaid, monsieur, passably good, but stil in training."
    Alexander Devoncroix reached out his hand, took her chin lightly in his fingers, and tilted her face so that it caught the light. He was smiling, in a gentle, amused way that seemed to be designed to put her at her ease. " Enchanté ," he said.
    He moved on, but she would feel the warm imprint of his fingers on her face, see that smile and feel the sweetness of his breath across her skin— Enchanté
    —for days afterward.
    He was a monster, but he was beautiful. And for a glimpse of that kind of beauty, that essential charm, human beings wil forgive a great deal.
    From the day of his arrival the bal s and banquets and musicales became constant, the house overflowing with guests. The young master loved to entertain, and when he was not entertaining he was being entertained elsewhere. One was likely to meet a wandering guest—or even the master himself—in the corridor at any hour of the day or night, and he rarely slept alone. It was a singularly licentious household, but Tessa had been warned about that.
    She had also been warned about the times a group of them would assemble out of doors and be gone al night, and the sounds that came from the parks and al eyways, the river-banks and dark fields on those occasions would chil the blood. Tessa heard no such sounds, but it was true that more than once the master disappeared from his chamber, along with several of the guests, and was gone the night through, only to return unheard or unseen by any of the servants and be found sleeping in his bed with the bright morning sun.
    And so it was that between one event and another, no clear opportunity presented itself for Tessa to conclude her business until this, the night of the October moon. The initial spate of parties and houseguests had faded as al of Paris entered a smal respite to prepare for the advent of the holiday season, M. Devoncroix included. He had been to the theater, and afterward to a soiree at the home of the Marquis de Fortier; this Tessa knew because she made it a habit to look at his cards and because his personal secretary, Crouchet, thought she was amusing and could be teased into sharing information with her he probably ought not to have.
    Tessa waited, wakeful,