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room wherever I go these days.”
    Gustave almost snapped that Hercule had not done any of it for France. He had done it in a perverted quest for glory. He had been stupid enough to think that the English would celebrate him when it was all over. “How you can dare to stay in Paris, where everyone knows, is beyond me.”
    “I stay in Paris to try and learn how it is that everyone knows. I dealt with only one man, a colonel who died at Waterloo. I am curious to know with whom he spoke, and who betrayed me.”
    Gustave tapped his cane with irritation. He rose, assuming that leaving now would not be the insult Hercule had threatened about. “Good day to you. If we meet again, do not expect me to address you.”
    “Of course not. After twenty-four years, there is no reason for that to change.” Hercule’s laugh followed Gustave as he walked away. So did his final question. “Oh, I forgot to ask you, Dupré. How does your famous library grow?”
             
    Margot’s house was small but attractive, in a good neighborhood not too far from Daniel’s. Margot herself appeared beautiful and mature in a blue dress and silver necklace.
Property and jewels, secured to you.
Whether Margot had ever received Madame Leblanc’s instructions, she had clearly followed them.
    Diane sent her escort back to Jeanette’s house. She and Margot spent an hour reminiscing, then decided to walk in a nearby park.
    “I have brought you here because I want you to see something,” Margot said. “I meet a new friend here sometimes. Her name is Marie. There she is, with those two children. Marie is a governess to the family of a man attached to the English government.”
    “From your tone one would think she is dead.”
    “She may as well be. We only speak here, since she is never free to call on friends or receive them. She cares for those children morning until night, and after they go to bed she is given other work, darning and such. When I left the school I was a governess for several months, so I know of what I speak. Fortunately, I met M’sieur Johnson one day in a park like this and was rescued.”
    “Then Madame Oiseau did not arrange for you to know M’sieur Johnson?”
    “That bird of prey? She offered, but the girls who make use of her service get much less, since their protectors are also paying Madame. In fact, I was insulted and shocked by her suggestion. Three months living Marie’s life and the shock wore off.”
    Diane tried to picture herself in this governess’s place. The notion of no time to herself, of little contact with other people, dismayed her. For one thing, how could she ask about her relatives if she never spoke with anyone?
    She tried to convince herself that Marie’s drab appearance had no effect on her reaction, but she found herself fingering her buttery muslin beneath her cloak.
    An English officer approached Marie. Whatever he said got an immediate reaction. She turned abruptly and began marching her charges away. The officer’s laugh could be heard all the way to where Diane stood.
    “Of course, some of the men one meets in gardens are not gentlemen, whatever their births. Some are not so considerate as M’sieur Johnson,” Margot warned. “It is important to be able to tell the difference.”
    Margot turned the conversation to more pleasant topics. They discussed shops and milliners, and Diane described the wardrobe that had arrived. Margot raised her eyebrows appreciatively at the litany of luxury.
    Margot took her hand and began walking out of the park. “We must return. I have invited a few friends to meet you and they have probably arrived already. Englishmen, as you requested.”
    A small group of carriages lined the street outside Margot’s house. One looked too familiar. It belonged to Daniel, and Daniel himself lounged against it.
    “M’sieur St. John has come to collect you himself. That is
very
considerate and gentlemanly. And, like the rich gifts that you have been