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I spun around to flounce away, but he caught a fistful ofwould have dared it, but he held me there with a chuckle

"As you like, bébé Leave with me now, and I’ll woo you in thea yawn and twitching rasp, I turned "More romantic than the catacombs?"

"Oh, you’ll enjoy this place It is dark, private, and filled with surprises It was once a fortress, then a palace, now a national treasure And at this tiht, you can touchwhatever you wish"

He pulled ht in my throat "You want to break into the Louvre?"

His hands tightened onIt is considered trespassing only if they catch you And no one ever catches me" He held up the duke’s ticket, which I had slipped into ’s placeo see what it is that so interests your duke, shall we?"

"He’s not my duke"

"That’s what I like to hear," he whispered in my ear

I borrowed a cloak and some boots fro bad We left through the sah the rain at the copper elephant with foreboding as we slipped around its giant legs, Vale’s fingers entwined withfrom the ornate headdress and enameled howdah on the pachyderazebo on top I’d never been up there, but then again, all my suitors really wanted were my teeth and my body, not the foolish pretense of romance I ducked back under the umbrella

Once we hit the street, Vale whistled for a conveyance--a cheaper one than I’d used before and so s froave the dull-faced driver an unfa thea puff of violet sht behind us Theeach other, but there was a new inti so nor his striped pants and vest, and the umbrella sat sentry between our knees like a bony chaperone

In lieu of talking, he walked his fingers upelse that wasn’t him Each time I swatted him ae both kneas only aelse

Rain dotted the roof as the conveyance pulled to a stop, and Vale slipped a franc into the man’s filthy fist and helped me down My boots slipped on the cobbles, and I tried to orient myself As usual with Vale, ere in a dark alley in a place where no lady would go during daylight

As if reading my mind, Vale opened the umbrella over my head and pulled me deeper into the shadoith a o underground, but I ah an evening rain, yes?"

I glanced at the soot-streaked bricks and piles of bones and rocks "It’s just like I always dreamed--slimy carcasses and all"

"I would kiss you to keep you silent, but around here, wemy spine, but I took his hint and went quiet as he pulled s and fallen walls There had been a fire here; my nose told , and the scaffolds and piles of stone and wood left plenty of shadows to shield us froe of a ed me to leave my bustle at home and tried to put on a brave face as I followed hiround and standing on stone, he produced a metal object from his pocket With a few flicks of a switch, a fire bloohter in six years He hooked the uhter to me so that he could replace the n chased in the brass I al that he had given it toan attempted murder Oops

With a heavy clunk, the tunnel went pitch-black around ently, careful not to hurted

"I’h"

He pointed to et blisters"