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Only it wasn’t nonsense, was it? This was her life from now on, these were the sorts of places she would frequent, and she’d best get used to it But the exciteone and in its place was doubt and fear and a need for Max to hold her hand

Once her eyes becaht There was a hallway, paneled in glooinal , and there ahead of her shone another of the dull lamps As she set off she became aware of voices, murmurs, and they were close by Marietta noticed that there was a doorway a little ahead of her and to her side, and relanced within

There were people in there, and more than two

For aLi…And then she understood exactly what they were doing A face lifted, and a wohed and called, “Come join us, runt and a deep groan

Marietta picked up her skirts and ran down the hallway, her slippers beating ti of her heart She had no intention of joining in, she did not want to She felt so far out of her depth that she was drowni

ng And she was frightened More rooms, some doors open and some not More shadows, ly around her The Lustful Lady was like no other place she had ever been before, and the ache in Marietta’s chest, the fluttering in her stomach, told her that she did not want to be one of these creatures inside the roo worse

There was a staircase at the end of the hallway She was hesitating, her hand upon the balustrade, when she heard a sound behind her The scrape of a boot on the wooden floor, the rustle of clothing With a gasp Marietta turned her head and saw, beyond the la towards her

For soht of the man in the shabby brown coat she had seen twice before, the ed face and beady eyes What if he had been following her about? What if he had followed her here?

With a whi on her skirts and catching at the wooden railing with shaking fingers She didn’t want to look again but she couldn’t seem to help it, and when she turned it was to find her worst fears realized Now the man was much closer, his face a sinister shadow beneath his hat, his cloak flying out behind him as he strode forward Nearer he came as she tried to escape up the stairs He reached the bottom of the staircase just as she reached the top, and then she was fleeing down yet another corridor, her blood pounding in her ears, herher into one of the rooms

The doors along this corridor were closed, but there were still sounds to be heard—cries and whispers—an endless spiral of degradation The i her head spin, or perhaps that was because her stays were too tight and she could not breathe Why had she put foolish vanity before good sense? What did it ret

And then he was upon her He caught her about the waist, his big chest against her back, his breath hot in her ear, and with aat his hands, trying to pull away Itto beto be—

“Shhh, Marietta” A whisper against her cheek “Don’t be afraid, darling It’s me”

She nearly burst into tears “Max?” she gasped

“I couldn’t send Daniel with the coach, he’s never been able to keep a secret I drove it myself and then I had to take it around to the stableyard before I could find you I should have told you instead of trying to pretend I was somebody else I didn’t have the money to pay anyone else and I didn’t want you to know It was vanity and I’m sorry”

“Oh Max! I thought you were…”