December 18th, 1804

I sat in the sitting room for half an hour waiting for Louis and Henri to emerge from the study, which was adjacent to the sitting room.

I picked at the lace of my dress.

After the concert, Henri brought us back into this room. I didn't get a chance to speak with any of the others in the room.

When the doors to the study finally opened, I jumped to my feet.

Henri and Louis walked up to me.

"I'll be leaving early in the morning," Louis said. I nodded, though I would be sad to see him go.

"In this house you are Sophie. Outside you are Sylvie, our cousin," Henri said. "This is for your safety. You'll learn your way around soon. I promise."

I trusted both of these men, though we'd only spent hours together.

"I'll say goodnight then," Louis said.

"Edmund will have prepared a room for you," Henri said. Louis left, giving me one last smile. Henri offered his arm. "How about a tour?"

I took his arm, resting my hand just inside his elbow, just like I had seen people do in the streets. He walked back into the study and I saw it for the first time.

It was a library with ceiling-to-floor bookshelves. A ladder on a track was stationary to the right. There was door to the left which led back into the grand foyer. A desk sat straight in front of us. Curios from around the world decorated the empty space.

"Have you read all these books?" I asked Henri.

"Goodness, no. Can you read Miss Sophie?"

I shook my head. Papa couldn't afford to send me to school. It was improper for girls anyways.

"I'll teach you," Henri said, decidedly.

We exited back into the foyer. The first door on the left was the dining room. It had a long table with at least 12 chairs. A buffet ran along one wall. A door lead to the kitchens but Henri didn't show me that.

He lead me upstairs next.

"To the left is guest rooms," he explained. "To the right are more permanent rooms."

He took a right and lead me down the hallway. Two doors were on either side.

"First room is mine," he said, pointing to the door to the right. "Next is Gabriel's. To the left is Cosette's and then the master suite."

I didn't ask about the occupants of the master suite. Disease was sweeping the city and not even the rich could escape it. The old were the first to go. If Henri's parents---

"Who are Cosette and Gabriel?" I asked.

"My siblings. You will meet them in the morning, I suppose," he said. He did not speak about them with his usual energy.

He turned around at the end of the hall and we walked down to the guest wing. We passed my room. On the right side, at the end of the hallway was a staircase.

We climbed it and ended up in a less ornate hallway with many doors; I counted 10.

"This is the servant's wing," Henri explained. It seemed odd that they needed ten room. Candles were fixed to the walls, lit for light. We walked to the end.

"Where are we going?" I asked. There was yet another staircase to the right. We climbed, Henri taking the lead. He opened a door at the top of the steep stairs.

The air was cold and hit me with a blast.

We were on the roof.

We walked out onto the uneven roof top, the city sprawling around us.

"Magnificent," I said.

"Isn't it?" Henri said.

I wandered the rooftop for a few minutes. The sky was gray with city pollution. I couldn't see the stars.

"I must confess Miss Sophie, you're the first person I've ever taken up here," he said. I turned around and looked at him.

"I suppose you say that to all the girls," I said, a little harsher than I meant. I did not want to be taken advantage of by this rich man.

"No. Girls don't quite like me," he said.

"Why not? You're rich! You're handsome-"

I stopped myself. I wasn't being proper. And I was most definitely not being myself.

He smiled a devilish grin.

"You mean that," he said. I stayed silent, blushing in the cold night air. He continued.

"My parents tried to marry me off. I'm a bit overbearing though. They didn't like me in the end," he said.

"Are you warning me?" I asked, trying to find the meaning behind his speech.

"Yes," he said. "You're quite magnificent yourself, Miss Sophie. But I understand if you have no interest in developing a relationship with me. I do not know how long you will be here. Your brother makes no promises. Not to mention the fact that you are in a lot of danger."

"I do hope to stay awhile," I said. I didn't realize how close Henri was until now. He couldn't have been more than a few paces away. My heart was racing, making me warmer than I should have been.

"I should take you back to your room before anyone gets suspicious," Henri said, snapping me back into reality.

This wasn't a fairy tale. This was life or death. My life or my death.

"What could be suspicious about this? After all, we did just meet," I said.

He smiled.

I feared I had entered a dangerous game.