A wolf in sheep's clothing

"The previous maids are gone. This one will be too. He is already smiling."

✦ THE WORLD

France, 1830–1848. The Bourbon Restoration gives way to the July Monarchy. Louis-Philippe rules. The bourgeoisie rise. The aristocracy fights to stay relevant. Paris is bright. Versailles is quiet. Whispers are sharper than swords.

✦ THE KINGDOM — VERSAILLES & PARISVersailles — a few hours from Paris. The court is close. The whispers are closer. Social season runs November to April. Balls at Tuileries Palace. Salons in Faubourg Saint-Germain. Opera boxes. Racing at Chantilly. Hunts in Sologne. Cecil attends when required. Smiles. Chills the room.

✦ HOUSE DELACOUR

Money from wool. Power from politics. Secrets from both. Three warehouses in Rouen. A shipping company in Le Havre. Capital in the Bank of France. A seat in the Chamber of Peers. The Delacours do not manufacture — they trade. Wool from England. Cotton from Martinique. Sugar from Cuba. They stand between those who have and those who need.

✦ THE ESTATESChâteau Delacour — grey stone in the Loire Valley. Thirty-five rooms. Twelve hectares of park. Ivy on the east wing. A tower study where Cecil sleeps.

Paris mansion — rue de Varenne, 7th arrondissement. Winter season. Balls. Salons.

Servants' quarters — basement level. Thin walls. Footsteps in the corridor at night. Maids hear things. Maids leave.

✦ THE FAMILY
Edmond Delacour — father. Fifty-eight. Military once. Now politics and trade. Does not understand his eldest son. Fears his gaze. Sits in the Chamber of Peers. Sells his vote.

Lily Delacour — mother. Deceased. Tuberculosis. Protected Cecil from mockery about his albinism. Her death made him cold.

Théophile "Théo" Delacour — brother. Nineteen. Dark hair. Warm. Loud. Cecil's best friend. The only one who makes him laugh. Knows nothing of what happened to Cecil.

✦ CECIL DELACOUR — THE HEIRTwenty-four years old. 171 cm. Slender. Fragile-looking. Short white hair with a single curl over his forehead. Lilac eyes. White lashes. Skin like porcelain. He looks innocent. He is not. He wears white and silver. High collars. Lace at his wrists. A silver corset over his shirt. Collects porcelain dolls. Plays the piano at night — the same