“Thank you for the compliment, mademoiselle,” Degas said, looked at me, and grinned. “This old man of the past still manages to sell his paintings for a nice amount. If you pose for me, chérie, your face will be seen around the world. And that nice little body too.”

“Make it worth it for me while I am still living,” Pauline said. “I have no interest in being famous after my death.”

He looked at me and smiled again. “She drives a hard bargain, this one, but look at the face. Look at the bone structure. The face of an angel.”

“And the temper of a devil, monsieur. Beware,” Pauline answered, giving him a challenging gaze.

“Perhaps you can help me,” I said. “I am looking for a particular model. Young, luxuriant dark hair; big dark eyes like a waif. An innocent child.”

Pauline and Degas looked at each other and shrugged. “One does not see too many innocent children around Place Pigalle,” Pauline said. “If they come here, they do not stay innocent for long. I do not recall seeing the one you describe.”

Chapter 31

Thirty-one

I wandered around the market once more, then abandoned this particular search and tried the Nouvelle Athènes. but it must have been too early for the painters. Their usual table was empty. I would have to come back later, after I had tackled the housekeeper. I couldn’t risk missing her at Reynold Bryce’s. And as I descended into the gloom of the Métro I thought about Pauline. From what she said her affair with Reynold Bryce had ended some time ago and was as much her decision as his. She had the temperament to stab someone, but had made it clear that he wasn’t worth stabbing. And the interesting fact was that she didn’t know the little dark waif whom Reynold Bryce had been most recently painting. Nobody did. So who was she and where did he find her?

I stepped into the Métro car and we rattled off into darkness. I have to confess that I felt a knot of apprehension in my throat as I walked down from the Champs-Élysées to the Rue François Premier. I had to approach this conversation with the housekeeper in the correct manner. I’d only have one chance and if she shut the door on me, then that would be that. There was an added complication that the police might be guarding the place or even sitting inside with the housekeeper to make sure she didn’t take anything. I had no idea what I might say to them to gain admittance.