I gave him a moment, and I called the pieces of the paintings back to me. They returned to their frames, as if they had never seen our realm. Phelan watched as I reversed my charm. When the floor was clean—the poor desk would remain splintered, however—he set his hat back on his head, composed. He studied me closely, a furrow in his brow.

“Who are you?” he asked.

I suddenly was overcome with the urge to leave. How had I thought I could do this? Surely, he sensed it was me beneath the guise.

Before I could stop myself, I strode for the door.

“Please, wait,” he breathed. “What is your name?” He reached the door before me, and he laid his blood-speckled hand on the wood. I stared at the brass handle, just out of my reach.

Reluctantly, I met his gaze. The words caught in my throat, and I reminded myself to keep my voice low. “Excuse me, Mr. Vesper. But I think this was a mistake.”

“A mistake?” He chuckled and glanced at the disrepair of his clothes. And then he looked at me, how immaculate I was. “I think you are rather brilliant. And you’re not here by mistake.”

I remained silent, and he shifted his weight, his hand sliding away from the door.

“I offer the position to you. Take the afternoon to ponder it, but if you need help in deciding, join me for dinner tonight at my town house.”

“I’ll think about it,” I said.

“Good,” he replied with a smile, as if he already knew I had determined my mind. “I live on Auberon Street, house eleven, in the south quarter of Endellion. About a twenty-minute walk from here. Dinner will be at six.” He opened the door for me. “I only ask one thing of you before you go.”

I stepped over the threshold into the hallway, but I paused to glance back at him. “And what is that, Mr. Vesper?”

“Your name, please.”

“Anna. Anna Neven.” I spoke smoothly, as if I had said such a name endless times before. As if that name had always belonged to these bones, this spirit. The stone half of my heart.

“Then I will see you at six, Miss Neven,” he said, and I hated how confident he sounded.

“We’ll see,” I countered.

I didn’t slow my pace until I was back in the bustle of the streets and out of sight of the museum. I stopped by a fountain brimming with wishful pennies and sat down on its stone ledge, pressing my palm to my chest, where my heart beat its new, strange rhythm.

My plan was simple. Deceive Phelan. Take advantage of his resources while I positioned myself to uncover dirt on his family, because all noble families had secrets to hide. Set that secret free. Watch the Vespers fall, one by one, into disgrace, including Lennox in Hereswith.