Six months later Jacques Letellier died in a fit of apoplexy and
Berene was freed from her chains; but freed only to keep on in a life
of martyrdom as servant and slave to the caprices of her father,
until his death. When he was finally well buried under six feet of
earth, Berene found herself twenty years of age, alone in the world
with just one thousand dollars in money, the price brought by her
father's effects.

Without education or accomplishments, she was the possessor of youth,
health, charm, and a voice of wonderful beauty and power; a voice
which it was her dream to cultivate, and use as a means of support.
But how could she ever cultivate it? The thousand dollars in her
possession was, she knew, but a drop in the ocean of expense a
musical education would entail. And she must keep that money until
she found some way by which to support herself.

Baroness Brown had attended the sale of old Dumont's effects. She
had often noticed the young girl in the shop, and in the street, and
had been struck with the peculiar elegance and refinement of her
appearance. Her simple lawn or print gowns were made and worn in a
manner befitting a princess. Her nails were carefully kept, despite
all the household drudgery which devolved upon her.

The Baroness was a shrewd woman and a clever reasoner. She needed a
thrifty, prudent person in her house to look after things, and to
attend to her personal needs. Since she had opened the Palace as a
lodging-house, this need had stared her in the face. Servants did
very well in their places, but the person she required was of another
and superior order, and only to be obtained by accident or by
advertising and the paying of a large salary. Now the Baroness had