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he pays us well, and he’s not unkind. I’ve had lots worse jobs, believe me.” I was able to get her talking about her own past. She regaled me with stories of the many petty and capricious bosses she’d had, the indignities she’d suffered as a salesgirl, a waitress, and a hotel chambermaid. “So after all that, Nico isn’t so hard to work for. Even with all the craziness that goes with the territory — fans somehow getting his number and calling in the middle of the night, the band tromping through here for rehearsals, all the hangers-on. You know what I mean.”
    Though of course I didn’t know.
    “It’s rarely dull,” she concluded.
    I nodded. “And what about Maddy?” I asked. “What’s she like?”
    “Maddy?” Lucia clucked her tongue. “She’s been through so much in her five years. That mother of hers.” She made a sour face. “Dragging a baby, a toddler, to nightclubs and afterparties, like a toy poodle in a pocketbook. When we got her, the child was sleeping all day and staying up all night. Like a vampire!”
    “How long has she lived here?”
    “Going on a year. She’s on a regular schedule now, thankfully. But that’s not the worst of it. When Maddy got a little older andless easy to control, her mother would leave her alone night after night to fend for herself. Can you imagine that? A child that young left by herself?”
    “That’s terrible,” I said. “Poor thing.”
    “When Nico brought her here, it was all we could do to get her to trust any of us. She wouldn’t say a word for the longest time, wouldn’t let any of us touch her, except Nico of course, but he’s away so much.”
    “But now she feels more at home here?” I asked.
    Lucia bent to adjust the dishwasher’s controls. “Bridget — her last nanny — drew her out of her shell and helped her to learn English. Now she speaks it all the time. Can you imagine being four years old and coming to live with a father you barely know in a place where nobody speaks your language? It took months, but Bridget helped Maddy become, I don’t know, more like a normal child. She’s an affectionate, funny kid. She can talk your ear off.”
    “She must miss Bridget.” Maddy would have to get used to me, a whole new person in her life. I suspected the transition wouldn’t be easy.
    “Maddy cried every night for a week,” Lucia said. “She still asks about her. I’ve been minding her as best I can, but there’s so much to take care of around here. I’ve only been able to watch Maddy with half an eye. I’m so glad you’re here now.”
    I nodded. It sounded as though Maddy was in real need of consistency and love. It would be my job to give her those things. She would need to feel like the center of someone’s world, even if that someone was hired help. I knew what it felt like to be on theperiphery, to feel unsafe and uncertain. But then a question occurred to me. “Why did Bridget leave?”
    Something changed in Lucia’s voice. “Personal reasons.” She wiped her hands on a dishcloth. “Now I’ll show you the rest of the house.”

CHAPTER 3
    Lucia walked me through the house, pointing out objects of interest — a room with a Steinway and a row of guitars where Nico Rathburn did his songwriting; a workout room full of weight machines; a hallway decorated with about forty gold and platinum records; Madeline’s room, done up in every imaginable shade of pink. When the tour ended, I still doubted I’d be able to find my way from one end of the building to the other. Though the decor looked expensive, the place was less flashy than I’d expected and full of cozy spots, including, to my surprise, a well-stocked library with shelves so high a ladder was needed to reach them.
What kind of books would a rock star read?
I wondered.
    “Nico won’t mind if you borrow his books, as long as you return them,” Lucia said, as if reading my mind.
    “Am I allowed to use any of these rooms?”
    She turned to shut the