Melanthe. Alegretto. I love these character.

Imagine a girl, trusting and unprepared for the vices thrust upon her in a cruel world. Who would she become? How would she survive? The Princess Melanthe is one of the coldest romance novel heroines I've ever read, and an eternal favorite. She's not sweet, though the story hints that once she was. I love that by the end of the story she still isn't sweet, though bits of softness come through here and there when she feels safe. Ultimately, she's learned that showing vulnerability leads to an opening for people to hurt her, and has become calculating in the extreme. 

Ruck is the hero, but Melanthe and her closest friend, Alegretto, are what make For My Lady's Heart by Laura Kinsale one of my all-time favorite books.

Alegretto is androgynous. Feline. Elegant. Clever. A ruthless killer. He's cunning, charming and utterly devoted to himself and oddly, to Melanthe. They are similar creatures, so perhaps this shouldn't be odd, but for someone so completely selfish, I suppose I always wondered what made him crave Melanthe's acceptance and attention. Loneliness, maybe. The recognition of another damaged soul.

I still haven't read Alegretto's novel-- mainly out of fear. He is so completely perfect to me, I almost don't want to see him in his own story. I'm afraid his essence won't be the same.