"Come, ma chere," Uncle Gaston said, distracting her fixed dark eyes from Ginny Novak who was laughing gaily into the slender handsome face of her husband. "It's time we reviewed this assemblage of social leeches, eh?"

Sometime earlier in the evening, Madeleine had fastened a perpetual little smile to her delicate-featured, oval face. She offered it to him in answer as the emperor maneuvered her about the luxurious room, always holding to her hand, introducing her to new guests as his Madeleine, "… wife of that adopted nephew of mine. Magnificent, isn't she? Sometimes, I wonder if the boy realizes how lucky he is…"

After awhile, Madeleine no longer blushed at his syrupy compliments before others. It was natural that these praises should react upon her ego, never in her poor existence having known such flattery, but she hardly felt parallel to them and she was pleased when other topics dominated the conversations, especially politics and more worldly subjects in which she was not expected to be versed. It gave her the opportunity to look intelligent with pretended interest while her mind actually wandered on many planes.

Sometimes, she could not believe this new, luxurious life she had become a part of and she would have to pinch herself to know that it was real. Then the lump of near-ultimate happiness would rise into her throat, but always followed by the little tears of pain as thoughts of her tiny Igat would rush to mind. Her shame… her child… her dreaded secret… Dear God, how she longed to hold the beloved little creature in her arms… to cuddle her… to mother her… her own precious Igat. What would all of these people think of her if they knew? What would Uncle Gaston say? But more important than all, what would Antoine believe of her, then? Oh God, she dare not even think of that; she loved him so.

Now, automatically, she let her eyes search the room until they found him again, and the little lump of near-happiness arose in her throat.