Chapters (50)
- Cover
- Half Title Page
- Books by Elizabeth Camden
- Title Page
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Historical Note
- Questions for Discussion
- In 2021, look for Luke Delacroix’s story in
- About the Author
- Back Ads
- Back Cover
As requested, Caroline had submitted a short list of personal guests along with the lengthy list of official visitors. This was the first time he’d asked about her personal guests.
“Petra Stepanovic is a close friend,” she said carefully. Petra had always been the most daring of her friends, a turban-wearing fifty-year-old widow of a Serbian diplomat who’d traveled the world, had affairs with Russian aristocrats, and perfected the art of holding a slender cigarette holder as she smoked. “Petra and I will be appealing to the first lady for her help supporting a school for immigrant women and girls.”
“She’s from Serbia,” he said. “Why didn’t she return home after her husband died?”
Because Petra’s free-thinking ways were not a good fit for Serbia, but that probably wasn’t what Nathaniel was driving at. Serbia was known as a hotbed for anarchists, and it might be enough to set off his alarm bells.
“She likes the cafés in Washington,” Caroline replied, trying to sound nonchalant. “If you’d like to know if she associates with anarchists, why don’t you just ask?”
“I’m sorry if this line of questioning makes you uncomfortable, but I wouldn’t be doing my job if I ignored this.”
Her jaw tightened as she moved away to stare out at the lawn. She wasn’t angry on Petra’s behalf so much as fearful for her brother. What would Nathaniel say if he knew her twin brother was currently being held in a Cuban prison, suspected of plotting treason against the United States?
Luke’s arrest had been a stunning shock. As always, thinking about him caused a crushing weight of sadness to settle on her chest. This time last summer, she and Luke had been indulging in outdoor picnics and long afternoons sailing on the Potomac. She had been teaching him to play lawn tennis, while he’d been tutoring her in Spanish. How long ago those memories seemed now.
“Petra is seeking funding for a girl’s school,” she said, trying to mask the defensiveness in her voice. “You have nothing to fear from her.”
She retreated into the coolness of the house, unable to bear Nathaniel’s scrutiny any longer. At all costs, she must ensure that he didn’t learn of Luke’s dilemma, or he would boot her from the White House without ceremony.
Five
Caroline was still worried about her tiff with Nathaniel as she headed to afternoon tea with Petra the next day. Despite her Bohemian ways, it was Petra who first suggested the idea of establishing a school as a means of lifting immigrant girls out of grinding poverty and into a respectable profession.