“By the way, what’s the deal with that Chinese baby?” he asked.

“Wade spoke to you about her this morning, right? She’s a beautiful, intelligent baby,” Nola replied. “I’m sure there’s some red tape to be cut so we can take her to the States—”

Wade interrupted. “We haven’t had a chance to talk about it.”

She felt her forehead crinkle. Synapses clicked in her head, going nowhere. Wade had had all day to tell her he had been unable to contact the ambassador. Had he knowingly kept this information from her?

“If the Chinese allow this precedent, soon every visiting foreigner will have babies chucked at them, like flying golf balls,” Ashford said.

“I’m planning to adopt her,” Nola said.

“Play it down until things are sorted out.” The ambassador pulled a pipe out of his pocket and waved it at someone behind Nola.

A quiver went through her. “Roberta Fisher is handling the press—”

“My point exactly.” Ashford turned to Wade. “Big-Mouth Roberta is the last person we want working on this. I strongly suggest Nola refrain from giving any interviews or making any statements about this matter.”

“I’ve already taken care of it, Mr. Ambassador,” Wade said.

Nola tossed a glance at her husband. What did he call all the interviews she had already given? “Is there a problem with our keeping the baby?” she asked the ambassador. “After all, it’s amply clear that her mother didn’t—couldn’t—care for her.”

Ambassador Ashford rocked on his feet. His hands spread over his midsection. “Oh, the Chinese want that baby in an orphanage, where she belongs.”

Nola's heart flipped. “An orphanage? It’s out of the question!”

“This creates very bad publicity for China’s abandoned babies crisis,” he replied.

Words swirled around Nola. “This baby wasn’t abandoned,” she responded, her voice shrill. “She was placed in my arms.”

“Hon, you’ve visited an orphanage here.” Wade spoke with exaggerated patience. “The baby will be fine there.”

“That was the official tour.” Nola narrowed her eyes at him in a cue he should get. “It was a showcase institution the Chinese wanted me to see. And even there, you’re talking about a life of hopelessness and loneliness.”

As Ashford accepted a Scotch from a waiter, Nola caught a look he exchanged with his wife.

“Yes. We went together,” Margot said in a breathless rush. “There were toys and murals and attentive caretakers. The children staged a performance for us. Weren’t they adorable, with their black shiny hair and those cute little bangs and button noses and mouths?”

The ice cubes in Ambassador Ashford’s glass clinked.

“Does anyone here stop to think that we are talking about a life—the life of a baby?” Nola cried out. “No! She’ll die there—”