Grace is back.’ I know it! I just know it!

But the hope shriveled and died when the door opened and she saw Eunice’s grim face.

“Any word?”

The question was unnecessary. The sad, slow shake of Eunice’s head told Nellie what she already knew. Suddenly she felt exhausted, as if all her energy had been drained off.

She turned to Gia as she came in the door with Victoria. “I can’t go tonight.”

“You must,” Gia said, throwing an arm around her shoulders. “What happened to that British stiff-upper-lip-and-all-that attitude? What would Sir Albert think if you just sat around and moped all night?”

Nellie appreciated what Gia was trying to do, but she truly did not give a damn about what Sir Albert might have thought.

“And what am I going to do with this dress?” Gia went on.

“The dress is yours,” Nellie said morosely. She didn’t have the will to put on a façade.

“Not if we don’t go tonight, it isn’t. I’ll take it back to La Chanson right now unless you promise me we’re going.”

“That’s not fair. I can’t go. Can’t you see that?”

“No, I can’t see that at all. What would Grace think? You know she’d want you to go. “

Would she? Nellie thought about that. Knowing Grace, she would want her to go. Grace was always one for keeping up appearances. No matter how bad you felt inside, you kept up your social obligations. And you never, never made a spectacle of your feelings.

“Do it for Grace,” Gia said.

Nellie managed a little smile. “Very well, we shall go, although I can’t guarantee how stiff my upper lip shall be.”

“You’ll do fine.” Gia gave her one last hug, then released her. Victoria was calling from the kitchen, asking her mother to cut an orange for her. Gia hurried off, leaving Nellie alone in the foyer.

How will I do this? It has always been Grace-and-Nellie, Nellie-and-Grace, the two as one, always together. How will I do it without her?

Feeling very old, Nellie started up the stairs to her room.

8

Nellie had neglected to tell her whom the reception was for, and Gia never did find out. She got the impression it was to welcome a new high-ranking official to the Mission.

The affair, while hardly exciting, was not nearly as deadly dull as Gia had expected. The Harley House where it was being held was convenient to the U.N. and a short drive from Sutton Square. Even Nellie seemed to enjoy herself after a while. Only the first fifteen minutes or so were rough on the old woman, for immediately upon her arrival she was surrounded by a score of people asking after Grace and expressing their concern. All were members of that unofficial club of wealthy British citizens living in New York, “the colony within the Colonies.”

Buoyed by the sympathy and encouragement of her fellow Britons, Nellie perked up, drank some champagne, and actually began to laugh. Gia gave herself a pat on the back for refusing to allow her to cancel out tonight. This was her good deed for the day. The year!