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have secrets. Vile and unclean thoughts, filling my head and leading me to foolish ideas.”
    “Surely not.” Marie exclaimed.
    The baroness nodded to herself. “Sophie knows, and now you. Tonight, at last, I have been revealed.”
    “Madame,” Marie said. “I’m afraid I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.”
    That, though, was a lie. The baroness’s sudden bashfulness, the insinuations and the way she talked about Sophie pointed only to one thing. Marie wanted to run from the room, but fascination and nervousness held her in place. Part of her was still in stark disbelief that she was having this conversation with anyone, especially a baroness.
    “Oh, I am sure that you understand.” The baroness closed her eyes and turned her head away from Marie. “You saw Sophie leave, did you not?”
    “I did,” Marie admitted.
    “And a clever woman like you,” the baroness said, “can draw her own conclusions. Please,” she added. “Be honest. I deserve that much.”
    Marie desperately wanted to console the miserable woman before her. And, underneath her worry and concern, she wanted to touch the baroness for other reasons. Caught between the many urges, Marie sat still. “You have feelings for women,” Marie whispered. “Is that what my lady means?”
    “Yes,” the baroness replied quietly. “I do. But it is not my fault.”
    “Of course not.” Marie leaned forward before she could stop herself; the baroness was far so beautiful to suffer. She longed to reach out and hold the other woman, but that would be going too far.
    The baroness made a pained face. “As you’ve seen,” she said, “Sophie is an extraordinary woman.”
    “I’m not sure – ” Marie said, feeling her cheeks start to burn.
    “Ah.” The baroness smiled and shook her head ruefully. “You must have noticed. Her eyes, her lips, her poise. Well, all of her. An astonishing creature.”
    “Perhaps,” Marie admitted with a choked voice. Her face was about to burst into flames.
    “But she rejected me,” the baroness said softly. “All I asked for was a single kiss, and she laughed at me. She called me twisted and wrong.” The baroness turned away again. “I am sorry,” she said hurriedly. “I forget myself.”
    “ Non, Madame .” Marie moved closer. The temptation to reach out and comfort the baroness was becoming irresistible. “There is no reason to apologize,” Marie insisted. She watched a string of shimmering bubbles travel down the baroness’s slender neck. Like pearls down an ivory pillar, sliding towards a valley of –
     Swallowing, Marie decided to take the leap. “I understand,” she said. “Fully and completely. Sophie is very beautiful. And so are you.” Eyes wide, she held her breath. She had not planned to say that last part. Even her tongue was betraying her.
    Moments passed while the baroness studied Marie from the corner of her eyes. The wind threw itself at the castle’s walls and rattled the windows. Marie sat still, paralyzed in fear of what might happen next.
    “I don’t believe you,” the baroness snapped, but her voice was weak. She reached out for her glass, sipped from the wine and returned the glass to the sideboard. “I am a wretched creature,” she said quietly. “Depraved and ruined. I understand why no one wants – ” she motioned with her hand at her body under the bubbles. “ – this.”
    Marie barely managed to stop herself from licking her lips. To run her fingers over the baroness’s body would be a luxury beyond belief. Such an idea could keep her awake for nights.
    “I think – you are just as beautiful as Sophie,” Marie said. Her voice was quivering so much she could barely speak. “Even more beautiful, if I may say so.”
    The baroness smiled widely at Marie, who had to hold on to the chair to stay upright. She was walking on very thin ice. Her comments were honest, and she did nothing to hide the emotion behind the words.
    “I think you are trying