Summary

Book One: X opens as Thisbe helps Sylvie prepare for her meeting with Juliette. Thirty years prior, Juliette’s father forbade Juliette from talking about marriage with Sylvie, believing that her own marriage to Bayard was worse than her high-born status. Sylvie greets Juliette and feels that she is a calm and confident woman that would have been good for Lucien. Eventually, Juliette admits that Jane is not fit to be married. Thisbe watches as they drink to their good fortune as a plantation mistress and Juliette wishes Jane had outgrown her more masculine pursuits. Sylvie thinks Jane will do well in France, but Jane threatened to kill herself if she lost her horse. Sylvie invites Jane into her home and is confident she can change her. Juliette makes plans with Lucien and both agree that their time with each...