Summary

Chapter 28 takes place December 14, 1910; New York, New York. Belle is at the opening of the Century Theatre. She is very drunk and a gentleman asks if she is alright. She knows him but cannot remember his name. She is indifferent about the social rules “because nothing could be worse than the way I already feel” (218). She is wracked with guilt and pain over the abortion. The gentleman insists on sending her home in his carriage. She asks if he is going to go home with her but he merely says she should tell Pierpont hello for him. She becomes slightly frantic, grabs his hand, and asks “Is my dark blood showing through?” (219). He does not comment but sends the carriage on its way. At home, she bumps into a table, alerting Genevieve that she has returned. Genevieve knows Belle is different since her...