Chapters 16-18 Summary

Everything is set. The dinner guests are all paired: Dr. Lampert and Sonia Hirsch, Alex Rex and Margot, Boris von Ivanoff and Olga Waldheim. Conversation is lively. Albert watches Margot, beautiful in her black tulle gown with velvet dahlia, smiling defensively as she listens to things she does not understand, but is embarrassed when she stands to greet Dorianna, Rex, and two minor poets. Having only corresponded with Albert, Rex is not sure who the host is, but is hailed as the man who makes two continents laugh, and Albert hopes he is home in Germany for good.

When the dining room doors open, Margot rushes to the front and squeezes in, not realizing there is a set order. At table, she gulps wine and sits erect, staring straight ahead. Axel ignores Dorianna and argues about artistic realism with Baum, who...