Summary

Chapter 41 occurs in Eliza’s perspective in 1919, having just arrived in Paris. She goes to the apartment herself and Henry had purchased after their wedding. The caretaker’s wife, Madame Solange, tells Eliza about a woman, “‘a beggar, perhaps,’” who had come to the apartment (328). Eliza instructs Madame Solange to offer the woman “‘every comfort’” if she returns, as it could be Sofya, or someone who has news of her (329).

Eliza searches for Merrill at the Grand Palais, “where the wounded had been tended since shortly after the war began” (329). She learns from a nurse that the American soldiers had been transferred from the hospital weeks ago, and that searching for Merrill would be “‘looking for a needle in a haystack’” (330). Eliza visits the American Hospital in Neuilly. A nurse confirms that Merrill is recovering on the facilities, but that visiting hours are...