THIRTY-ONE
They swept her up, one on each side, one on each arm. For a breathless moment, Sophia thought she’d been found out, discovered. Her head flipped back and forth, spinning on her spine. She closed her eyes in recognition and relief.
“We have discovered a delicacy that you simply must try.” Nora giggled insouciantly as if nothing were amiss. She handed her friend a laced-edged square of pale cyan linen and, with a low whisper, instructed Sophia to use it. “Wipe your face, Sophia, you’re covered with perspiration.”
Sophia took the cloth, blotting her skin delicately. She looked sidelong at her compatriots, at the apprehension behind their jaunty demeanors.
“I have had three helpings of it already,” Florentina trilled as if she hadn’t heard Nora’s entreaty, though Sophia knew for
