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"She suffered the consequences of unchastity. "
"Fitz, don't be pompous!" Maud laughed. "Do you mean she got pregnant?"
"Keep your voice down, please. You know what the duchess is like. "
"Poor Williams. Who's the father?"
"My dear, do you imagine I asked?"
"No, of course not. I hope he's going to 'stand by her,' as they say. "
"I have no idea. She's a servant, for goodness' sake. "
"You're not normally callous about your servants. "
"One mustn't reward immorality. "
"I liked Williams. She was more intelligent and interesting than most of these society women. "
"Don't be absurd. "
Maud gave up. For some reason, Fitz was pretending he did not care about Williams. But he never liked explaining himself, and it was useless to press him.
Walter came over, balancing a cup and saucer and a plate with cake in one hand. He smiled at Maud, but spoke to Fitz. "You know Churchill, don't you?"
"Little Winston?" said Fitz. "I certainly do. He started out in my party, but switched to the Liberals. I think his heart is still with us Conservatives. "
"Last Friday he had dinner with Albert Ballin. I'd love to know what Ballin had to say. "
"I can enlighten you-Winston has been telling everyone. If there is a war, Ballin said that if Britain will stay out of it, Germany will promise to leave France intact afterward, taking no extra territory-by contrast with last time, when they helped themselves to Alsace and Lorraine. "
"Ah," said Walter with satisfaction. "Thank you. I've been trying to find that out for days. "
"Your embassy doesn't know?"
"This message was intended to bypass normal diplomatic channels, obviously. "
Maud was intrigued. It seemed like a hopeful formula for keeping Britain out of any European war. Perhaps Fitz and Walter would not have to shoot at one another, after all. She said: "How did Winston respond?"
"Noncommittally," said Fitz. "He reported the conversation to the cabinet, but it was not discussed. "
Maud was about to ask indignantly why not when Robert von Ulrich appeared, looking aghast, as if he had just learned of the death of a loved one. "What on earth is the matter with Robert?" Maud said as he bowed to Bea.
He turned to speak to everyone in the room. "Austria has declared war on Serbia," he announced.
For a moment Maud felt as if the world had stopped. No one moved and no one spoke. She stared at Robert's mouth under that curled mustache and willed him to unsay the words. Then the clock on the mantelpiece struck, and a buzz of consternation rose from the men and women in the room.
Tears welled up in Maud's eyes. Walter offered her a neatly folded white linen handkerchief. She said to Robert: "You will have to fight. "
"I certainly will," Robert said. He said it briskly, as if stating the obvious, but he looked scared.
Fitz stood up. "I'd better get back to the Lords and find out what's going on. "
Several others took their leave. In the general hubbub, Walter spoke quietly to Maud. "Albert Ballin's proposal has suddenly become ten times more important. "
Maud thought so too. "Is there anything we can do?"
"I need to know what the British government really thinks of it. "
