Contessa Marguerite de Alsace gazed from her balcony, considering the gardeners working below. There were so few who would understand her situation, the dire conundrum that haunted her waking moments, even if informed of it; certainly the gardeners, with their straightforward obligations and simple lives, never could. Even Stephan, when he finally arrived to fit the dress, had no stake in her anxiety; he had only a desire for a union that she knew would not be possible, at least not without a greater sacrifice than she was prepared to make.

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