Paul chuckled. "She likes you, Martin. Looks like you'll have to keep her."

"That depends on what her mother wants," Martin replied.

An awkward silence followed. Martin looked at Sasha with longing in his eyes, but she couldn't return his gaze. After a moment, he gave a resolute sigh.

"Well, I suppose we should go ahead and eat before the food gets cold," Zoya said at last. Most of those present began to eat, although none of them had much of an appetite.

It was fortunate that Jules, Maria, and their large brood, which now included one-year-old Anton, were present, as with the antics of the little ones, none of the guests could keep a straight face for very long. Nicholas had also brought Anne Frank, who was intrigued by her brother-in-law's older brother.

"I can't wait to talk to him!" she exclaimed.

"I don't think he's in much of a mood for talking right now," Nicholas replied.

"Oh, he'll get over it! I can't begin to tell you how many admirers I used to have, and how disappointed they always were when I told them I only wanted to be friends. Did I ever tell you about Hello Silberberg?"

"Um...I don't remember." Nicholas was desperate to change the subject.

"He was my friend Wilma's cousin, and I met him right before we had to leave Amsterdam. He was Margot's age, but he liked me."

"Well, I'm sorry I interrupted your budding romance."

"Oh, don't be silly! To me, he was just a friend."

"But I was only thirteen when we met in person." Something occurred to him which made his heart begin to pound faster. "Tell me something, Anne."

"What?"

"Do you like me for myself, or just because my grandfather used to be the Tsar?"

"Oh, that's right! He was, wasn't he! I'd completely forgotten!"

Nicholas was dizzy with relief.

"You have such a large family!" Sasha exclaimed, watching Denis and Sara chase one another around the living room.

Maria laughed. "When I was younger, I wrote in my diary that I wanted to marry a Russian soldier and have twenty children. Nastya stole it and read it and never stopped teasing me about it." A shadow fell across her face. "Talking about the old days always makes me feel so nostalgic."

"Mama used to talk about them a lot, too. You always meant so much to her. I think she grieved more for you than for all the others put together."

"My dearest Zoya." Maria smiled and squeezed the young woman's hand. "Well, it all came out all right in the end, didn't it?"

Observing her daughter in conversation with her favorite cousin, Zoya couldn't believe the change that had come over Sasha. It was as if her brief stay in Germany had transformed her.

She also observed that from what she could tell about him so far, Martin was probably just about as much the polar opposite of Freddie as he could be.

Later in the day, Anne did get the chance to speak with him. "Why didn't Margot come with you? Mama and Papa would have loved to see her again."

"She was feeling under the weather and didn't want to pass her illness on to everyone else."

"Please give her my love."

"Of course I will."

Gradually, the guests departed until only Paul, Zoya, Matthew, Martin, and Sasha remained. "You will stay the night, won't you?" Zoya asked Martin.

"The use of your sofa would be appreciated."

"Nonsense! There's plenty of room in Matthew's bedroom."

"Only if you're sure it won't be an imposition."

"If it would be I wouldn't have mentioned it."

Sasha was preparing for bed in the spare bedroom that night when she heard a gentle rap on the door. She opened it to see Martin standing there. "I just wanted to say good-night." He turned to leave, and she watched his retreating back until she could stand it no longer.

"Martin?"

He wheeled around, eyebrows raised, mouth agape, and took a few steps in her direction.

"What's wrong? You've hardly said a word to me at all since we got here!"

He cleared his throat, shuffling his feet. "Well, I just thought that since...you know..."

"Don't you like me anymore?" He saw that there were tears in her eyes.

"I care for you a great deal, Sasha, and I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I shouldn't have put you on the spot in front of the others."

"What you said made me very happy."

"Then why did you look away?"

She groaned. "Oh, Martin, what kind of wife could I be to you in this wheelchair? I don't even know if I can still...you know..." She blushed a deep red and stared down at her hands.

"I don't see any reason why you couldn't, and likely it's far overrated, anyway."

She gasped, shocked. "You mean you never..."

He burst out laughing at the expression on her face.

"But don't you want children? I don't know whether I can still have them or not."

"More children would be nice, but even if it never were to happen, we'd still have Marina, and she's a beautiful baby, the prettiest little girl I've ever met." He chuckled. "I'm afraid she's already stolen my heart."

Tears were flowing freely down Sasha's face now. "You could...love her? Even though she's not your own?"

"How could I not love her?"

Martin and Sasha returned to Germany with Marina the following day, and were married in the church at which Martin served as a deacon a few weeks later. Spring became summer, and one hot July afternoon, Peter arrived home all smiles. "Come with me," he urged Margot, taking her hand and leading her toward the door.

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise!"

They got into the car, and he drove for about ten minutes, then pulled up in front of a charming little cottage. It was white, and the door was trimmed in brown. The roof was thatched and angled sharply upwards, and the front yard was bordered by a raised flower bed made of rocks of different sizes.

Peter stepped beside Margot and took her hand. "Well, what do you think?"

"It's lovely! Is it truly ours?"

"I just made the down payment on it today."

"Oh, Peter!" Thrilled, she hugged and kissed him as he laughed, then stepped back and gazed into his eyes. "Just in time, too." She smiled as she took his hand and placed it on her abdomen.

He gasped. "Are you, really?"

"I just found out today. I was waiting for the perfect time to tell you.'

He laughed in pure joy as he picked her up and spun her around, then very gently set her back down.