"Sit down, my dear", Mrs. Pugh said straight away, pulling Grace into a wooden chair. "Tell me everything." The older woman looked at her with a serious expression yet there was a little glint in her eye.

Grace looked down at her hands crossed in front of herself on the table. "I…I've been feeling this way for weeks now, perhaps even months. I don't know exactly when it started, but oh Mrs. Pugh, I feel so peculiar when I'm around him. Like he has me bewitched or something. I never used to feel that way about Mr. Warbucks, or about anyone but lately something…something's changed. I don't know if it's him or if it's me and my perception of him but sometimes he makes me simply weak", Grace brought her hand to her mouth, stunned by her own admission.

Mrs. Pugh's eyes widened, her lips pursed tightly with the effort of trying not to break out into a huge grin. "Well, you must tell him all of this."

Grace sat back in panic. "Oh but I can't! What if he doesn't feel anything remotely the same for me? What if he becomes angry at me for breaking the agreement we had about the terms of our marriage? And what if it affects my relationship with Annie? I couldn't do anything to jeopardize that, I just couldn't. I can't do anything that might hurt her, Mrs. Pugh. I'm her Mother and I must protect her."

Mrs. Pugh took Grace's hands in her own. "You have done so many tremendous things for that child. At what point are you going to do something because it's what's right for you?" Mrs. Pugh asked her seriously.

"You warned me this could happen, didn't you?" Grace blushed, looking helplessly at Mrs. Pugh. "But I truly never thought that I would feel this way about Mr. Warbucks. I mean I admired him and respected him but I always thought if I were going to fall in love with someone then that person would be gentle and tender and sweet and kind." She blinked slowly in realization. "Well actually, I suppose he has become all of those things, hasn't he? Annie has brought all those wonderful attributes out in him. It is she who's made me love him", Grace became tearful at the thought.

Mrs. Pugh herself became teary, and gave Grace a watery smile. "Now, you know I've been working for Mr. Warbucks a very long time, and I have seen with my own two eyes what Annie has done for him, but I have also seen everything you've done as well. Credit where credit is due, my dear. Perhaps he's become so buoyant because he also has such a wonderful wife. Hmm?"

Grace sighed deeply, she was grateful to Mrs. Pugh for her kind words but still in a state of turmoil. "How do I express to him what I'm feeling? What if it's not what he wants to hear?"

"If you're really worried about it, then simply show him how you're feeling in small, indirect ways. Be overly attentive, compliment his ties, do things to make him feel good and appreciated. He's an intelligent man, I don't think it'll take him long to realize what your intentions are", Mrs. Pugh wisely told her.

Grace's brow furrowed. "But I've been doing all of that for years."

Mrs. Pugh couldn't stop the snort that came out of her nose as she looked at Grace knowingly.

The younger woman buried her face in her hands with a groan. "Oh, I've been so naive. I swear I didn't know what I was feeling", she cried.

The cook chuckled. "Never mind that the rest of us did."

Grace lowered her hands and looked at Mrs. Pugh with her eyes wide. "What?!"

"And if you weren't aware of your own feelings, what makes you think you can judge how Mr. Warbucks feels? Just listen to me when I say I don't think you should have a moment's hesitation or doubt about it." Mrs. Pugh gave her a confident smile and Grace couldn't help but smile back.

"Thank you Mrs. Pugh", she squeezed her friend's hand. It didn't matter that Grace was now technically her employer. The women would always be friends first, and very dear ones at that.

Grace stood up from the table and wiped her weepy eyes on the sleeve of her medieval Queen's costume which she was still wearing. "I'd better get back to Annie. She'll be wondering what's kept me."

"I'll be in with your lunch in just a jiffy", Mrs. Pugh told her, returning to her bench.

Grace smiled at her in gratitude and care. She walked out of the kitchen feeling much more relieved and reassured about her new-found feelings for the man to whom she was married.

The following day, Oliver took Annie to Washington D.C for a meeting with President Roosevelt. Both of them had become an integral part in the foundation and integration of the New Deal which was shaping up to be quite a revolution for America.

Their outing meant that Grace had the morning at home to think about her husband and try to formulate a plan to show her interest to him in a gradual but assertive way. She wasn't a natural flirt by any means, but she could try and up the charm when he was around. She didn't want to come across too strong though, or make him feel harassed. Oh, she was overthinking this…

"Hi Mommy!" Grace spun around quickly at her daughter's voice.

"Hi sweetheart. How was your day? How was the President?"

"Frighteningly optimistic as always", Oliver answered, trailing into the room behind Annie.

"Oh you mean compared to your own cheery outlook?" Grace deliberately teased him with a smile and earned a playful glare in response.

"I am a realist, Grace. And because of that, I gain the most accurate results."

"Well, President Roosevelt is very fortunate to have you on hand then, isn't he?" She batted her eyelids at her husband, who offered her a surprised but warm smile.

"Both of you, I mean", Grace beamed down at Annie as well.

"Ha. Those two together in a room. Boy, oh boy, you could cut the enthusiasm with a knife", Oliver said drolly and Grace laughed which made him smile again, which in turn made her face flush.

She was painfully self-aware of herself and her reactions to him now. Surely he could see right through her? Surely he had figured out by now how besotted she was with him?

"Annie, why don't you go upstairs and take your bath? You'll need one after the flight we had", Oliver suggested to his daughter.

"Yes Daddy", Annie answered him in agreement.

"Good girl. Ask Mrs. Greer to help you. I think she's up there with the maids right now", Grace said.

"OK", Annie smiled pleasantly at her Mother before turning and skipping happily up the stairs.

"We sure are lucky with that kid, aren't we? She's a good girl", Oliver smiled wistfully, watching their daughter make her way upstairs.

"Yes, we are certainly very blessed", Grace murmured emotively. She turned her head back around to him and saw that Oliver was rubbing the back of his neck. "Are you in pain?" She asked, feeling concerned for him.

"Just a little stiff from the airplane." He winced as his own fingers dug into a particularly tight spot.

Grace balled her fists at her sides, resisting the urge to reach out and rub his neck.

He turned to look at her, a mixture of joy and sadness written on his face. "You know, watching her today with President Roosevelt, she made me so proud. He's so good with her too, and it's quite evident how much she admires him", he wrinkled his nose. "I suppose it does make me a little envious."

Grace felt a pang in her heart for him. "Oh Oliver, she admires you too, just as much. You're her Father. No man will ever be as special to her as you are. Others may come into her life who she'll look up to and maybe even love, but you will always be her number one."

She wrapped her hand around his upper arm and then instantly regretted doing so due to how intoxicatingly warm his skin felt beneath the thin material of his shirt. Her heart hammered in her chest as he smiled gently at her and said, "thank you, Grace." With all of her inner strength, she dropped her hand again.

Oliver's expression brightened significantly. He grinned at her. "You know what? I think we should do something really special for her."

Grace grinned back at him for his excitement, though she had to chuckle at his sentiment. "We do special things for her every day!"

"I know, but something really special. Something real swell…A party!" His eyes lit up as the idea came to him.

"A fourth of July party!" Grace suggested exuberantly,

"Grace, that's perfect!" He took her by the arms and she laughed giddily.

"Will you arrange it? I'm happy to have some input but you're so much better at these things than I am", he said earnestly and Grace blushed at the compliment.

"Of course, I'll be happy to", she told him gladly. "Perhaps we can share ideas tonight after Annie's gone to bed?"

"Ah, actually, do you mind if we make it tomorrow night? I um…", Oliver chuckled boyishly. "I've been invited to a private screening of a film tonight, kinda silly really but it's being hosted by Frank Capra, whose films I do rather enjoy."

"Oh yes, I know. Well, that's terribly exciting. Is it a new picture of his?" Grace inquired interestedly.

Oliver grinned sheepishly. "Actually no, it's not his picture at all. As a matter of fact it's a European film which has been banned here in America and several other countries as well. I don't know why, but Mr. Capra says it's awfully good and it's a crying shame the American public can't see it."

"Well, it sounds very intriguing. I'm sure you'll have a marvelous time", she said encouragingly.

"Yes", Oliver agreed with her. He held his hand out to her. "You could come along, if you like", he suggested.

"Oh no", Grace declined, however grateful she was for the invitation. "It sounds like it'll be a grand old night for you fellas but I'd feel quite out of place."

"You shouldn't. There'll be other women there, other wives."

Grace bit her bottom lip. It did sound like a very fun and entertaining evening, but she still wasn't sure about how she would fit in.

"I'd like it if you came. I'd love for Mr. Capra to meet you", he told her somewhat shyly, setting Grace's heart alight.

"Well then, yes I'd love to come", she beamed happily at him.

"Excellent", he replied with his own charming smile.

They had been to many social events together as a couple, but it felt so different to Grace now that she was aware of her feelings for him. When they came together that evening, after Annie had been put to bed and each of them had gotten dressed into their finery, Grace could feel butterflies in her stomach as she met him at the door and asked him, "Do I look alright?" To which he responded, "You look lovely."

They arrived at the Roxy and Oliver proudly introduced Grace to Mr. Capra. The two men spoke for a while, sharing stories of their lives which were quite similar, having both come from impoverished backgrounds before making successful careers for themselves.

Grace listened to them speak with a newfound admiration and affection for her husband. She was unbelievably proud of him, and incredibly proud to be his wife.

They mingled and drank champagne until it was time for the movie to begin. They migrated into the cinema and Capra gave a short speech and introduction to the film they were about to see which had been directed by Czech director Gustav Machatý.

The movie opened with an image of the exquisite face of Hedy Lamarr, overlapped with the title of the film "Ekstase".

The story began with a somewhat comical and sweet scene of a newly-wedded couple trying to enter their home, fumbling with keys and the groom carrying the bride sort of awkwardly into the house. The small audience in the theater chuckled and were enchanted by what they saw on the screen.

As the story went on, the subject of it started to hit a little close to home for Oliver and Grace. The couple had married, yet there was little romance between them, and hardly any affection.

It made Oliver feel quite uncomfortable in fact, especially when the newly-wedded bride was shown leaving her husband and her loveless marriage behind and taking a young and attractive lover.

He couldn't help all of the insecurities it stirred up in him.

When the actress appeared nude on the screen before them, there was a collective gasp from the audience. It became apparent then why the film had not been allowed to be shown to most audiences.

Oliver didn't really want to gawk, but he couldn't pull his eyes away from the screen. Grace meanwhile, watched on in disbelief, turning her head to her husband a couple of times and feeling a little perturbed at his fixation. She didn't suppose she could blame him, however. He was a man, after all, and the actress was extraordinarily beautiful.

From the moment the charming young rogue made his appearance and tossed the silk slip to the naked woman hiding in the bushes, the chemistry and attraction between the two characters was obvious to everyone watching.

The woman became injured and her handsome male counterpart carried her valiantly back to his home where he cared for her…in more ways than one.

When the couple found solace in each other's arms, no one was surprised. However, everyone was stunned and quite scandalized when the pair fell into bed together and the viewers discovered that the nudity from earlier in the film was only part of the reason it had been banned in so many places.

Oliver, Grace and everyone else there froze in place, watching as the screen showed Hedy Lamarr's character's face contorting in agonizing bliss. When the character bit down on her knuckle then ran her hands over her face, depicting the pinnacle of her pleasure being reached, Grace pressed her hand to her chest, barely able to breathe for the shock she was feeling - shock, and some other sensation which was quite foreign to her.

The rest of the film was decidedly less salacious. The former husband re-appeared, only to shoot himself in the third act, and in the end, the female lover decided she could not go on with the male lover and abandoned him on a train.

There was a slow round of rather stunned applause when the movie ended and everyone got up out of their seats, congregating in the foyer again where they chatted about the cinematography of the film - nearly all of them avoiding talking about the actual contents of it.

The car ride home was filled mostly with strained silence between Grace and Oliver, except for one moment when Oliver cleared his throat and glanced Grace's way before quickly returning his eyes to the road.

"What did you think of the picture?"

Grace raised her eyebrows in surprise that he even wished to discuss it. It had been awkward enough to sit through it with him the first time.

"Well, it was certainly very um…progressive, wasn't it?" She replied tensely.

A puff of amusement fell out of Oliver's mouth. "That's a good word for it."

Neither of them had very much to say until they reached home.

All of the staff had gone to bed already so the house was very quiet as they walked in through the front and made their way to the office where Oliver uncorked his brandy and offered a glass to Grace, which she declined.

She knew she had to tell him what she'd been feeling, whether directly or indirectly, and if she was going to do that, she needed a clear head.

"You know", she began, leaning nervously against his desk. "I don't think that there was all that much to get upset about in that movie. I mean, I understand how some might deem it inappropriate, especially for a younger audience, but well, I actually found it to be quite beautiful."

"Beautiful?" Her husband swallowed a drop of brandy and looked at her in fascination.

"Yes", she nodded softly. "I mean perhaps it's not something for the whole world to see but I certainly don't think there's anything wrong with that kind of thing happening in one's own home. Do you?"

"Um…well, no", Oliver stammered, actually not really sure how he felt about it. It wasn't exactly something that was ever spoken about in any of his circles. He had no friends with whom he discussed the facts of life, or women or…anything you did with them.

He'd had a couple of brief encounters with women in his younger adult years, but that had been a very long time ago, and things had been quite different then, for him and for the world.

Grace continued to speak, wringing her hands together anxiously. "As a matter of fact, I um…I've been thinking about my own self and what I need and want in my life, and well, I…I don't think it's an unreasonable thing for a woman, f-for a person to have a desire for some kind of…intimacy. In fact, I believe it might be quite crucial for some." She paused and dared herself to look at him.

"I see", he croaked, his brow furrowed in consternation.

Of course, what Grace was trying to do, in the most subtle and dignified way, was to express to Oliver her wish and intent to initiate intimacy between them as a couple.

To Oliver's mind however, they had just seen a movie in which a woman, who is unhappy in her loveless marriage, runs off and finds someone with whom she can share a passionate encounter, and of course, the older husband is left in all his misery until he can finally take no more, and kills himself. All Oliver could deduce was that Grace was suggesting a similar scenario to him. He didn't think she was so callous to want him dead, but he did think she had been awakened by the film, enlightened to other possibilities than just their passion-less monogamy.

"Have you not had similar thoughts of your own?" Grace asked him tentatively, to which Oliver answered quickly and coldly, "No."

"Oh", Grace bowed her head, discouraged by his blunt reply.

He would never have suggested such a thing, for fear of upsetting her. He was as loyal as a husband could be, and he never intended to be anything less. He was quite astounded that his wife had even opened up the conversation. He would never have thought this to be in Grace's character.

He'd known that the day would inevitably come when his wife would begin to crave that affection and tenderness for herself. And not just the kind she received from their daughter, but the romantic, passionate kind.

He had hoped that the care and companionship he'd been showing her more and more of late might be enough for her to be happy, but it seemed it wasn't.

Oliver sighed deeply. "I know it's not reasonable for me to expect that someone so young and alluring as you shouldn't wish to explore those um…aspects of life." He said awkwardly and begrudgingly.

Grace blushed at him calling her alluring.

"As long as you were discreet about it, I suppose I could be also", Oliver muttered, looking quite troubled.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly go shouting it from the rooftops", Grace laughed nervously.

He shook his head. "Well of course you wouldn't. What I mean is, it would be incredibly embarrassing for me, for both of us really, and potentially damaging to not only our reputations but the company's as well if word got out about it. So I would ask you to please be extremely cautious and keep it well under wraps."

Grace's face fell. What was he trying to tell her? That he didn't want to be thought of as having that kind of relationship with her? Even though she was his wife? What did it say about his feelings towards her if he couldn't stand the fact that people might know they had an intimate relationship?

"What do you mean?" She questioned him shakily, sure she must be misinterpreting what he was telling her.

Oliver frowned deeply at her. "I don't know how I could be any clearer, Grace. If you're going to go and have any…extra-marital relations", he grimaced, "I'm requesting that you ensure they are kept private."

Grace's jaw dropped. She was stunned and quite frankly disgusted that he could even think that's what she was trying to suggest here. "You think I want to have an affair?" She hissed at him.

He chuckled bitterly. "Well, it wouldn't really be an affair, would it Grace? After all, you and I are only married on paper."

Grace felt her face turn red and her eyes sting with tears. "I can't believe you think that's what I'm telling you. That you think that's what I want. What do you take me for Oliver, some kind of hussy?"

Oliver blinked at her in shock. He was already feeling quite hurt and now he was being attacked as well? "No, I would never call you that. As I said, it's a perfectly reasonable thing for a young woman to want to seek some kind of…physical intimacy", his top lip curled sourly.

"But that's not…ugh", Grace shivered, her blood running cold at the thought of his presumption. How could he think that of her? She thought he knew her better. Clearly he didn't know her at all, and clearly, from his immediate shutdown response, he wasn't interested in getting to know her any better either.

She shook her head at him, her heart clenching in despair. "Please just forget this entire conversation ever took place. I've obviously made a mistake, I'm sorry. I…I can't talk to you about this anymore. I'm so humiliated." She ran out of his office, feeling ashamed, unworthy, undesirable, and worst of all, unloved.

Oliver watched her go, feeling quite shell-shocked and utterly confused by what had just taken place.