She could only hear how Victoria spoke to a waiter, to a stranger, to a blind woman she believed had nothing at all to offer her.

And on that evidence, undistracted by the glitter, Grace had formed her judgment.

Victoria’s face reddened.

“Are you judging me?” “I’m learning who you are,” Grace said.

And the silence that followed was brutal.

Chapter 3 — The Cane

Three years earlier, Grace had lost her sight, after a rare illness that began with a severe fever and eventually damaged both of her optic nerves.

Her family had consulted specialists in New York, in Boston, even in clinics across Europe.