“The girl wore a white straw hat with a single pink posy in its band. Its wide brim framed a golden face with indignant eyes a strange, lovely shade of dark blue. Two long braids fell over the front of a white pinafore that had ruffles pointing up on the shoulders…

‘I am Peony Louisa Paternoster Roselyn,’ the demoiselle said in French. ‘You may address me as Mademoiselle Roselyn.’ She raised her chin slightly so she could look at Laurette with lowered lids. ‘What is your name?””

Peony “Pinny” Roselyn was born in New Orleans in 1874. She adores her father, who is playful and indulgent with her, and loves Hortense from a cautious, sometimes concerned distance. In a rare gesture of maternal attention, Hortense taught Pinny her letters by the time she was five, so she already enjoys books. She can sit and read when Mama has one of her headaches, which means everyone has to be quiet and walk on tiptoe.