Madame Johnson was not in a happy state of mind. Although she had long known that her son had a mind of his own, clearly two years as an N.C.O. had fostered an independence she would not have believed.

Her mood had not improved when during a conversation with some of her friends the topic of conversation had turned to General Georges Matthieu. There were some things Dominique should know; after all, the two of you had been so close - we wondered why you didn't get engaged. But I suppose he had an eye for the ladies back then as well. Well my dear, he's still chasing them, so they say. Sopranos from the Comedie Francaise, and that Englishwoman, Dianne some name starting with D.

And so it was, that when she received an invitation to join him for dinner, he became the target of her pent-up frustration.

When Dominique had reduced herself to tears, Georges looked at her. "Dominique, obviously I haven't been chasing anything since that air raid. The only women I've visited were young Marie and her mother. The Comedie Francaise? That would be Angelique. Her father died saving my life in Algeria. I've kept an eye on her and opened a few doors where I could. She's an excellent soprano, you must go hear her some day. As for Dianne, she was chasing me, and without any success. I've heard she's given up and is engaged to an English Colonel. I admit I have had women friends, but remember, until a couple of weeks ago, the only woman I have ever cared about was married and in Canada. The first thing I did when I saw her again was to propose."

"But Georges, what am I to do? Jean thinks that I'm responsible for Marie breaking off the engagement. He's forbiddden me to go see her to try to straighten things out. And he's not one bit pleased about our engagement."

"Dominique, you must try to understand that Jean is no longer a boy. He is a man, a soldier, and a very good one. He makes decisions not only for himself, but for his men. And he is a Canadian, for all that he is half French. You can return to France - you have never really left it. He must make his own choices. He chose to join the Canadian Army. He may choose to return to Canada. If he decides to stay in France, it will be for Marie, and only for her. So you must go see Marie, but you will have to change your approach.

Remember, that girl has lost a mother, brother, and fiance in this war. Her home has been destroyed and her father was wounded. She has been engaged to a soldier who could be killed at any time. She comes from humble roots, and fears being snubbed. So you must put aside your steamroller approach to people. Accept that you cannot control - you are seeing that with your son. Instead you must persuade. You may be able to charm, but that will be less effective on Marie. You must win her over. And you only have two things in common. You are both women, and you both love the same boy.

As to his disapproval of our engagement, does it occur to you that Jean loved his father as well as loving you? I proposed because I wanted to be sure this time, and not miss a second chance that Heaven afforded me. And I didn't know how badly I was wounded. You know as well as I that there can be no wedding until your mourning is finished, and hopefully this war as well. Jean has lost a father, believes he has lost his fiancee, and is in the middle of a war you cannot comprehend. Do you wonder that he is out of sorts?"