Amelie walked across the sitting room to the chaise lounge. She noticed the stain on it, but sat there anyway, her lips tightening. "Oh, it ought to be clear enough," she said. "After all, most of the world belongs to him, and his antediluvian friends. All we have of it is little ghettos and caravan routes. We could civilize the whole world again, if we were allowed to. We could have hot water, and meals three times a day, and books, and art, and decent clothes, and roads, and rules ... and families , too." Suddenly she burst into tears.