A Meeting With Madama
- Lizzie Rose wants to meet the mysterious Madama already, but the house servants tell the children that they cannot see her yet because she is not doing well; they must be quiet so as not to disturb her while she's resting.
- So, Lizzie Rose and Parsefall end up spending a lot of their time rehearsing puppet shows in Parsefall's room.
- Four days after their arrival, Lizzie Rose and Parsefall are finally summoned to Madama's room. They're both nervous and excited about it.
- When they get there, Ruby comes into the room and jumps onto Madama, who is a remarkably ugly woman. Lizzie Rose is horrified, but the woman seems to adore Ruby.
- Immediately, Madama asks about Grisini, and Lizzie Rose has to tell her all about how he fell down the stairs and they now think he's dead. She also admits to reading his mail without permission.
- Parsefall cuts to the chase and asks the woman if she really intends to give them her money. She looks at his hand and is fascinated by the missing finger, and when she grabs his hand and reads his palm lines, she says that she can see he's a thief.
- Then, she asks Lizzie Rose about the fur coat she's wearing and accuses her of being a thief, too. She also insults the way that Lizzie Rose was dressed before, which isn't very nice.
- She tells the children that tomorrow is Christmas Eve and she wants them to have nice presents from her because she's just so generous. Then, she tells them they can look around her room and take anything they want—anything at all.
- The children are confused and a little bit self-conscious. Lizzie Rose tries on an emerald necklace but then takes it off, feeling strange about taking something so valuable.
- Then, Madama pulls out the real treasure—her phoenix-stone necklace. She tells them it's magical and she wants them to have it, but they'll have to steal it in order to get its powers.
- Lizzie Rose tells her that they're not thieves at all, but Parsefall looks intrigued. Then, Madama tells them to come back tomorrow evening to tell her what they want for their Christmas presents.