I'd have liked to get GV and NII around a table.... see if GV had much remorse. I think he might but then in that ubiquitous gruff fashion I don't think he'd make much mention of it, at least not first.
For a dinner strictly a deu, Miechen would be top of my list. I'd ask who she thought was a shyster, which characterswere involved in scandals or in intrigues, or who she felt was was truly brilliant. I'd love to hear how she felt about her nephew and his wife and what she felt about their mistrust, if she cared at all. Ask her what her dreams for her children were and see whether see was as driven as she is made out to be. Perhaps over dessert she could tell me about her dealings with Cartier and Faberge, who she preferred and why....Pick over her story, which I believe is yet to be told fully.
MF would be my second choice; I'd ask about her first engagement, which occasions featured her favourite Balls...her thoughts on her daughter in law, her hopes for her daughters, and then the rest of the tribe... Jewels, gowns, Palaces, and then about her life in exile. A fascinating woman who had so much and yet remained undiminished when it was all taken away.
