[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
we going to have the pleasure of your company? Give me half an hour. I ll clean up and be downstairs That s what you told me yesterday. I waved him out of the suite and went in to shower and wash my hair. My cocktail dress was a simple black silk with a short pleated skirt that swung when I moved. My mood was lighter than it had been in days as I stepped into my evening spikes and gave the skirt another shimmy. Page 141 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html It was after seven when I walked down the staircase to the Great Hall. I could see Chapman s thick dark hair amid the thinning pates of the older academics and made my way across the room to join him. Along the route I asked one of the servers for a Dewar s on the rocks and was told that the only Scotches the bar stocked were single malts. He would bring me a Glenrothes. When I approached Mike he was standing with his back to me, facing three enormous panels of tapestry that lined most of the south wall of the Great Hall. He was shoulder to shoulder with a woman in a strapless gown whose skin glowed with the creamiest porcelain texture I d ever seen and whose short platinum hair bounced gently beneath a diamond tiara as her head moved up and down in response to something that Chapman was saying to her. I hovered a foot or two behind them waiting to be glimpsed instead of interrupting the conversation. I never knew Orkney had anything to do with this place but I sure know the story of these things. The hand with the Jameson s pointed up at the wall hangings. Chapman was telling the woman that the Earl of Orkney had been England s first Field Marshal, second in command to the Duke of Marlborough at Blenheim. The huge tapestries celebrated that victory and, as Mike was describing, depicted the arts of war. My curiosity was overwhelming my manners and I circled around Mike s side as my drink was delivered to include myself in their conversation. Cheers. I m glad you could make it, kid. I d like you to meet my duchess. The elegant woman shifted her glass of champagne to her other hand and extended the right one to shake mine, throwing her head back and laughing at Mike s description, introducing herself to me as Jennifer, Lady Turnbull. Enough midnight soaks in my Jacuzzi with fashion magazines made the introduction unnecessary. Her beautiful face and stunning figure had graced as many covers and articles as those of any professional model. And the stories of the American college girl who had married the elderly Lord Turnbull and shortly thereafter inherited his millions had been front-page tabloid news while I was still an adolescent. Jenny s fiancé is the person who underwrites this conference for the Brits every year. That s how come they re here. He s the guy over there, talking to your boyfriend. Lady Turnbull wrapped one of her long thin arms in the crook of Mike s elbow and turned him around to face into the roomful of people. I saw Lord Windlethorne speaking to a man I recognized from the same sort of magazine articles as the British industrialist Bernhard Karl, a fiftyish man with boyish good looks. Your detective and I have been having a marvelous time, Alexandra. He s told me so much about you, I m just fascinated to meet you. Didn t believe me when I told you Creavey and I hit all the nightspots with a duchess, did you? Before I could answer, Jennifer held up her finger in protest. I keep telling Michael I m not a duchess but he delights in calling me one. We went absolutely everywhere in the neighborhood last night and he s promised to return the favor as soon as I m in New York. I couldn t quite picture Lady Turnbull on a barstool at Rao s in her strapless gown and tiara surrounded by a crew from Manhattan North Homicide, but I d seen enough politicians, movie stars, and moguls there to know Mike could make it happen. I feel terribly underdressed for your Don t be silly. Bernie and I just get all done up like this because we re hosting the banquet. It so suits the setting, don t you think? I clung to the duchess and the cop like a fifth wheel for at least another half an hour and another neat Glenrothes. I kept looking to see whether Mr. Karl was keeping an eye on his consort but he was clearly either comfortable with her style or secure in his skin. Shortly before eight o clock, Graham began moving among the guests announcing that dinner would be served in the French Dining Room. Lady Turnbull took Page 142 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html Michael by the hand and led him down the corridor while I sort of shuffled along behind them trapped in a conversation about juvenile delinquency with the tedious Danish criminologist. She took her place at the head of the elongated banquet table sparkling in the reflected surroundings of gilded [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ] |