dear. Just as you did in David’s portrait,” a high-pitched voice said beside me.
I turned to see Simon La Roy dressed in a black tuxedo, admiring my beaded black gown.
“ He will not be able to resist you in that,” Simon murmured as we slowly made our way to the table. “Dressing as Jenny to entice dear Gregory was very clever, Nicci. You are a very resourceful woman.”
“ Thank you, Simon. When did you arrive?” I nodded my head to him as my eyes quickly explored the room for Dallas. I hoped he was watching me enter the party with Simon.
Simon smiled as he leaned on his cane. “I haven’t been here long. I thought it best to come early and keep tabs on our prey. I can’t have you waiting around all alone for your target.”
I smiled graciously at him. “Simon, I didn’t know you cared.”
He wiggled his finger at me. “Oh, you are a temptress. No wonder my boys could not keep their hands off you.”
“ Their hands?” I smiled devilishly. “That’s the easiest part of a man’s anatomy to control. It’s the other bits that tend to get the better of me.”
Simon let out an unusual bellowing laugh that turned some heads in the crowd our way.
“ If I were a man who fancied women, I would not be offering you to another tonight, but instead keeping you for myself.”
I dropped my smile. “Simon, I’m flattered.”
Simon gave a dramatic flourish of his hand. “This should prove to be an entertaining evening. Dear Gregory will not know what hit him.”
We waited in front of the registration table as Simon addressed an older lady seated across from him. He took out a piece of paper from his front pocket of his black tuxedo jacket and handed it to the woman. She opened the paper and raised her astonished eyes to Simon.
“ A contribution from Simon La Roy and Ms. Nicole Beauvoir,” he declared as he waved his hand to me.
The woman’s large brown eyes flashed with a hint of recognition at the mention of my name. She looked me over with a renewed interest.
“ The lovely Jenny,”‘ she said in a rather deep voice that contrasted her delicate features. “It is an honor,” she added as she nodded to me.
I smiled at her. “Thank you.”
“ Nicci is an admirer of Winston’s work,” Simon explained as he gazed about the gallery. “She insisted on coming tonight, but since we had not registered ahead of time, I thought a donation to the Katrina Relief Fund would help with our admission to the festivities.”
“ Your donation is greatly appreciated, Mr. La Roy.” The older woman gave me one more going over with her eyes. “Please enjoy the party,” she said as she waved us into the gallery.
“ We weren’t invited?” I whispered to Simon as we walked from the table. “And who is Winston?” I persisted.
“ I thought it best if our names did not appear on any guests lists. That way we could just surprise dear Gregory,” Simon replied in a hushed voice. “And Winston is the artist we are supposedly here to see. Very in vogue, very controversial, and very gay.”
“ That would explain the statues out front.”
Simon frowned. “Winston is a bit too extreme for my taste, but with the artistic set in the French Quarter he is quite popular.”
We took a turn around the gallery, inspecting some paintings and conversing with a few of the other guests in the main room. I noticed Simon made a point of introducing me as David Alexander’s Jenny, probably hoping to lure the attention of tonight’s fat fish. Every now and then I would eagerly search the room for Dallas, but I never could find his dark blue eyes hiding among the guests.
It took another half an hour for the gallery to fill and soon Simon and I were elbow to elbow with an assortment of people dressed in anything from ripped up blue jeans to tuxedos and ball gowns. I was growing tired of being jostled by the crowds when Simon discreetly pulled me aside from the center of the room. He escorted me to a table being used as a
I turned to see Simon La Roy dressed in a black tuxedo, admiring my beaded black gown.
“ He will not be able to resist you in that,” Simon murmured as we slowly made our way to the table. “Dressing as Jenny to entice dear Gregory was very clever, Nicci. You are a very resourceful woman.”
“ Thank you, Simon. When did you arrive?” I nodded my head to him as my eyes quickly explored the room for Dallas. I hoped he was watching me enter the party with Simon.
Simon smiled as he leaned on his cane. “I haven’t been here long. I thought it best to come early and keep tabs on our prey. I can’t have you waiting around all alone for your target.”
I smiled graciously at him. “Simon, I didn’t know you cared.”
He wiggled his finger at me. “Oh, you are a temptress. No wonder my boys could not keep their hands off you.”
“ Their hands?” I smiled devilishly. “That’s the easiest part of a man’s anatomy to control. It’s the other bits that tend to get the better of me.”
Simon let out an unusual bellowing laugh that turned some heads in the crowd our way.
“ If I were a man who fancied women, I would not be offering you to another tonight, but instead keeping you for myself.”
I dropped my smile. “Simon, I’m flattered.”
Simon gave a dramatic flourish of his hand. “This should prove to be an entertaining evening. Dear Gregory will not know what hit him.”
We waited in front of the registration table as Simon addressed an older lady seated across from him. He took out a piece of paper from his front pocket of his black tuxedo jacket and handed it to the woman. She opened the paper and raised her astonished eyes to Simon.
“ A contribution from Simon La Roy and Ms. Nicole Beauvoir,” he declared as he waved his hand to me.
The woman’s large brown eyes flashed with a hint of recognition at the mention of my name. She looked me over with a renewed interest.
“ The lovely Jenny,”‘ she said in a rather deep voice that contrasted her delicate features. “It is an honor,” she added as she nodded to me.
I smiled at her. “Thank you.”
“ Nicci is an admirer of Winston’s work,” Simon explained as he gazed about the gallery. “She insisted on coming tonight, but since we had not registered ahead of time, I thought a donation to the Katrina Relief Fund would help with our admission to the festivities.”
“ Your donation is greatly appreciated, Mr. La Roy.” The older woman gave me one more going over with her eyes. “Please enjoy the party,” she said as she waved us into the gallery.
“ We weren’t invited?” I whispered to Simon as we walked from the table. “And who is Winston?” I persisted.
“ I thought it best if our names did not appear on any guests lists. That way we could just surprise dear Gregory,” Simon replied in a hushed voice. “And Winston is the artist we are supposedly here to see. Very in vogue, very controversial, and very gay.”
“ That would explain the statues out front.”
Simon frowned. “Winston is a bit too extreme for my taste, but with the artistic set in the French Quarter he is quite popular.”
We took a turn around the gallery, inspecting some paintings and conversing with a few of the other guests in the main room. I noticed Simon made a point of introducing me as David Alexander’s Jenny, probably hoping to lure the attention of tonight’s fat fish. Every now and then I would eagerly search the room for Dallas, but I never could find his dark blue eyes hiding among the guests.
It took another half an hour for the gallery to fill and soon Simon and I were elbow to elbow with an assortment of people dressed in anything from ripped up blue jeans to tuxedos and ball gowns. I was growing tired of being jostled by the crowds when Simon discreetly pulled me aside from the center of the room. He escorted me to a table being used as a
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