leaving me with Dulcie and a glass of champagne.
“From fashion editor to hostess,” I said.
“Our advertisers appreciate the association.” She took my arm and steered me through the crowd, nodding to friends and occasionally introducing me. I saw Hy to one side speaking quietly to Norm Harrison, but couldn’t overhear what they were saying. “It adds class to our publications,” Dulcie told me.
“It won’t if you’re seen with me,” I said.
“Ah, but you add excitement. Society girl on safari with white hunter.”
“That doesn’t make for healthy relationships.”
Her fingers squeezed my arm and she grinned up at me. “No, but interesting ones. After you left the office there were all sorts of speculation going on. I rather thought our employees read only the more gentle periodicals, then I find they like sensationalism too. You seem to have supplied it for them. A few discreet questions and I learned a lot about you.”
“I’m surprised you’ll still speak to me, Miss McInnes.”
“You know women better than that,” she said. “And the name is Dulcie. Now ... satisfy my curiosity.... Since you weren’t on the guest list, how did you make it here?”
“Power of the press. Friend Hy Gardner was invited and dragged me along. Not that I’m much on these bashes, but we have an appointment later.”
“Any friend of the press is a friend of Gerald’s. I’m glad you made it. Anyone here you’d like to meet?”
In four different spots around the room, men were clustered in a tight circle, laughing occasionally, talking with that odd intensity they developed when the nucleus of the circle was a pretty woman. “Maybe the Proctor Girls,” I suggested.
Dulcie poked me with her finger. “Uh-uh. They’re just eyewash. Besides, they’re too young for you.”
“How about them?” I indicated the men around the girls.
Not one of them would ever see fifty again.
She looked at them and laughed lightly. “Funny, isn’t it? When the Assembly is in session they’re at each other’s throats or thinking up some scheme to transform the world. Now here they are simpering at twenty-year-olds like schoolboys. There’s nothing like a pretty face to keep peace and quiet at a party.”
“You ought to try it at the U.N. Maybe that’s what they need.”
“Oh, I’ve given it a thought. Gerald didn’t exactly favor the idea the first time, but the Proctor Girls were such an asset he insists we invite them. Actually, it was his wife’s idea originally.”
“How did you get involved with being his hostess?”
“I’m a social climber, or haven’t you heard?”
“Rumors,” I admitted. “I’m not a member of the set myself.”
“Fact is, I was born to this sort of thing. My family was Midwestern blue book and all that, I attended the right schools and made the proper friends, so that all of this comes naturally. I rather enjoy it.” She sipped her champagne thoughtfully and said, “Every one of those Proctor Girls you see are from important families. One is engaged to a junior congressman, one to the son of a wealthy industrialist and the other two are being signed by a Hollywood studio.”
“Lucky.”
“No ... they work for it. The qualifications for a Proctor Girl are quite rigorous. If they weren’t, we couldn’t afford to have them here.” She put her empty glass on the tray of a passing waiter and took another. “By the way ... have you found the girl you were looking for?”
“Not yet. It’s a big city and it’s easy to get buried in it. I’m giving it a little more time.”
“Did the photographs help at all?”
I shrugged and shook my head. “Nobody’s seen her. But you don’t forget a face like that.”
Dulcie turned and cocked her head, her eyes thoughtful. “You know, I’m wondering....”
“What?”
“Teddy Gates ... the one who photographed the girl you wanted. He has contracts independent of ours and sometimes uses models we turn down. It could be
“From fashion editor to hostess,” I said.
“Our advertisers appreciate the association.” She took my arm and steered me through the crowd, nodding to friends and occasionally introducing me. I saw Hy to one side speaking quietly to Norm Harrison, but couldn’t overhear what they were saying. “It adds class to our publications,” Dulcie told me.
“It won’t if you’re seen with me,” I said.
“Ah, but you add excitement. Society girl on safari with white hunter.”
“That doesn’t make for healthy relationships.”
Her fingers squeezed my arm and she grinned up at me. “No, but interesting ones. After you left the office there were all sorts of speculation going on. I rather thought our employees read only the more gentle periodicals, then I find they like sensationalism too. You seem to have supplied it for them. A few discreet questions and I learned a lot about you.”
“I’m surprised you’ll still speak to me, Miss McInnes.”
“You know women better than that,” she said. “And the name is Dulcie. Now ... satisfy my curiosity.... Since you weren’t on the guest list, how did you make it here?”
“Power of the press. Friend Hy Gardner was invited and dragged me along. Not that I’m much on these bashes, but we have an appointment later.”
“Any friend of the press is a friend of Gerald’s. I’m glad you made it. Anyone here you’d like to meet?”
In four different spots around the room, men were clustered in a tight circle, laughing occasionally, talking with that odd intensity they developed when the nucleus of the circle was a pretty woman. “Maybe the Proctor Girls,” I suggested.
Dulcie poked me with her finger. “Uh-uh. They’re just eyewash. Besides, they’re too young for you.”
“How about them?” I indicated the men around the girls.
Not one of them would ever see fifty again.
She looked at them and laughed lightly. “Funny, isn’t it? When the Assembly is in session they’re at each other’s throats or thinking up some scheme to transform the world. Now here they are simpering at twenty-year-olds like schoolboys. There’s nothing like a pretty face to keep peace and quiet at a party.”
“You ought to try it at the U.N. Maybe that’s what they need.”
“Oh, I’ve given it a thought. Gerald didn’t exactly favor the idea the first time, but the Proctor Girls were such an asset he insists we invite them. Actually, it was his wife’s idea originally.”
“How did you get involved with being his hostess?”
“I’m a social climber, or haven’t you heard?”
“Rumors,” I admitted. “I’m not a member of the set myself.”
“Fact is, I was born to this sort of thing. My family was Midwestern blue book and all that, I attended the right schools and made the proper friends, so that all of this comes naturally. I rather enjoy it.” She sipped her champagne thoughtfully and said, “Every one of those Proctor Girls you see are from important families. One is engaged to a junior congressman, one to the son of a wealthy industrialist and the other two are being signed by a Hollywood studio.”
“Lucky.”
“No ... they work for it. The qualifications for a Proctor Girl are quite rigorous. If they weren’t, we couldn’t afford to have them here.” She put her empty glass on the tray of a passing waiter and took another. “By the way ... have you found the girl you were looking for?”
“Not yet. It’s a big city and it’s easy to get buried in it. I’m giving it a little more time.”
“Did the photographs help at all?”
I shrugged and shook my head. “Nobody’s seen her. But you don’t forget a face like that.”
Dulcie turned and cocked her head, her eyes thoughtful. “You know, I’m wondering....”
“What?”
“Teddy Gates ... the one who photographed the girl you wanted. He has contracts independent of ours and sometimes uses models we turn down. It could be
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