The Frenchman's Revenge (10 page)

The guests were a
stimulating
mix of political and business leaders
. T
heir
garb
and demeanor exud
ed
authority
. The governor of California chatted with
a
financier who
came
from New York for the party
. The
Eastern investor
planned to stay at the
v
illa to conclude
the purchase of
the
banks he and Bai
were acquiring
.
Distinguished
men from industry and politics sized up their competition
, sniffing
out rivals and potential collaborators.
Balance sheets and promised political contributions made up the undercurrent of the carefully
bland
conversations
. T
he
unspoken
currency
w
as money
in
exchange f
or access.

The
women
flitted through the
ball
room
, a bevy of
iridescent
butterflies
.
Their d
resses
were
created in the
most exclusive
salons in New York and Paris
and rushed to California
ordered
by frantic women
determined to shine
at the social event of the year.
More than a few shared their displeasure at the late notice of the party
,
miffed that they had only months
,
not the usual year
,
to prepare. Most of the women
who belonged
to the important men
on the guest list
took pains to eschew their California and western roots
. They
did what they could to assume the cultural sheen of Europe and the East
Coast
.
T
he irony of struggling to shine at an event hosted by a man whose wealth and power came
from
the most questionable of sources
,
and was Chinese to boot
,
escaped them
.
They
took comfort
that
he was at least part French.
T
o compound the irony, the belle of the ball, the center of attention
,
was a girl raised on a Wyoming ranch by a moneyman whose roots were as questionable as the man she intended to marry.
But the
odor
of
great wealth
trumped social sensitivities
. T
he
privileged
guests
thanked their particular gods and breathed
relief that they had been invited.

Wyatt, Wan
,
and Lei stood to one side of the room
,
forming a
protective
circle around Alex. Lei’s light touch on his arm was as restraining as the
implied warning in his father and grandfather’s gaze
s
.
Alex chafed at their
presence
,
but did nothing to hide the tight knot of anger that their
concern
could not release. The object of their
attention
,
and that of everyone present
,
stood across the room
. She was
a bright flame attracting a circle of awestruck men several layers deep.
Apparently
,
waiting thirty minutes in line to dance with the lovely Elena did not dampen
the
promise
of
two minutes of certain bliss
in the arms of the belle of the ball.

Alex stared at his sister
. T
he fierce love and possessive anger he felt wracked his sensitized nerves like sharp fingernails raking soft flesh.
T
o his eyes,
she was the most beautiful woman
in the world
.
A
lex was overwhelmed by her
stunning dress
. There m
ight
be
dresses more expensive or created by a more famous designer, but no
ne of the
wom
en
in the room had the advantage of
Elena’s
body to showcase their
sartorial
confections.

Outrageous four inch high heeled slippers added height to her slender body and made her already
sensational
legs
positively wicked.
Her dress was a
c
reation of sapphire
satin
overlaid with a shimmering layer of gossamer
silk
shot through with hundreds of tiny sparkling stones.
Tiny insignificant straps anchored t
he
low cut
dress.
Their
only function was decorative
. I
t was
Elena’s
full firm breasts that
did
the
yeoman’s
work of
keeping
the bodice in place.
Each movement raised the question of how even those gorgeous mounds could or would keep the fabric from slipping lower. The
glistening
silk
clung to the saucy
curve
of her fir
m hips and reveal
ed
a temptin
g
hint
o
f
the crevice separating
her
round
toned cheeks.
In the latest style worn by only the most fearless of women
,
the ankle length dress flared at the
b
ottom
. T
he jagged uneven hem
rose daringly
,
giving the occasional glimpse of her knees – an unheard of liberty.

As beautiful as her body was
,
Elena’s
crowning glory was her
hair.
Tonight it was swept up
in
a flurry of red gold curls held in place by pins tipped with sapphires, diamonds
,
and pearls.
But h
er unruly curls refused to stay in their
assigned places and errant
locks
sprung enticingly free
,
surrounding
her face and neck.
Her pale skin
w
as
flushed with excitement
. Her
flashing dark blue
,
almost
violet
eyes sparkled with joy
,
converting
the most
jaded
observer
s to admiring enthusiasts
.

W
atching her from across the room, W
an and Wyatt
swelled with
pride.
Alex
stood beside them, quietly angry
,
refusing to join in their proud assessments of the lovely Elena. Alex
glanced
up to see Sheriff
Thompson
, a friend of his father and grandfather
, moving toward them
.
Ignoring Alex, t
he sheriff
motioned
to Wyatt and his grandfather
to join him
by the doorway
where
several of his men
st
ood
.
The sheriff’s
expression
was
serious
,
his
eyes hard.

Wyatt and
W
an
stepped
away from Lei and Alex
, joining
the
sheriff
and his
deputies
. Alex moved a little closer
,
wanting to hear their conversation.

“What can I do for you, Jim?
That look on your face implies that you want more than the promise of a dance with Elena.
At least I hope so
. I
can do just about anything for you except get you any quicker through that line to my daughter.” Wyatt’s grin was friendly but stopped short of his eyes.

Sheriff
Thompson
spoke in a quiet voice
, intended for Wyatt and Wan alone.

“Where is Bai, Wyatt?”

Wyatt reached in his pocket and pulled out a cigarette.
He took his time lighting it
,
then bl
ew
the smoke up in the air
. H
e
looked hard at his friend
. In a
languid voice,
he said,
“He had some business to take care of. I expect him shortly. Why do you ask, Jim?”

“There’s been trouble in San Francisco
– serious trouble, Wyatt. T
here is a possibility
that Bai is involved.”

“Hmm, I see.
Tell you what, Jim.
When he arrives, I’ll be sure and
let him know y
ou asked after him.”

The
sheriff
glowered at Wyatt and responded with a grunt
.
“You do that, Wyatt.” He turned to leave
,
th
en looked back over his shoulder
,
“I hope to hell he isn’t involved, Wyatt.
This is a bad one.”

Governor Sampson saw Wyatt and Wan talking with the lawman and walked over to them. “Is there a problem, Jim, you look mighty serious.
Did Wan turn off the spigot to your whisk
e
y?”

Sheriff
Thompson grimaced
.
W
ith a last
troubled
glance at Wyatt
, he
turned and
walked away.

“Good old Jim,” the governor said with a grin.
“Hell, he
never can get that officious stick out of his ass, can he? Christ
,
he
can’t even enjoy a party with
the best
booze and food
I’ve ever had
.
You’d think he would be grateful to be in
vited to
a gathering that includes everyone from
Supreme Court
justices to me – the goddamn governor
of his state
, for Christ’s sake
!”

He laughed uproariously at his own
humor
.
Wyatt and Wan both nodded
,
but didn’t reply.

The governor continued, “Much as I enjoyed dancing with the bride to be, I can’t help wondering where the groom is.
Don’t tell me he got cold feet
?
But then again, i
t’s probably just as well that possessive son of a bitch isn’t here to see that crowd of men plastered three deep around that daughter of
yours, Wyatt
.”

~~~

Elena smiled
and held out her hand to
Greg For
e
ster, the next in line to dance with her
.
Greg was the governor’s
c
hief of
s
taff and had been an ardent suitor of Elena’s
. He
was as disappointed as any of the crowd of men who courted her in the days before it became obvious that they had been beaten out by the man no one
knew
was in the running. Had they known
Bai was their competition
,
they all
would
have acknowledged defeat far sooner. In every circle
,
be it political, financial
,
or Tong related
,
there was one
thing
understood
by all who knew him
--
B
ai never lost.

Greg pulled her close to him.
His eyes were dark, his voice serious.

“
You
know you still have time, Elena. You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.
I know
your father and grandfather are pushing you into this marriage…
”