wearing?"
"Why not?" With a gulp of her drink.
"Well, your father-but I guess that's why you put it on. More important, I asked Rev. Powell to be here sharp on time, and I don't want him to see you dressed like a whore."
"Don't make me laugh He made a pass at me last time he was here, the slimy slug"
"Well, he doesn't pretend to be above temptation that's one reason people like him. But don't let me hear you call him a slug again, understand? Or I'll forget you're eighteen and whop you blue. I won't have you badmouthing a minister. And one more thing Don't spend the evening like you usually do, moping around some plastic headed boy. Mix Talk to people-"
"I'll spend the whole radiated night with anyone I choose," Lora said, and slammed the door.
After that, she didn't really want to join the line-up at the entrance to the party hall. That was a room about sixty feet by eighty, shared between their apartment and the next; there was one on each floor of the tower, and doors off it were unlocked according to which family were the hosts.
But she was afraid of missing Danty if she didn't.
So she waited until her father was busy greeting an early guest, then darted into a spot beside Holtzer, thinking that even if Dad did want to slang her for wearing this dress he'd hardly do so in a stranger's hearing. She was right, and escaped with a mere scowl.
Holtzer, on the other hand, looked her over thoughtfully and at leisure, and said at last, "You look lovely, Lora."
"Well, thank you," she murmured, because he'd said it
in a tone that made her believe it. She relaxed-but only for a heartbeat or two, because here suddenly came Peter in a hideous party-suit of yellow lace and stinking to the sky. He rushed to his mother, lying about how he hadn't been able to get ready sooner because his reeky sister was underfoot, but Mrs. Turpin was used to that and froze him fast.
"It's your preening and primping that takes the time!" she snapped. "Get yourself a drink and shut up!"
Instantly furious, Peter was about to scream back at her, but that was the moment when Rev. Powell arrived: a fine-looking man with a commanding presence that had made him the highest-paid TV evangelist in history. And of course, Peter pounced on him.
Well, that's one way of avoiding the two people 1 least want on my back . . . . Lora sighed, and found Holtzer looking at her again. This time he winked, and she grinned back. Good to know there was one other person here who wasn't dazzled by this parade of notables, these generals, admirals, senators, TV stars, and other slugs. Plus, naturally, the whole of the EG board.
But she had to be polite, for the time being.
The crush increased tremendously within minutes. Even in Lakonia, people had got out of the habit of arriving at parties late and staying late. Going home after midnight wasn't as risky here as in New York, Washington, or L.A.-where most parties nowadays were held in the afternoon-but the pattern was contagious.
Abruptly the racket of conversation dwindled to a buzz, and Sheklov, surprised, glanced towards the door. Two men with blue jowls and stern expressions were coming in. They ignored the host and hostess, but walked silently around the assembly, sharp eyes piercing and probing.
"Well" someone he didn't know said beside Sheklov. "So Prexy is coming!"
"How do you-?" Sheklov began, and then put two and two together. "Oh. Secret Service?" A chill touched his nape.
"Yes," the stranger said importantly. "Those are Crashaw and Levitt. They're alleged to have by heart the entire CIA and FBI files on subversives. See how tense the Turpin girl is? Worried in case they tell Prexy not to come in"
Lora caught that and glanced over her shoulder with a scowl. "Fool" she thought. There was someone she was far more concerned about than Prexy-and here he was!
She had had vague visions of him arriving with a dozen reb friends,
"Why not?" With a gulp of her drink.
"Well, your father-but I guess that's why you put it on. More important, I asked Rev. Powell to be here sharp on time, and I don't want him to see you dressed like a whore."
"Don't make me laugh He made a pass at me last time he was here, the slimy slug"
"Well, he doesn't pretend to be above temptation that's one reason people like him. But don't let me hear you call him a slug again, understand? Or I'll forget you're eighteen and whop you blue. I won't have you badmouthing a minister. And one more thing Don't spend the evening like you usually do, moping around some plastic headed boy. Mix Talk to people-"
"I'll spend the whole radiated night with anyone I choose," Lora said, and slammed the door.
After that, she didn't really want to join the line-up at the entrance to the party hall. That was a room about sixty feet by eighty, shared between their apartment and the next; there was one on each floor of the tower, and doors off it were unlocked according to which family were the hosts.
But she was afraid of missing Danty if she didn't.
So she waited until her father was busy greeting an early guest, then darted into a spot beside Holtzer, thinking that even if Dad did want to slang her for wearing this dress he'd hardly do so in a stranger's hearing. She was right, and escaped with a mere scowl.
Holtzer, on the other hand, looked her over thoughtfully and at leisure, and said at last, "You look lovely, Lora."
"Well, thank you," she murmured, because he'd said it
in a tone that made her believe it. She relaxed-but only for a heartbeat or two, because here suddenly came Peter in a hideous party-suit of yellow lace and stinking to the sky. He rushed to his mother, lying about how he hadn't been able to get ready sooner because his reeky sister was underfoot, but Mrs. Turpin was used to that and froze him fast.
"It's your preening and primping that takes the time!" she snapped. "Get yourself a drink and shut up!"
Instantly furious, Peter was about to scream back at her, but that was the moment when Rev. Powell arrived: a fine-looking man with a commanding presence that had made him the highest-paid TV evangelist in history. And of course, Peter pounced on him.
Well, that's one way of avoiding the two people 1 least want on my back . . . . Lora sighed, and found Holtzer looking at her again. This time he winked, and she grinned back. Good to know there was one other person here who wasn't dazzled by this parade of notables, these generals, admirals, senators, TV stars, and other slugs. Plus, naturally, the whole of the EG board.
But she had to be polite, for the time being.
The crush increased tremendously within minutes. Even in Lakonia, people had got out of the habit of arriving at parties late and staying late. Going home after midnight wasn't as risky here as in New York, Washington, or L.A.-where most parties nowadays were held in the afternoon-but the pattern was contagious.
Abruptly the racket of conversation dwindled to a buzz, and Sheklov, surprised, glanced towards the door. Two men with blue jowls and stern expressions were coming in. They ignored the host and hostess, but walked silently around the assembly, sharp eyes piercing and probing.
"Well" someone he didn't know said beside Sheklov. "So Prexy is coming!"
"How do you-?" Sheklov began, and then put two and two together. "Oh. Secret Service?" A chill touched his nape.
"Yes," the stranger said importantly. "Those are Crashaw and Levitt. They're alleged to have by heart the entire CIA and FBI files on subversives. See how tense the Turpin girl is? Worried in case they tell Prexy not to come in"
Lora caught that and glanced over her shoulder with a scowl. "Fool" she thought. There was someone she was far more concerned about than Prexy-and here he was!
She had had vague visions of him arriving with a dozen reb friends,
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