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THE PARTY

She wore black velvet The gown left her shoulders bare but swept to the floor like a train It was heavy, but Genevieve could carry the weight An unappreciated advantage of vampirism was the ability to dress spectacularly but cole, or hobble a oman She didn&039;t wear the veiled hat that ith the dress, which she had needed at the funeral

Since the funeral, she hadn&039;t been out of the apartment for more than an hour As she left, she picked up Charles&039;s invitation as well as her own It er, and let theain, the welcome of Dracula had occasionally proved fatal He was probably over his craze for nailing guests&039; hats to their skulls or i lieutenants who co, but it was best not to take chances

The invitation specified that transport would be provided to Fregene if she were to be at the Piazza del Quirinale between six and ten o&039;clock It transpired that a fleet of cars was going back and forth to and frouests who chose not toa Daimler with people she didn&039;t know Jerelasses and a little red book for jotting down ideas; Dorian Gray, the Italian actress not the English libertine; Dr Hichcock, one of il principe&039;s personal physicians, and his silent wife, one of the many women of fashion who made herself up to look ashollow-cheeks na with Collins, a rare Aue Apparently, he&039;d justin the car before, with Orson Welles, as playing Argo in the Argonauts film, and John Huston, whoend with Charlton Heston She hadn&039;t seen any of the filies, but based on classical (out of copyright) sources

&039;The best way to keep costs down on a costume picture is to cut out the costumes,&039; Prokosch said

Collins tried hard to s?&039; the producer asked

&039;Not recently,&039; she said

By the tiht had fallen Genevieve felt as if she&039;d been clubbed over the head with a rolled-up copy of Variety There was a delay in escaping fro to prise Orson Welles out of the car in front Welles, bearded and enorled like Winnie the Pooh stuck in Rabbit&039;s hole Finally, John Huston stabbed a lit cigar against Welles&039;s enorenius was ejected like a ball from a cannon

Prokosch produced a script from under his cummerbund and scuttled off after Huston Genevieve wished him &039;boffo boxo&039; and stepped out of the Daimler She looked up at the palazzo Very nice More baroque than gothic Swirly colu onion,&039; she remarked, to no one in particular

She joined the hue doors A cadre of warriors, with fur-trimmed armour and teeth like cashew nuts, checked invitations and waved in the guests Paparazzi crowded around the Tartars but were discouraged froraphers, littered the driveway She saw a pest dashed against a solid-stone wall

Her invitation passeda corridor which opened into a ballrooirl orchestra played dance ure whose face was a blank mask A buffet was set out on two hundred-yard tables, offering coldanimals for the undead Waiters and waitresses, healthy warots already inserted into their veins She accepted athe rooaret and Anthony Ar the Queen; John and Valerie Profu Lord Ruthven; Senator John Kennedy and A each other; Carlo Ponti and Sophia Loren; Alberto Moravia, the author; Gina Lollobrigida and General Mark Clark, liberator of Rome; Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin; Pier Paolo Pasolini, the poet; Jonas Cord, the aviation a Khan; Tot��, the Italian clown; Moira Shearer and Ludovic Kennedy; Enrico Mattei, head of the state petroleuliatti, the Coenuine Lord Greystoke; Ze do Caix?o, the Brazilian celebrity undertaker; Magda Lupescu, a va of Romania; Mrs Honoria Cornelius and Colonel Maxis like the ar Poe, the screenwriter; Dr Orlof, the controversial plastic surgeon; Yves Montand and Sinoret; Lemmy Caution, the American adventurer; Gore Vidal, whose work she adshot; Michael Corleone, the olive oil tycoon; Prince Junio Valerio Borghese, an ex-fascist with a the Vatican as unobtrusively as possible, Bishop Albino Luciani

And the elders: Saint-Germa; Karol Lavud, back froer; Gilles de Rais, called barbe-bleu; Baron Meinster, the golden-haired toady; Sebastian de Villanueva, disgraced alcheo Robles; Innocente Farnese; Faethor Ferenczy; Don Simon Ysidro There was even a clutch of elders who held themselves apart from the rest, like a separate species entirely: Edward Weyland, Joshua York, Miriah Farnha itself from humanity that it claimed to be a native of the planet Mars If any of the secret societies dedicated to the e a terrorist attack, theycontemporary de Rais, a hero of France in her ware to style herself an elder if she so chose

She excited little interest a so many famous faces

&039;I&039;m the only person here I&039;ve never heard of,&039; she thought

Of course, one famous face was unseen

Princess Asa Vajda ilded youths, bat-wing fans stuck into her mountainous beehive But her fiance had not yet put in an appearance

Genevieve could wait

She saw Penelope through the crowd The Englishwoman looked tastefully pretty in a simple formal dress, hair done up She wore an expression of exasperated harassment They made eye contact Princess Asa swept down on her like a parrot-plumed haith a series of de over some minor crisis Genevieve remembered Penelope&039;s tendency to do her sins here in Otranto, suffering the exact torliostro and Orson Welles faced off inside a circle of onlookers and duelled with ic The warm conjurer bested the nosferatu sorcerer with show broadly as he used trickery to accoenuine but affectlesson supernatural powers that he was at a loss in this century of everyday led as Welles found a lasses into the crooks of their elbows so they could applaud with both hands

Genevieve ell into her second drink - the waiter claiood Catholic fa to it - when she rounded a pillar and found Hamish Bond, immaculate in white dinner jacket, surrounded by disposable popsies, languidly s a waitress that he wanted her blood with vermouth and an olive

&039;Shaken, not stirred,&039; he purred

&039;What a ridiculous way to go about things,&039; Genevieve said

Bond cocked an eyebrow at her

&039;Madeed

The popsies - beauty contest runners-up and orgy extras - faded She liked the effect

&039;I suppose I shouldn&039;t be surprised that you&039;re here,&039; said the spy &039;You&039;re the type who s and funerals,&039; she said &039;And hairs-breadth escapes&039;

&039;I&039;ve yet to thank you properly&039;

&039;Don&039;t mention it Have you seen our friend with the whiskers? Brastov is bound to be here Penelope will have set out a saucer of bloody milk for him&039;