Night Magic (26 page)

Kemble’s smile was smug as he ushered her inside.
“Doesn’t she? I helped pick out the dress.”

“
Good job, bro.” Lanyon put up his palm for a high five that Kemble honored with a slap of his own.

“
You ready to make some headway with the ladies tonight?” Kemble asked.

Lanyon grinned.
“Stay out of my way, or I’ll run you down, brother dear.”

“
I’m off the market, in case you haven’t noticed.” They made their way to the living room.

Lanyon looked rather surprised.
“Yeah,” he said. “I guess you are.”

The rest of the family was gathered in front of the fireplace, where a roaring fire burned. Jane made a qui
ck survey. Drew was in red that looked like Dior. Tiny spaghetti straps and a full skirt made her look like Audrey Hepburn, though a little peaked. Jane really had to make time to talk to her. Michael had a red boutonniere in his lapel and a red handkerchief poked out of his pocket. Keelan wore a strapless number with a huge skirt. It had impressionistic flowers all over it in magenta and purple. She looked like a spring garden. Lovely. Leave it to Keelan to come up with something so artistic and different. Maggie, who was so short, looked wonderful in an off-white beaded column dress with short sleeves. But it was, of course, Brina who embodied everything Jane would like to be. Her deep blue strapless dress was a column too, but it had an overlay of matching stretchy lace that made it long sleeved, and an overskirt of the same material. She wasn’t trying to compete with the younger women, and nobody who saw her would say she had to compete. She was perfect.

Th
e perfect mother strode forward and didn’t even seem to worry about stepping on her hem. “Jane, you’re beautiful. Drew said you’d found just the dress.” She kissed Jane’s cheek.

“
Kemble actually picked it out,” Jane demurred. But she was secretly pleased.

“
Well, he did a great job,” Brian said, coming up behind his wife.

“
Hey,” Tamsen said, skipping down the stairs as though she were wearing jeans instead of an emerald green tight little dress with a mandarin collar and short sleeves. It had embroidered gold chrysanthemums on it. “We clean up nice, don’t we?”

“
You look great,” Maggie said, taking her very handsome husband’s arm. All the Tremaine men looked like they were born in a tux, even blond-haired surfer-boy Devin.

“
Passable, little sister. Positively passable,” Lanyon called. “Don’t think I’m going to escort you though, just because we’re the odd men out. I’m going to be busy tonight.”

“
I wouldn’t want to be escorted by my brother anyway,” Tamsen said, making a face. “I’d rather have Lancelot take me.” A bark was heard at the top of the stairs as the dog responded to his name. He came galloping down the stairs, grazing Tamsen on his way by.

Jane noticed Mr. Nakamura hovering in the background. He was looking drawn
and unhappy too. Was he ill? Maybe there was something going around. As the women shrugged into their wraps, she sidled over to him. “Are you all right, Mr. Nakamura? You’ve been looking very strained lately.”

“
I’m fine,” he whispered, looking even more upset.

“
It isn’t Elaine, is it?”

Mr. Nakamura paled.
“No, no. She’s fine.” He was practically stuttering. Was he nervous at attracting her attention? He was usually a hover-in-the-background kind of guy.

“
Come on, everybody, it’s time to go,” Brian said. He was beginning to gather the chicks.

“
Well, I think we’d better have a talk tomorrow. I think something’s wrong.”

Mr. Nakamura managed a wavery smile.
“Not necessary. Things are fine. I . . . I think being isolated on the estate is difficult for all of us.”

That was strange. Mr. Nakamura got out more often than any actual Tremaine. He went shopping
to a church in San Pedro every week, accompanied by one of Mr. Edward’s escorts, of course. “You’re right,” she smiled as Kemble came to take her arm. “But we’ll still talk.”

Kemble waited for the rest of w
hat he called “the Brood” to file out behind Brian and Brina into the waiting motorcade of limos and Escalades. They fell in behind Drew and Michael.

“
You and Mr. Nakamura both look like you’re coming down with something,” she whispered to Drew. “Are you okay?”

Drew didn’t get a chance to answer. Michael frowned.
“She’s having visions.”

“
Upsetting ones?” Jane asked, alarmed.

D
rew patted her arm. “Just confusing. I never get enough to know what’s going on.”

“
Well, it will probably make you feel better to talk about it. After the party tonight. . . .”

“
I don’t think that will make me feel better,” Drew muttered as she ducked into the limo.

“
We good to go?” Kemble asked.

Mr. Edwards gave Kemble a mock salute.
“Roger that.”

Jane knew they’d
done everything they could to make this expedition safe. She should have been comforted by the almost imperceptible bulge under Mr. Edwards’ arm. But she wasn’t. It was a stark reminder of the risk they were running tonight, no matter that Brian swore the Clan was in Athens.

Suddenly, Jane had a very bad premonition. Drew was having nasty visions. They were leaving the estate. Those two things in close proximity might be very ba
d news. She climbed into the limo next to Drew. Kemble slammed the door and went round to the other side.

Maybe stepping on her dress wasn’t the biggest disaster looming tonight.

*****

The main lobby
of the museum was lit by glittering chandeliers. Jane squinted against the light. The crowd spun with all the colors of the women’s dresses, alternating with the black of the men’s tuxes. The murmur of conversation around her was punctuated by tinkling laughter and the clink of the champagne glasses. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear her thoughts and relieve the pain of the brilliant chandeliers. A waiter offered a tray of sushi, served with a tiny flower-shaped cup filled with dipping sauce. Jane waved him way, but Kemble said, “I’ll take your share, Jane.” He looked around. “These things always unnerve me.”

She looked up at him.
“Really? You always seem so sure of yourself.”

“
Not exactly.” His gaze moved over the room. “And tonight. . . .”

“
I know. It’s hard to have a good time when you’re thinking the Clan might pop out of the champagne fountain at any moment.”

He looked down at her and his eyes crinkled.
“Even besides the fact that they’re in Athens, I don’t think they’d pop out of the champagne fountain,” he said with mock severity.

“
Well, you know what I mean.”

He nodded.
“I do.” He scanned the room again. “Who was that woman who came up to you earlier?”

“
The one with the skin like leather on her chest?”

“
Not like leather,” he admonished. “Very tanned.”

“
It will be like leather someday,” Jane predicted darkly.

“
You don’t like her.”

“
She . . . was not kind when I was in high school.”

“
Then I bet you were glad she was consumed with jealousy that you landed a Tremaine.”

Jane pursed her lips in order not to smile.
“I was, I admit. Though I hate to think I ‘landed’ you.” She grew serious. “That’s not what you think, is it?”

He stopped scanning and looked down at her. She liked it when his eyes went soft like that.
“No,” he said simply. “And I am going to take you over to that buffet and force you to find something you want to eat. All this bright light must be giving you a headache. Food helps.”

“
Men think food helps everything,” Jane grumbled. But she liked how he took her arm.

As they made their way to the buffet, she saw Lanyon chatting up not one but three beautiful young things that were so slender and elegant in their evening gowns Jane had a pang of jealousy. She, and her figure, would never be twenty-one again.
“I hope he gets their phone numbers,” she whispered to Kemble. “We can invite them over to the Breakers.”

“
He may do more than get their phone numbers. We’ll be lucky if we don’t find them behind the potted plants doing the nasty,” Kemble muttered, grimacing.

Jane didn’t disagree.
“Your mother and father are entirely in their element,” she remarked as Kemble loaded up a plate with anything she’d agree to try. The elder Tremaines were surrounded by couples almost as elegant and sophisticated as they were.

“
Holding court,” Kemble agreed, glancing over to them.

“
Is that . . . is that Senator Reynolds and his wife?”

“
Yep. And look, here comes the governor, trying to hog the spotlight.”

The governor! Jane sucked in her breath.

“Won’t work,” Kemble continued. “Not even the CEO of Barkshire-Harcourt can steal Senior’s platform in a crowd like this.”

“
Jim, you old lion,” she heard Brian say. “Campaigning at the museum? The election is still a year and half away.”

“
Got to come where the money is, Tremaine. Speaking of which, who are you backing?”

“
Early days, Jim, early days. You’d better talk to David, here. All that money sloshing around at Barkshire has got to go somewhere. I have a feeling you two would sympathize on a number of issues. You’re both more sensible than all your money would suggest.”

Jane knew she couldn’t possibly belong in this room, with these people. And yet this was Kemble’s world. She’d always known that. She wanted Kemble. These people, this milieu, came as part of the package. If she were ever going to give him a comfortable life, she’d damned well better get used to being here.

She did her best. She contributed to conversations when he guided her over to people influential in the museum’s benefactor program. She tried not to say anything horrendously stupid. Brian gave a brief welcome speech to the crowd and she clapped along with everyone else. But she was very glad when the doors to the museum proper swung open.

Brian said,
“Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come. You are the first in the country to experience this one-of-a-kind exhibit on loan from the Academy of European Museums. I’m looking forward to the big reveal myself. Christian has kept those exhibition catalogues close to the vest.” Brian chuckled and glanced over to the young curator, who was looking sheepish. “Rumor has it you can get your precious copies on the tables just inside.”

The crowd moved toward the doors. Jane was swept from Kemble’s side along with them. She looked back, a little panicked when she couldn’t
see him. Then she felt a hand close on her upper arm from behind. The shock of his touch was almost soothing. She looked up.

“
Don’t get away from me, there,” he said, his voice gruff as he frowned down at her. He looked almost confused. People flowed around them like surf around the rocks at the beach below the Breakers. He was her anchor in the maelstrom. He examined her as if he’d never seen her before. Then he gave a nervous smile. “I’m not letting anybody cut in on my action tonight. We’re seeing this exhibit together.”

Keelan and Devin passed them, moving toward the doors.
“You two coming? Or are you just going to moon over each other like. . . .” Keelan looked back over her shoulder.

“
Like newlyweds, maybe?” Devin chuckled. “Come on.” He waved them forward.

Jane gave an embarrassed smile. She
had been mooning over Kemble, of course. “Guess we’d better go,” she murmured.

Kemble turned her into
the protection of his arm. Tristram and Maggie, Drew and Michael were several yards ahead of them. Everyone in the room looked great tonight, but Drew could stop traffic. You’d never know she hadn’t been feeling well earlier tonight. Every man here had cast surreptitious glances at her more than once. Red didn’t look like it belonged in a bordello when she wore it. It looked like it belonged to a queen. The graceful updo revealed her slender neck. The diamond drop earrings and choker cost more than Jane’s house, she was sure. Michael’s look of devotion just capped off the image of the perfect life of a beautiful woman.

And yet
. . . .

She glanc
ed up at Kemble. It suddenly occurred to her that she didn’t need to look like Drew. She only needed to see that look in Kemble’s eyes. Confusion and longing. As stunning as that seemed, that’s what it was.

She’d never expected to see that look on him. Never. At least not when he was looking at her. She felt herself flushing. But she didn’t care. It was a good flush this time.
She stood a little straighter as he moved them in through the doors into the dim interior of the museum.