DC By the Book

Excerpt: The house looked as if it had been decorated to imitate a nobleman’s home, with oak-paneled walls, plush maroon carpet, and a crystal chandelier sparkling overhead. Chloe walked the long, carpeted hall, going over in her mind what she’d heard about these informal dances held every Monday afternoon by the widow of a famous Missouri senator. Mrs. Henderson was a powerful, influential force in D.C. society and politics. A lot of deals were struck in this house during parties and dinners.

Excerpt: She stepped into the large, second-floor ballroom. A knot of men and women in afternoon dress milled around one end. In front of them a dainty white-haired woman sat on an imposing chair with her little feet on a step stool. She wore powder-blue bedroom slippers with pom-poms instead of shoes. The blue slippers went with the room’s floor-to-ceiling royal blue draperies, which were partially opened, revealing a wall of French doors and a balcony beyond them.

Excerpt: At the Washington Auditorium, the well-known orchestra played on and on. Chloe moved in time with a youngish tuxedo-clad senator from California. Nearby Drake danced with a well-padded matron, the wife of a Supreme Court judge. Chloe wore her signature color in evening wear – ebony. Her French gown was cut slim and beaded with black jet. For the occasion, Drake had given her long, art deco platinum-and-diamond earrings that dangled from her ears.

Excerpt: The waltz ended and the next dance – the Charleston – began. Drake claimed her and she accepted without demur. Overhead, the glittering chandeliers almost hypnotized her as she unconsciously went through the motions of the dance.