"3 Star Brothers" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bova Ben)

THREE months later the Brazilian ambassador to the United States gave a lavish dinner party at the embassy's newly-finished complex of buildings in suburban Bethesda

Ambassador Branco, a cousin of the president and a more distant relative of a general who had overthrown the government of Brazil half a century earlier, graciously accepted compliments from the stream of guests flowing past him in the reception line The men were in traditional black dinner clothes, the women in the most expensive gowns and jewels

they possessed The ambassador himself wore a conservatively-tailored tuxedo with the sash of his office bearing merely a few of his huge collection of medals and decorations

Jo Camerata, tall and stunning in a low-cut strapless gown of midnight black, reached the ambassador and allowed him to take her hand in his

"A beautiful new embassy, Miguel," she said, in a carefully modulated voice "You must be very proud of what you have accomplished "

"Its beauty pales to insignificance now that you have graced us with your presence," said the ambassador, in English

Jo smiled at him and moved to the next flunkey in line She was a strikingly beautiful woman, a centimeter or two taller than the ambassador, with dark hair to her bare shoulders and even darker eyes The lush figure of a Mediterranean empress Her fingers and wrists and throat flashed with gemstones and precious metals, over her heart was a diamond pin in the shape of a stylized V

The crowd mixed and milled as Jo, unescorted but never alone for very long, wandered through the opulent rooms admiring the rich draperies, the exquisite furniture, the paintings and sculptures that adorned every wall, every corner Brazil was a rich nation, and this new embassy proudly proclaimed its nation's wealth and newfound power

"Don't you think the ambassador looks tremendously relieved'"

Jo turned to find Sir Harold Epping standing beside her lean, dignified, bushy white eyebrows, trim white mustache and ruddy cheeks He held two slim crystal flutes of champagne Jo deftly handed her empty one to a passing waiter and accepted Sir Harold's

"Thank you, Harold "

"You're quite welcome It's good to see you here "

"Bored already'"

Glancing at her cleavage, "Quite the contrary, dear girl Quite the contrary "

Sir Harold was one of the few men on Earth who could call Jo "girl" without risking emasculation

"You said you thought Miguel looked relieved?"

The English diplomat smiled and dabbed at his white mustache "You are the only person I know who can get away with calling everyone by their first name I've known you for years; yet I never know if I should call you Ms Camerata, or Mrs Nillson, or perhaps Josephine Or is it Josette? Are you descended from Frenchmen?"

Jo laughed "You may call me Jo," she said graciously "I haven't been Mrs Nillson for more than fifteen years "

"Widowed?"

"Divorced," Jo answered stiffly, "although my first husband died shortly after "

"Can't say I blame him Probably broken-hearted "

"Hardly'"

"And you never remarried? There's hope for me?"

Laughing again, "I'm afraid not I remarried almost fifteen years ago "

"Really? I had no idea Who's the lucky fellow?"