Court of Honor [antikvár]

1The dress was delivered late, barely allowing her time to slip it on. It was of pale blue chiffon, its floor-length skirt ap-pliqued with Bruxelles lace medallions at knee height and along the bottom. The short sleeves were flounced into two tiers above her elbows, and the neckline dipped low to leave her shoulders bare. She fretted impatiently while Lotte struggled with the intricate hooks that closed the back, then she sent the maid to tell Hans Gunther that she would join him shortly. First she had to find the court gloves she had bought on her last shopping trip to Berlin. They weren't in the box she thought she had put them in. On the verge of panic, she rummaged feverishly through the drawers of the dresser, then saw the gloves lying on the console table, where Lotte must have thrown them when she laid out the shoes, stockings and the lingerie her mistress was to wear that night.After a quick look in the mirror, Alexa grabbed her wrap and went to the salon. She found her husband as she had left him half an hour earlier, standing, watch in hand, in the middle of the room, a frown of annoyance clouding his handsome face."At last," he snapped when he heard the door open. Then9