Chapter 12 Chapter Six

Everyone is here. George breathed a sigh of relief.Until the last moment, he was worried that something might go wrong - luckily, they all came.Stephen Farrelly, tall and stiff and rigid, with a pompous attitude.Cinderella Fareidi wore a black lined toga with a string of emeralds around her neck. There was no doubting that this woman was of good blood.Her manner was entirely natural, perhaps a little more generous than usual.Ruth, too, was wearing a black dress, with nothing but a beaded barrette.Her black hair was smooth and submissive, and her neck and arms were whiter than any other woman.Ruth is a working woman and has no time for sunbathing.When his eyes met hers, she seemed to be able to see the anxiety in his heart, and she smiled at him slightly, as if to reassure him.His mood rises.Faithful Ruth, he thought.Iris beside him was silent as usual.She was the only one who sensed that this was an unusual feast and showed it.She was pale, but in a way it suited her personality, giving her a deep, steady beauty.She wears a plain, leaf-green robe.Anthony Browne was the last to arrive. In George's eyes, he came with the swift and stealthy steps of a wild animal. Maybe it was a jaguar or a leopard. This guy is really not very civilized.

They were all there--all in George's dungeon.Now, the good show can be staged... After the cocktails, they all got up and walked through the archway to the main part of the restaurant. In front of my eyes is soft black music, men and women dancing with their mothers-in-law, and agile waiters shuttle back and forth. Charles approached, guiding them to their seats with a smile.Their table was in an alcove at the end of the dining room separated by an arch—a large table in the center flanked by small tables for two.A foreigner with a sickly complexion and a beautiful blonde woman occupy one of them, and a young man and woman are seated in the other.The large table in the center was reserved by Barton.

George cleared their seats. "Candilla, would you please sit here, on my right. Browne sits next to her, Iris, honey, this is a party for you, and I have to ask you to sit next to me. You sit Beside her, Farley. And you, Ruth—” He paused—between Ruth and Anthony, a seat was vacant—there were seven chairs at the table. "My friend Rhys might be late. He wants us not to wait for him, he won't be here anytime soon. I want people to get to know him - he's a wanted character, he's traveled all over the world and can tell you A lot of anecdotes." Iris felt a pang of anger as she sat down.George did it on purpose—to separate her from Anthony.Lulan should be back in her seat - next to her boss.From this point of view, George still doesn't like or trust Anthony.

She peeked across the table, and Anthony was frowning.He didn't look at her.He glanced keenly at the empty seat beside him.He said: "I'm glad you invited another man, I have to leave early later, I ran into someone I know here, I can't shirk it, I can't help it." George laughed and said: "You still can't forget your business in your leisure time? Brown, you are too young to be like this. By the way, I don't know which line of work you are proud of?" The conversation was interrupted for a moment.Anthony calmly and tactfully replied: "Criminal organization, Patton, that's what I say when people ask me."

Sandra Farley smiled and said: "You're in the arms business, aren't you, Mr. Browne? Arms torches these days are scoundrels." Iris saw Anthony's eyes widen in surprise for a moment, and he said lightly: "Don't spread it, Mrs. Alexander, this is something that should not be spread. There are spies from foreign forces everywhere. It's too open." He shook his head gravely, mockingly. The waiter came and took the empty plate of oysters.Stephen invites Iris to dance with him. Before long, they were all up and dancing.The atmosphere relaxed. After a while, it was Iris' turn to dance with Anthony.

"George didn't have the best intentions of not letting us sit together," she said. "No, he's being merciful. In this way, I can just look at you through the table at any time." "You don't really want to leave early, do you?" "possible." He then said: "Do you know Reese's skill is coming?" "No, I don't know anything about it." "It's kind of weird." "You know him? Oh, yes, you said that the other day." She added: "What kind of person is he?" "No one really knows."

They returned to the table.The night was getting dark.The tense atmosphere that had been relaxed seemed to gather again.There was a tense atmosphere at the table, only the host seemed happy and calm. Iris saw him looking at his watch. Suddenly, a drum beat - and the lights dimmed.A stage was raised inside, and the seats were pushed back slightly to the west.Three couples dance on the floor, followed by a man who makes various noises.The sound of trains, sirens, airplanes, sewing machines, and cows.The performance was very successful and won a lot of applause.Followed by a dance show like aerobics, won more applause.Then came the performance of the Luxembourg Sextet and the lights came back on.

Everyone blinked. At this time, the people at the table seemed to be relieved from the extreme tension, as if they were subconsciously expecting something, but it didn't happen.Because the last time when the lights came back on, a person lay down on the table.Now all that was in the past seemed to have passed—in oblivion.The shadow of the tragedy of the past has dissipated. Sandra turned eagerly to Anthony.Steven watched Iris, and Ruth stepped forward to join him.Only George sat watching--watching, his eyes fixed on the empty chair opposite, with a glass of champagne on the table in front of it.At any moment someone might come, sit there—

Iris nudged him lightly and woke him up: "Wake up, George. Come on, dance. You haven't danced with me yet." He stood up, pushed his lowered glasses, and smiled lightly at her. "Let's have a drink first—toast to the protagonist of the birthday party. Iris Marr, I wish you eternal youth!" Everyone laughed and toasted and drank, and then they all got up and danced, George and Iris, Stephen and Ruth, Anthony and Sandra. It was a light jazz dance song. As the music stopped, they all laughed and went back to their seats.Suddenly, George leaned forward. I have a request for you all.We were all here one night about a year ago, and the party that night ended in tragedy.It is not my intention to evoke the sorrows of the past.But I just don't want to feel that Rosemary has been completely forgotten.I would like to invite you all to a toast in her memory - in memory. "

He raises his glass.Everyone raised their glasses obediently.A mask of politeness was cast over their faces. george said: "To the memory of Rosemary!" All the cups are raised to the lips, they are all dry. There was a moment of silence—and then George swayed and slumped on the seat, his twins clawing at his neck frantically, his face purple with difficulty breathing.A minute and a half later, he breathed his last.