by Abigail Keam
“Got it for my twentieth birthday. I’m going to wear it until all the feathers fall out.”
“I don’t think you have long to wait.” Mona picked up another floating feather and handed it back to Alice. “Maybe you can glue that back on.”
“What are you doing standing in this line?”
“I’m in the receiving queue for Ambassador Lindsay.”
“Standing in line is for mere mortals. Not for the likes of you and me.” Alice grabbed Mona’s hand and pulled her toward the front of the line. “Excuse me. Excuse me.”
Embarrassed, Mona turned to the person they had cut in front of. “I’m so frightfully sorry. Really, I am.”
“Mona, pay attention,” Alice snapped. “Ronald, I’d like to introduce you to Miss Mona Moon. She is the owner of Moon Enterprises and is filthy rich. Besides that, her mines produce copper ore. Make her your best friend.”
Mona felt her face turn bright red. With platinum hair and yellow eyes, she must look a fright—red, white, and yellow. “Ambassador Lindsay, so nice to make your acquaintance. I’m so sorry about this.”
The ambassador shook Mona’s hand. “Don’t worry, my dear. Alice pulls these pranks all the time. We just ignore her.”
“Like hell you do,” Alice ribbed.
“May I introduce you to my wife, Lady Lindsay.”
Mona turned to a middle-aged woman who scrutinized Mona with such intensity Mona felt almost naked. She was sure Lady Lindsay disapproved of her metallic, backless dress. Mona bobbed her head. “Lady Lindsay. It’s a pleasure to meet such a noted landscape artist. I have read your treatise on roses and tried to copy your garden plan, but I admit I was a failure. I just don’t have a green thumb.”
“Perhaps you are not using the right kind of manure.”
“Don’t be snotty, Elizabeth.” Alice warned. “I underestimated Miss Moon once. It’s a mistake I shan’t make again.”
“I understand you are friends with Lady Alice Morrell,” Mona said to Ambassador Lindsay.
“You know Lady Alice?”
“Yes, she is my great friend. We met when I was mapping in the Near East and her father was stationed there.”
“There’s another Alice in your life?” Alice Longworth mocked. “I feel so betrayed.”
“Are you the woman who helped Lady Alice escape the rebellion?” Lady Lindsay asked, looking more kindly at her.
“I would say we helped each other out of a difficult situation.”
Ambassador Lindsay said, “She wrote to us about the escape and her father’s death. It was tragic. Yes, very tragic.”
“I understand she has married,” Lady Lindsay said.
“She married a Professor Ogden Nithercott. I was fortunate to help them celebrate their marriage at my home, Moon Manor, in Kentucky.”
“We must talk soon,” Lady Lindsay said. “So very nice of you to come.”
Mona realized that was a polite dismissal. They were taking up too much time in the line. “Thank you.”
Mona grabbed Alice’s arm and guided her away from the hosts.
“You’re pinching me. It hurts,” Alice complained.
“Good. How could you embarrass me like that?”
“Embarrass you? I made you. Now, they will remember you, and I bet Ambassador Lindsay will cable the prime minister tonight to get permission to discuss the purchasing of copper ore before you leave Washington. And her highness, the Lady Lindsay, will summon you to tea. Why do you think Lord Farley wanted you to come to this party tonight? To nibble hors d’oeuvres and sip pink champagne with another man as your escort? Lord Farley is thinking about the future and that future includes copper ore.”
Mona was stunned that Alice would think her marriage to Robert had practical dimensions other than true love, but this was the way the upper class thought. Their marriages were basically strategic alliances. Did Robert think the same way? Would he be interested in her if she was just plain Mona Moon, an out-of-work cartographer? Mona pushed that notion out of her mind. It was too horrible to contemplate.
“Oh, I see that I have shocked you. Mona, listen to my years of experience. I married a politician. If Nicholas had lived, he might have been president, but they are all monsters at heart.”
“Robert isn’t a politician.”
“Oh, really? When his father dies, Robert will become a member of the House of Lords. Expect a great change when that happens. No matter how liberal you think Robert is now, he will always use the law to protect the interests of his class.”
“President Roosevelt doesn’t.”
“Franklin is an anomaly and is despised by his own kind. I can’t tell you how many of the family won’t receive him anymore. Both Eleanor and Franklin have paid a high price advocating for the common man.”
“This looks like a serious conversation. Shall I go away?”
Mona and Alice looked up to Colonel Maynard Pickard holding two glasses of champagne.
“How long have you been eavesdropping?” Mona asked, reaching for a glass.
“Excuse me?” Pickard said, looking a bit angry at Mona’s accusation.
“What Mona wanted to say is that she wants you to dance with her, but since I’m older, I get first dibs,” Alice said, hoping to defuse the situation. “You won’t say no to the daughter of a former president, would you?”
“Of course not, Mrs. Longworth.”
“See there, Mona. Everyone knows who I am. Even this young Englishman whom I’ve never met.”
“This is Maynard Pickard, my escort for the evening. He is a friend of Lord Farley’s. Mr. Pickard, this is Alice Roosevelt Longworth.”
Pickard clicked his heels and bowed his head. “Everyone knows Mrs. Longworth.”
“Of course, they do.” Alice took the other champagne flute from Pickard and handed it to Mona. “Shall we?”
Pickard offered his arm after which he and Alice moved gaily to the dance floor as Pickard kept slapping ostrich feathers away from his face.
Left alone, Mona felt devastated. So far, she had embarrassed herself in front of the Ambassador and his wife, argued with Alice Longworth, and insulted Robert’s friend, Colonel Pickard. This was not a successful night. She could only imagine what Maynard Pickard would relate to Robert.
“Madam, may I speak with you?”
Mona turned to see the young blond man who had been watching her in the Willard dining room. “Are you following me?”
“Yes, I am.”
Startled by the young man’s bold confession, Mona laughed, “Well, that’s honest.”
“I have been trying to find you alone so that I might speak with you.”
“Why didn’t you make an appointment?”
“I did call Moon Enterprises, but they said you were on holiday and unreachable. Then I saw in the paper that you had come to Washington. I thought if I followed you, I could steal an opportunity to speak with you.”
“What do you want?”
The man took the flutes of champagne Mona was holding and placed them on a side table. “My name is Lars Dardel. I work for the Swedish Embassy. Here is my card.”
Mona looked at his card. “Still, what do you want?”
Dardel took Mona’s elbow and escorted her to the outside patio where men were relaxing with glasses of bourbon and cigars. Dardel pulled up two chairs and turned them away from the men to face the garden Lady Lindsay had planted. “Very sorry for the subterfuge, but the walls have ears.” He pulled out a cigarette case and offered one to Mona.
She waved them away. “No, thank you. I don’t smoke.”
“Please do. Otherwise, it will be asked what you were doing with me if not to smoke.”
“All right, but who will be asking?” Mona took a cigarette from Dardel’s case and noticed the inscription—Forever, EMD. Mona allowed Dardel to light her cigarette.
He lit one up as well.
“Now what’s this all about?”
Dardel looked about. “Please lower your voice.
” Seeing that no one was overtly watching them, Dardel said, “I am assigned to Ambassador Wollmar Boström. Do you know him?”
“No.”
“I work in many capacities for the Swedish government. One of my tasks is to obtain certain items that Sweden needs.”
“And right now Sweden needs copper ore.”
Dardel looked surprised. “How did you guess?”
“There seems to be a great deal of demand for copper ore these days.”
“I’ve been appointed to undertake negotiations for the purchase of copper.”
“Why would you want American copper when Sweden produces most of the copper and iron for Europe? Sounds like Sweden wants to corner the market on mineral sales. That could cause further economic chaos. I’m afraid I couldn’t allow that.”
“I am surprised you know so much about Sweden.”
“I know about my company’s competitors.”
“So you will not sell to Sweden?”
“I’ll make that decision when I’m asked officially by Sweden’s government.”
“Would you consider selling copper to Germany?”
“Are you an agent asking on behalf of Germany?”
“I’m just asking.”
Mona drew back in her chair.
Dardel’s eyes grew feral as he waited for her reply.
Believing that whatever answer she uttered would be reported back to someone, Mona put out her cigarette and rose. “Thank you, Mr. Dardel, for such an interesting conversation, but I must get back to my escort. No doubt he’ll be wondering where I have wandered off to.” She wanted to get away from this handsome young man. His congenial demeanor was at odds with the predatory expression on his face. Mona suddenly felt in need of a shower.
Dardel rose and bowed his head. “My pleasure, Miss Moon. It’s been an exacting discussion. We shall meet again.”
“I hope not,” Mona murmured as she went back into the ballroom.
Alice had been right. The avenues of power in Washington, D.C. would follow her wherever she went. She made her way to the open bar and got a flute of champagne watching the bartender pour it. Then she went in search of Alice and Maynard Pickard. She found them huddled in a corner hovering over plates of food.
“May I have some? I’m famished,” Mona declared.
Alice slid a plate filled with hors d’oeuvres over to Mona. “Don’t worry. No one has sneezed on them.”
Mona picked up some crackers with cheese and radish rosettes.
“They have tea sandwiches, Miss Moon. I think cucumber and pimento. I even think there are little biscuits stuffed with smoked ham.”
“This will be fine, Colonel Pickard.”
“Call me Maynard, please.”
“Maynard, it is.”
Alice said, “We have been having the most marvelous time. What have you been doing?”
Mona wanted to tell Alice about Lars Dardel and his inquiry about the ore, but decided not to. Alice was a notorious gossip. “Meeting people. Watching people.”
“Didn’t that nice looking Viking ask you to dance?”
“No, he just wanted to chat for a moment.”
“About what?” Alice asked, intrigued.
Trying to distract Alice from prying, Mona said, “Look, there he goes.”
Lars Dardel was dancing with a splendid creature in a red sequined halter top dress. Her curvy figure had all the men looking enviously at Dardel. They were cutting quite a rug. Dardel’s hand slipped down the woman’s bare back and onto her buttocks. Embarrassed at Dardel’s indiscretion, Mona and Alice looked away. They missed seeing the woman step back from Dardel in a fury and storm away to rejoin her escort. Dardel was left standing on the dance floor looking like a fool.
“Who’s that?” Alice asked.
“A new starlet from London. She’s on her way to Hollywood. I can’t quite remember her name,” Maynard said.
Hearing that the woman was an actress, Alice lost interest and turned her attention back to Mona. “No one has asked you to dance?”
Mona shook her head.
“Colonel, you must address this at once. What’s wrong with the men here?”
“I think they might be intimidated, Miss Alice. Miss Mona is wearing a spectacular dress. It makes men think she is unobtainable especially with all these sour wives around.”
“Then we must put a stop to that nonsense,” Mona said, smiling. “Take me for a spin. Let’s give Dardel and his beautiful partner a run for their money.”
At that moment, Ambassador Lindsay approached the table.
Colonel Maynard stood. “Ambassador.”
“Sit. Sit. No need for formality. This is a party, after all. I came over to see if one of you charming ladies was in need of a dance partner.”
Alice said, “Ronald, you couldn’t have picked a better night for this ball. Did you order the full moon to twinkle over Elizabeth’s garden? The embassy grounds glisten in the moonlight.”
Ambassador Lindsay grinned. “It is a brilliant full moon, I must say, but I had nothing to do with it. Even the British ambassador can’t order the moon about. I will tell you a gardener’s secret though. Elizabeth had the garden misted with water so the moon’s light would reflect off the water droplets.”
“Clever,” Mona said, impressed.
“Well, ladies, which one of you lovely sirens will take me up on my offer to dance?”
“I’ve been dancing all evening, so my dogs are tired. Mona, here, has been a little wallflower. She’s in need of a whirl and a twirl around the dance floor if only to show off that dress.”
“I must say Miss Moon does sparkle like my wife’s garden. Are you keen, Miss Moon?”
“I am, Ambassador.”
“Splendid.” He crooked his arm toward her.
Mona let Ambassador Lindsay escort her to the dance floor where they did a slow foxtrot.
“You’re a very good dancer, Miss Moon.”
“Thank you. I’ve been to more dances in the past year than in my entire life.”
“Don’t you like parties?”
“I don’t like surprises and something unexpected always happens at a party.”
“You’re not going to like this then.” Ambassador Lindsay sashayed into the library where he spun Mona around into a chair and left the room, closing the door behind him.
“We meet again, Miss Moon.” William Donovan stood by the fireplace, working on a neat bourbon.
Mona kept her composure. “Mr. Donovan, we have nothing more to say to each other.”
“Was I right when I predicted that you would be contacted by the Swedes?”
“Why are you asking a question for which you already know the answer?”
“And?”
“Yes, I was contacted by a man by the name of Lars Dardel who claims to work for Ambassador Wollmar Boström.”
“And?”
“I don’t know if Dardel’s claims are true. He may work for you, Mr. Donovan, and his contact was a setup to see how I would respond.”
Donovan laughed. “That may be true. Now you are playing the Great Game.”
“I don’t want to play the Great Game. I am not another Mata Hari. I have enough stress in my life.”
“Miss Moon, the Great Game is going to be forced upon you.”
“We shall see.” Mona rose for the door. “Don’t contact me again, Mr. Donovan.”
“One more question. Did he want copper ore?”
Refusing to reply, Mona sighed and opened the heavy carved panel door.
Just as she did, a woman’s bloodcurdling scream tore through the ballroom and over the music gaily playing. People stopped dancing and looked about in confusion while the musicians stood up rubbernecking from their chairs. Guests began congregating in the hallway.
Both Mona and Donovan dashed out of the library toward the screaming and pushed their way through a crowd of bystanders. Mona saw a man lying face down in the cloakroom with blood trickling from the side of his mout
h. His hair covered his face lying sideways on the floor. A woman stood over him still screaming. A waiter gently pulled the woman away, trying to calm her. Finally, her screaming stopped and just grunts and moans could be heard as the servant led the distraught woman into the ballroom where she was offered a chair.
Mona knelt and felt for a pulse. There was none.
Ambassador Lindsay pushed his way through the crowd. “Let me through, please. Stand back. Let me through. Please stand back everyone.” Seeing the body, he asked Mona, “Can we help him?”
Mona shook her head. “He is beyond our help, sir. He’s in God’s hands now.”
Lindsay crouched down and turned the body over.
It was Lars Dardel!
Mona searched for Donovan, but the man was nowhere to be found. She quickly stood up and scanned the crowd only to see Donovan discreetly leave the embassy through the kitchen. “Well, if that don’t beat all!”
Alice sidled up next to Mona. “I guess the party’s over. Let’s go.”
“We can’t leave. This is a police matter now.”
“You wanna bet? This ain’t America, kid. This is British soil.” Alice motioned to Maynard Pickard and bade good night to Ambassador Lindsay.
Before Mona, Alice, and Colonel Pickard escaped with the other guests rushing through the embassy kitchen, Lindsay grabbed Mona and took her aside. “Miss Moon, I’d advise you to be very careful. There are many dangerous people in Washington and the fact that Lars Dardel spoke to you before his death puts you in a precarious position. Beware and don’t trust anyone, and I mean anyone!”
Lindsay didn’t have to tell Mona that. She already knew!
5
Mona was poring over the morning paper when Violet announced, “Miss Mona, there is someone to see you.”
“Who is it?”
Violet handed Mona a card. “He said he is here on instructions from President Roosevelt.”
Mona studied the card. On it was printed the name of Abraham Scott with a phone number. No logo, company name, address, title, or position. Mona turned the card over. Nothing was on the back either. “Ask him to wait while I dress. I don’t think it is appropriate to receive him in my negligee.”