Harold Robbins Thriller Collection by Harold Robbins

Author:Harold Robbins [Robbins, Harold]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781647346775
Publisher: Wolfpack Publishing
Published: 2020-04-28T22:00:00+00:00

As unbearable as the cold had been that winter, the heat of the summer during the collection in Paris at the end of July and the beginning of August was equally unbearable. And in the large reception room of the Hotel de Ville it was even more so. Air conditioning hadn’t been invented as yet for French government buildings.

More than two hundred people had been packed into the room whose capacity was less than half that number. The champagne wasn’t even cold and the hors d’oeuvres were limp with the heat. The photographers and reporters crowded their way to the small platform at the end of the room. A collective sigh rose from the crowd as a man perspiring in a heavy black suit climbed up on the platform. The ceremony was about to begin. Soon they would all be able to leave.

He spoke into the microphone. “Messieurs et Mesdames.” No sound came from the public-address system. He tapped the microphone. No sound. He tapped again. Still nothing. He shrugged his shoulders and gave up. This time he almost shouted. “Messieurs et Mesdames, the Mayor of Paris.”

Applause rose through the room as the mayor entered through a door from his office. He looked cool and comfortable, as he should—his office was air conditioned. He held up his hand to still the crowd and smiled.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, his voice carrying through the room even without the microphone. He knew how to project. He was a professional. “I know you are all anxious to leave and go on about your business. Many of you have dinners and other important affairs to go to, so we will be as brief as possible. First, I would like to thank all of you for taking the time to be here and do honor to this woman who has done so much to keep the name Paris as the most important city in the world of fashion. A young woman, born and raised in this city, who has risen to the top of her profession as one of the great couturiers of the world. A woman in the grand tradition of Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli who will leave her mark in the fashion world for many years to come.

“So I would like you to join me in welcome and applause to this year’s recipient of the Médaille d’Honneur of the City of Paris, to a woman who has contributed so much to the culture and dress of the world and has been one of the greatest exponents of Parisian industry and charm ever known. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you Madame Janette Marie de la Beauville!”

The door to the private office opened again and Janette came out on the platform. She too was cool and smiling. She, too, had been in the mayor’s air-conditioned office. She crossed the platform and stood next to the mayor.

An usher appeared with the medal attached to the traditional red, white and blue ribbon, lying on a velvet cushion.

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