"Beautiful, isn't it?" said Julia.

"Yes," Pitt said quietly. "The craftsmanship is quite unique."

"My father has a much smaller version that isn't nearly so ancient."

"The smell is a bit overwhelming."

"Not to me. I grew up surrounded by Chinese culture."

Pitt took Julia by the arm and led her into an immense room rilled with Washington's rich and mighty. The scene reminded him of a Roman banquet out of a Cecil B. DeMille movie: j slim women in designer dresses, congressmen, senators and the aristocracy of the city's attorneys, lobbyists and power brokers, all trying to look sophisticated and distinguished in their formal evening wear. There was such an ocean of fabrics between the guests and the furniture that the room was unnatu-rally silent despite a hundred voices talking at once.

If the furnishings had cost less than twenty million dollars, then Qin Shang had bought them at a discount house in New Jersey. The walls and ceiling were intricately carved and paneled in redwood, as was most of the furniture. The carpet alone must have taken twenty young girls half their adolescent lives to weave. It flowed in blue and gold like an ocean at sunset, and the depth of its pile made it seem as if one had to wade through it. The curtains alone would have put those in Buckingham Palace to shame. Julia had never seen so much silk in one space. The opulent upholstered chairs and settees looked like they might have been more at home hi a museum.

No less than twenty stewards stood behind a buffet linel whose mountains of lobster, crab and other seafood must have cleaned out the entire catch of a fishing fleet. Only the finest French champagne was served alongside vintage wines, none of which had labels from later than 1950. In one comer of the: ornate room a string orchestra played themes from motion; pictures. Though Julia had come from a wealthy family in Si Francisco, she had seen nothing to compare with this affair.

She stood in solemn awe as her eyes scanned the room. Finally, she recovered enough to say, "I can see what Peter mean when he said Qin Shang's invitation was the most desired in Washington aside from the White House."

"Frankly, I prefer the ambiance at the French-embassy parties. More elegant, more refined."

"I feel so... so plain among all these beautifully dressed women."

Pitt gave Julia an adoring look and squeezed her around the waist. "Stop belittling yourself. You're a class act. You'd have to be blind not to notice that every man in the room is devouring you."

Julia blushed at the flattery. It embarrassed her to see that he was right. The men were staring at her openly, as were many of the women. She also observed a dozen exquisite Chinese women dressed in silk sheath dresses mingling with the male guests. "It seems I'm not the only woman with Chinese ancestry."