As they rounded the side of the house, the sound of music and the gleeful screams of children greeted them. It was quite a scene. He guessed there were better than three hundred people on the lawn, which stretched away from the balustrade that ran the length of the long, wide terrace. Down below, a Dixieland band was in full swing beneath one of several white tents. A parquet dance floor had been assembled, and dozens of couples danced. Clowns and magicians performed tricks of all sorts for groups of children.

He thought about the birthday party that Ellie was going to this afternoon. He hoped it had a clown. Ellie would love a clown.

“How old is this kid?” Gibson asked.

“Eight.”

“Eight?” he said, incredulous. “They’re all here for an eight-year-old?”

“Don’t be absurd. They’re here for Ms. Dauplaise.”

“Right. Did my dad ever come here?”

“Of course,” Abe said. “He worked closely with Ms. Dauplaise. You don’t get very far in Washington ignoring invitations from Calista Dauplaise.”

“How did she get involved with Lombard?”

“You have it backward. Calista Dauplaise discovered Benjamin Lombard. Invented him, really. He was languishing in the Virginia General Assembly when they met. She plucked him from obscurity and polished his rough edges. Helped him make the right connections and bankrolled his run for the United States Senate.”

“Mighty generous of her.”

“Well, there are kings and there are kingmakers. Regardless of what populist history might argue, you rarely have one without the other.”

“So she must get some kind of trophy if he gets elected president in November.”

“She and the vice president are no longer on good terms.”

They climbed a stone staircase to the terrace. It appeared to be the designated child-free zone. Two dozen tables shaded by umbrellas had been arranged. People milled about, drinking and socializing. Waiters in bow ties circled, refilling wine glasses and offering trays of hors d’oeuvres. Gibson was hungry and helped himself to tenderloin and horseradish on thin-sliced French bread. Abe led him to the center of the terrace, where a table larger and more elaborate than any of the others overlooked the lawn, set apart slightly from the other tables.