BETWEEN THE MOON AND SAN FRANCISCO

Chapter 5

VIDEO above - SAN FRANCISCO by Scott McKenzie, 1967 'Summer of Love' smash hit.

OMG! The costume ball at the Romance Writers Convention!

It was with a mixture of excitement and apprehension that Annie got ready for the ball later in the day. The gala event was the official opening ceremony for the convention and anyone who was anybody in the romance publishing industry was sure to be there.

Mary, however, had no apprehension at all, only bubbling enthusiasm. "Annie, you look amazing," she said when they had finished dressing. "What a marvelous idea for a costume. What made you think of it?"

"My heroine Marylda in Desire's Destiny dressed like this. She had to impersonate a man when she stowed away on Jean-Luc's ship while fleeing France during the Revolution."

Standing in front of the mirror, Annie pulled up her hair and tied a colorful sash around her head, letting her long golden curls cascade back down from its confines. She wore a golden hoop in one ear, a loose-fitting silk blouse with billowing sleeves, form-fitting suede breeches, and knee-high buccaneer boots. Around her waist were several ornate jeweled belts, and from one of them hung a sheathed sword.

"Of course," she added, turning to Mary, "Marylda had to keep her hair covered with a tricorn hat so no one would know she was a woman."

Mary grinned. "Even if you wore a hat, everyone would still know you're woman. You couldn't possibly disguise it. You look like the perfect lady pirate. Do you know how to use that sword?"

Annie nodded. "Yes, but I never had any cause to use one before. However, if a certain someone bothers me tonight, I just may have to use this one."

Mary laughed as she smoothed the skirt of her gown. "You can only mean Van Drake."

"Exactly. He just might turn out to be the first man slayed by a lady pirate at a romance writers convention."

Mary shook her head. "You're bonkers, you know that? Just about every woman at the ball is bound to go crazy over that man, and you don't want anything to do with him. Humpphh! How do I look?"

"You look lovely," Annie told her. "Just like a pretty Regency Miss. Where did you get the dress?"

"At a costume shop in Minneapolis." Mary twirled around to show it off, and Annie admired the high-waist pale blue satin gown veiled with lace.

"It's gorgeous, Mary. And your hair is perfect for the period."

"It's 'in the Grecian mode'," Mary laughed, patting at the loose tendrils falling from the upswept hairdo. "Regencies are my favorite romances, especially the comedic ones like Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer wrote. The book I'm writing now is a Regency, but I'm having a hard time coming up with comic situations."

Annie gave her a droll look. "Just keep your eyes on me tonight. You're bound to see a few."

Several minutes later, they got off the elevator at the mezzanine and walked down the hall to the ballroom. A gaggle of women were crowded around the doors, all of them dressed in romantic costumes depicting almost every period in history.

Mary grabbed Annie's arm. "Oh lookit! There's Nora Roberts. She's one of the biggest sellers in romance and romantic suspense."

The legendary author of scores of romantic bestsellers, looking breathtakingly lovely on the arm of a distinguished-looking gentleman, walked out in front of them from a side corridor. As the couple reached the ballroom doors, the crowd there stepped aside and there was a great deal of oohing and ahhing as the glamorous romance writer and her escort passed by.