<div class="floatleft">(http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk137/HaibaneR/Maria_Avatar-1.jpg)</div><strong>Who:</strong>Maria van Zandt.<br/><strong>Where:</strong>Arriving at the mansion, then down to the dining room.<br/><strong>With:</strong>At first with no-one in particular, then taking the seat at the head of the table between Connor and Luka and speaking to them both.<br/><br/>I had arrived first, most probably, and had been there an hour and a half already. I had been invited to go to dinner by the butler but had politely insisted that after a flight lasting<em>that</em>long and the heat of the airport and the limo ride there was no way on earth any girl worth her self-respect would go to an evening function without a long soak in the bath.<br/><br/>Smiling politely the butler had acquiesced and shown me up a flight of grand stairs and down a corridor to a room styled in repro Regency. As he dropped my bags I turned to him.<br/><br/><strong>"Veer ar able to haf anyvink veer vish, yas?"</strong>He seemed able to unscramble my thick accent with ease and smiled again.<br/><br/><strong><em>"Of course, madam, what do you require?"</em></strong><br/><br/><strong>"Plis remove zer bed ant haf a vier-poster in zer place. Zer drappen to be… how you sayink? Vine red?"</strong><br/><br/><strong><em>"Maroon drapes to a four-poster, that is not a problem, Madam, the bed will be replaced while you are at dinner."</em></strong><br/><br/><strong>"Zank yuu."</strong>He nodded respectfully and withdrew. I stripped naked, threw my travelling clothes in the laundry and unpacked my things, taking a look out of the wonderful picture window. It opened onto a balcony where there was a small table and chairs. I went and stood out in the evening sun, enjoying the breeze on my skin and the view over the gardens and the large swimming pool. A dip in there naked would be on the top of my list tomorrow, perhaps even tonight. Perhaps even… No, maybe not that, it was a little too soon for them all probably. Better to find out who was here and what they were like before showing them that.<br/><br/>There was a card with some house rules specified. I read and digested them, before slipping the card back on the bureau. I padded across the room and into the en-suite where I ran a bath, added bubbles and then got in, luxuriating in the warm scents for an hour.<br/><br/>After bathing I frizzed my hair, leaving it spazzy and loose, applied a few squirts of Arpège and make-up and slipped on a simple yellow knee-length strappy cocktail dress (http://cn1.kaboodle.com/hi/img/c/0/0/6c/0/AAAADPNqNsMAAAAAAGwGJQ.jpg?v=1251399475000) and matching high-heeled sandals. (http://www.shoewawa.com/assets_c/2012/03/yellow_sandal-thumb-389x454-153989.png) The two shoes and the dress were the only three things I wore if you exclude my watch and earrings.<br/><br/>I clicked down the wide curving staircase back to the main hall to see a woman in a blue-grey dress entering. I slipped quietly into the room behind her, the butler nodding at me silently and closing the door behind me.<br/><br/>People were talking about Mount Everest and cars without windows which was strange because mine had definitely had them, they were just smoked so dark I could not see out.<br/><br/>I didn't introduce myself but acknowledged a few people with my eyes, and moved around the periphery of the room to where the food was laid out, buffet style. I selected a Scottish salmon salad, with most emphasis on the salad and less on the Scottish and asked one of the serving staff to pour me a glass of champagne. Looking around the room I took note of everyone's face and chose to sit between a scruffy looking fellow with a European air about him and a dark haired guy in a plain black tee-shirt. Thank heaven I hadn't gone for an expensive frock like that poor woman in the Versace, who was looking very out of place, though of course a man who had taken the effort to dress for dinner would have been nice.<br/><br/>I placed my food and glass down and drew up a chair.<br/><br/><strong>"Guut efening,"</strong>I said to the two men, smiling at them both,<strong>"I ham Maria."</strong>I pronounced the name with a long leading 'a': Maar-eeya.<strong>"Maar-eeya fan Zandt. How aar yuu doingk?"</strong>