Chapter 1463

• Private Dancer --
• The card on the little easel says ‘Madame X’. The easel is vaguely familiar but the name isn’t. It sets up the strangest little shiver in my imagination, an instant jolt of tightening in my loins. What’s going on? What is this? I smile and sip my wine, waiting. Well, whatever it is, I think it’s going to be interesting …
• The wait isn’t long, and she appears at the edge of the impromptu performance area like an image from a fantasy, a vision in blue. Her body is swathed in an enormous feather boa of midnight, sapphire and silver, and the delicate mass of feathers ripples and dances as she sashays forward, fluttering with every step, every breath. Then a familiar, brassy, stomping tune strikes up from the sound system, and she flings the marabou wide, exposing her costume and herself in all their glory.