The year of preparations for the many dates she had had with Derek had not added up to the time and care she had spent getting ready for her date with her husband that evening.And now, looking at herself, at the new person she had turned into, she could not help but exult. Dressed for her debut into Manaus society, it was Simon she wanted to impress. She had pulled her hair into a thick braid at the back and fastened it into a soft knot at her neck with a hibiscus blossom. Apart from the flower and her rings, she wore no jewelry but for tiny diamond earrings, a precious inheritance from her mother.She had put on a strapless gown of sapphire crepe de chine with white and red flowers sprinkled along the bodice and hips, and a fuchsia velvet streamer tied at her waist. With it she wore gold sandals and carried a gold mesh bag which had been her grandmother's, and was still in perfect condition. At the last moment she dabbed on a faint French scent, clear yet vaguely powdery, fresh and not at all powerful, a teasing kind of aroma.
