The Jackal answered by reading more Balzac, although he was of a mind to throttle the Peyton lass if she brought up one more esoteric allusion. No treasure map was worth such boredom, in his opinion. The king smiled, with an expression of bitter self-contempt; he thought his material royalty petty in presence of the august intellectual royalty of Lorenzo Ruggiero. Charles IX knew that he could scarcely govern France, but this grand-master of Rosicrucians ruled a submissive and intelligent world. "Wow!" Olivia sighed, determined to ascertain whether any tenderness lurked in the Jackal's steely heart. She then dared to ask, "Listen, JC, would you escort me to the opening of Lexi's new line? It's coming up soon and I just thought..." "I'd be honored to escort you to the fashion show. Lexi is a friend of mine as well. Call me when you have the particulars - can you do that?" "Yes, I'll contact you with the date. And now I have to go because I promised to help my father with some baklava that he's making for another one of Posh's Poussin parties. Get it, JC? Poussin...baklava...Greeks..." With no reply forthcoming from the humorless man, Hermes riding boots hit polished wood floor and Olivia sauntered through the main hall, soon galloping off astride Basque, not bothering to look back at Juan Carlos or Columba, very uncertain as to what her destiny held. This Episode is based in part on a short story by the immortal Honoré de Balzac, author extraordinaire. Click here to read a story by Balzac that was Picasso's favorite obsession, brought to you by the Cybersybils.    Text Copyright © 1999 - 2005 cybersybils.com All rights reserved.