so! I have a list here of all the young unmarried officers under your command. Major Lee kindly drew it up from personnel records. They could be all given provisional leave if they agree to go to the Ball. A few I had to delete after talking to some of the other army wives. We don't want any scandals coming back to threaten your promotion. Now do we?'
Any husband of twenty years of marriage knows the answer to that question. So Colonel Mackenzie replied in a deadpan tone of voice
"No dear."
Mrs. Mackenzie now sounded every inch the daughter of a general when she said,
"Indeed not. You can get Major Lee to write out the leave permissions in the morning. Best to leave the invites to me. I know a few ladies on that Hos[ital's charity committee. They owe me a favor or two. Don't forget to send the Office of the Prime Minister notice of your officers attending the Ball. He will then have to wangle an invite for you and me. Not what will we wear? Your dress uniform will have to go to the cleaners. My best dress will have to go to Andre. He is the best in the city. I hear that even Mary Feelgood uses him for her daughter's dresses. Now how old are they? Let me see the oldest is Hera. Yes she is old enough. Some might say a bit too old for a Ball but no daughter of Abraham Feelgood is ever too old. Then there is Hilda Feelgood. Yes she is just old enough.... So now who to call first?..."
Colonel Mackenzie slipped away to his office. He knew from past experiences that his wife would now ignore him whilst she buried herself in preparations. Ronald Mackenzie could not think of a more blissful outcome. Determined that nothing must up set this latest plan of his wife's fertile imagination he got Major Lee onto the leave formalities. He knew from bitter experience that a disappointed wife could make his life a living hell.
Abraham Feelgood was another husband who was glad of a distracted wife. Though he loved Mary, Abraham Feelgood loved business better. He loved to make money of course but after the first billion he lost interest in the mere accumulation of wealth. Nowadays he was more interested in the power his wealth could attract. This meant alliances. Abraham Feelgood had being buying politicians for decades. But politicians came and went. Even Prime Ministers did not last for any extended length of time. Particularly in Australia, politicians had short power life cycles. But the rich families simply switched from the last to the newest political guru. These rich families held the reins of power. The richest man in Australia, Abraham Feelgood, was determined to be the driving force behind all future political power games.
This Charity Ball that his wife ran every year was a golden opportunity to curry favor with the rich families. Abraham Feelgood had done favors for many of the rich city families. He gave prospective husbands highly paid jobs, got rid of undesirables by any means available and directly funded any business ventures that would bind rich families to his future interests.
Now he was going to cash in a few favors. Abraham Feelgood had decided to win the support of the second richest family in the harbor city. This he would do the old fashioned way. Marriage was still more about money and wealth in the social circles with too much of both. The Horan family had a highly eligible son. The Feelgood family had two eligible young women. All three would be at this year's Charity Ball. Any marriage proposal would be the start of a family merger that would increase Abraham's Feelgood's power base. The Horan Family were the richest family in the harbor city after the Feelgoods. Lucas Horan was unmarried and available. But not for long if Abraham Feelgood had his way. Now all he had to do was convince his daughters and his wife.
The Feelgood Hospital Charity Ball was always going to be a big media event in Australia's largest harbor city. On the night the media pack had their hounds, their photographers, and their weapons -their microphones. So arrivals had to leave their stretch limos at the entrance to the largest ballroom in the southern hemisphere. The carpet to the ballroom entrance was not red it was golden. The rich families of the eastern seaboard paraded their most eligible bachelors and bachelorettes up this golden carpet as a rite of passage. On entering the ballroom the well dressed young rich kids had to descend a small flight of stairs. As for the carefully chosen young naval officers well they had to be brought in by a side door but where still eager to attend. When a large coach arrived some time later it was also directed to this side entrance.
By the time the Feelgood family arrived, minus one teenage daughter who was happy to be left alone back at the Feelgood's city mansion, the ballroom was packed. Abraham Feelgood made for the bar! Not to get a drink but to take his place as Charity Bar Chairman. Mary Feelgood raced off to the kitchens. She had got an SOS from Mrs. Horan about the French Chef they had flown in for this event. Mary felt the tension coming out of that kitchen from the moment her car pulled up at the entrance. Her two daughters went off to find their respective groupies. Hera Feelgood was mobbed by woman who had been to this Ball before but had left disappointed. Hera was their self appointed matchmaker! They wanted to find out who she had chosen to be their partners for the evening. Hilda Feelgood was attending her very first society Ball. She made a beeline for her friends. There was always strength in numbers.
As Hera handed out her last partner suggestion, receiving a grateful kiss from some veteran maiden, a man approached her with a saunter. Looking up Hera stopped him in his tracks with a stare that would strip paint off a cruise liner. She said in a threatening tone of voice,
"Go away Lucas. I am not even going to listen to your pathetic pick up line."
Lucas Horan, voted by some magazines as the most eligible bachelor in the harbor city, pretended to be hurt by these words. In fact his could not be hurt because he had packed his heart in ice a long time ago. But you did not get to be the number one city sleaze merchant by just giving up every time you got an initial knock back. So he said in a tone of voice that could impress most women,
"Hera darling. So good of you to finally notice me. Your Dad and my Dad thought it would be a good idea for the two of us to get acquainted. I love your stunning dress, its the latest "Peeler" fashion dress isn't it? All my partners were those to these events. Anyway how about it? A dance I mean of course."
Hera was not fooled by the oily charm dripping from this infamous womanizer. She answered in a tone of voice Lucas only ever heard from his paternal grandmother,
"I don't believe a word of it Lucas. No you can't have a dance. Not from me. Nothing ever from me. Is that clear?"
Now Lucas was angry. No woman ever refuses him anything. How dare this spoilt rich girl speak to him...HIM..like that....but then he remember what his father had said that he had to do. Any failure on Lucas's part was to be punished the only way it hurts such a reprobate like Lucas. He would lose his private jet. This was registered in the name of Horan Corporation! And Lucas' father was chairman of Horan Corporation. So Lucas swallowed his pride to return to the battle of wits with Hera. He sounded resigned when he said,
"Look I know that in the past I have had a few flings. But that is all over now. I am to be made CEO of Horan City Holdings. Time for me to settle down. So what do you say, will you help a me reform? Please."
Hera now laughed. It had that tinkle in it but with a very hard edge. She said in her no nonsense tone of voice,
"You must have rehearsed that for days. Ever thought of acting in the movies? But seriously I would have fallen for that repentance routine if I had not just spoken to the last three women you dumped. You are a ruthless lover Lucas! If you ever come near me or my close friends again I will hurt you bad. Do I make myself clear?"
Suddenly Lucas was in a flashback inside his brain. He was seven years old. His paternal grandmother was laying down the law. When his mother tried to shield him from censure, as she always had done since he was born, she received a blast of vitriol that shrunk her back into her shell. Lucas could see Grandmother Horan in Hera's eyes. Turning white from fear, not rage, he made a speedy retreat.
Another man laughed out aloud. He said without fanfare,
"Horrible Hera the demigod! HowI have missed that tongue of yours. That poor man did not stand a chance."
Looking round Hera saw a familiar face. She cheered, raced up to him and threw her arms around his neck. This was no gentle hug. He had to fight for breath but did not seem to care. Finally Hera said in a loving tone of voice
"Hunchy.