Estate Of Erasmus Allassi. Thirty Years Before Erasmus

Estate of Erasmus Allassi Thirty years before Erasmus Allassi became the last living heir to the Allassi shipping fortune, his father, Stathos Allassi, lived in a small village, perched clifftop, overlooking the Cycladic Islands in Greece. Growing up among the tranquil white-washed houses of Chora Anafi -- a poor village, where locals survived on anchovies and sapts -- Erasmus Allassi found success in fishing. For Anafiots fishing was as natural as the mythological stories surrounding Anafi; tales of the island surfacing from the Aegean Sea to protect the Argonauts, who had prayed to Apollo to save them from the angry sea. However, the serenity of the village had been broken one day, when his father had succumbed to an irresistible†¦show more content†¦The well-brushed man entered with a letter between his fingers. â€Å"Sir, this just came from you. I think you should open it.† â€Å"What is the urgency?† â€Å"It is from the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, sir.† He handed the card to his boss and stood back. Allassi took the card from the man and read it. Engraved on the card: THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF WINDSOR Would like to invite Mr. Erasmus Allassi to an Evening Reception at Maxim’s de Paris at 3 Rue Royale, 75008 Paris, France on Monday, the 22nd, December, 1955, at 5:30 o’clock Black and White Formal Attire Requested. Allassi handed the card back to the man. â€Å"Put this on my calendar, as a maybe.† Then he waved his majordomo away. He gazed at the weathered stone walls of his grand bedroom. He lived in a windswept villa on the Cà ´te d Azur, the benefactor of an unusually golden life, both in America and the capitals of Europe. But, this afternoon he wished that he had not been invited to this dinner at Maxims. Sure, his golden court held him in high regard. Why not, with his witty repartee and gallant à ©lan? But, he was growing bored with the galas. The illustrious fame. The anointed. The monarchs and the divine. Including the bored expressions on the perfect faces of women with superbly coifed hair, the blessed women of haute couture. Certainly, in privileged circles, he was known as an attractive, well-heeled man-about-town. Always congenial and known for that world famous