Jewels (17 page)

“December first it is.” He pulled her close to him again, against the splendid backdrop of Venice. “I believe, Miss Thompson, we are engaged then. When do we tell your parents?” He looked like a happy schoolboy, as she answered with a giddy grin.

“How about tonight at dinner?”

“Excellent.” After he left her at her room, he called the desk and sent a telegram to his mother at Whitfield. “Happiest moment of my life. Wanted to share it with you at once. Sarah and I are to be married in New York on December first. Hope you will feel up to the journey. God bless. Devotedly, William.”

And that evening in the hotel’s dining room, he ordered the finest champagne, and had it served before they even began dinner, although they usually preferred their champagne at dessert.

“We’re off to quite a start this evening, aren’t we?” Edward commented as he sipped the champagne. It was an exquisite vintage

“Sarah and I have something to share with you,” William said quietly, but he looked happier than Sarah had ever seen him. “With your permission, and with your blessing, we hope, we would like to get married in New York, in December.”

Victoria Thompson’s eyes flew open wide as she looked at her daughter in amazed delight, and for a fleeting instant, which neither woman saw, a bond of understanding passed between the two men. William had spoken to him before they had ever left London And Edward had told him then that if it was what Sarah wanted, he would gladly give the union his blessing. And now he was genuinely thrilled to hear it.

“You have our blessing, of course,” Edward assured him officially as Victoria nodded her consent. “When did this all come about?”

“This afternoon at the swimming pool,” Sarah answered.

“Excellent sport.” Her father commented wryly, and they all laughed. “We’re very happy for you. Good Lord” —it finally dawned on him then—“Sarah is going to be a duchess.” He looked pleased, and impressed, but most of all he was pleased with William, and the kind of man he was.

“I apologize for that, of course, but I’ll try to make up for it for her. I would like you to meet Mother when we go back. I hope she’ll be strong enough to come to New York for the wedding.” He doubted it, but at the very least they would ask her, and try to talk her into coming. But William knew that it was a very long trip for a woman her age.

Sarah’s mother broke into the conversation then, wanting to know what kind of wedding they had in mind, what dates they had talked about, where the reception should be, where they were going to honeymoon, all the details that gave mothers gray hair when it came to weddings. Sarah explained quickly that they had decided on December first, but that William would come over for Thanksgiving.

“Or sooner,” he added. “I couldn’t bear a day without her when you came here. I’m not at all sure how I’ll last when she leaves for New York.”

“You’ll be welcome anytime,” her father assured him, and the foursome spent a delightful evening celebrating William and Sarah’s engagement. The Thompsons left them eventually and the young couple spent a long time on the terrace, dancing to the romantic strains of the orchestra, and talking about their plans in the moonlit darkness. Sarah still couldn’t believe this was happening to her. It was all like a dream, so different from the nightmare she had experienced with Freddie. William gave her faith in life again. He gave her love and happiness, and more than she had ever dreamed.

“I want to make you happy always,” William said to her quietly, as they held hands in the dark and sipped more champagne. “I always want to be there for you when you need me. That’s how my parents were. They were never apart, and so seldom angry with each other.” And then he smiled. “I hope we don’t have to wait as long as they did to have children. I’m almost an old man now.” He was soon to be thirty-six, and Sarah had just spent her twenty-second birthday with him in Florence.

“You’ll never be an old man.” Sarah smiled at him. “I love you so,” she whispered as they kissed again. And she could feel now, as they kissed, increasing waves of desire and passion that would be even harder to deny now, knowing they could indulge them so soon. “I wish we could run away for a few days,” she said brazenly, and he smiled, his teeth white and shining in the darkness. He had a wonderful smile. In truth, she loved everything about him.

“I thought about suggesting it once or twice, but my conscience got the best of me. And your parents have helped to keep me honest while we’ve been abroad at least But I can’t vouch for how I’ll behave when we go back to London.”

She laughed at his rueful tone, and nodded. “I know. I think, for grown people, we’ve been extremely well behaved.”

“Please don’t count on that in the future. My good behavior, as you call it, is not a sign of indifference, let me reassure you, only of extremely good manners and restraint.” She laughed at his look of pain, and he kissed her hard on the mouth to prove it. “I think we should take an extremely long honeymoon somewhere very far away.. Tahiti perhaps? On a deserted beach, alone with a few idle natives.”

“That sounds wonderful.” But she knew he was only teasing. That evening they talked about France, which appealed to them both, even in December. She didn’t mind the bleak weather there. In fact, she thought it would be cozy, and she rather liked it.

He talked to her seriously then about something they had never discussed before, but she had opened the door now. “I didn’t want you to think that I would ever take advantage of the fact that you were divorced. I wanted things to be the way they would have been if you had never been married. I wouldn’t have taken advantage of you then, and I haven’t now. I hope you understand.” She did, and she was grateful to him. It would have complicated matters still further if she had had a brief affair with him, and then they had ended it when she left Europe to return to New York. Now they had nothing to regret, only a lifetime of shared joy to look forward to, and she could hardly wait to begin their marriage.

They talked long into the night that night, and when he walked her to her room, it was harder than ever to leave her there alone. But they forced themselves to stop kissing after a while, and he watched wistfully as she closed the door of her suite behind her.

Everyone enjoyed the last few days in Venice together and the four of them rode the train back to London in triumph. There was a telegram from Peter and Jane waiting for them at Claridge’s, congratulating Sarah on her engagement, and William had already received one from his mother in Venice saying much the same thing to him. Although she had also told him that she felt it would be impossible for her to go to New York to be with him at the wedding, she would be with him in spirit, she assured them both.

The next few days were a whirlwind for them, seeing friends, making plans, and making announcements. William and Edward wrote a formal announcement, which appeared in the
Times
, causing disappointment among the debutantes and dowagers of London who had been chasing William for fifteen years, and now were being told the chase was off forever. His friends were extremely pleased for him, and his secretary couldn’t keep up with the calls and telegrams and letters that poured in as people heard of his engagement. Everyone wanted to give parties for him, and, of course, they all wanted to meet Sarah, and he had to explain again and again that she was an American and she was leaving for New York in a few days, and they would have to wait to meet her until after the wedding.

He also managed to have a long audience with his cousin Bertie, King George VI, before she left, and explained to him that he would be giving up his right to the succession to the throne. The King was not pleased, particularly after what his brother had done, but this was assuredly far less dramatic, and he agreed to it, although with some regret, merely from the standpoint of tradition, and the deep affection they shared. William asked him if he might introduce Sarah to him before he left, and the King said that he would be pleased to meet her. Dressed in formal striped trousers, his morning coat, and his homburg, William brought Sarah back to Buckingham Palace for a private audience the following afternoon. She wore a simple black dress, no makeup, and pearls on her ears and at her throat, and she looked dignified and lovely. She curtsied low to His Majesty, and tried to make herself forget that William always referred to him as Bertie, although he didn’t do so now. He addressed him as “Your Majesty,” and her introduction to the King was extremely formal. It was only after a few moments that the King seemed to unbend, and chatted amiably with her about their plans and their wedding, and told her he hoped to see them at Balmoral when they returned. He liked it there because it was more informal, and Sarah was both impressed and very touched by the invitation.

“You’ll be coming back to England to live, of course, won’t you?” he asked her with a worried frown.

“Of course, Your Majesty.” He seemed relieved then, and he kissed her hand before he left. “You’ll make a beautiful bride … and a lovely wife, my dear. May your life together be long and happy, and blessed with many children.” Her eyes filled with tears as he spoke to her, and she curtsied deeply to him again as he and William shook hands, and then the King left to attend to more important business.

William smiled at her openly with pride as they stood alone in the room once the King had left it. He was so proud of her and so happy, and it was a relief of sorts to know that their marriage would have the royal blessing, in spite of his giving up his right to the succession. “You’ll make a beautiful duchess,” he said softly to her, and then he lowered his voice further. “Actually, you’d make a damn fine queen too!” They both laughed nervously then and were ushered out by a chamberlain who had appeared to assist them. Sarah was overwhelmed by how nervous she had been. This was definitely not an everyday experience. She tried to explain it to Jane later, in a letter, just so she wouldn’t forget it, and even to her it sounded absurd and incredibly pretentious as she explained… “and then King George kissed my hand, looking a little nervous himself, and said …” It was truly impossible to believe it. And she herself wasn’t at all sure she did.

They arranged to go to Whitfield again so that her parents could meet his mother. The dowager duchess gave a beautiful dinner for them. She seated Sarah’s father on her right, and spent the entire evening praising the beautiful girl who was to marry William. “You know,” she said nostalgically, “I never expected to have children, not after a certain point in my life … and then William came along, and he was the most extraordinary blessing. He’s never been a disappointment to me for a moment. He’s remained a blessing all his life. And now he’s found Sarah, and the blessing has been doubled.” It was such a sweet thing to say that it brought tears to Edward’s eyes, and they all felt like old friends by the end of the evening. He tried to urge her to come to New York with her son, but she insisted that she was too old, and too frail, and the long voyage would be too exhausting. “I haven’t even been to London in four years. I’m afraid that New York would really be too much. And it would be a nuisance for all of you to have an old woman to take care of, at such a busy time. I shall wait and see them when they come back here. I want to see to some improvements here in William’s house. I’m afraid my son has absolutely no idea what they’ll need, or what might make Sarah comfortable and happy. I want to make a few changes in his rustic little house, to make it more comfortable for her. And I think they should have a tennis court, don’t you? I hear they’re all the rage, and poor William is so old-fashioned.” As they went home that night, Edward marvelled at how lucky his daughter would be, to have a husband whom she loved so much, and who clearly adored her so passionately, and even a mother-in-law who cared so much about her happiness and comfort.

“Thank God,” he said gratefully to his wife that night as they undressed.

“She’s a very lucky girl,” Victoria agreed, but she felt lucky, too, and she kissed her husband tenderly, thinking of their own wedding, and their honeymoon, and how happy they had always been. She was happy knowing that Sarah would know some of that joy too. She had had such a dreadful time with Freddie, and the poor child really didn’t deserve it But the Fates had more than made it up to her now. William was larger than life, and a blessing for a lifetime.

On their last day in London, Sarah was a nervous wreck. She had a thousand things to do, and William wanted her to take a serious look at his house in London. He had bought it when he was eighteen, and it was a delightful accommodation for a bachelor, but he couldn’t imagine her being happy in it for very long. And he wanted to know now if she wanted him to look for something larger, or wait until they got back from their honeymoon in France, after Christmas.

“Darling, I love it!” she exclaimed as she examined the well designed and extremely tidy quarters. It wasn’t large, but it was, in all, no smaller than the apartment she had shared with Freddie. “I think it’s perfect. For now anyway.” She couldn’t imagine their needing more room until they had a baby. There was a large, sunny living room downstairs, a small library filled to the brim with beautifully bound old books William had brought from Whitfield years before, there was a cozy kitchen, a tidy dining room large enough for any dinner party she could manage, and upstairs there was one large, very handsome, and somewhat masculine bedroom. There were two baths, one which he used, and another for guests downstairs. As far as Sarah was concerned, it was perfect.

“What about closets?” He was trying to think of everything and this was all new to him, but more than anything he wanted her to be happy. “I’ll give you half of mine. I can move most of what I have down to Whitfield.” He was amazingly accommodating for a man who had always lived alone, and never been married.

“I just won’t bring any clothes.”

“I have a better idea. We’ll stay naked.” He was getting friskier knowing that soon she would be his wife.

But in any case, she loved his house, and she assured him that he didn’t need to find her another. “You’re very easy to please.”