The Wedding Dress (20 page)

“
Why don’t you take your guardian, if he’s so important to you?
”

“
Because I want you,
”
she said simply.

“
Darling Loraine!
”
He laughed again, and this time sounded exactly like his old self.
“
Well, I’ll forgive you for this evening’s defection then, and tell you I shan’t be longer than a week in England. So I shall be back in time for the Fete.
”

“
I’m so
—
glad.
”
She actually gulped in her relief.
“
But I’d like to see you before you go, if possible. Can’t we manage anything, Philip?
”

“
When will you be finished tomorrow?
”

“
I don’t know,
”
she admitted.
“
But I’ll try my very, very best to get off early.
”

“
All right. I’ll fetch you from the salon. Phone me when you look like being free, and I'll come along.
”

“
Oh, thank you! And
—
I’m terribly sorry about this evening. But I must fly now!
”
She glanced at her watch, realized that they must have been talking far longer than Paul would consider reasonable, and hastily rang off before he could engage her in further conversation.

“
I’m sorry
—
”
She came back breathlessly into the
drawing-room, feeling this was certainly her evening for being apologetic.
“
I’m afraid I’ve been rather a long time.
”

“
That’s all right. Who was your loquacious caller?
”
her guardian wanted to know.

“
Philip.
”

“
Oh?
”
Paul raised disparaging eyebrows.
“
What did
he
want
?
”

“
To take me out for the evening,
”
retorted Loraine, who thought he deserved that for his way of referring to Philip.

“
Well, why didn’t you go?
”
was the slightly disagreeable inquiry.

“
Because I had a previous engagement.
”

“
Oh, Loraine
—
”
he laughed, and his face cleared, so
that he looked almost boyish instead of slightly forbidding.
“
You’re a sweet child.
”
He put out a hand and drew her down on to the arm of his chair.
“
I don’t know what I ever did to deserve to have you for a ward.
”

“
Nothing at all,
”
she reminded him, though with a quick and mischievous smile.
“
I should think my father just took a list of the less remote relations and stuck a pin in it.
”

“
And I was the one who got stabbed,
”
he said reflectively.
“
It’s a sobering thought.
”

“
Shall we go?
”
She laughed. But she suddenly felt overwhelmingly glad that she had resisted all Philip’s arguments and blandishments. It would have been horrible to
make
some thin and obvious excuse
—
and then to go off and leave Paul alone. Rather the sort of thing Elinor might do.

And then she wondered how far he had got
—
if at all
—
with straightening out his affairs in that direction. And she decided to ask him, when the right moment arose.

As they drove out of Paris and along the Seine they talked very little. It was enough just to enjoy the soft evening air which blew in through the open window of the car, to delight in the beauty of the scene around them and, if the truth be told, remain content in each other’s company.

That was the remarkable thing, Loraine thought idly once. Nowadays she was so completely relaxed and at ease in her guardian’s presence that it was difficult even to recall how inhibited and unhappy she had once felt.

The place he had chosen was practically on the river bank, and presently they were installed at a table on the terrace, overlooking the broad, smooth stretch of the Seine.

“
It’s heavenly, Paul,
”
she said with a sigh of contentment.
“
Have you been here often?
”

“
Often enough to know that I like it on a summer’s evening, after a strenuous day.
”

“
Did you come here with
—
Elinor?
”
she inquired on impulse.

“
Once or twice.
”
He studied the menu with attention.

“
And you might do so again, I suppose?
”

“
One never knows.
”

She laughed, a little piqued. For, after all, he knew enough about
her
private affairs. She was only showing a friendly reciprocal interest.

“
I suppose that rather cagey air means that I mustn’t ask any more questions?
”

“
No. It means that I don’t know the answers yet to the kind of question you probably want to ask me.
”

“
Oh
—
I’m sorry.
”

She was. Genuinely sorry. For she realized that, however much the breaking of Elinor’s engagement might
have raised his hopes, the fact was that he was probably still a long way from re-establishing his own position with her.

“
That’s all right.
”
He looked up and grinned at her across the table.
“
Shall we talk about something else?
”

“
Yes, of course,
”
she agreed quickly. And presently she reverted to the conversation which Philip’s telephone call had interrupted, and began to explain in detail Florian’s plans in connection with the Fete du Roi Soleil.

“
So Florian wants you to bring a partner.
”
He looked reflective.
“
Who is it going to be?
”

“
Why, Philip
—
of course.
”
Then, because she thought he might find that a bit naive, she hurried on
—
“
He has to go to England for a week or so
—
they have property there, you know
—
but fortunately, he will be back in good time.
”

“
Very fortunate,
”
agreed Paul, so drily that she felt a momentary flicker of annoyance. But then she reminded herself yet again that it was asking too much that two men who had been rivals over the same girl should think particularly well of each other.

“
You don’t
—
mind my going with Philip, do you?
”
she asked, a little anxiously.

“
I have nothing against him, from a guardian’s point of view, Loraine. But,
”
Paul smiled wryly,
“
you mustn’t
expect
me to go as far as liking him personally.
”

“
I don’t,
”
she said earnestly.
“
And I think it’s extraordinarily good and tolerant of you, in the circumstances, not to oppose my
—
friendship with him.
”

“
I haven’t much choice in the matter,
”
he replied curtly.
“
You told me you loved him
—
and I want your happiness.
”

“
I know you do.
”
She put out her hand and touched his, lightly and gratefully. But perhaps he thought that was over-doing the emotional side of things somewhat, because he drew his hand away quite decidedly and said:
“
To study his ward’s happiness is the proper attitude for a guardian, I take it.
”

“
Well,
”
she laughed,
“
for a nice guardian, yes. Anyway, I appreciate the attitude, Paul. And I only hope your own affairs smooth out as completely as mine have done.
”

He looked at her curiously.

“
Just how far
have
your affairs smoothed out, Loraine?
”
he asked suddenly.
“
You’ve never told me, categorically, you know.
”

“
But I don’t have to surely?
”
She opened her eyes.
“
You know. Better than anyone else. It was you who explained everything to Philip. And now he knows everything
—
I’m happy.
”

“
But that surely isn’t the height of your ambition, so far as Philip Otway is concerned?
”

“
Well
—
no.
”
She laughed and colored, as she glanced down at the tablecloth and traced the pattern on it with a deliberate forefinger.
“
It’s naturally as important to me as to you that he broke off his engagement with Elinor. But now, oddly enough, you and I are in rather the same position. We just have to
—
wait for the next stage. One can’t
—
hurry these things. I know Philip loves me
—
”

“
How do you know?
”

“
It's in everything he does and says! The way he looks at me
—
speaks to me
—
smiles at me
—
”

“
I see.
”

“
When you love someone, you don’t need to be told everything in words of one syllable, do you?
”

“
No, Loraine, I suppose not,
”
he agreed gently. Then he made an odd little movement of his shoulders and said,
“
Shall we go now? It’s getting late and a bit chilly.
”

She realized then that the soft, mellow charm of the evening had faded, and there was a curious, unseasonable touch of bleakness about the night which had fallen.

“
Yes
—
let’s go,
”
she agreed quickly. And she was glad that, on the way back, he put up the window and showed little disposition to talk further. So that presently she fell asleep against his shoulder, and woke only when they drew up outside their home.

The next morning, at breakfast, he told her he would be out that evening, which made it easy for her to explain that she also would not be home, as Philip was meeting her from work.

“
Very well. Don’t make too late a night of it,
”
Paul said, in his most guardianly way.

“
No, sir,
”
L
oraine promised, dropping a submissive little curtsy
—
for which she got her ear pinched. But he kissed her too, before she went off, and she felt the day had started on an auspicious note.

To deepen the impression, she found Madame Moisant in an exceptionally good and indulgent humor and, throughout the day, customers seemed singularly easy to please. Even Lisette was less provocative and tiresome than usual and, feeling that this must be her lucky day, Loraine decided that her meeting with Philip could only be a radiant success.

All the same, she breathed a sigh of relief when she finally came out, to find him standing there beside his car, smoking a cigarette and looking handsome enough to make most women look at him twice.

“
If you’re not careful, you’ll be mistaken for a star model yourself and be photographed for one of the glossy magazines, before you know where you are,
”
she warned him, as she came up.

“
Heaven forbid!
”
he said, in his most British way.
“
Though now you’re here, no self-respecting photographer would think of taking anyone else. How lovely you’re looking, my sweet child.
”