The Wedding Dress (24 page)

“
Loraine,
”
he laughed, caught her up in his arms and kissed her once or twice with the utmost tenderness,
“
what a delightful welcome.
”

“
Oh, but I’m so glad—so happy! It’s the most wonderful surprise. How did you come here?
”

“
Florian asked me to be your escort for the evening.
”

“
Oh, but—but you were going out with Elinor, weren’t you?
”

He shook his head and smiled.

“
What gave you that idea?
”

“
Florian told me you were.
”

An odd look come over Paul’s face at that, and he said gravely,
“
Even Florian makes a mistake sometimes.
”

“
But he was so positive. He said Elinor told him. Oh, it doesn’t matter, of course. Only,
”
a twinge of conscience invaded the security of her happiness,
“
you aren’t just letting her down, are you? I know what that feels like.
”

“
No, darling. That isn’t my way of doing things. And, since this seems to be one of those things which need exact definition, the last time I went out with Elinor was the evening you and Philip visited our restaurant. We had a frank discussion, which ended in our deciding that there was no point in our seeing each other again.
”

“
But you said—when I asked you if it had been a satisfactory evening—you said it had been very satisfactory.
”

“
From my point of view, it was,
”
he informed her with a dry smile.
“
That was another situation which I wanted dearly defined.
”

“
You mean—you didn’t
want
to see her again?
”

“
I mean I didn’t want to see her again. Or rather, that it was a matter of indifference to me whether we ran into each other or not, but that I had no intention of arranging any meeting.
”

“
Paul!
”
She looked at him in incredulous delight
“
Wasn’t this all—very sudden?
”

“
No.
”

“
But,
”
she frowned, in an effort to recall what had left her with the complete conviction that he had continued to love Elinor and rejoiced when she was free again,
“
but when I told you that the engagement between Philip and Elinor was broken, you agreed that was the thing you had most wanted to hear.
”

“
We both put it in the past, darling,
”
he reminded her.
“
It
was
once the thing I most wanted to hear. For some time it had already ceased to be so.
”

“
Oh, Paul,
”
she gave a smiling, reproachful little shake of her head,
“
you did give me a lot of wrong impressions quite deliberately, didn’t you?
”

“
What else can a man do when the girl he adores insists on telling him she’s in love with someone else?
”
he countered smilingly.

“
When the girl he
—
Paul!
”
Her hand tightened suddenly on his arm.
“
S-say that again.
”

He laughed softly and kissed the side of her cheek, just where the excited color was beginning to deepen.

“
Suppose I say it in another form,
”
he suggested teasingly.
“
What else could I do when my heart’s darling kept on telling me she was in love with Philip Otway?
”

“
Paul!
”

She put her head down against his shoulder and for a long moment nothing and no one else existed. Not Paris, Philip, Florian, the Fete, Elinor—anything. All she knew was that she was safe and that everything was all right.

Paul loved her and his arms were round her. The rest of the world, and all her life, could wait while she savored the perfection of that magic moment. Paul loved her
—
and she was safe in his arms.

Then at last she said wonderingly:

“
Am
I your heart’s darling?
”

“
Yes, Loraine.
”

“
Will you think me silly and shallow and—changeable if I tell you that you’re mine too?
”

“
No, my darling. That’s the thing I most want to hear now. So you see, I too must admit that I’ve undergone a great change. You’re not alone in that.
”

“
Oh, Paul, you do have the most comforting things to say!
”
She hugged him gratefully.
“
Almost anyone else would tease me and make me feel small.
”

“
I love you,
”
he reminded her simply.
“
I don’t want you to feel small. I like you to feel and look wonderful. That
time I saw you in the wedding dress
—
”

“
Oh,
then!
That was the moment,
”
she exclaimed in delight.
“
That was when
it
really happened to both of us, whether we knew it or not. Oh, clever, clever Monsieur Florian!
”

And, as though on his cue, Florian came into the room at that point, and smilingly asked:

“
What have I done to evoke this charming tribute,
ma
chère
?”

“
I’m sure you know,
”
Loraine laughed across at him in her happiness.
“
And, although I suspect that you told one thumping lie in order to achieve your purpose, I think I must forgive you. You always backed Paul to marry me, didn’t you?
”

“
At least I felt that my wedding dress would be sadly wasted if Monsieur Philippe succeeded,
”
the great designer admitted drily.

“
It was not wasted,
”
Loraine told him with a smile.
“
Remember? I didn’t look at Philip, after all. I looked at Paul.

“
I remember.
”

“
What’s this all about?
”
inquired Paul, looking amused and intrigued.

“
Loraine will tell you in detail another time,
”
Florian assured him.
“
I think I hear our other guests arriving just in time to drink a toast to our newly engaged pair.
”

And even as he spoke, Gabrielle entered, accompanied, to Loraine’s most genuine pleasure—by Marianne and Roger Senloe.

“
Dear Florian.
”
Marianne kissed his cheek lightly, while Roger shook him warmly by the hand.
“
Not match-making again, surely? This is becoming a habit.
”

“
A habit which you should be the last to deplore, my dear Marianne,
”
retorted Florian, handing round glasses.

“
I don’t deplore it. As a satisfied client, I'm interested, that’s all.
”
Marianne laughed and looked with kindly curiosity upon her one-time bridesmaid.

“
An engagement? This is the first I’ve heard of it,
”
Gabrielle exclaimed.
“
Is this really an engagement party?
”

“
Loraine’s and mine,
”
Paul explained, drawing Loraine into the circle of his arm.

“
But how lovely!
”
Gabrielle kissed Loraine impulsively. Then she raised her glass and said,
“
To you both, my dears!
”

“
To the match-maker!
”
added Marianne, raising her glass mockingly in Florian’s direction.

But, with a reflective smile, Florian disclaimed the tribute.

“
To the wedding dress,
”
he said.
“
The symbol of our art
—
and of the magic which each one of us here has found.
”

THE END