The Wedding Dress (7 page)

“
A good deal has happened since we last saw each other, Loraine.
”
Mrs. Otway shook her head impatiently.
“
Not only your father’s death, you poor child. But Philip’s engagement too. You do know he’s engaged, of course?
”

“
He—mentioned it when I saw him at the Opera,
”
Loraine admitted diffidently.
“
Don’t you—like her, Mrs. Otway?
”

“
No,
”
said Philip’s mother, without elaboration.

“
Does he know that’s how you feel?
”

“
No, of course not. I should weaken my position immeasurably if I let him guess that. She knows—naturally. Women always sense these things. She’s frigidly nice to me of course, and I’m warmly nice to her, because that’s my way. But she knows that I don’t mean that marriage to go through.
”

“
Oh, Mrs. Otway!
”
Loraine tried to sound shocked and only succeeded in sounding excited.
“
But—can you stop it?
”

“
I think so.
”
Mrs. Otway’s lovely face looked reflective and curiously ruthless.
“
I—think so. Particularly if you help me, Loraine. And you will, won’t you? Because of course you love him too, don’t you?
”

CHAPTER
FOUR

UNTIL Mrs. Otway said,
“
You love him too, of
course—
”
in a tone which implied a statement rather
than a question, Loraine had hardly dared to admit to herself how much she loved Philip. But now it was almost as though the words conferred some sort of sanction on her secret feelings.

“
How did you know?
”
She spoke in a low voice, but she made no attempt to deny the fact.

“
The way any intelligent mother knows, where her son is concerned.
”
Mrs. Otway laughed indulgently.
“
In any case, it was almost inevitable. He played Prince Charming to you from the moment he discovered you. Even a much more experienced girl would have found him hard to resist.
”

“
Oh—
”
said Loraine, not altogether pleased by this
reading of the case.

“
Your reaction was very natural, darling.
”
Mrs. Otway patted Loraine’s cheek.
“
And, so far as I am concerned, very acceptable. Far more so than anything to do with this Elinor Roye he now wants to marry.
”
And she pressed her lips together.

“
But, Mrs. Otway, it is his own business whom he marries,
”
Loraine pointed out reluctantly.

“
Not entirely.
”
Philip’s mother sounded agreeable but emphatic.
“
Few men who are good-looking and susceptible—and Philip is both—succeed in finding themselves an ideal wife before some harpy snaps them up. That’s where mothers are useful.
”
She smiled a trifle complacently as she rearranged her sables.
“
When he telephoned me on Sunday morning—which he usually does
—
and mentioned that he had seen you, I seized the opportunity at once.
”

“
The—opportunity?
”
Loraine said doubtfully.

“
I was able to say—with perfect truth—that I had business here and that I would immediately combine it with a visit to make sure all was well with you. That also was perfectly sincere, you know, dear. I didn’t quite like
the idea of you all on your own in Paris, when you are young and
—
I suppose
‘
innocent’ is the word.
”

Loraine laughed a little self-consciously.

“
But I’m not really all on my own here. I
—
I have a guardian.
”

“
Really? Philip didn’t mention that.
”
Mrs. Otway frowned, but as though she hardly thought a guardian improved matters.

“
I didn’t say much of him when I spoke to Philip. We had too little time to enlarge on anything.
”

“
Him?
”
Mrs. Otway repeated the word reflectively.
“
The guardian is a man, then
?
”

“
Yes. A
—
a sort of cousin of my father’s,
”
explained Loraine, once more resorting to this somewhat disingenuous way of describing Paul. For Mrs. Otway was too close to Philip
—
whatever her sympathies might be
—
for Loraine to dare to risk giving her guardian’s exact identity.

“A
cousin of your father’s? Some old man you hardly even knew, then?
”
Mrs. Otway spoke disparagingly.
“
Decidedly it was a good thing that I came. Apart from the fact that I wanted to be here,
”
she added with a mischievous smile.
“
And now—
”
she caught Loraine’s hand with an air of flattering intimacy which was oddly disturbing
—
“
we’re in this together, aren’t we?
”

Loraine hardly knew what to say. It was, of course, quite wonderful to find that Philip’s own mother thought it in his best interests that he should
not
marry this Elinor Roye. But the idea of being engaged in some sort of maternal conspiracy was most distasteful to her.

“
I’m not sure what you think I
—
we could do.
”
She rather nervously returned the friendly pressure of the fingers holding hers.
“
Of course I want Philip to be happy
—
and I wish he didn’t feel his happiness was bound up with her. But one can’t actually interfere, can one?
”

“
I can,
”
stated Philip’s mother calmly.
“
This girl merely filled a vacuum at a time when Philip was on his own and bored. What is required now is a powerful counter
-
attraction. And that, dear Loraine, is you.
”

“
Me,
Mrs. Otway? Oh, but he thinks of me as a schoolgirl!
”

“
No, darling. That’s how he did think of you. Now he is puzzled, charmed and intrigued to find you an amazingly attractive young woman. I was watching him each time the curtains parted and you appeared. And for minutes on end, I’ll guarantee he forgot that Elinor Roye existed.
”

It was impossible to brush aside this dangerously attractive theory, and Loraine caught her breath on a half-guilty gasp of joy. Then, before she could think of anything to say, either in protest or encouragement, Madame Moisant came hurrying back, with apologies for her long absence, and Loraine was firmly sent back to her own duties, slightly dazed, slightly troubled but indescribably excited.

For the rest of the afternoon she was kept so busy that there was little time to think of her own affairs. And when she got home there was something else to occupy her thoughts immediately.

“
I’m afraid I’m not going to be a very useful sort of guardian to you during the next three weeks, Loraine,
”
Paul explained to her, half apologetically.
“
I have to go to London on urgent business, and I may have to fly on to Montreal from there. In other circumstances, I might have taken you with me, I suppose. But since you’re fixed up at Florian’s, I imagine there’s no question of that.
”

“
None at all,
”
Loraine assured him hastily, for nothing short of physical violence would have persuaded her to leave Paris after what Mrs. Otway had told her.
“
Though it was kind of you even to think of taking me,
”
she added hastily.

“
Well
—
you
are
my concern, after all.
”
Unexpectedly, he touched her dark hair with a not ungentle hand.
“
I feel rather badly about leaving you. But you’re a good child and I’m sure I can trust you not to get into any mischief while I’m away.
”

Illogically, this had the effect of making her want to blurt out the whole story about Philip and Elinor and Mrs. Otway’s devious plans. But she firmly checked the confessional impulse and said instead that, under Mimi’s care, she was certain she would do very well.

When she had time to think about it, her guardian’s temporary absence from Paris did present some useful aspects. She would be free to see as much as she liked (or they liked) of both Philip and his mother during all that time, and she would be answerable to no one for the way she spent her evenings.

It was almost like a dispensation of Providence at this particular moment, Loraine thought gratefully. And, viewed in this light, Paul’s departure in a couple of days’ time seemed a legitimate reason for secret rejoicing, even if one felt a trifle guilty about it too.

The next day, with her lunch appointment in view, Loraine dressed in the most becoming frock she possessed, and with such good result that Paul looked at her twice across the breakfast table and finally asked:

“
Does Florian reckon to dress all his mannequins, even outside work hours?
”

“
I shouldn’t think so! Why?
”
Loraine inquired in surprise.

“
Well, that thing you’re wearing now, for instance
—
”

“
This?
This isn’t a Florian model!
”

“
Isn’t it?
”

“
Of course not! I bought it off the peg in London, before I came here. Florian would have a fit if he thought anyone mistook it for one of his inspirations.
”

“
I can bear the thought.
”
Her guardian smiled slightly.
“
Perhaps it’s the way you wear it.
”

“
Oh, thank you. You mean I look
—
nice?
”

“
I mean you look quite lovely,
”
he assured her.
“
You’re very happy about this Florian job, aren’t you?
”

“
Very. But why do you ask?
”

“
You look so radiant this morning. Not at all like a girl who’s going off to a routine job. More like someone who has some secret source of excitement and joy.
”

“
O-oh,
”
said Loraine, and only y main force did she prevent herself from blushing.
“
I
—
I suppose I do feel gay and on top of the world. But it’s difficult not to in Paris, with the sun shining.
”

And then she bade him a hasty goodbye and departed for work.

On arrival, she was half scared, half flattered to be summoned almost immediately to Florian’s workroom, where it seemed he was in a mood to design.

To Loraine it was a tiring but curiously exhilarating morning
—
her first experience of that combination of inspiration, concentration and frustration which would eventually result in something the fashion world would hail as a Florian creation.

He hardly spoke to her. She could have been a canvas and sawdust dummy for all the notice he took of her. And yet there was that strange, intangible
rapprochement
between them which must exist between any creative artist and his source of inspiration.

As time wore on, she thought more than once of what Madame Moisant had said about aching heads and sagging arches. But only when she began to fear she might not be released in time for her appointment with Philip did she permit a small sigh to escape her.

He must have been more aware of her than he had shown. For he said, absently but not unkindly:

“
Not much longer,
petite.
Are you very tired?
”

“
No, monsieur.
”
She straightened up resolutely.
“
It
wasn’t that
—
”
Then she checked herself quickly and
hoped he was too much engrossed with his own affairs to have noticed what she had said.

A useless hope, indeed, as she realized the next moment.

“
No? What then?
”
inquired Florian.

“
Oh, it really doesn’t matter.
”
She was ashamed to have let her private considerations intrude upon the great man. But he merely waited and, after a moment, she explained humbly.
“
It’s only that I
—
I have a lunch appointment.
”

“
An important one?
”
he inquired, as he flicked a length of shining silk round her and draped it with consummate skill, to fall in a cascade down the side of the skirt.

“
To me
—
yes,
”
Loraine confessed.

“
Who is he?
”
The tone was faintly indulgent, though his attention seemed to be exclusively on the fall of the silk.

“
Monsieur! I
—
I didn’t say it was a
‘
he’.
”

“
At your age an important engagement is always with a
‘
he’,
”
Florian replied drily. And, although she laughed, she found that she had to explain further.

“
He is
—
an old friend, monsieur. Someone I knew at
home in England. He happens to be in Paris
—
”

“
The friend of whom you were thinking at Marianne’s wedding?
”
inquired Florian, with a penetration which was all the more disconcerting because he still seemed to be giving only a fraction of his attention to Loraine and her affairs.

“
Monsieur, h-how did you know?
”

“
By exercising my natural judgement, which is good, and a certain flair for inspired guesswork which I
poses
,
”
Florian told her, without either conceit or false modesty.

Then he glanced at his watch and exclaimed,
“
It is already after half-past twelve. Come.
”
He whipped the material off her with good-humored speed.
“
It is time you were off.
”

“
Oh, monsieur! But your work isn’t finished.
”
In spite of Philip
—
and the flight of time
—
she was mortified at the idea that she might have proved unequal to the very first demand made upon her in the designing world.
“
On the contrary, it is most satisfactorily finished.
”