We'll Meet Again (42 page)

Walter stood up and raised his glass. ‘Here’s to my beautiful bride and to you all for joining us on this wonderful day.’

‘This is so exciting,’ Luiza said happily. ‘Georg and I were married just two weeks ago. This is our honeymoon, and now we are here to share your wedding day. I hope you will be as happy as we are, Josie and Walter.’

Meg turned her head to look Rayner fully in the face for the first time. ‘Three on a honeymoon. How Continental.’

‘Meg.’ Josie cast her an agonised glance.

‘Continental?’ Luiza frowned and then laughed. ‘You are joking, of course. It is the English sense of humour.’

‘It is a business trip really,’ Georg said earnestly. ‘We are going to London. We have new markets to open up for our coffee. It was a practical solution, yes?’

‘Very practical.’ Meg gave Rayner what she hoped was a withering look. He had put her in an invidious position and she was not ready to forgive him yet, maybe ever. She was uncomfortably aware that people were staring at them. The sound of German accents must inevitably be unwelcome and out of place in a quiet Oxford hotel. She could see by the covert looks from people at the adjoining table that feelings were still running high after the horrors of the war. She was even more concerned when Rayner stood up, pushing his chair back. ‘Excuse us for a moment. There are one or two things I have to say to Meg that won’t wait.’ He seized her by the wrist and before she had a chance to protest she found herself being propelled through the maze of chairs and tables. With her nerves already on edge, she was even more agitated by the sudden silence in the room as people watched them leave the restaurant. ‘What are you doing?’ she hissed. ‘We can’t just walk out before the meal has even started.’

‘They will understand.’ He thrust a door open and ushered her into the hotel lounge. The room was empty except for an elderly couple seated in armchairs by the window drinking coffee and
studying the daily papers. Rayner pushed Meg onto the nearest sofa and sat down beside her, grasping both her hands so that she would have had to fight to free herself. ‘I’ve had enough of this. You are going to listen to me whether you like it or not.’

‘How dare you drag me away from the table and how dare you assume that I want to listen to what you have to say?’ She clenched her hands into fists but his fingers held her like bands of steel. A quick glance at the determined set of his jaw was enough to convince her that a struggle would look undignified, and it would be a waste of time.

‘Whatever you’re thinking of me is entirely wrong. I tried to contact you. I wrote you dozens of letters and never received a reply. I wrote to Walter and to David asking them to explain things to you, but it seems they got it all wrong.’

Meg met his eyes reluctantly and she knew that he was telling the truth, but all the pain of the last few months had etched itself into her soul. Part of her wanted to believe him while the other half of her brain warned her to be wary. ‘I didn’t receive your letters. My mother destroyed them.’

‘I knew there had to be a good reason why you didn’t reply.’

‘Then why didn’t you take your honeymooners to Guernsey? You couldn’t have known that I was in Oxford.’

‘I telephoned your home when we arrived in England. Gerald told me you were here.’

‘You could have phoned Josie’s house.’

‘I did, several times, but there was no answer, and when I did get hold of Walter you wouldn’t speak to me.’

Meg struggled with the logic of all this. She wanted to stay angry, but she felt herself slipping back under his old magic spell no matter how hard she fought against it. ‘Why did you send Luiza to Josie’s shop? What was I supposed to think?’

He released his grip on her wrists and slid his hands up her bare forearms to hold her by the shoulders. His eyes softened and his lips curved into his charming, crooked smile. ‘You thought she was my wife?’

‘Of course I did, you fool. Luiza turns up in the shop and says she is Mrs Weiss and she mentions you by name. What else was I supposed to think?’

‘There never has been and never will be anyone else for me but you, my dearest Meg. How could you imagine that I would fall out of love with you and marry someone else in such a short space of time?’

‘Luiza is gorgeous.’

‘Yes, and my cousin adores her but she is not you. I love you and only you.’ He cupped her face in his hands and punctuated his words with swift, hard kisses that forced her lips open and left her desperate for more.

‘But you sent her to Josie’s boutique to buy a dress like the one I wore all those years ago. What was that all about?’

‘I had no idea then that Josie owned the shop. As I recall it was Madame Elizabeth’s.’

‘And the dress?’

‘Come with me.’ He stood up and helped Meg to her feet. Holding her hand, he led her through the lounge, into the foyer and up the ancient staircase to the first floor. Walking on ahead through the narrow passage with its crazily sloping floor, he stopped outside a room and unlocked the door.

Meg hesitated on the threshold, taking in the quaint room with its latticed windows, chintz curtains and four-poster bed.

‘Come in, please.’ Rayner opened the wardrobe and lifted out a box that she instantly recognised. He thrust it into her hands. ‘Take a look inside.’

She lifted the lid but already she knew that it contained the gown that she herself had packed in layers of white tissue paper. She raised her head. ‘The dress?’

Rayner nodded. ‘I asked Luiza to find me a golden gown just like the one you wore to the May Ball.’

She lifted the shimmering garment from its wrappings and held it against her. Suddenly her eyes were full of tears. ‘It fitted Luiza, but I can’t wear this. I’m too thin.’

He swept her into his arms, crushing the dress between them. His mouth sought hers in a hot, ruthlessly demanding and passionate kiss that swept Meg into a dizzying spiral of delight and the dawning of happiness.

‘It was just a token,’ he said, looking deep into her eyes. ‘A reminder of how we met. Wear it for me now, Meg.’

She laughed shakily. If he let her go she had no doubt that her knees would buckle beneath her. ‘It would fall off. I haven’t got Luiza’s curves.’

He nuzzled her neck. ‘You’re perfect as you are. I don’t mind if it falls to the floor. I want you desperately, Meg.’

She felt his hot breath at the base of her neck and the thrill of his lips as they moved hungrily down to the swell of her breasts where her buttons had somehow come undone. The four-poster bed was only inches away and her head swam treacherously as her body cried out for him.

‘We mustn’t. This is madness.’

‘Do you want me to stop?’

‘No, but we can’t do this to Josie and Walter. It’s their big day. We have to return to the dining room.’

‘You can’t go down to the restaurant like that.’ Rayner grinned and began to button up her dress. ‘What would they think if they saw us now?’ he added softly.

She laughed and wriggled free. ‘We must go back to the party, or I’ll never be able to look Josie in the eye again.’

‘All right. If you insist, but we’ll continue this conversation later.’

When the last drop of champagne had been drunk
and everyone had kissed the bride and shaken Walter’s hand until he complained that it was in danger of falling off, they stood on the pavement outside the hotel while the bride and groom prepared to climb into the taxi that would take them to the station. Josie flung her arms around Meg. ‘I’m glad it’s worked out for you, darling. But do think carefully before you commit yourself to a man who was once the enemy.’

‘It’s not like that,’ Meg said softly. ‘I love him, and I’ve always loved him.’

Josie kissed her on the cheek. ‘Follow your heart then, Meg.’

Walter took Josie by the hand. ‘Come along, Mrs Howe. We’ve got a train to catch.’ He helped her into the waiting cab. ‘Good luck, old boy,’ he said, addressing himself to Rayner, who was standing close behind Meg. ‘Take care of her; she’s a wonderful girl.’

‘I know that very well,’ Rayner said, smiling.

‘What a happy day this has turned out to be.’ Luiza wiped her eyes on a handkerchief, waving frantically as the taxi drove off.

Rayner had his arm firmly clasped around Meg’s waist. ‘It’s not over yet.’

She dug him in the ribs as Georg cast them a puzzled glance.

‘We are going sightseeing,’ Luiza said. ‘Will you join us?’

‘No, thanks. You two need time on your own,’
Rayner said gently. ‘And we have a long-standing appointment to keep, haven’t we, Meg?’

They walked slowly, hand in hand, along the High Street and down St Aldate’s towards Folly Bridge.

Meg stopped in the middle, gazing into the water below. ‘Why didn’t you come last night?’

He took her hands in his and kissed them. ‘But I did. I waited for an hour. Where were you?’

Looking into his eyes she wondered how she could ever have thought they were cold. They were like blue sapphires, filled with light and warm with love. She threw back her head and laughed. ‘Josie’s car had a puncture. It took me an hour to change the wheel, and then I ran here covered in oil and dirt but there was no sign of you. I almost got arrested for attempted suicide.’

It was Rayner’s turn to laugh now, and Meg thought it was the most wonderful sound she had ever heard. There had been so little opportunity or reason for laughter during the war and now everything was so different; so wonderful.

‘We’re blocking the footpath,’ Rayner said, taking her by the hand and starting back the way they had just come. ‘There are two things I want to do urgently.’

‘What?’ Meg had to raise her voice to make herself heard above the traffic noise. ‘What two things?’

He stopped and wrapped his arms around her. ‘First we must find a jeweller’s shop and I will buy you the biggest diamond engagement ring they have in stock.’

‘But I don’t like diamonds,’ Meg protested, chuckling. ‘And you haven’t asked me to marry you yet.’

‘All right, then.’ Rayner went down on one knee in the middle of the pavement. ‘Marguerite Colivet, I love you with all my heart. Will you marry me?’

Someone applauded and passers-by stopped to watch them, openly amused. It seemed to Meg then that the old saying was true. All the world loves a lover, and whatever problems the future might hold their feelings for each other would transcend them all.

‘Get up, you crazy man. Of course I’ll marry you.’

‘And will you come with me to Brazil and help me run my part of the business?’

She traced the outline of his face with the tip of her forefinger. ‘With all my heart.’

He sprang to his feet and gave her a long and passionate kiss.

‘Meg, really,’ he said, laughing at her protests. ‘Everyone is looking at you.’

She giggled and slipped her hand through his arm as they walked on. ‘All right. I give in, but I’d rather have a sapphire than a diamond. What was the second thing?’

‘Put the gold dress on when we get back to the hotel and then I’ll show you.’