Jewels (18 page)

“Wait,” she said mischievously at him. “Maybe I’ll turn into a shrew once we’re married.”

“If you do, I shall beat you, and it won’t be a problem.”

“That sounds exotic.” She raised an eyebrow and he laughed He could hardly wait to take off her clothes and make love to her for days on end. It was a good thing she was sailing the following morning.

They had dinner alone that night, and William brought her back to the hotel reluctantly. He would much rather have taken her home with him for their last night, but he was determined to behave like a man of honor, no matter what it cost him. And it was costing him dearly as they stood outside her hotel.

“This isn’t easy, you know,” he complained, “this respectable nonsense. I may appear in New York next week, and have to kidnap you somewhere. Waiting until December is beginning to seem inhuman.”

“It is, isn’t it,” she mused, but they both thought they should wait, although she was no longer quite sure why it had once seemed so important to both of them. And it was odd, as sad as it still made her to think about it, she was more philosophical about her miscarriage. If she hadn’t had that, she would have Freddie’s child, or maybe even still be married to Freddie. And now she was free to start a new life, with a clean slate, and she fervently hoped that she and William would have many, many children. They talked about five or six, or at least four, and the prospect obviously pleased him. Everything about his life with her excited him, and they could hardly wait, as he took her upstairs and stood outside her suite.

“Do you want to come in for a minute?” she suggested, and he nodded. Her parents had long since gone to bed, and he wanted to be with her for every possible moment they could share before she sailed in the morning.

He followed her in, and she dropped her wrap and her evening bag on a chair and offered him a brandy, but he declined it. There was something he had been waiting all evening to give her.

“Come and sit down with me, Miss Sarah.”

“Will you behave?” She looked at him teasingly and he laughed.

“Not if you look like that, and probably not anyway, but come and sit down for a minute. I can be trusted for that long, if not longer.”

He sat down on the chintz settee, and she sat down beside him, as he reached for something in his coat pocket. “Close your eyes,” he told her with a smile.

“What are you going to do to me?” She was laughing, but she closed her eyes anyway.

“Paint a mustache on you, you goose…. What do you think I’m going to do?” But before she could answer, he kissed her. And as he did, he took her left hand in his, and slipped a ring on her finger. She felt the chill of cool metal as it went on, and after he kissed her, she looked down at her hand nervously, and gasped at what she saw there. Even in the dimly lit room, she could see that it was an exquisite stone, and an old cut, which she greatly preferred to modern. There was a perfectly round, twenty carat, absolutely flawless diamond on her left hand.

“My father had it made for my mother at Garrard’s when they got engaged. It’s a very, very fine stone, and an old one. And she wanted you to have it.”

“This is your mother’s engagement ring?” She looked at him with tear-filled eyes.

“It is. She wants you to have it. We talked about it for a long time, and I was going to buy you a new one, but she wanted you to have this one. She can’t wear it anymore anyway, since she’s had arthritis.”

“Oh, William …” It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen, and she held out her hand and flashed it in the dim light. It was an absolutely fabulous engagement ring, and Sarah had never been so happy in her entire life.

“That’s just to remind you who you belong to, when you get on that bloody ship tomorrow, and go so damn far away I can’t bear to think about it at all. I’m going to be calling you every hour in New York until I get there.”

“Why don’t you come over early?” She was looking at the ring as she said it, and he smiled. He was pleased that she obviously loved it, and he knew his mother would be pleased too. It had been an incredibly generous gesture on her part.

“Actually, I might. I was thinking about October, but I’ve got so damn much to do here. I’ll have to see what’s happening with the farm by then.” There had been some problems he still had to work out, and he had to make an appearance at the House of Lords before he left London. “In any case, I’ll be there by die first of November without fail. I’m sure you’ll be half mad by then with plans for the wedding. And I’ll get in everyone’s hair, but I don’t give a damn. I can’t wait to see you any longer than that.” He kissed her longingly then, and the two of them almost forgot themselves as they lay on the couch, and he ran long, hungry fingers along her exquisite body. “Oh, Sarah … God …” She could feel him throbbing for her, but she wanted to wait until their wedding. She wanted this to be like the first time, as though there had been no other wedding, and no Freddie. If William had been the first man in her life, they would have waited, and so she wanted to now, except that there were moments like this one when she almost forgot that. Her legs moved aside, gently welcoming him, and he moved toward her powerfully, and then he forced himself to pull away from her and stood up with a groan of regret, but he wanted to wait, too, out of respect for her and their marriage. “Maybe it’s a good thing you’re leaving,” he said huskily as he walked around the room trying to calm his senses, and she stood up looking dishevelled and passionate as she nodded at him. And then suddenly, she laughed at him. They both looked like overheated children.

“Aren’t we awful?”

“Not really.” He laughed. “I can hardly wait.”

“Neither can I,” she confessed.

And then he asked her something he knew he shouldn’t. “Was it … was it ever like this … with him?” His voice was deep and sexual as he asked her, but he had wanted to know that for a long time. She had said she hadn’t loved him, but he always wondered a little about the rest.

Sarah shook her head slowly and sadly. “No, it wasn’t. It was empty … and without feeling…. Darling, he never loved me, and I know now that I never loved him. There has never been a love in my life like ours. … I have never loved, or lived, or even existed until you found me. And from now until I die, you will be my only love.” There were tears in his eyes this time when he kissed her. But this time, he didn’t let it go too far, and feeling happier than he had in his entire life, he left her until the next morning.

She lay awake for most of that night, thinking of him, and admiring her engagement ring in the dark. And the next morning, she called the Duchess of Whitfield to tell her how much the ring meant to her, how grateful she was to have it, and how much she loved William.

“That’s all that matters, dear. But jewels are always such fun, aren’t they? Have a safe trip … and a beautiful wedding.”

Sarah thanked her and finished her packing, and William met them an hour later in the lobby. She was wearing a white wool Chanel suit, made especially for her in Paris by Coco Chanel, and her smashing new engagement ring, and William almost devoured her when he kissed her. He hadn’t forgotten the desire she had aroused in him as they lay on the couch in her suite the night before, and he wished he were going with them on the
Queen Mary.
“I imagine your father is glad I’m not.”

“I think he’s been very impressed by your exemplary behavior.”

“Well, he wouldn’t be for long,” William groaned privately. “I think I’ve about reached my limit.” She grinned and they held hands as they followed her parents into his Bentley. He had volunteered to drive them to Southampton, and their luggage was going on ahead. But the two-hour drive went much too quickly. Sarah saw the familiar shape of the
Queen Mary
again, remembering how different things had been when they sailed from New York only two months before.

“You never know what life has in store for you.” Edward smiled benevolently at them, and offered to show William around the ship. But William was far more interested in staying close to Sarah, and he politely declined the invitation. Instead, he went to their staterooms with them, and then they went out on the deck. He stood there with an arm around her and a woebegone face until the last gong sounded and the last smokestack had roared to life, and he suddenly found himself terrified that they would meet some disaster. A cousin of his had been on the
Titanic
twenty-six years before, and he couldn’t bear thinking of anything happening to Sarah.

“Please God … take care of yourself. … I couldn’t live without you …” He clung to her like a life raft for their last moments.

“I’ll be fine, I promise. Just come to New York as soon as you can.”

“I will. Possibly by next Tuesday,” he said sadly, and she smiled again, and tears filled her eyes as he kissed her again.

“I’m going to miss you so awfully,” she said softly.

“Me too.” He clung to her, and at last one of the officers approached them with awe.

“Your Grace, I apologize for the intrusion, but I’m afraid … we will be sailing very shortly. You must go ashore now.”

“Right. Sorry.” He smiled apologetically. “Please take good care of my wife and her family, won’t you? My future wife, that is …” He beamed down at her, and the large, round diamond on her left hand glinted powerfully in the September sunshine.

“Of course, sir.” The officer looked impressed, and made a mental note to mention it to the captain. The future Duchess of Whitfield was travelling with them to New York, and there was no doubt that she would get every possible courtesy and, service.

“Take care, darling.” He kissed her one last time, shook hands with his future father-in-law, kissed Victoria warmly on the cheek and gave her a hug, and then he was down the gangplank. Sarah was crying in spite of herself, and even Victoria dabbed at her eyes with her hankie, it was so sweet to see them. He waved frantically from the shore until they could see him no more, and Sarah stood on the deck for two hours after they sailed, staring out to sea, as though if she tried hard enough she could still see him.

“Come downstairs now, Sarah,” her mother said gently. But there was nothing to mourn now. Only cause for celebration. And by the time Sarah got downstairs, there was a cable from William, and a bouquet of roses so large it barely fit through the door of her stateroom. “I can’t bear waiting another moment. I love you, William.” The card said, and her mother smiled, glancing at the beautiful engagement ring again. It was amazing to think what had happened to them in two short months. She could hardly believe it.

“You’re a very lucky girl, Sarah Thompson,” her mother said, and Sarah could only agree with her, while mentally trying out her new name … Sarah Whitfield…. She liked the way it sounded … it had a wonderful ring to it…. The Duchess of Whitfield, she whispered grandly, and then laughed to herself as she went to smell the huge bouquet of red roses on the table beside her bed.

The crossing on the
Queen Mary
seemed to drag by this time. All she wanted to do was get home and start planning for her wedding. She was pampered by everyone on the ship, once they realized that she was the future Duchess of Whitfield. They were invited to the captain’s table several times, and this time Sarah felt an obligation to be more obliging. Now she had a responsibility to William to be more outgoing, and her parents were pleased to see the change in her. William had done wonderful things for their daughter.

And when they arrived in New York, Peter and Jane were waiting for them, and this time they hadn’t brought the children. Jane was beside herself at all the news, and squealed with delight, unable to believe how beautiful Sarah’s ring was. They showed photographs of William to her in the car, and Peter and Edward chatted endlessly about the news from Europe.

In fact, it was a week to the day after their return that normal radio broadcasts were interrupted to bring Americans Hitler’s speech to his Nazi Congress at Nuremberg. It was an awesome, frightening speech, and his threats to Czechoslovakia were clear to all who heard them. He declared that Germany would no longer tolerate the oppression of the Sudeten Germans by the Czechs, and he revealed that close to three hundred thousand Germans were working to reinforce the German border along the Siegfried Line. The dangers were obvious, but the question remained as to what Hitler would actually do about it, and how the world would react when he did it. The venom and fury and hatred that had emanated from him as he spoke had shaken Americans to the core, as they listened to him, broadcast live to them over the airwaves, and for the first time the threat of war in Europe seemed real, It was obvious that, if nothing else, the Czechs were going to be devoured by the Germans. And no one who listened thought that was good news.

For the next week people spoke of nothing else. The newspapers announced that the armies of Europe were being mobilized, the fleets were at the ready, and Europe was waiting for Hitler’s next move.

And on September twenty-first, at eight-fifteen New York time, events in Prague finally reached a climax. The French and British ministers there announced that they would not mobilize on behalf of the Czechs, and risk Hitler’s fury. They offered Czechoslovakia no choice but to capitulate, and give itself over to the Nazi forces of Adolf Hitler. By 11
A.M.
in New York, 5
P.M.
in Prague, the government had come to the conclusion that it had no choice. Prague capitulated to the German forces, as their supporters around the world heard the news and cried.

And by then it was raining in New York, as though God were crying for the Czechs, as Sarah did as she listened to the broadcast. The broadcast had come to New York in an oddly roundabout way, due to “difficult” weather on the Atlantic, and in order to circumvent the problem, the broadcast had gone from Prague to Cape Town to Buenos Aires to New York. And could then be clearly heard. But by noon there was nothing left to hear. It was six o’clock in Czechoslovakia by then, and for them the fight was over. Sarah snapped off her radio, as did everyone else, and never heard the storm warnings that were issued at 1
P.M.
, announcing that a storm that had been hovering over the Atlantic might hit Long Island. The wind had picked up by then, and Sarah had been talking to her mother about going out to Southampton to start getting organized for the wedding She had a thousand things to plan and do, and the house on Long Island was a peaceful place to do them.