With One Look (49 page)

I love you, I love you....

She had Victor's love again—the madness was a thing of the past. She would never see the snake woman again. She would be fine....

"Everybody's goin' to make such a fuss over you," Tessie said. "It will be like a first reception."

Tessie's comment drew her back. "I never had a first reception," Jade said, straightening the black velvet ribbon and its precious cameo on her neck as Tessie began pinning her hair.

Receptions were the parties given by parents and relatives when a girl came of age for courting. "I remember wanting one, but not wanting the Reverend Mother to be bothered. Most all the Sisters assumed I would take the vows, anyway."

"I never had one either," Mercedes said. “Tonight will make up for it, will it not? I do hope we see some of the new waltzes!"

Jade smiled at Mercedes's reflection. A perpetual bloom rose in her cheeks, a beguiling sparkle in her soft hazel eyes. She looked lovely in the softest pale green China silk that hung off her shoulders and had a very long waist but was low in the back. Instead of flounces, it was trimmed with a matching green velvet and tinsel, which Tessie had also worked into the tight ringlets that framed her face.

Jade's dress was modest and delicate: a full skirt made of a soft white satin, covered by the palest lavender chiffon; its sleeves, waist and skirt trimmed with dark violet velvet. The sleeves hung off her bare shoulders, the dark violet contrasting sharply with her smooth white skin. She

wore tiny pearl earrings. Tessie was weaving violet ribbons decorated with tiny pearls into a smooth crown.

Tessie finished her hair, smiling at a job well done.

"Tessie, you work magic." Jade smiled, feeling a flutter of excitement. She should wear the matching violet pelisse, 'twas so pretty with the dress. "Will you wear your pelisse?"

Mercedes shook her head. "Oh, no." She smiled also. "Our gowns are too pretty to hide. 'Tis still warm, too."

"I think I'll just carry mine."

She rose and stepped over to the armoire, opening the doors. She closed them and stepped to the next doors. "Oh, where did you put it, Tessie?" she said as her hand flipped quickly through the hanging dresses.

A soft hiss sounded. Jade's gaze dropped to the floor of the armoire. There it was, coiled neatly between her slippers. Her breath left her in a startled gasp. She shut the door with a start. She turned to face her friends.

She closed her eyes, catching her breath. It's just your imagination! It's not really there!

Like the snake woman at the pond. It's all in your mind. “What's wrong, darling?" Mercedes asked.

"It is too warm for a pelisse." She forced a smile. "We—we should be off. Victor and Sebastian will be waiting—"

"Your slippers, Jade."

"My slippers?" She looked down at her stocking clad feet. Her slippers were in the armoire.

She looked behind her at the doors. She could not open them again if her life depended on it. "Tessie, where did you put my violet slippers?"

"They right there," Tessie said as she stepped to the armoire and opened the door.

Jade watched with keen fascination as Tessie bent over and, after a quick search, removed the slippers. "Here they are."

The color drained from Jade's face. She slowly took the slippers, then placed them on her feet. She gathered up her ivory fan and a matching reticule, stuffing a handkerchief and brush into it. Mercedes was already at the door, chatting merrily about how long it had been since she last danced with Sebastian...

Victor, help me now...

"Jade, sweetheart," Victor whispered against her ear. "I could not say which word describes you better: beautiful or pensive. Sweetheart"—his hand lovingly cupped her face—"what's wrong?"

The governor's mansion sat in the center of the American district, the Faubourg uptown, two short blocks from their house, and yet they rode in the open-air carriage to avoid soiling their gowns. The carriage turned down the oak-lined lane, the two horses clipping quickly past the massive Grecian mansions set back from the street behind beautiful gardens.

Jade turned to meet his eyes. The love and concern there melted the worst of her worries. "I suppose I'm a bit afraid. Seeing everyone for the first time."

He smiled, answering gently, "Have you ever noticed how little difference there is between fear and excitement?"

She glanced nervously away, thinking the difference was very acute when one saw the snake women at the pond in the middle of the night, or came across her evil pets in one's armoire. She smiled and reached a hand to his face, gently drawing him into a kiss. His lips touched hers, tenderly, chastely at first, but then as he felt the soft beckoning pliancy of her lips, the kiss managed to change the pace of her heart and breaths.

Victor felt the sudden stab of Sebastian's sheathed sword on his chest. "Victor. Please.

Mind the lady's costume. 'Twould be an embarrassment if she arrived unclothed—" Jade laughed as Victor leaned back with an angry grunt.

"Oh, look," Mercedes cried as the governor's mansion came into view.

Jade turned to see the colorful lanterns decorating the trees and lighting the courtyard.

While she had dined at the famous mansion many times before, she had just recently viewed it, as Mercedes and she had taken a stroll to view the many sights she had missed all those years. A carefully kept lawn of ivy appeared as a black blanket in the night on either side of the tree-lined driveway, with a sprinkling here and there of white that indicated flower beds in bloom.

Victor squeezed her hand. "I'll be with you the whole time." She nodded and smiled.

The ball was in full swing when their carriage stopped in front of the grand manor. Light poured from each window and lanterns surrounded the mansion, lighting the manor like a single star in the dark night. Music poured from the upstairs ballroom and people spilled onto the second- story balcony. Servants raced quickly to the carriage to provide assistance.

She drew a deep breath as her hand came over Victor's and she lifted her skirts as he guided her down the carriage steps. This was to be her first public appearance since she had regained her sight. Since word of the "miracle" had spread, she had spent at least four hours a week answering the numerous inquiries sent to her from friends and acquaintances, people who would all be here tonight.

The moment they stepped through the doors to the receiving line, the world became a blur of excited greetings and unfamiliar faces. She was clasping Madame Claighborne's hands, staring into the plump attractive face, taken aback by the sparkle and warmth in her kind, crinkled brown eyes. Jade had never seen her before, but she knew the woman well indeed: Victor was one of the governor's greatest supporters, and during the heady first year of their marriage, hardly a week passed when the two families weren't together socially. Madame Claighbome, Jade, and a number of colored women from prominent families had joined forces with the Reverend Mother before her death to start the Negro Women's Charity fund. Jade had always found Madame Claighborne's energies and enterprising efforts a welcome addition to the city, and she was known to chide the older Creole families for their uncharitable opinion of the good woman.

Jade felt the large flat of Victor's palm on the small of her back as he led Jade up the steps, following behind Mercedes and Sebastian. Lovely music floated down from the upper ballroom; people gathered everywhere. They had yet to even start through the receiving line. She marveled at the magnificent hand-carved doors they passed through, then the portrait gallery in the carpeted entrance hall. She knew the paintings must be of the presidents, but having never seen them, or seen pictures of them, she hardly knew which of the elderly statesmen was which. She turned to Victor, pointing her finger, when someone called out, "Jade Terese!"

Everyone looked up. Jade froze as first one, then three, and within minutes, no less than twenty unfamiliar people surrounded her exclaiming all at once.

Jade stared mutely. The voices were all familiar, but the faces might have belonged to strangers. Questions flew at her:

"Jade Terese, how did it happen?"

"What is it like to see after being blind for so long?" "Cher, don't you know me?"

Victor held up his hand to slow the rush of sudden attention. Madame Booraem and Madame Claighborne came to Jade's rescue. "Oh, please, dear people," Helena Booraem said at

Jade's side, "do give Jade some breathing room. We all mean well, but consider the strangeness of it! You know her, but goodness, she has never seen you before!"

Jade kept her eyes on her feet, trying to steady her gaze. For a moment, the lovely maroon- and-blue swirls of the carpet threatened to spin out at her, but she took a deep breath and smiled shyly, wanting to be strong for him. "It is indeed strange. Why, I believe I need introductions again."

The crowd laughed, and an elderly, rather plump, gent stepped forward, his brown eyes danced merrily. "Guess who, Jade Therese!"

Jade looked at him curiously and suddenly laughed. "Monsieur Crane? Oh, my goodness!"

The crowd immediately saw the fun in this. The rules were established: as each person took a turn and stepped forward, he or she said nothing to give an identity away. Jade had to guess who each person was. Laughter erupted as she inevitably guessed wrong, and Mercedes and Helena offered her clever hints. People heard of the event upstairs. More and more people descended to watch this fun and wait their own turn with the famous lady.

Governor Claighborne and his wife beamed with pleasure as their receiving line fell apart and people rushed to greet the Noltes. The Noltes, after all, were one of the most popular couples in New Orleans. Who could remain unmoved by the romantic events and adventurous, exciting air that seemed always to surround them? Besides, everyone there knew and loved Jade; the colorful events of her recent history, events culminating in the miraculous restoration of her sight, had only increased the public's interest.

"It's going to work, Margaret," the governor whispered to his wife. She nodded, and squeezed her husband's hand affectionately. The gala had been given to celebrate the launching of the three new steamboats and what that would mean to the city's burgeoning trade, and yet the occasion would also mark one of the first times members of the Creole community would mix and mingle with their American counterparts. Over the last few years, more and more of the Creole families had started to accept the American presence. Still, it was rare for both communities to join hands for a celebration. Tonight was an exception, and due to Mayor and Madame de Bore's influence, and Jade Terese's popularity, many of the Creole families would join the Americans for music and dancing.

'Twas far too crowded for the entrance hall. Madame Claighborne clapped her hands, capturing the crowd's attention, and insisted the lively group move upstairs to the ballroom. Victor took Jade by the hand and led her up the stairs.

The ballroom was a splendid sight Gilt-framed mirrors decorated the walls, creating an illusion that the spacious room was even larger. She was laughing and blushing at all the attention, more as the musicians set aside their instruments as the game continued. But all of Jade's laughter quieted as the next person stepped forward.

She knew who it was. She didn't know how she knew except that Mercedes had of course described Madame Pearl Williams to her numerous times, and as the plump matronly lady stood there, dressed in a lovely gown of teal silk, a small smile expectantly on her face as she waited for her recognition, Jade knew the sadness in her eyes. They had not been able to attend her son's funeral, the dear boy taken with the Reverend Mother and so many others in this year's outbreak of yellow fever, but she had sent her a letter and a book of prayers....

"Madame Williams, is it you, my dear lady?"

Madame Williams nodded. The audience applauded appreciatively. Jade stepped down and clasped the woman's hands, kissing first one, then the other cheek. "How fare thee, my dear lady?"

Madame Williams felt Jade's warmth and it was so strange, she thought, as the room seemed to stop and everyone watched the tender scene, how there was a time when she would have hardly spoken to Mademoiselle Devon, upset as she was every time she spotted her sitting in the second tier, or soliciting donations for the Negro charity fund, or being kidnapped and thrown into a brothel, of all ungodly places. None of that seemed to matter now. Not when she placed it alongside the comfort she had found in the small book of prayers Jade had sent her after the funeral, or how she had cried a month later on her deceased son's birthday when Jade had remembered with a bouquet of tuberroses, the flowers of remembrance.

Jade turned to Monsieur Williams, who stood at his wife's side, and with a sparkle and a smile, she told him how all the men seemed taller and more handsome than she had imagined, and the women more beautiful. The room laughed with her and she turned around, spotting someone who could only be: "Monsieur Farragut!" Victor's banker, a shrewd, calculating man in his early fifties, a man whom Victor alternately cursed and praised, depending on the stage of their negotiations, but a man who always came through in a pinch. "Why, I believe I'd recognize that sly grin across a crowded room!"

The room laughed, more when Monsieur Farragut replied, "I believe you did just that, Madame." He bowed.

Victor and Sebastian stood alongside Governor Claighborne and two of his aides, watching Jade Terese entertain the room as she continued this game, everyone swept away by her charm.

Mercedes and Helena stood alongside her, offering up clever hints with the others those few times when Jade was stumped.

"Look at her," Sebastian said in an awed whisper. "Look how beautiful she is! Here at last is the Jade Terese we know and love."

It was a special moment for Victor, watching her among their friends and acquaintances, seeing her so obviously well and happy again. His heart filled with the wealth of his gratitude and joy, and most of all, his love. They had traveled through such a long dark passage and now, finally, Jade Terese was his again, to love and cherish the long rest of their lives....