The Wedding Dress

by Danielle Steel

  Charles kissed his wife with an appreciative glance and told her how beautiful she looked, and for a moment they both admired the gown Eleanor was wearing. It was every bit as splendid as Louise had promised it would be.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever been prouder in my life,” her father whispered to Eleanor as they left the house to get in the Rolls-Royce that had been sent from England by ship the year before, while Louise left in their Packard, to go ahead to the church. Charles and Eleanor would be going to the rectory, where she would stay until she walked down the aisle on her father’s arm. She had chosen not to have any bridesmaids, only her father at her side, and Alex waiting for her at the altar. His two brothers were his best men, and had sworn to behave, and he was holding them to it.

  Louise and Charles had appointed several ushers among their friends, and one of them led Louise to her seat, as they waited for the wedding to begin.

  The music they had chosen began playing once Eleanor was in the church, and Louise held her breath waiting to see her walk down the aisle. Everyone fell silent as they waited and then stood up as Charles and Eleanor walked in. The dress was the most spectacular one that Louise had ever seen, and Eleanor was equal to it. She looked stunning in her tiara and wedding necklace from Alex. Louise glanced at him, and he looked as though he might faint. Charles looked serious, as he and Eleanor made their way down the aisle to the altar at a dignified pace, and then at last she had reached him, and stood looking into Alex’s eyes, as her father helped her lift the delicate veil which covered her face.

  “Oh my God, Eleanor, I love you so much,” Alex whispered, as the ceremony began. She was a vision of beauty like a creature in a dream. He barely heard what the minister was saying, until they exchanged their vows. Alex spoke up in a strong clear voice, and Eleanor’s quavered with emotion, and they both cried when Alex slipped the simple gold band on her finger, and she put the ring on his, which his brothers had managed not to lose.

  Then they were declared man and wife. Alex kissed the bride and they floated down the aisle through the doors of the church, and were driven the short distance to her home, where Alex finally had a moment alone with her before her parents and the guests arrived.

  “Oh my God, is this happening?” he said as he looked at her. “Could I truly be this lucky?” He had never seen a more beautiful woman or bride in his life. “You look incredible, and I love you so much.”

  “Alex, the necklace…” she said, touching it, as she remembered, and he kissed her with all the longing and passion of a man so deeply in love he couldn’t believe his good fortune to be married to her. And she was just as grateful to be his wife, and responded to his kisses with equal passion. It made her wonder for an instant if her mother was right, and those things took care of themselves. She felt as though she belonged to him now, and her place was at his side.

  They kissed and whispered for a few more minutes, and then had to join her family and their guests in the enormous tent, while everyone exclaimed at how remarkable it all was, how exquisite her wedding dress was, how happy she looked and they had never seen a more beautiful bride in their lives. And they posed for photographs.

  They spent what felt like hours on the receiving line, while people kissed her, and others squeezed their hands, and congratulated them and her parents. And at last, when the orchestra began playing, she danced the first dance with Alex, and then with her father, while Alex danced with his mother-in-law, and the guests smiled at them, touched by the obvious love between the bride and groom. It was the most impressive, dazzling wedding San Francisco had ever seen. Their friends were at the bridal table with them. Eleanor’s father made a speech about how much he and her mother loved her that brought tears to Eleanor’s eyes, and they welcomed Alex warmly into the family.

  People ate and drank and danced all night. Alex saw his brothers leave with two very pretty young women, which was something of a relief. Guests commented on how good the food was, and the wine, no small feat with eight hundred wedding guests, and at two in the morning, Alex and Eleanor shared a last dance, circling the floor with her in the magical wedding gown with her train attached to a narrow satin loop on her wrist. And then he whispered to her and asked if she was ready to leave. She was. She wanted to be alone with him, and it had been a long, unforgettable night. She was slightly afraid too, but didn’t tell him. He could see it in her eyes.

  They had cut the enormous artistically decorated wedding cake hours before, and all that remained was for her to toss the bouquet. She stood on the stage with the orchestra for a moment, turned her back and threw it over her shoulder. She laughed when she saw that a classmate from Miss Benson’s had caught it and was thrilled. She had confided to Eleanor recently that she was hoping to become engaged soon, and Eleanor hoped that the bouquet would bring her luck.

  Alex and Eleanor thanked her parents profusely before they left.

  “It was the most beautiful night of my life,” she said to both of them with everything she felt for them and Alex, and the wedding they had given her.

  “And mine,” Alex echoed with feeling.

  “Thank you, Mama…Papa…” she said again as she kissed them. She was going to drop the tiara off at the house the next morning when they left for the train station at nine A.M. Her trunks were already packed and at the hotel, and she was going to take her wedding necklace with her to wear on the ship. Alex was pleased. As she had guessed, it had been his mother’s, and one of her favorite pieces, he said. She had been much older than Eleanor when she received it, but Alex wanted her to have it, and it was perfect on her. His father had bought it at Cartier in Paris before the war.

  Alex’s chauffeur dropped them off at the hotel, just across from the house. He had reserved the largest suite in the Fairmont for them for their wedding night. They were both wide awake despite the late hour. Eleanor had stopped drinking champagne hours before. She didn’t want to get drunk or sick at her wedding, and Alex had drunk in moderation for the same reason. He didn’t want to be blind drunk on his first night with his bride. But they opened a bottle of champagne when they got to their suite, and Eleanor sipped it. They talked for a while about what an extraordinary wedding it had been. They had been posing for photographs all night long, and Eleanor couldn’t wait to see them.

  “Shall we retire?” he asked gently. They had to be up at seven, to leave the hotel at nine. Wilson was to come for the dress right before they left in the morning. They had a long journey on the train ahead of them, after a big day and a late night.

  Alex carefully helped her undo the fastenings on the dress, and she disappeared into the bedroom of the suite to finish undressing. It made her sad as she carefully stepped out of the dress. She hadn’t even noticed how heavy it was with the pearls carefully embroidered onto it. It was so perfectly made that the weight of it was never uncomfortable, and it saddened her to realize that the big moment was over, and she would never wear the dress again. She wondered who would, which of her children, a long time from now. She laid it out carefully, with the shoes, and disappeared into the bathroom where Wilson had left a beautiful lace nightgown Madame Lanvin had given her as a gift for her wedding night, with little white satin ribbons on it. It molded her body as Madame Lanvin had meant it to, without being vulgar, but exquisitely sexy and alluring, as only a French designer could do. She took her hair out of the chignon, and it cascaded past her shoulders, as she stood in the white lace nightgown, looking lost in the middle of the room, as Alex walked in, in his dressing gown. There was a separate dressing room for him, and he had undressed while she did. He looked strikingly handsome, powerful and tall and his heart went out to her the moment he saw her, looking frightened and so young. He put his arms around her, led her gently to the bed, and sat down with his arm still around her.

  “We don’t need to do anything tonight,” he said in a whisper. He didn’t want to frighten her more than she w
as. “We have a lifetime ahead of us,” he said gently and she nodded and kissed him.

  “But I want to…” she said softly. “I want to be your wife.”

  “You are my wife.” He pointed to the ring on her finger and smiled as he showed her his. “And I have never been prouder or happier.” He kissed her as he said it, and she responded with passion he hadn’t expected, which aroused him instantly. He slipped off her nightgown and lay her on the bed, so he could admire her and kiss her, as she put her arms around his neck and arched her body up toward him, and he could no longer hold back. He dropped the lace nightgown to the floor, and entered her as gently as he could, but their joint passion overtook them both, more than he intended. She cried out once, but moved even closer to him and didn’t pull away. He waited as long as he could to inflame the passion in her, and she was stunned when they both exploded at the same time. She looked shocked for a minute and gazed at him as they lay breathless in each other’s arms.

  “What was that…was that all right?” No one had told her anything about it, and her mother’s genteel allusions hadn’t included what happened when men and women made love and desired each other.

  “That’s what’s supposed to happen,” he said gently, and ran a finger down her body and up again, stopping in all the places that excited her. They made love again a little while later, and she was even more passionate the second time. He let his own desire for her go unbridled this time, and they both shuddered at the end of their passion again. Alex felt as though the earth had exploded in a million stars, and Eleanor looked sated and drowsy as she smiled at him afterward.

  “I like being married,” she said sleepily, “…very much,” and drifted off to sleep in his arms as he smiled. He liked being married to her very much too. For Alex, it was the dream of a lifetime, and he intended to make all of her dreams come true. And he knew they would cherish the memory of this day forever.

  Chapter 5

  Wilson came to the Fairmont the next morning while Alex and Eleanor were having breakfast, before they left for the train. She took the wedding dress, the tiara, and all the accessories with her, and she congratulated them again. She said that Eleanor’s parents were still asleep when she left the house. Some of the guests had stayed until five in the morning, and her parents had danced until nearly the end. They had enjoyed the evening too. Eleanor was wearing a pale blue wool dress and coat the color of her eyes that they had bought from a dressmaker in Paris between fittings at Lanvin. It looked lovely on her with a matching hat. They had made love again before they got out of bed that morning, and Alex was happy and surprised that she was such a willing partner, and by the morning, she wasn’t even shy with him. He was her husband, and she said she wanted to be a good wife. He could tell that she wasn’t sacrificing herself, she genuinely enjoyed their lovemaking, even though she had been a virgin when she came to him the night before. She had no hesitation about giving herself to him, which made her all the more appealing. He could hardly keep his hands off her, as they hurried to leave the hotel and catch the train to New York, which was to leave at ten. They were following the same route to New York she had taken with her mother in April to go to Paris for her wedding dress.

  Only this time they would be sailing on the RMS Aquitania, disembarking in Cherbourg, and then on to Rome by train to begin their honeymoon. She was a British ship, made a stop in Southampton, and carried mail as well, and was the fastest ship afloat. She was called the “Millionaires’ Ship,” had served in the Great War, and had been refitted for military service three months after she was launched, and had been used as a hospital ship. And for the past ten years had returned to service as a luxury liner with three classes. She was the last of the four funnelled ships, with glass enclosed promenade decks and magnificent public rooms and staterooms, a gym, and theater. A thousand crew members served the nearly three thousand passengers with impeccable service.

  After Rome, they were going to Florence and Venice, with a few days at Lake Como at the end. They planned to stay in Italy for almost four weeks, and then sail back to New York, and return to San Francisco in early November. Eleanor couldn’t wait for the trip to begin, and she looked like an excited child as they boarded the train. Alex smiled at her.

  “You have made me the happiest man in the world, my wonderful wife.” And she had been the most extraordinarily beautiful bride he had ever seen.

  They settled into their compartment, read, played cards, talked, and made love. They ate in the dining car, and lay in each other’s arms at night. They passed the time at ease with each other, changed trains in Chicago after the three-day trip, arrived in New York the next morning, and checked into the Plaza hotel.

  The Aquitania was sailing the next day. She was excited to be sailing with him. They had wanted to sail on the SS Paris but she had been severely damaged in a fire in August in Le Havre, and was not back in service yet in October, after the smoke and water damage. It was fun exploring the Aquitania with Alex when they boarded. They had a huge luxurious cabin, with enough room for Eleanor’s trunks, with her trousseau for the trip. She had been buying clothes for months to wear on their honeymoon. And when they wore evening clothes at night, she wore the diamond necklace Alex had given her as a wedding present. He was pleased that she liked it so much. It dazzled everyone who saw it.

  They played shuffleboard on deck, and lay in the sun in deck chairs, reading, then went to the swimming bath or the gym, and afterward went to their cabin discreetly, several times a day to make love. They chatted with other couples and dined at the captain’s table, and danced and drank champagne. They were in high spirits when they docked at Cherbourg in France. They’d already been traveling for ten days together by then, and Eleanor was totally at ease with Alex, as though they had always been married. She wasn’t shy with him at all, and was excited to board the train to Rome.

  They stayed at the Excelsior hotel on the Via Veneto in Rome, in an elegant suite, and took a horse drawn carriage around the city, looking at the monuments. Eleanor was enchanted with it, and Alex was enamored with her, more so every day. She couldn’t help wondering if a baby would result from their honeymoon. They made love constantly, several times a day. She initiated it as often as he did, which pleased him no end.

  They ate at elegant restaurants recommended by the hotel and particularly loved the Al Moro restaurant, which had just opened behind the Trevi Fountain. They went for long walks, bought pretty things. He got her an emerald bracelet at Bulgari, and she bought him a Fabergé box at a famous antique store. They explored all the shops and small churches, and left Rome reluctantly after a week. It was the twenty-second of October, and they went from Rome to Florence, for four days, and admired the wonders of the Uffizi, and more churches.

  Two days after they got to Florence, Alex received a flood of telegrams from his bank, that the stock market bubble had begun to burst. Investors had dumped shares en masse. Twelve million nine hundred thousand shares were traded that day, and they were calling it Black Thursday. Alex was concerned by the reports.

  They went to Venice two days later, which Eleanor fell in love with the moment she saw it. They stayed at the Danieli and walked everywhere, got lost, and found their way again. They took a gondola beneath the Bridge of Sighs, while the gondolier sang to them. It was the most romantic place she had ever been. Alex was enchanted being there with her. They had had the most perfect honeymoon he could have imagined, and Italy had been the right place for it.

  They were planning to spend a week in Venice, and several days at Lake Como, before returning to Cherbourg to sail back to New York. They had been in Venice for three days, it was October 29, 1929. They had just returned to their suite at the hotel after a day of shopping and exploring. It was six o’clock and they were going to rest for an hour or two, before going to dinner at the best restaurant in Venice.

  They had just walked into the room, when there was a k
nock at the door and Alex opened it, and one of the hotel’s young runners handed him a telegram. He took it and tipped the boy, lay down next to his wife on the bed. He assumed it was from his office at the bank, which would have just opened at that hour. He was right, it was from the assistant manager, in charge in Alex’s absence, and Alex frowned at what he read. “Disastrous situation. General economic crisis is coming to a head. Mass panic. Shares being dumped on the stock exchange in New York. Millions being lost. The economy is falling into the abyss.” Alex couldn’t believe it was as bad as he said. He wrote two quick telegrams, one to his manager and told him to sit tight, the other to a friend of his in New York, a stock market analyst, to ask him what he thought. He told Eleanor he’d be back in a minute, went to the front desk, and sent the telegrams. He got their responses before they left for dinner.

  His friend in New York confirmed that disaster had struck. Panic had hit Wall Street. Stocks were being dumped by the million. Billions of dollars were being lost. Sixteen million shares were traded that day in the second wave of panic in five days. Millions of shares had become worthless. It was becoming a crisis from which the country could not recover. It was the biggest stock market crash in the history of the stock exchange. Investors who had bought on margin were instantly wiped out. Black Tuesday was even more deadly than Black Thursday had been five days before.

  It didn’t make sense to Alex. How was that possible? Surely they were exaggerating. He sent a telegram to Charles Deveraux then, and they left for dinner. He didn’t say anything to Eleanor. He didn’t want to worry her, and he still didn’t believe that what had happened was as bad as they were saying. It just wasn’t possible.

  Eleanor thought he seemed distracted at dinner. He was unusually quiet, but she also thought maybe he was just tired. They had made love into the morning hours the night before, had gotten very little sleep, and had run around all day. She didn’t make the connection between the telegrams he had received and his silence. She just assumed they were messages from his office about ordinary things. And he said nothing to her of the panic on Wall Street.