Hetty's Secret War
Page 28
*
‘You look beautiful,’ Annabel said and kissed Hetty. She dabbed at her eyes and then laughed. ‘I don’t know why I’m crying. It’s just that I never thought I would see you married.’
‘No? Well, there was a time when I didn’t either – but Stefan always gets his way, and a promise is a promise.’
‘Did you really tell him you would only marry him if he gave you a baby?’
‘Yes, but I might not have stuck to it if things hadn’t turned out as they have.’ Hetty smiled and placed her hands tenderly on her stomach, which was hardly showing the evidence of her condition. ‘It was really because I couldn’t believe that things would work out between us. I was afraid that Stefan would tire of me, find someone else, and I thought it wouldn’t hurt so much if we weren’t married.’ But of course it would have hurt just as much, because now that she had given herself to him completely, she could never bear to let him go.
‘But surely you couldn’t think he was like Henri?’ Annabel looked amazed. ‘You couldn’t find two men as different as those two if you searched for a year, Hetty. I was never very happy about your relationship with Henri, though I knew you were in love with him – but Stefan is completely trustworthy. Both Paul and I like him very much.’
‘Yes, he is rather wonderful,’ Hetty said. ‘I was an idiot not to trust him from the start, but there were reasons – but don’t tell him I said that, Belle. I don’t want him getting too sure of himself. He’s bossy enough as it is!’
‘But in a nice way,’ Annabel said and glanced at her watch. ‘If you’re ready, we ought to be leaving for the church. Otherwise Stefan will think you’re not coming after all.’
Hetty laughed. ‘Don’t be fooled by that charm. If I didn’t turn up he’d come and fetch me! Stefan doesn’t give an inch when he wants something – and it seems that getting his ring on my finger is priority for the moment.’
‘Well, if you promised him…’
‘For my sins,’ Hetty said and laughed as she saw her sister’s expression. ‘Of course I want to marry him, Belle. I would be mad not to. I’ve never been this happy in my life. I have the house I’ve always dreamed of, a business that I love, a baby on the way – and a man that I adore. What more could I want?’
‘I can’t think of a single thing,’ Annabel said with a smile. ‘But I still think we should get a move on or we shall be late.’
*
Hetty was smiling as she drifted down the aisle in a cloud of white lace and silk. She had told Stefan it ought to be a civil wedding since they’d been living together for six months, but his answer was unequivocal.
‘We’re having a church wedding so that you can’t wiggle out of it in a few months from now, Hetty. I’m a Catholic and once married I stay married.’
‘Supposing I don’t want that kind of marriage?’ she asked, her eyes daring him, teasing and bright.
‘Then you’d better say now, because I shan’t be changing my mind once you’ve agreed.’
‘Well, as a matter of fact I like the sound of it,’ Hetty said. ‘I converted some years ago, though I haven’t told my family that – but living in France it seemed the thing to do. Most of my friends were Catholics and I became interested in the rituals and the churches. I like the richness and the colour.’
Deep down, Hetty liked the sense of commitment the church gave her, the feeling of belonging, of having someone care about what happened to her soul. She thought it came from the insecurity of her childhood, when all her mother had seemed to care about was appearances. It was one of the things that had drawn her to Adele, something they had shared.
The marriage ceremony was longer than others she’d attended as a young woman, and, she felt, more binding. She glanced at Stefan once or twice, but he was unsmiling and she wondered what was wrong. She knew him so well now that she could feel that he was on edge. Once, she would have thought he had changed his mind about marrying her, but she knew him better than that. No, something else had disturbed him, but it wasn’t a question she could ask in the middle of their wedding.
It wasn’t until all the photographs had been taken, the cake cut and the toasts drunk that she had a moment alone with him just before she went up to change out of her dress. He was taking her to the south for their honeymoon, which meant a long drive, so they were going only a part of the way that night and continuing the next day.
‘Something is wrong,’ she said. ‘Don’t tell me I’m mistaken, Stefan. I can sense it, feel it – what has happened to disturb you?’
‘I didn’t want to tell you yet,’ he said. ‘But you’ll imagine all kinds of things if I don’t – Pierre de Faubourg’s body was found in the grounds of the chateau this morning. He had been blindfolded and shot through the head from the back.’
Hetty made the sign of the cross over her breast. ‘God have mercy. It was an execution?’
‘Yes. Everyone knew that he betrayed us. It was bound to happen if he came back.’
‘And of course he did – for a fortune that was no longer there.’
‘The Germans would have taken it if we’d left it,’ Stefan said. ‘It went to help others who had suffered losses during the war – to the wives of men who died and to the families of those who will never work again.’
‘I told Louis you would know what to do with it,’ Hetty said and kissed him. ‘You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want – but did you know about the execution?’ Had he wanted vengeance for the death of Fleur and the others? His eyes met hers, holding them, making her look into the clear depths, making her see. He had explained about Fleur and her childish crush on him, a love that he had never returned or taken advantage of despite the girl’s attempts to seduce him.
‘Do you think I would have ordered it on the eve of our wedding?’
‘No,’ she said. ‘I don’t believe you would. And that means we can forget about it. Pierre got what he deserved in natural justice. As far as I’m concerned, the past is gone and forgotten. I’m only interested in the future – with you.’
Stefan smiled at her. ‘I thought you might still feel something for him despite everything.’
‘No, I don’t. I never loved him. He was charming and kind to me and I found him good company at times – but that’s all it ever was, Stefan. I loved Henri when I was a girl and blind to his faults – but the only man who could ever bring me real contentment is you.’
‘You are happy?’ he asked, his eyes searching her face. ‘I know I pushed you into this wedding, but I was afraid you might change your mind.’
‘I am more than happy,’ Hetty said. ‘I am content. You can be wildly happy and yet at the same time not feel satisfied, be insecure and uneasy. With you I feel loved; that’s something I haven’t known before. I have everything I want of life, Stefan – and as long as we are together I always shall.’
‘You could ask me for the moon and I would give it to you if I could,’ he told her, his eyes intent on her face. ‘I am arrogant and sometimes thoughtless, and I go all out for what I want -–but I would do anything for you, Hetty.’
‘Why should I wish for the moon when I’ve got you?’ She laughed and pushed him away. ‘Stop fretting, Stefan. I know your faults and I love them. It is you I love, just as you are. If you were too soft with me I should lead you on a string like a tame bear.’
‘That might be interesting, just for a change,’ he said and grinned at her. ‘Go and change then, my darling. The sooner we are on our way, the sooner I can have my wife to myself…’
*
Philip saw Georgie standing in the garden gazing up at the moon. It was full and rather beautiful and he hesitated before going out to her. There were moments when his wife liked to be alone, and he thought that this might be one of them, and yet it was a beautiful night and he wanted to share it with her.
Georgie turned as he approached her and he saw she was smiling. He had been afraid she might have been sad, thinking of the past, of people she had loved a
nd lost.
‘I saw you and wanted to come and wish the moon down with you,’ he said. ‘Is that what you were doing, Georgie – wishing on the moon?’
‘No, I gave that up long ago,’ Georgie said and held out her hand to him. ‘But I’m glad you’ve come, darling. I was just standing here thinking about how I was going to tell you my news.’
‘What news?’ he asked, a heart stopping fear making him run cold all over. He was aware that she had been to the doctor that morning, and had been waiting for her to tell him what was wrong. ‘Are you ill? Is it serious?’
‘Well, it’s quite serious,’ Georgie said with a teasing look. ‘Because it means you’re going to have to work even harder, Philip – in a few months there will be five of us to keep…’
‘You’re having a baby?’ Philip felt the relief sweep over him and let out a Red Indian whoop that shattered the peace of the evening and sent the rooks flying from their roost. ‘That’s wonderful, darling. Absolutely wonderful.’
‘I’m glad you think so,’ Georgie said. ‘I was a bit worried about telling you, but now it’s all right.’
‘Is it – really all right?’
‘Yes, very much so,’ she said and reached up to kiss him softly on the lips. ‘This is what I want, Philip. You, the wonderful house you found for us, the children – and peace. You’re happy too, aren’t you? You don’t feel cheated or let down in any way?’
She held her breath, her fingers crossed behind her back. Once before she had thought everything was fine, but then Arthur had told her she’d cheated him and it had cut away the ground from beneath her feet. She didn’t think she could bear it if Philip felt the same way. It wasn’t that she was still yearning for Ben, but the memory was precious to her and it would always be there in her heart.
‘Good lord!’ He stared at her in amazement. ‘I feel as if I’ve reached heaven right here on earth. What in blazes made you ask such a question?’
‘A woman’s foolish fancy at a peculiar time,’ Georgie said and laughed. It was all right at last. She’d found a safe harbour from the storms of life, and it was good between them in every way. ‘I expect I shall want pickled onions with strawberry jam on toast very soon.’
‘Really?’ Philip smiled as she confirmed. ‘Well, I never. One thing is certain, Georgie darling. Life is never going to be dull with you and the children around.’
‘Did it used to be dull?’ She smiled as he nodded. ‘Poor darling. Well, I can promise you it is never going to be that way again.’
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