The food at the local restaurant was simple bistro fare, but very good. There was even a vegetarian meal for Athena. Joe loved the traditional French dishes, and went to the kitchen to compliment the chef, explaining that he was a chef too, and so was Athena.
They were back at the château at three-thirty, and everyone went to their rooms to rest or outside to lie at the pool. Nadia finished arranging the flowers, and a local caterer was doing dinner.
She bathed and did her own hair and makeup, and at five-thirty all three of her sisters and her mother came to help her put on the enormous dress. It almost filled the room, and Venetia smiled broadly when she saw it on her. It fit perfectly, even without fittings and only her measurements to go by. Nadia really did look like Cinderella, and Sylvie and Laure gasped with wide eyes when they saw their mother.
“You look like a princess, Mama,” Laure said in wonder.
“No, she doesn’t. She looks like a queen,” Sylvie corrected her. Rose dabbed at her eyes watching the scene, and kissed all of her daughters. It was a very different story from what it had been a year before when she was fighting to keep Pascale and Nicolas off the pages of Mode and lost the battle. It was testimony to the human spirit and what people could come through if they had the courage to do it. A year before, Nadia had been mourning her marriage, now they were celebrating its rebirth, stronger than ever, with a depth to their relationship they hadn’t had before, and a greater understanding of themselves and each other. Nadia had gotten stronger and was more sure of herself. Nicolas had grown more serious and had greater respect for Nadia than ever before.
They had to turn the ball skirt sideways with Venetia’s help and open the double doors to get Nadia out of the room. Harley, Joe, Ben, Will, and Nicolas had gone ahead to the church to wait for the others. Venetia’s children went with her, Olivia, Athena, and the nanny holding Benoit in his antique christening gown that Nicolas thought his grandfather might have worn, from photographs he’d seen.
And Nadia, Sylvie, Laure, and Rose rode in an old Rolls they kept in storage on the estate. It was from before the war, in perfect condition, and was a museum piece that had been the pride of Nicolas’s father and they normally never used. The gardener knew the car, had cleaned it, put gas in it, and was driving it for them in his best suit. Sylvie and Laure were sitting on little jump seats and looked at their mother with awe.
* * *
—
They had discussed over lunch who should give Nadia away. Her brothers-in-law all volunteered, but she asked her mother to do it. They were going to walk down the aisle together, side by side, toward Nicolas at the altar, in the small, ancient church.
There was a throng of women and children around her, as Venetia fluffed up the skirt, Rose straightened the tiara Venetia had brought with her, borrowed from Fred Leighton, the jeweler in New York. Strangers watched her progress into the church. And finally, the family walked in, leaving Rose and Nadia outside with her daughters, while people stared at her from a distance and smiled. They had never seen such a magnificent bride.
Laure walked into the church first, with Sylvie right behind her, hissing at her to slow down, and Nadia and her mother came slowly down the aisle. Rose had bought a pink silk suit that was perfect on her, and Nadia’s skirt swung as it was supposed to, and filled the aisle. She looked toward the altar and saw Nicolas waiting for her, with tears streaming down his cheeks. The past and the present blended together and all he could see was her, the wife who had stood by him, and was giving him another chance. He was filled with love and gratitude.
Harley and Olivia were holding hands in the front pew. And Ben stood beside Nicolas as his best man. Nicolas had been restored to them, like the prodigal son, and was back in the fold, profoundly grateful to be there with all of them.
Rose stood beside her daughter until the priest asked who gives this woman in marriage and she said “I do,” and then took her seat next to Joe, with her daughters around her, and her grandchildren in the pew behind them. It was a simple, traditional ceremony, more touching than the big social wedding Nadia had had twelve years before, when her father and Nicolas’s parents were still alive.
As they said their simple vows, promising to love, honor, and cherish, all of the family had damp eyes, knowing how far they had come to reach this moment. The love they had shared had almost died, and they had managed to breathe life into it again. And Nadia and Nicolas had discovered that what they had was stronger than what he’d done.
The priest baptized Benoit at the end of the ceremony. Nadia held him and then handed him to the nanny. The priest then pronounced them husband and wife, as Nicolas and Nadia looked at each other. She was radiant in the spectacular dress. Nicolas had never been prouder in his life. In the end, the affair meant less to them than their marriage. This was a new beginning for them.
Then they all went back to the château, drank champagne, and ate caviar, lobster, and sole, and a wedding cake Nicolas had thought to order from the local bakery. It had a bride and groom on top, and two little girls, which delighted Sylvie and Laure. Benoit and Venetia’s baby slept peacefully through the festivities.
The quartet played and they danced, as Rose watched her daughters, Nadia in particular. They had all learned valuable lessons, how at one moment you could be in darkest despair, and yet celebrating a year later. It was a perfect example of the beauty and unpredictability of life, the strength of the human heart to endure and prevail, and the love which made it all possible, as it had for them.
To my so greatly loved children,
Trevor, Todd, Beatie, Nick,
Samantha, Victoria, Vanessa,
Maxx, and Zara,
May you have lives and times of great joy,
courage in the hard times,
and may each of you
have the happy endings you wish for,
and I wish for you.
With all my love and
prayers for your happiness,
Mom/ds
By Danielle Steel
THE AFFAIR • NEIGHBORS • ALL THAT GLITTERS • ROYAL • DADDY’S GIRLS • THE WEDDING DRESS • THE NUMBERS GAME • MORAL COMPASS • SPY • CHILD’S PLAY • THE DARK SIDE • LOST AND FOUND • BLESSING IN DISGUISE • SILENT NIGHT • TURNING POINT • BEAUCHAMP HALL • IN HIS FATHER’S FOOTSTEPS • THE GOOD FIGHT • THE CAST • ACCIDENTAL HEROES • FALL FROM GRACE • PAST PERFECT • FAIRYTALE • THE RIGHT TIME • THE DUCHESS • AGAINST ALL ODDS • DANGEROUS GAMES • THE MISTRESS • THE AWARD • RUSHING WATERS • MAGIC • THE APARTMENT • PROPERTY OF A NOBLEWOMAN • BLUE • PRECIOUS GIFTS • UNDERCOVER • COUNTRY • PRODIGAL SON • PEGASUS • A PERFECT LIFE • POWER PLAY • WINNERS • FIRST SIGHT • UNTIL THE END OF TIME • THE SINS OF THE MOTHER • FRIENDS FOREVER • BETRAYAL • HOTEL VENDÔME • HAPPY BIRTHDAY • 44 CHARLES STREET • LEGACY • FAMILY TIES • BIG GIRL • SOUTHERN LIGHTS • MATTERS OF THE HEART • ONE DAY AT A TIME • A GOOD WOMAN • ROGUE • HONOR THYSELF • AMAZING GRACE • BUNGALOW 2 • SISTERS • H.R.H. • COMING OUT • THE HOUSE • TOXIC BACHELORS • MIRACLE • IMPOSSIBLE • ECHOES • SECOND CHANCE • RANSOM • SAFE HARBOUR • JOHNNY ANGEL • DATING GAME • ANSWERED PRAYERS • SUNSET IN ST. TROPEZ • THE COTTAGE • THE KISS • LEAP OF FAITH • LONE EAGLE • JOURNEY • THE HOUSE ON HOPE STREET • THE WEDDING • IRRESISTIBLE FORCES • GRANNY DAN • BITTERSWEET • MIRROR IMAGE • THE KLONE AND I • THE LONG ROAD HOME • THE GHOST • SPECIAL DELIVERY • THE RANCH • SILENT HONOR • MALICE • FIVE DAYS IN PARIS • LIGHTNING • WINGS • THE GIFT • ACCIDENT • VANISHED • MIXED BLESSINGS • JEWELS • NO GREATER LOVE • HEARTBEAT • MESSAGE FROM NAM • DADDY • STAR • ZOYA • KALEIDOSCOPE • FINE THINGS • WANDERLUST • SECRETS • FAMILY ALBUM • FULL CIRCLE • CHANGES • THURSTON HOUSE • CROSSINGS • ONCE IN A LIFETIME • A PERFECT STRANGER • REMEMBRANCE • PALOMINO • LOVE: POEMS • THE RING • LOVING • TO LOVE AGAIN • SUMMER’S END • SEASON OF PASSION • THE PROMISE • NOW AND FOREVER • PASSION’S PROMISE • GOING HOME