restlessly about the room. Just being near him was enough for her. It was odd, she thought,
how things worked out. She had grown up being called Princess by her father, and now,
even though it had happened as a joke, Larry was calling her Princess. When she was with
Larry, she was something. He had restored her faith in men. He was her world, and Noelle
knew that she would never need anything more, and it seemed incredible to her that she
could be so lucky, that he felt the same way about her.
“I wasn’t going to get married until this war was over,” he told her. “But to hell with
that. Plans are made to be changed, right, Princess?”
She nodded, filled with a happiness that threatened to burst inside her.
“Let’s get married by some maire in the country,” Larry said “Unless you want a big
wedding?”
Noelle shook her head. “The country sounds wonderful.”
He nodded. “Deal. I have to report back to my Squadron tonight. I’ll meet you here
next Friday. How does that sound?”
“I—I don’t know if I can stand being away from you that long.” Noelle’s voice was
shaky.
Larry took her in his arms and held her. “Love me?” he asked.
“More than my life,” Noelle replied simply.
Two hours later Larry was on his way back to England. He did not let her drive to the
airport with him. “I don’t like good-byes,” he said. He gave her a large fistful of franc
notes. “Buy yourself a wedding gown, Princess. I’ll see you in it next week.” And he was
gone.
Noelle spent the next week in a state of euphoria, going ba ck to the places she and
Larry had been, spending hours dreaming about their life together. The days seemed to
drag by, the minutes stubbornly refusing to move, until Noelle thought she would go out
of her mind.
She went to a dozen shops looking for her wedding dress, and finally she found
exactly what she wanted, at Madeleine Vionett. It was a beautiful white organza with a
high-necked bodice, long sleeves with a row of six pearl buttons, and three crinoline
petticoats. It cost much more than Noelle had anticipated, but she did not hesitate. She
used all the money that Larry had given her and nearly all her own savings. Her whole
being was centered on Larry. She thought about ways to please him, she searched through
her mind for memories that might amuse him, anecdotes that would entertain him. She felt
like a schoolgirl.
And so it was that Noelle waited for Friday to come, in an agony of impatience, and
when it finally arrived she was up at dawn and spent two hours bathing and dressing,
changing clothes and changing again, trying to guess which dress would please Larry
most. She put on her wedding gown, but quickly took it off again, afraid that it might
bring bad luck. She was in a frenzy of excitement.