Spark [Sheldon_Sidney]_The_Other_Side_of_Midnight(BookSe | Page 40

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.