The timing in June turned out to be perfect for everyone. The network let Athena take the time off. Seven weeks after Valencia’s birth, Venetia was back on her feet and feeling fine. She was almost back to her normal weight, and looked beautiful. Olivia and Harley had planned a trip for right after the weekend at the chateau. Nadia finished installing an apartment in London a few days before. Planning for the September issue had started but wasn’t insane yet for Rose. And this year’s September issue would be a breeze compared to last year.
Nicolas had rented two vans to get them to the château, and everyone was in high spirits when they got there. He had sent their regular nanny to Brittany to bring back the baby with her. He had found some of the family christening gowns in a cedar chest at the château. They were beautiful, ornate, handmade gowns, and Nadia picked one that fit Benoit. It was the first time that she had seen him, and she held him for a few minutes as he cooed and smiled at her. Seeing him was the final hurdle she had to clear after the last year. She made it over smoothly, as Nicolas watched her hold him.
“Thank you,” he whispered to her. She had made it possible for Benoit to be there, and being able to baptize him at the château on a special day for them meant a lot to him. He looked like a little prince when they tried the christening gown on him. He was fair like Nicolas, with a fine peach fuzz on his head, and big blue eyes. Pascale hadn’t objected to the baptism when he decided to call and asked her. She said she wasn’t religious and didn’t care. He did. It seemed more respectful to ask her.
Neither he nor Nadia had commented when the Cannes Film Festival happened in May. He didn’t have a film there this year, and neither of them wanted to go. It brought back bad memories and probably always would of his year of insanity.
Nicolas had brought the marriage license with him and had it in his pocket. Nadia’s dress had arrived in a crate that had to be specially built and sent to the château by truck. The wedding was scheduled for Saturday. Everyone arrived at the château the day before, and spent the day relaxing at the pool, and played Marco Polo with the children. Nicolas took Benoit in for a few minutes and he loved it, then he squealed with delight while Sylvie and Laure fussed over him. Valencia was too young for the pool and was asleep in her pram. They all had a big family dinner that night, to celebrate just being there together. It was the first time they had been with Nicolas since he came back. He slipped back into his place in the family very quickly. Nicolas and Nadia looked relaxed. No one knew about the wedding until breakfast the next day, when Nicolas announced it, much to everyone’s surprise. Harley was worried that he hadn’t brought a proper suit, and Nicolas said he could lend him one, but he didn’t need it. His summer navy linen blazer and white linen pants were fine.
Rose looked amused when they made the announcement. They were certainly going all out to reforge their bond to each other. “You mean you’re renewing your vows?” They’d been married for twelve years by then.
“Not exactly,” Nicolas explained in answer to her question. “We had a little administrative glitch a few months ago. We appeared at the notaire for our divorce papers, and subsequently when we got back together, we forgot to cancel the divorce. In April we were advised that our marriage had been dissolved. So we are getting married today, for the second time.” There was a babble of comments, jokes and laughter, and everyone was excited to be part of it, and loved that they had done it as a surprise.
“What if one of us couldn’t come?” Athena asked, stunned by the plan. For fourteen years, she had refused to marry Joe, and her sister was marrying the same man twice.
“We made sure you all could come when we set the date,” Nicolas told her. “But if not, you would have missed a terrific dinner tonight, and seeing Nadia in the gorgeous dress Venetia made for her. I haven’t seen it yet. But the crate it came in is the size of this house.” The chatter continued for another hour. And they were all told that they had to be at the town hall at noon for the legal ceremony. They had a reservation at a local restaurant at one. The church ceremony was to be at six o’clock, with dinner afterwards at the château. They all scurried off then to put their outfits together and be ready on time.
Rose watched them go and smiled. It was certainly unorthodox, but if Nadia was happy, it was all she cared about. And if Nicolas cheated on her daughter again, she was going to kill him herself.
Everyone was standing at the vans outside at twenty to twelve, and they set off to the little town where the town hall was located. Nadia was wearing a very pretty simple white cotton dress she had found at the Bon Marché, by a designer she didn’t know but Venetia did and approved. She was wearing her dark hair in a neat ponytail, and high-heeled white sandals. She was carrying a small bouquet of white flowers that Sylvie helped her pick. They had their papers with them, and everything went smoothly. Ben and Venetia were their witnesses, and at twelve-thirty they were standing outside, congratulating the bride and groom. Nicolas looked relieved that they were legally married again. The rest was window dressing after this.
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.