It was so perfectly made that the weight of it was never uncomfortable, and it saddened her to realize that the big moment was over, and she would never wear the dress again. She wondered who would, which of her children, a long time from now. She laid it out carefully, with the shoes, and disappeared into the bathroom where Wilson had left a beautiful lace nightgown Madame Lanvin had given her as a gift for her wedding night, with little white satin ribbons on it. It molded her body as Madame Lanvin had meant it to, without being vulgar, but exquisitely sexy and alluring, as only a French designer could do. She took her hair out of the chignon, and it cascaded past her shoulders, as she stood in the white lace nightgown, looking lost in the middle of the room, as Alex walked in, in his dressing gown. There was a separate dressing room for him, and he had undressed while she did. He looked strikingly handsome, powerful and tall and his heart went out to her the moment he saw her, looking frightened and so young. He put his arms around her, led her gently to the bed, and sat down with his arm still around her.
“We don’t need to do anything tonight,” he said in a whisper. He didn’t want to frighten her more than she was. “We have a lifetime ahead of us,” he said gently and she nodded and kissed him.
“But I want to…” she said softly. “I want to be your wife.”
“You are my wife.” He pointed to the ring on her finger and smiled as he showed her his. “And I have never been prouder or happier.” He kissed her as he said it, and she responded with passion he hadn’t expected, which aroused him instantly. He slipped off her nightgown and lay her on the bed, so he could admire her and kiss her, as she put her arms around his neck and arched her body up toward him, and he could no longer hold back. He dropped the lace nightgown to the floor, and entered her as gently as he could, but their joint passion overtook them both, more than he intended. She cried out once, but moved even closer to him and didn’t pull away. He waited as long as he could to inflame the passion in her, and she was stunned when they both exploded at the same time. She looked shocked for a minute and gazed at him as they lay breathless in each other’s arms.
“What was that…was that all right?” No one had told her anything about it, and her mother’s genteel allusions hadn’t included what happened when men and women made love and desired each other.
“That’s what’s supposed to happen,” he said gently, and ran a finger down her body and up again, stopping in all the places that excited her. They made love again a little while later, and she was even more passionate the second time. He let his own desire for her go unbridled this time, and they both shuddered at the end of their passion again. Alex felt as though the earth had exploded in a million stars, and Eleanor looked sated and drowsy as she smiled at him afterward.
“I like being married,” she said sleepily, “…very much,” and drifted off to sleep in his arms as he smiled. He liked being married to her very much too. For Alex, it was the dream of a lifetime, and he intended to make all of her dreams come true. And he knew they would cherish the memory of this day forever.
Chapter 5
Wilson came to the Fairmont the next morning while Alex and Eleanor were having breakfast, before they left for the train. She took the wedding dress, the tiara, and all the accessories with her, and she congratulated them again. She said that Eleanor’s parents were still asleep when she left the house. Some of the guests had stayed until five in the morning, and her parents had danced until nearly the end. They had enjoyed the evening too. Eleanor was wearing a pale blue wool dress and coat the color of her eyes that they had bought from a dressmaker in Paris between fittings at Lanvin. It looked lovely on her with a matching hat. They had made love again before they got out of bed that morning, and Alex was happy and surprised that she was such a