The Life She Wanted: A Novel(37)

Being with Harley was so relaxed and easy it was almost like they were already married.

And he valued her opinion. Harley was the first person besides Virginia and Archie who was truly interested in what she said.

“You better go,” Pandora said to Archie. She walked purposefully to her closet and took out her gown. “I have to dress for dinner. Lucy wouldn’t approve if she walked in while you were here and found me in my slip.”

“Forget I said anything,” he huffed. His jaw clenched and he strode to the door. “Don’t worry, I won’t offer my advice again.”

Pandora decided then and there to forget about her disagreement with Archie and enjoy the night.

The evening felt torn from the pages of Edith Wharton’s novel The Age of Innocence. Dinner was served in the Vanderbilts’ dining room. The coffered ceiling came from an Italian palazzo and had a mural in its center. The Persian rug was one of the largest in existence and stretched twenty by forty feet. Each guest had their own server. Additional waiters formed a line like toy soldiers in The Nutcracker.

The women wore couture gowns bought in Paris and London, complemented by sapphire and ruby pendants. Pandora remarked to Virginia that it looked like there were more precious jewels in the room than at Tiffany’s. Virginia whispered back the Vanderbilts could buy Tiffany’s with the household money in their cookie jar.

Pandora’s own dress had a metallic lace bodice and gradually tiered skirt. She had found the fabric in a chest in the Van Luyens’ attic, and she’d accentuated it with hand-sewn beading and embroidery. The finished effect resembled an Asian lacquered screen that Coco Chanel kept in her workroom, which Pandora had seen in one of her fashion books.

Virginia had lent her a shimmery evening bag and long white gloves. Rhinestone clips held back Pandora’s hair, and she had dusted her cheeks with pale pink powder. When she descended the staircase, she felt as beautiful and confident as any woman in the room.

Harley barely left her side all night. He sat opposite her at dinner and made sure her wine glass was never empty. He claimed the first dance and dissuaded other men from dancing with her when they cut in. The few times he danced with other girls, he left Pandora with someone to talk to and a full glass of champagne.

It was the first time Pandora had seen Harley in a top hat, and it suited him perfectly. His wing-tipped shoes were polished to a gleam, and his tuxedo shirt had a wonderful smell of laundry soap and cologne.

During a lull in the dancing, they stood near other couples on the balcony. The sky was thick with stars, and Pandora could hear crickets and frogs.

“I’ll miss all this at Princeton.” Harley sighed, leaning his elbows on the ledge. “There’s nothing like the Hudson Valley. It’s the most beautiful spot in the world.”

“You won’t have time to miss it,” Pandora said lightly. “You’ll be busy with your eating clubs and theater productions.”

Harley fiddled with his pocket handkerchief.

“I’m quitting the Triangle Club; I’m not going to be involved with theater this year.”

Pandora was shocked. Harley had been looking forward to it so much.

“You can’t do that!” she exclaimed. “The Triangle Club is your favorite thing about Princeton.”

“I won’t have time for it and my finance classes,” Harley continued. “Finance is important if I want to join my father at the bank.”

“That’s not what you want. You want to be a director and producer and open your own theater on Broadway,” she reminded him.

Harley’s voice slowed as if he was making an effort to talk.

“I’ve decided that’s not practical. My father is right; someone needs to take over the bank. One day I’ll inherit Blythdale too. I won’t be able to afford its upkeep on ticket sales and newspaper reviews.”

Pandora couldn’t have been more shocked if Harley had said he was taking a ship to Antarctica.

“Theater is your passion,” Pandora said urgently. “You can’t spend your life in an office if that’s not where you want to be.”

Harley turned to Pandora. His green eyes were luminous under the light of the balcony.

“That is where I want to be, especially if . . .” He took her hand. He had never held her hand before. His palm was smooth against her glove.

“We haven’t known each other long, but I feel as if I’ve been looking for a woman like you forever,” Harley began. “You’re lovely and bright, and you accept me as I am. It might be presumptuous to think you share my feelings, but—” He stopped, and it took all of Pandora’s willpower not to press him to continue.

She heard the strains of the band starting up again in the ballroom. The moon was bright and white over the Hudson. Fireflies flickered on the lawn, and the air was thick with the spicy almond scent of hawthorn.

Harley dropped to his knee. He reached into his pocket and drew out a velvet box.

“Pandora, will you marry me?” he said finally.

She gasped at the brilliant round diamond on a gold band.

“It’s my mother’s stone, but I had it reset. If you don’t like it, I could get something else.”

Pandora’s eyes widened, and she could feel her heart pounding. She had been dreaming of this moment. But now that it was happening, somehow it didn’t feel right.