The Life She Wanted: A Novel(83)

Virginia insisted they celebrate with caviar and champagne at the Roof Ballroom of the St. Regis. Pandora didn’t like caviar, and after working so hard she was exhausted, and the champagne gave her a headache. But she still felt giddy, gazing down at the bustling New York streets and knowing she was part of it.

Lord & Taylor had ordered enough pieces for one year, and one whole window at Macy’s new store on Seventh Avenue was devoted to Pandora’s knit dresses. Pandora received her first order from Saks and was in meetings with Woolworth’s. With Suzanne’s approval, Pandora added a headband called the Lenglen Bandeau to her summer collection. It was so popular that stores couldn’t keep them in stock. Esme Sportswear continued to steadily grow and prosper.

Pandora paid Levi Rosen back what she owed him; she didn’t need him to supply her fabric on credit anymore. Esme Sportswear had its own bank account at Public National Bank of New York, and Pandora was toying with the idea of creating a board of directors.

Next year, Pandora wanted to start a training program for young women interested in fashion design but who couldn’t afford to attend college. There would be lectures by the new wave of female designers like Claire McCardell. Pandora would hire her own assistants from the program’s graduates.

Today, Archie would finally arrive home. His trip had been delayed twice. So many wealthy Americans who had ventured abroad before the stock market crash wanted to return home that there weren’t enough ships to carry them all. Pandora decided to meet his boat in New York.

The past few months, watching Esme scamper on the lawn with Picasso, her cornflower-blue eyes alight with pleasure, her blond curls tumbling to her shoulders, made Pandora feel even guiltier than she had before. She didn’t have a moment’s peace.

Even if she kept her secret from everyone else forever, she had to tell Archie. Esme needed a father, and Archie deserved to know he had a wonderful daughter. She couldn’t wait to see him. She had missed him, their easy banter, their long chats over glasses of lemonade in the kitchen.

After she dropped Esme at Blythdale with Adele, she hurried back to Riverview to get dressed. As she was getting ready to go, a car pulled into the driveway, and Archie appeared in the entry. He had a green scarf knotted around his neck, and he wore driving gloves.

Pandora’s mouth dropped open. She had forgotten how just seeing Archie made her happy. He looked more mature than when he’d left for England. He no longer wore his hair flopping over his forehead; instead, he had cut it short. The sloppy vests and baggy trousers he used to wear had been replaced by a pullover sweater and pleated pants. But the boyish smile when he saw her and the twinkle in his blue-gray eyes were the same.

He picked her up and twirled her around.

“What are you doing here?” She gasped when he put her down. “I was going to come to the dock to meet you.”

“My ship docked early,” he grumbled. “I was one of the few passengers who had no one to greet them. All the women standing on the ship’s deck felt sorry for me.”

“They probably thought no one was there to pick you up because you broke the hearts of all the girls you left behind,” she teased.

“I was very well behaved on the ship,” he protested with a grin. “Though there was an Italian countess who tried to coax me into her cabin. I told her I was engaged, and she said Americans are so puritan.”

“How is Lucy?” Pandora inquired.

“I haven’t seen her yet.” Archie shrugged. “Lucy and her aunt spent a lot of time in London before Lucy’s father grew ill, but we haven’t seen each other in a while.”

His eyes traveled over Pandora’s navy-and-white dress from Jean Patou’s collection.

“I want to hear about you. Look at you, with that chic French haircut and those elegant clothes. You’re not the Pandora Carmichael I remember.”

“If you had come to Paris, you would have seen my haircut for yourself.” She touched her hair.

“You could have come to London,” he shot back. “I sent half a dozen letters to the French Riviera, but you never replied. I even offered to visit; I thought you didn’t want to see me.”

“I never received them,” Pandora said in surprise. “Suzanne receives so much fan mail and letters from people wanting something, she often dumps the whole lot in the garbage.”

Pandora felt a small jolt of happiness. Archie had written to her.

“I always want to see you,” she added.

She had a lump in her throat, and she felt like she had as a child, arriving at Riverview for the first time. Archie had been sitting in the kitchen then, and he’d immediately cut another slice of Esther’s chocolate cake for her. They ate companionably at the table while Archie told her about Virginia and his dog, Speckles, and his favorite tree for climbing.

What would have happened if he had come to Paris? What would Archie have thought of Maurice, and would he have noticed how Pandora had changed? None of that mattered now; they were both home.

“I want to hear all about England,” she said happily.

He took her arm and led her into the kitchen. He told her about his time in London, and Pandora told him about Paris and the orders from Lord & Taylor and all the other department stores.

“Lord & Taylor is lucky to have you,” he said. “I’ll drive to New York to see the window display. And I’ll buy one of every item they sell.”