Chapter 14
Eugenia showed her couture collection in Paris in July, for the first time since the
pandemic, just as she’d planned. There were a few day pieces in the couture line
now too. But most of it was the elegant evening gowns she was known for. There were
thirty-five looks in the collection, one more beautiful than the next, and a magnificent
bride at the end. The fashion critics loved the collection, and especially the wedding
dress as the finale.
All her children had come to the show and they were all going to the south of France
afterward, on Patrick’s boat.
—
It was a glorious July day with a perfect blue sky. They sailed out of the port in Monaco
at sunset with the priest from one of the local churches on board. Eloise was dressing in
her cabin, with all her sisters and her mother around her, fussing with the dress, her
veil, and her hair. The dress just reached her ankles, and Eugenia had had white shoes
in the same lace made for her to go with it. It was the perfect touch. Daphne was there in
a pale blue silk dress, and had gotten her figure back. The twins were ten months old,
Charlotte and Alexander. Gloria was wearing a red silk dress she had bought in Italy,
and she was the most striking of the group. Her book had just been bought by an
American publisher. She had taken nearly a year off from dating, and had just met an
Italian photographer she’d had dinner with twice and liked a lot. Liz was wearing a
dress Eugenia had made for her. There was just a dusting of tiny rhinestones on the
collar and the sleeves and she looked very chic. Eugenia had made it as a gift from her
haute couture line.
Umberto was there, alone for the first time, and he seemed very subdued, more so
than Eugenia had ever seen him. He was waiting outside the cabin for Eloise to be
ready and emerge. Predictably, he had recently asked Eugenia to lend him some money,
and she had refused. After that, he had asked Daphne, who had turned him down too.
Eugenia strongly suspected Patrick would be next, and she had warned him not to fall
prey to Umberto’s charm. Whatever Umberto got, he blew through in months.
They all looked serious and elegant standing on the deck. The deck had been
lavishly decorated with white orchids. Eugenia was wearing a dress from her own
couture line in a delicate lavender, and was standing next to Patrick in a hat that
matched her dress. He looked proud beside her and she looked serene and happy.
The boat sailed out of the port and they anchored in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, as
everyone chatted and drank champagne.
Eloise emerged from her cabin then and took her father’s arm, and Quinn emerged
from the captain’s quarters, where he’d been hiding so as not to see Eloise all day.
Eloise was wearing a simple white organdie and lace gown her mother had designed
for her, with a short veil, and carried a bouquet of lily of the valley. Quinn had a sprig
of it on his lapel. They had chosen to marry with only their family and a few of their
closest friends present.
Quinn’s mother was there, and Umberto was charming and attentive to her. She was
an attractive woman, and had just turned sixty, like Patrick, and they were on civil
terms.
Eloise and Quinn looked so happy that the mood was contagious and included them
all. It was exactly the wedding they both wanted, discreet, private, and small, and
Patrick was lending them the boat for their honeymoon. He had rented a house
in SaintJean-Cap-Ferrat for the month for him and Eugenia and any of her children who chose to
join them. Daphne and Phillip and their children were planning to stay for a week. The
others planned to come too for a short stay. Brad and Sofia stood together and were
planning to marry at Christmas.
Patrick and Eugenia stood side by side to watch their children get married. She had
been living in his house since February. Umberto walked Eloise down the aisle,
bordered by white orchids and fragrant lily of the valley. The priest stood in front of
them, and they repeated their vows after him. The vows were traditional, the same ones
Eugenia had spoken when she married Umberto, Daphne when she married Phillip, Liz
when she married Stefano, and Patrick with Quinn’s mother. They glanced at each other
and smiled with the distance of history. Patrick and Eugenia held hands as they listened.
“For better for worse…for richer for poorer,” which had a whole new meaning to
Patrick and Eugenia after the hard times they’d been through for nearly two years, “to
love and to cherish, to have and to hold…until death do us part.” The words had deep
meaning to all of them as Eloise and Quinn stood beaming at each other, waiting for the
future to unveil its mysteries, as they vowed their lives to each other and exchanged
rings.
After he kissed her, Quinn gave a shout of joy, the musicians Patrick had hired
started to play, and the champagne was poured plentifully, as Patrick looked into
Eugenia’s eyes and they smiled at each other, knowing how far they’d come. Their
world was safe and secure again, thanks to them and the fates that brought them together.
In the year that they’d known each other, good things had happened and they knew they
belonged together.
They danced on the deck that night, in the moonlight under the summer stars.
Umberto danced with each of his daughters and Quinn’s mother, as Patrick and Eugenia
slipped away to a quiet place on the deck where they could be alone for a few minutes
away from the others.
“You’ve made me the luckiest man in the world,” he said to her softly. “I have a
family, a woman I love. Our children are happy. A year ago, I thought my life was over,
but it started the day I met you.”
“You saved me, Patrick,” she said, her voice filled with emotion and the love she
felt for him.
“No, you saved you, and your kids, just as you always have. You’re the bravest
woman I know. You make me brave, and you made me realize what life could be with
the right woman, ‘for richer for poorer, for better for worse.’ It’s what we have, which
is better than everything else,” he said, pointing to his heart and then hers, and then he
kissed her.
They were strong people who had come far, on their own, had found each other, and
were brave enough to love each other, whatever it took, wherever it led them, in
darkness and in light.
They kissed again for a long time, and went back to the others, feeling peaceful and
grateful. They were just in time for the cake. And Gloria caught the bouquet, which was
as it should be. Patrick and Eugenia smiled at each other and she made no attempt to
catch it. They already had everything they needed and wanted, and were wise enough to
know it. Their love for each other and life together was a living vow, for better for
worse, for richer for poorer, to love and to cherish.
About the Author
DANIELLE STEEL has been hailed as one of the world’s bestselling authors,
with a billion copies of her novels sold. Her many international bestsellers
include A Mother’s Love, A Mind of Her Own, Far From Home, Never Say
Never, Trial by Fire, Triangle, Joy, and other highly acclaimed novels. She is
also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina’s life and
death; A Gift of Hope, a memoir of her work with the homeless; Expect a
Miracle, a book of her favorite quotations for inspiration and comfort; Pure Joy,
about the dogs she and her family have loved; and to cherish.
