“That sounds wonderful.” But she knew he was only teasing. That evening they talked about France, which appealed to them both, even in December. She didn’t mind the bleak weather there. In fact, she thought it would be cozy, and she rather liked it.

He talked to her seriously then about something they had never discussed before, but she had opened the door now. “I didn’t want you to think that I would ever take advantage of the fact that you were divorced. I wanted things to be the way they would have been if you had never been married. I wouldn’t have taken advantage of you then, and I haven’t now. I hope you understand.” She did, and she was grateful to him. It would have complicated matters still further if she had had a brief affair with him, and then they had ended it when she left Europe to return to New York. Now they had nothing to regret, only a lifetime of shared joy to look forward to, and she could hardly wait to begin their marriage.

They talked long into the night that night, and when he walked her to her room, it was harder than ever to leave her there alone. But they forced themselves to stop kissing after a while, and he watched wistfully as she closed the door of her suite behind her.

Everyone enjoyed the last few days in Venice together and the four of them rode the train back to London in triumph. There was a telegram from Peter and Jane waiting for them at Claridge’s, congratulating Sarah on her engagement, and William had already received one from his mother in Venice saying much the same thing to him. Although she had also told him that she felt it would be impossible for her to go to New York to be with him at the wedding, she would be with him in spirit, she assured them both.

The next few days were a whirlwind for them, seeing friends, making plans, and making announcements. William and Edward wrote a formal announcement, which appeared in the Times, causing disappointment among the debutantes and dowagers of London who had been chasing William for fifteen years, and now were being told the chase was off forever. His friends were extremely pleased for him, and his secretary couldn’t keep up with the calls and telegrams and letters that poured in as people heard of his engagement. Everyone wanted to give parties for him, and, of course, they all wanted to meet Sarah, and he had to explain again and again that she was an American and she was leaving for New York in a few days, and they would have to wait to meet her until after the wedding.

He also managed to have a long audience with his cousin Bertie, King George VI, before she left, and explained to him that he would be giving up his right to the succession to the throne. The King was not pleased, particularly after what his brother had done, but this was assuredly far less dramatic, and he agreed to it, although with some regret, merely from the standpoint of tradition, and the deep affection they shared. William asked him if he might introduce Sarah to him before he left, and the King said that he would be pleased to meet her. Dressed in formal striped trousers, his morning coat, and his homburg, William brought Sarah back to Buckingham Palace for a private audience the following afternoon. She wore a simple black dress, no makeup, and pearls on her ears and at her throat, and she looked dignified and lovely. She curtsied low to His Majesty, and tried to make herself forget that William always referred to him as Bertie, although he didn’t do so now. He addressed him as “Your Majesty,” and her introduction to the King was extremely formal. It was only after a few moments that the King seemed to unbend, and chatted amiably with her about their plans and their wedding, and told her he hoped to see them at Balmoral when they returned. He liked it there because it was more informal, and Sarah was both impressed and very touched by the invitation.

“You’ll be coming back to England to live, of course, won’t you?” he asked her with a worried frown.

“Of course, Your Majesty.” He seemed relieved then, and he kissed her hand before he left. “You’ll make a beautiful bride … and a lovely wife, my dear. May your life together be long and happy, and blessed with many children.” Her eyes filled with tears as he spoke to her, and she curtsied deeply to him again as he and William shook hands, and then the King left to attend to more important business.

William smiled at her openly with pride as they stood alone in the room once the King had left it. He was so proud of her and so happy, and it was a relief of sorts to know that their marriage would have the royal blessing, in spite of his giving up his right to the succession. “You’ll make a beautiful duchess,” he said softly to her, and then he lowered his voice further. “Actually, you’d make a damn fine queen too!” They both laughed nervously then and were ushered out by a chamberlain who had appeared to assist them. Sarah was overwhelmed by how nervous she had been. This was definitely not an everyday experience. She tried to explain it to Jane later, in a letter, just so she wouldn’t forget it, and even to her it sounded absurd and incredibly pretentious as she explained… “and then King George kissed my hand, looking a little nervous himself, and said …” It was truly impossible to believe it. And she herself wasn’t at all sure she did.

They arranged to go to Whitfield again so that her parents could meet his mother. The dowager duchess gave a beautiful dinner for them. She seated Sarah’s father on her right, and spent the entire evening praising the beautiful girl who was to marry William. “You know,” she said nostalgically, “I never expected to have children, not after a certain point in my life … and then William came along, and he was the most extraordinary blessing. He’s never been a disappointment to me for a moment. He’s remained a blessing all his life. And now he’s found Sarah, and the blessing has been doubled.” It was such a sweet thing to say that it brought tears to Edward’s eyes, and they all felt like old friends by the end of the evening. He tried to urge her to come to New York with her son, but she insisted that she was too old, and too frail, and the long voyage would be too exhausting. “I haven’t even been to London in four years. I’m afraid that New York would really be too much. And it would be a nuisance for all of you to have an old woman to take care of, at such a busy time. I shall wait and see them when they come back here. I want to see to some improvements here in William’s house. I’m afraid my son has absolutely no idea what they’ll need, or what might make Sarah comfortable and happy. I want to make a few changes in his rustic little house, to make it more comfortable for her. And I think they should have a tennis court, don’t you? I hear they’re all the rage, and poor William is so old-fashioned.” As they went home that night, Edward marvelled at how lucky his daughter would be, to have a husband whom she loved so much, and who clearly adored her so passionately, and even a mother-in-law who cared so much about her happiness and comfort.

“Thank God,” he said gratefully to his wife that night as they undressed.

“She’s a very lucky girl,” Victoria agreed, but she felt lucky, too, and she kissed her husband tenderly, thinking of their own wedding, and their honeymoon, and how happy they had always been. She was happy knowing that Sarah would know some of that joy too. She had had such a dreadful time with Freddie, and the poor child really didn’t deserve it But the Fates had more than made it up to her now. William was larger than life, and a blessing for a lifetime.

On their last day in London, Sarah was a nervous wreck. She had a thousand things to do, and William wanted her to take a serious look at his house in London. He had bought it when he was eighteen, and it was a delightful accommodation for a bachelor, but he couldn’t imagine her being happy in it for very long. And he wanted to know now if she wanted him to look for something larger, or wait until they got back from their honeymoon in France, after Christmas.

“Darling, I love it!” she exclaimed as she examined the well designed and extremely tidy quarters. It wasn’t large, but it was, in all, no smaller than the apartment she had shared with Freddie. “I think it’s perfect. For now anyway.” She couldn’t imagine their needing more room until they had a baby. There was a large, sunny living room downstairs, a small library filled to the brim with beautifully bound old books William had brought from Whitfield years before, there was a cozy kitchen, a tidy dining room large enough for any dinner party she could manage, and upstairs there was one large, very handsome, and somewhat masculine bedroom. There were two baths, one which he used, and another for guests downstairs. As far as Sarah was concerned, it was perfect.

“What about closets?” He was trying to think of everything and this was all new to him, but more than anything he wanted her to be happy. “I’ll give you half of mine. I can move most of what I have down to Whitfield.” He was amazingly accommodating for a man who had always lived alone, and never been married.

“I just won’t bring any clothes.”

“I have a better idea. We’ll stay naked.” He was getting friskier knowing that soon she would be his wife.

But in any case, she loved his house, and she assured him that he didn’t need to find her another. “You’re very easy to please.”

“Wait,” she said mischievously at him. “Maybe I’ll turn into a shrew once we’re married.”

“If you do, I shall beat you, and it won’t be a problem.”

“That sounds exotic.” She raised an eyebrow and he laughed He could hardly wait to take off her clothes and make love to her for days on end. It was a good thing she was sailing the following morning.

They had dinner alone that night, and William brought her back to the hotel reluctantly. He would much rather have taken her home with him for their last night, but he was determined to behave like a man of honor, no matter what it cost him. And it was costing him dearly as they stood outside her hotel.

“This isn’t easy, you know,” he complained, “this respectable nonsense. I may appear in New York next week, and have to kidnap you somewhere. Waiting until December is beginning to seem inhuman.”

“It is, isn’t it,” she mused, but they both thought they should wait, although she was no longer quite sure why it had once seemed so important to both of them. And it was odd, as sad as it still made her to think about it, she was more philosophical about her miscarriage. If she hadn’t had that, she would have Freddie’s child, or maybe even still be married to Freddie. And now she was free to start a new life, with a clean slate, and she fervently hoped that she and William would have many, many children. They talked about five or six, or at least four, and the prospect obviously pleased him. Everything about his life with her excited him, and they could hardly wait, as he took her upstairs and stood outside her suite.

“Do you want to come in for a minute?” she suggested, and he nodded. Her parents had long since gone to bed, and he wanted to be with her for every possible moment they could share before she sailed in the morning.

He followed her in, and she dropped her wrap and her evening bag on a chair and offered him a brandy, but he declined it. There was something he had been waiting all evening to give her.

“Come and sit down with me, Miss Sarah.”

“Will you behave?” She looked at him teasingly and he laughed.

“Not if you look like that, and probably not anyway, but come and sit down for a minute. I can be trusted for that long, if not longer.”

He sat down on the chintz settee, and she sat down beside him, as he reached for something in his coat pocket. “Close your eyes,” he told her with a smile.

“What are you going to do to me?” She was laughing, but she closed her eyes anyway.

“Paint a mustache on you, you goose…. What do you think I’m going to do?” But before she could answer, he kissed her. And as he did, he took her left hand in his, and slipped a ring on her finger. She felt the chill of cool metal as it went on, and after he kissed her, she looked down at her hand nervously, and gasped at what she saw there. Even in the dimly lit room, she could see that it was an exquisite stone, and an old cut, which she greatly preferred to modern. There was a perfectly round, twenty carat, absolutely flawless diamond on her left hand.

“My father had it made for my mother at Garrard’s when they got engaged. It’s a very, very fine stone, and an old one. And she wanted you to have it.”

“This is your mother’s engagement ring?” She looked at him with tear-filled eyes.