Heavenstone 02 - Secret Whispers

the problems with that designer yet, but I have a specialty store for us to visit in Lexington, and they’ll do an extra-special job for me.”
    “Thank you,” I said, and our day was planned. My cooperation and willingness to have her do what any mother of the bride would do filled her with such an air of joy that she seemed to float through Heaven-stone. Her new trust in me was palpable. She had nothing but smiles for me.
    When we drove in my car to the wedding-gown store, Lucille even apologized for the comment she had made at dinner when discussion about the size of my wedding had first occurred.
    “I didn’t mean it to be mean,” she said. “I am concerned about you and want you to have a successful relationship and marriage. Ethan is going to rise quickly in our executive ranks. You’ll be attending many social functions, and I’m sure you will be an enormous asset to him. There’s no reason for you to be shy about meeting people, either.
    “You’ll soon realize that half the people you meet, especially some of the women, are not half as bright as you are, believe me, and I’ll be there often to help you with anyone or anything. As my father would say, you can take that to the bank.”
    She laughed and held her smile. I was driving and had barely spoken or changed expression.
    “I see significant growth in you already, Semantha,” she continued.
    Cassie had used to say some people abhor silence the way nature abhors a vacuum. Lucille had to have conversation.
    “I do want us to be great friends,” she added when my silence continued.
    “Of course,” I said.
    She didn’t ask, but I saw in her face that she wasn’t sure if I meant Of course you do or Of course we will be. That was a Cassie trick. When she wanted to be ambiguous, she could be, and trying to determine what she meant by looking at her did no good. Her face was a Broadway billboard flashing expressions on and off so quickly you weren’t sure what you had just seen.
    At Lucille’s choice for a wedding-gown store, I tried on a half-dozen different styles before Lucille warmed to one. When I considered it objectively, I had to confess it was a beautiful dress, and it did, as she said, complement my figure. We went through the accessories and then had a late lunch at a restaurant she frequented often. Everyone working there knew her, and a number of other customers stopped by our table to say hello. She identified most of them by the fame of their families or their family businesses. “She belongs to Altman Jewelry,” she would say, nodding at a woman who had just visited with us, or “He’s the principal shareholder of Frontier National.” Or “That was Miss Kentucky Scaffold. Her father’scompany somehow wins government bid after government bid.”
    Later, when I described my day to Ethan, I told him, “Lucille doesn’t really know people; she knows businesses. It’s like looking for people’s telephone numbers in the yellow pages rather than the white pages.”
    He laughed. “Sometimes you do come out with a good one,” he said. “You’re a delightful surprise, Semantha. I’m happy you’re getting along better with Lucille. By the way, she’s done us another favor.”
    “Oh? What now?”
    “Our honeymoon.”
    “Don’t tell me she’s paying for it.”
    “No, but remember her friend from Monaco, Claire Dubonnet? The woman who works for the prince?”
    “Yes, of course.”
    “Lucille contacted her for us, and she’s arranged for us to stay at Hotel de Paris in an upgrade. Not a bad choice for a honeymoon, huh?”
    “It sounds wonderful,” I said. “But shouldn’t we be the ones deciding where to go on our honeymoon?”
    “It’s just a suggestion,” he said, holding up his hand. “If you have other ideas . . .”
    “Do you?”
    “Not any that would beat this,” he said. “As your father says, no sense in looking a gift horse in the mouth.”
    “Okay, then, that’s where we’ll go,” I told him.
    With the plans for our wedding going well, mygown and accessories taken care of, and our honeymoon set, the atmosphere of harmony continued at Heaven-stone. Daddy seemed more relaxed. Lucille certainly was, and Ethan was practically floating as high as she was. Occasionally, I would look for Cassie in the middle of it all and find her here and there, sitting quietly, pondering.
    “Am I doing everything right?” I asked her.
    “For now,” she said. “The second shoe has yet to