Secret Whispers (Heavenstone 2)

“As long as the wind lets me,” I said.

He laughed. “It wouldn’t dare do otherwise.”

He looked as if he believed it. How long, I wondered, would it take for someone brought to the bosom of the Heaven-stone universe to become arrogant enough to think he or she could walk with gods and goddesses?

“Minutes,” Cassie whispered.

I turned sharply.

“What’s wrong?” Ethan asked as he opened the door for me.

“Nothing,” I said.

I could see Cassie dancing on the grass and then hooking on to the breeze that circled the altar. How I wished I knew as much about our futures as she did, but the price for that was too great.

I hoped I wouldn’t pay it.

Wedding

I WAS UP with the sunrise on the morning of the wedding. It was as if Cassie had nudged me out of a wishful dream during which we were all young again and Mother was alive and Daddy thought of us as his three precious young women eagerly waiting for him to return from work. I was always the most exuberant, throwing up my arms for his hug. Mother waited nearby to have her welcoming kiss, and Cassie stood smiling as if she were overseeing it all and we were all doing what she had designed.

As soon as the disappointing reality sank in, I rose and went to my window to watch as the great golden eye peered over the horizon timidly, as if it weren’t sure it had been invited to the wedding.

“Maybe it just doesn’t want this day to happen,” Cassie whispered.

“Maybe,” I agreed.

The night before, after the rehearsal dinner that included Lucille’s father and some cousins as well as her close friends, we all went into the den for after-dinner drinks. Ethan and I spent most of our time talking with Uncle Perry. The conversation wound around to Ethan’s new job and how Uncle Perry was acting on some of his suggestions. They both saw that I was bored with the talk, and Uncle Perry began to describe some of his favorite vacations. Claire Dubonnet heard us talking, and she and Uncle Perry discussed southern France and Italy. I saw the way their travels and descriptions excited Ethan.

“Imagine being wealthy enough to go to those places and stay at those hotels,” he told me.

I didn’t have to imagine it, of course. I was wealthy enough, but I tried to be enthusiastic for his sake. When Daddy announced that he was going to bed because he thought he had a big day tomorrow, everyone laughed. Soon after, the rest of us retired for the night, and the great mansion was quiet. It seemed to be holding its breath in disbelief. Was this really going to happen? Would it have a new mistress?

With the rising sun, the house revived. Along with Doris and Mrs. Dobson, there was a small army of temporary servants crawling over the property like ants. Footsteps echoed everywhere. Doors opened and closed. Waves of new voices rose. Machinery was turned on, and orders were bellowed over the sound system. As Ethan had said during one of his reactions to the preparations, it was like the launching of a great aircraft carrier. I half expected to see Lucille go out there and break a bottle of champagne on a side of the altar.

It was interesting to watch it all, but I didn’t feel half the excitement Ethan felt. I think I was more numb than anything else. When the guests began to arrive later in the day, the party atmosphere really took hold. Lucille had arranged for a bevy of waiters and waitresses to greet each guest with a glass of champagne that included a floating strawberry. Women were given stems of roses, and ushers guided people to the kiosks and cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. The orchestra began playing, and even if I had to admit it myself, the machinery of this grand wedding came to life and began to coordinate with perfection.

The arrival of the governor and his wife in a helicopter caused a new surge of excitement. He came with Senator Brice and his wife. Other Kentucky celebrities and well-known businesspeople began to stream in afterward. Ethan jokingly said that we should have had someone at the microphone announcing them the way they did at the royal courts in Europe.

“Mr. and Mrs. So-and-So, the Earl of Cable Television, or Mr. and Mrs. Jet Set.”

I laughed at his imitations, which he was careful to do out of Lucille’s earshot.

The tailor at the Heaven-stone Store had done a wonderful job on his tuxedo. He looked dazzlingly handsome. Part of his first day had involved going to a hairstylist, which was something else Lucille had arranged. I saw how he caught the attention of other women and felt pangs of jealousy when he nodded and smiled back at them. I was sure they were all wondering who he was and how he had come to be my escort. Maybe I was imagining it, but I thought the tongues that wagged were all wagging about us, about me, more than they were about Lucille. I was sure I heard someone say, “Money can buy anything,” but when I turned sharply to look, no one was gazing our way.

Lucille made sure the event was on schedule. Those assigned to collect us for the procession shot o

ut precisely when she had ordered it, and we gathered in the house to get our last-minute instructions. I studied Uncle Perry’s face to see if he would finally show some unhappiness about being replaced as best man, but he smiled and winked at me and looked quite relaxed and happy. Outside, the eighteen hundred guests were seated, and the music Lucille had chosen for the procession began. Daddy, Senator Brice—who, at Lucille’s request, had come in his military uniform—and the minister walked out first to take their positions at the altar. Daddy turned back before he left, but I wasn’t sure he was looking for me.

“He’s not,” Cassie whispered. “He can’t see anyone but her right now.”

I said nothing, nor did I turn my head. When it came time for me and the others to walk out, I moved like a robot, my eyes down. I knew where Ethan would be sitting and did turn to look at him. He gave me a thumbs-up, and I finally smiled. Everyone rose when Lucille and her father stepped out to walk down the aisle. Give the devil her due, I thought. She looked beautiful and as stately and elegant as the first time I had set eyes on her. I was sure everyone was thinking, That’s what a mistress of Heaven-stone should look like.

The absolute precision of the ceremony was marred by only one thing, and only I knew why. Until that moment, not a single person was out of step, and no one misspoke. The minister’s voice cracked sharply and loudly enough for everyone to hear each word. Senator Brice handed Daddy the wedding ring, and when the time came for him to place it on Lucille’s finger, his fingers looked as if they trembled, and the ring slipped out and bounced on the ground. There was a hush, a collective gasp. Senator Brice moved quickly to pick it up and hand it to Daddy again. This time, he moved it gracefully onto Lucille’s finger.

Only I saw what had really happened.

Cassie was beside Daddy, and when he had extended his hand the first time, she had shaken his arm. After the ring fell, she looked at me and smiled.