Author's note: The reference to 'Worth, Paris' relates to Charles Frederick Worth, the great fashion designer of the late 19th century. He was born in England, and studied textiles and historical costumes before moving to Paris, where he would become the leading designer of French fashion world.
The Birthday Party – Part Two
Audra walked down the hall, after leaving Catherine's room, with a sense of embarrassment, not sure why. She didn't know if it was the way they were standing, or the intimate feel of watching Catherine do Nick's cufflink. There was also something about the way her brother had looked at her, almost like she was unwelcome. Audra sighed, wishing she had not wanted to see the dress so badly.
She realized that she had not even noticed the dress, being caught off guard by Nick being there. Audra wondered about their relationship, not for the first time. One of the times that she and Catherine had been sharing girl talk, Audra had brought up the subject of the marriage. It had been a general inquiry only, but her sister-in-law had shut down the conversation politely but very quickly. Thinking about what she was feeling now, it was the same thing she'd felt after the conversation with Catherine; that she had intruded on something private.
"Audra, you look very pretty!" Victoria told her as she came down the stairs, which gave her something else to think about. Her dress was pale green satin, trimmed with lace ornamented with darker green ribbon. At the time she'd picked it out the dress had seemed perfect, but now she felt it was too young and plain for her. Catherine's arrival had made her start looking at her clothes, and life, a lot more closely than she used to.
"Well no one will be looking at me mother; Catherine is the bride after all." Audra's voice sounded tight, even to her. She saw both Victoria and Heath give her a strange look, but before anything else could be said Jarrod came into the room. Audra was grateful for the distraction, not wanting to get into that discussion with her family.
"Nick and Catherine are not down yet? Everyone will start arriving soon!" Jarrod exclaimed, but then heard a rustle from the top of the stairs. He turned in the direction of the sound, and smiled fondly as he looked at the couple coming down the stairs. Catherine was dazzling, and Jarrod had no problem understanding why his brother looked as happy as he did. Once again he felt the loss of Beth, and the closeness he'd had with her.
Jarrod by now was sure that Catherine was not going to be leaving the ranch, and he was quite fine with it. In his opinion she was the best thing had his brother had ever done, even if he had not meant too. Jarrod had taken his sister-in-law to lunch, one day last week, when she and Nick came into town. Nick's trip to the assayer's office was running longer than planned, so Jarrod had offered to escort Catherine to lunch.
It had been an enjoyable meal, and had given Jarrod the chance to talk to her about India. He was impressed with not only what she knew about the countryside, but also the English government policies. Jarrod found it fascinating to talk to smart women, and he soon found out that his sister-in-law was that. He had already heard about her knowing Latin, after Nick had taken him to task for not translating the journal.
He learned about her life in Russia, and her family's estates there. They had talked what crops were grown on the estates and agriculture in general. Jarrod had been watching her settle into life on the ranch very easily, and now he knew why. He also appreciated how she treated Nick, and had seen how close they were to each other. There was one little problem, but it wasn't Catherine causing it, rather Nick was. Jarrod was planning on addressing the issue tonight with his brother.
"May I say that you are a beautiful bride, Catherine?" Jarrod raised a champagne glass as he asked the question, and was rewarded with a smile. Audra ran up and started admiring the dress, trying to imagine wearing something that elaborate. At Sarah Holcomb's tea party last week, that she and Catherine had attended, all the women had been talking about their wedding dresses. Audra had not been able to participate in the conversation.
"Catherine, you look lovely. Where ever did you find such a dress?" Victoria complimented the young woman, wondering if the dress was French. There was something about the design, and fabric choices that made her think it was. The older woman could honestly admit that Catherine had perfect taste in clothes.
"Thank you Victoria, and everyone else. It is from Worth, in Paris." Catherine revealed, pleased that everyone liked it. She had been concerned that it was too elaborate, compared to American wedding dresses. Victoria smiled, glad that she had been right about the origins of the costume. It was a very showy dress, but having seen a Russian orthodox cathedral, figured that the dress would fit right in.
"You mean this is an original Worth? You've been to his shop?" Audra exclaimed, her voice rising several decibels. Heath looked at her with an almost pained look. He had raised his glass when Jarrod had raised his, and inclined his head in agreement with the semi toast that his brother had made. Heath wanted to be on his extra good behavior tonight.
"Yes, I have, about a year and a half ago. We were there to order my cousin Sophie's wedding dress, and my Aunt Olga wanted to do mine at the same time. Sophie and I always did everything together, so it was great fun." Catherine explained, smiling as she thought about her cousin who was really a sister to her. The next couple of minutes were spent in general chit-chat, while drinking champagne, before Silas announced the first arrival.
It was over two hours later, and Victoria had to give Catherine high marks for how she had handled everything so far. She had been very curious to see how the young woman was going to behave at the party, being sure that this was her natural element. The older woman was aware of how well she had settled into life on the ranch, but thought that she'd had no other choice.
Victoria had watched Catherine handle the receiving line perfectly, knowing exactly how to greet everyone. The guest included the Governor of the state, as well as several old Spanish Dons and their wives. Catherine also handled some of the newly rich, rough around the edges miners with a grace that Victoria admired. Bishop Hamilton Williams had looked Catherine over closely, and then had buttonholed her for a conversation once the receiving line broke up.
After the receiving line there had been a buffet type supper, and then the dancing started with Nick and Catherine opening up the first waltz. Victoria watched how the young woman behaved and couldn't find fault with her behavior. As a married woman, Catherine could only dance with her husband, male family members, or men that her husband allowed, which were usually friends.
The older woman watched as one very eligible bachelor, well known in San Francisco circles, approached Catherine about dancing. Victoria knew that Nick did not know the man that well, but she wanted to see what her new daughter-in-law was going to do. She knew that the bachelor was good looking and very charming to women.
How Catherine handled the situation ended up displeasing Victoria, but not because of Catherine dancing with the man. The older woman watched as her daughter-in-law talked with the man, who was trying to flirt with her. She also saw several other people watching the couple, and she held her breath waiting for Catherine to start dancing with him.
Instead of dancing with him though, Catherine called Audra over, and Victoria saw that her daughter was soon dancing with the man. That was perfectly acceptable from society's point of view, because Audra was not married or engaged. She knew that daughter-in-law's actions would be approved of for two reasons, one being that she had not danced with the man. The other, which bothered Victoria, was that it looked like Catherine was match making for her unmarried sister-in-law.
All the women in the room would approve, because that is what she should be doing since Audra was not married. Victoria had not cared for the edge Audra's voice had when she'd made the comment about Catherine being the bride. She had also come to the realization that all of her daughter's friends were married, and she didn't want Audra to feel like she was 'on the shelf'. Victoria knew that some of those marriages were not great, or not love matches. As far as society was concerned, it was better to be unhappily married, than happily single. Victoria hated that concept with a vengeance.
Nick had seen Catherine talking to some young man from San Francisco, and had started walking over to where she was. He arrived just in time to see her steer the young man, who he recognized as Nathan Winters son and Audra out to the dance floor. Nick had been aware that the man had been trying to flirt with Catherine, but he had not been able to see her response.
"May I dance with my beautiful bride?" Nick came up next to her, and she smiled at him in acquiesce. He put his arms around her, and led her out to the dance floor. He had been relived to watch her not dance with the young man, who was not married. Nick also thought it was nice of Catherine to think of Audra. The Winters banking fortune was solid, and he knew that the son had gone to West Point and done army service. It would b a good match, if it worked out.
"Are you playing matchmaker Katarina?" Nick teased, as the swung around the floor. She answered with her musical laughter, while flashing her dimple.
"Owen is probably thinking so, and it serves him right!" She responded, and he gave her a puzzled look. "I am pretty sure that Owen is a skittish bachelor, who prefers married women because they are safe." Katarina informed Nick who was taken aback.
"What do you mean, he prefers married women? And you let my sister dance with him?" Nick was aghast at what she was implying, but before he could say anything else, she winked at him.
"He was way more charming to me, a married woman, than a single man needs to be, which is a clear sign of trouble. Your sister is actually very safe with him, because he has no interest in unmarried women, all of whom, in his mind, want to catch him. Owen will not try anything with me again, because of my reaction in getting him to dance with Audra. And who knows, maybe she will be the reformation of him." Katarina's dimple appeared, as she explained her logic to Nick.
He thought about what she'd said, regarding the young man's behavior, and it made sense. Nick was pleased that she had seen through Owen being charming, and had not responded to him. Before he could stop himself he compared what Katarina had done, to what Hester would have done have. Nick looked at Katarina, with her soft blue eyes that were only watching him, and he felt a wave of love sweep over him.
"Have I told you how incredible you are Katarina? I think I am the luckiest man in the world." Nick murmured into her ear, as he pulled her closer to him. She felt her heart race while her knees went weak, hearing him say that.
"Actually I think I am very lucky, Nicholas. You are wonderful and I am having a great time." Katarina answered, enjoying how he was holding her. She was starting to hope that maybe he would fall in love with her, like she was in love with him.
Owen Winters was also having a great time, much to his surprise. He had been the 'catch' in San Francisco since he graduated from West Point. Army service had kept him out of the clutches of girls who only wanted one thing from him. Since he'd been home and working for his father, he had discovered that married women were best way to go. A married woman wouldn't try to trick him into marriage, and she needed to keep her mouth shut about their affair.
He would normally not have approached Catherine, since she was so newly married. He had heard, along with the entire city, the story of the marriage being arranged. Owen took that into consideration, along with the fact that she was European, and decided to go for it. He had been rather put out to see that Catherine saw right through him, and then had roped him into dancing with her unmarried sister-in-law.
Audra though turned out to be different from most of the debutantes he danced with, much to his amazement. Not only was she beautiful, but she actually talked to him like he was a person, and not a prize to be won. Owen was interested to hear that she was involved in several charitable organizations, and actually did work for them. The ladies in his circle, including his mother, all met at tea parties to talk about charity, but none of them did any real work for their causes. He started to think that maybe he needed to come up with a reason to visit Stockton, and get to know Audra better.
"You must be quite pleased at how the whole affair turned out, Victoria! Catherine is delightful, and you didn't tell me she was half English." Ham Williams came up to her with a beatific smile on his face. When the older woman had come to his office, a month ago, with the story of Nick's arranged marriage to the Russian aristocrat he had been more concerned that he'd let on. However, he trusted his friend Bishop Krill, and seeing things now, he decided he would take fellow ecclesiastic out to lunch.
"Hello Ham. If you recall I didn't know anything about her at the time." Victoria reminded him in a cool tone, and he laughed.
"Now you must know everything about her, right? She and Nick look very happy together." The Bishop had a pleased note in his voice, until he glanced over at his friend's face. He knew that Victoria was a good woman, very sympathetic and caring. She also harbored strong beliefs and opinions, which sometimes conflicted with her caring nature.
"Victoria, may I give you some advice, both as your friend and spiritual advisor?" Ham queried, and the older woman turned to look at him, hearing seriousness in his voice as he went on "Get to know the girl, and give her a chance."
"Why are you telling me this, Hamilton?" Victoria had heard the cautionary note in the man's voice, and didn't like it.
"You might not be happy about the marriage, but your son is, and that is what counts Victoria. It obviously didn't take long for them to warm up to each other." The Bishop declared, as he watched the couple of the dance floor, as Nick pulled her close to him.
"Look at it this way, when we do the christening for your first grandchild, we can fix Nick's baptism too." Hamilton offered up, and saw Victoria turn to him with shock on her face.
"Grandchildren? No, that is not going to happen! They are not sharing a bed, and if they do then the marriage can't be annulled. That is what the Russian Bishop told them." Victoria almost whispered, not wanting to be overheard. Ham looked at the couple, and had to keep from laughing very loudly while thinking how clever his friend Bishop Krill was.
"Victoria, they might not be sharing a bed yet, but it is going to happen, trust me. There is a lot of physical passion between those two. I think you are going to get quite a few grandkids from Catherine, so be nice to her, ok?" He walked away, still privately chuckling at what his fellow Bishop had done to the couple.
She didn't even notice Ham walking away, being too busy thinking about what he had just said about the couple. She thought about how her son behaved with Catherine, always putting his arm around her shoulders, or waist. It wasn't just at the house either, but anytime they were around each other, even in public. Nick would touch her and Catherine would cuddle up to him with no hesitation. It came to her that everyone at the party tonight, watching the couple, would assume that Catherine was Nick's wife in every sense of the word, just like Ham had done. She thought about how pleased her son had sounded, when he'd made his birthday present remark in the church yard. Victoria decided that she needed a drink before she started hyperventilating.