Chapter 18

Standing at the bottom of the ramp was Grace Wheathers looking as lovely as ever. The dress was red silk that fell to the ankles, a matching wide brim hat crowned her long raven hair. The sensuous garment hugged her beautiful body as she waved to him. The shock was that he never told her he was coming home. Beside her was a was a uniformed man standing in front of a shiny limo.

She embraced him once he reached the ground. For a few moments he felt as if his leg were still on the boat. The ship's horn drowned out her smiling talk. He had to wait for a moment before she was able to repeat her comment.

"It's so nice to see you again," she shouted again.

Frank nodded, "Likewise. How did you know when I would be returning?" He took a step back to gaze at her from head to toe. Grace was more beautiful than he remembered. She was at the height of her loveliness. Her lips were full and red. She needed no eye or brow makeup. Being so ravenly black, it all came natural to her. He took her hand to examine her red polished nails. Perfect! Her long fingers were the reason that made her such an accomplished pianist and harpist. "You're just as stunning as the day I left for the war."

"Thank you," Grace smiled broadly. "Get in the automobile. Stan will take us to Del Monicos for lunch and we can catch up there."

"You look good, Frank," she said as soon as they were settled in the back seat of the limo.

"You do too," he replied. He had to admit that it had been a long time since he had seen her. He felt that Grace was more comely than Yvette. But he had loved Yvette in everything. He only wondered how Grace would be in bed. No doubt a woman of her breeding would show her to be still a virgin. She grasped his arm pointing out a new building being constructed. It was rumored to be fifty stories in height.

"You know that your girl who was working for you got married?"

"Yes, I do. I gave her a generous wedding present. I hope she is happy in her new life," Frank couldn't take his eyes away from her.

"She's not," Grace sighed. "Her husband died of the flu not too long ago."

This news shocked him. The last he heard was she had given birth to a son. He fell to awful that this pestilence had killed him. Frank recalled how close he became in being one of those numbers. "I can't believe it," he gasped after a moments pause from the revelation.

He was so stunned that he briefly wondered if he should go and see her. It had nothing to do that was sexual. He just liked Gwen from the beginning. "I think you should go and see her," Grace stated.

"Oh! Why?" he asked, pretending that it never entered his mind.

"Well she worked for you all those years, she slept with you for a long time, you might still be together if the war didn't come along. Let's face it, Frank, you might have never returned to me if everything fell into place for us. Your wife died in Paris, you almost died, Gwen's husband died. I think you should settle everything in your mind before we even discuss marriage. You did not have any feelings for me at first, I lost my feelings for you when you came around and realized you did have feelings for me. We have messed up our lives for years. Each of us is to blame. I want to make sure that everything is straightened out before we even approach the altar. I've had years to figure it all out and realized I should have been more patient..."

"What makes you think I would want to marry Gwen," he interrupted.

"I'm sure of your heart, Frank. You have loved too many women in your lifetime. I've only been attracted to less than five men in my life. You've been attracted to five women in a week. I just want to make sure that you have all of this settled in your heart before we marry. I don't want us to regret what we have done years earlier. I know I don't have the passion of some you've slept with, but I will fit very well on your arm when we attend parties and social functions. I will be loyal to you, Frank. You will never have a woman more honest to you than myself. If you see a woman you might wish to spend the night with, I will look the other way. No one will need to know."

"What you are giving me is a blank check to do anything and everything I desire," Frank said, amazed. "Why is that?"

"I need to marry, Frank. I need to have a child. An heir to our fortunes. I have gone through prospect after prospect but it always comes back to you. Do you recall our first meeting at the Astors in 1910?"