Crossings Read Online Free PDF Page B

the Grande Salle a Manger. But perhaps the children will enjoy having a dining room of their own and a living room with a baby grand piano. Our own promenade deck, my love, where we can sit at night, looking up at the stars …” His voice drifted off dreamily, as he was really looking forward to the crossing on the ship. For years now he had heard nothing but raves about the Normandie , and he had never been on it. Now it was an extra treat that he could give to his wife. No matter that she could have paid for all four of the Grand Luxe suites herself, he would never have let her. He had too much pride about that sort of thing, and he was happy to be able to spoil her a little, and happier still that they would have five days together, suspended between two worlds. At last he would be free of the final exhausting days at the Embassy in Washington, and he would not yet have been swallowed up by the work he was to do in France. “Isn't that good news?” His eyes danced.
    “I can hardly wait.” And then she giggled as she sat down at the enormous dining table set for two. “Since we have a piano in our cabin, should I practice the piano a little before we leave? I haven't played in years.”
    “Silly girl. Hmm”—he turned his attention to the odors emanating from the kitchen—“that smells awfully good.”
    “Thank you, sir. Soupe de poisson for my lord and master, une omelette fines herbes, salade de cresson , Camembert, Brie, and chocolate soufflé, if the cook hasn't fallen asleep.”
    “She must be ready to kill me with these hours I'm keeping.”
    “Never mind, my love.” Liane smiled at him with a kiss in her eyes, and the maid came in with their soup.
    “Did I tell you that we're dining at the White House tomorrow?”
    “No.” But Liane was used to surprise command social engagements. She had given dinner parties for as many as a hundred people with notice of only two days.
    “They called today.”
    “Is the dinner for anyone important?” The soup was good, she liked their cozy dinners tête-à-tête, and like Armand, she wondered now how many moments like these they would have once they were back in France. They both suspected that he was going to be terribly busy, and she might not see much of him for a while. At least not at first.
    Armand smiled at his wife. “Tomorrow night is for someone terribly important.”
    “Who?”
    “Us. It's just a friendly little impromptu dinner for us before we leave.” There had already been a formal farewell reception three weeks before. “Are the girls excited about the ship?”
    Liane nodded. “Very.”
    “They can't possibly be as excited as I am. They call her the Ship of Light.” And then he saw her smiling at him again. “Do you think me very foolish to be so excited about the trip?”
    “No, I think you're very wonderful, and I love you.”
    He reached out and patted her hand then. “Liane … I am a very lucky man.”

he long black Citroen that had been shipped over from Paris the year before drew up to the Pennsylvania Avenue entrance of the White House, and Liane stepped out. She was wearing a black satin dinner suit with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, and a white organdy blouse underneath the jacket, lined in the finest of white silk. Armand had bought her the suit at Jean Patou when he had gone to Paris at Easter, and it fit her perfectly. Patou had her measurements, and Armand always chose gifts for her that suited her to perfection, as this one did. She looked like a high-fashion model, with her long, slim figure and her perfectly smooth blond hair, as she stepped from the car. Armand emerged just behind her, wearing his dinner jacket. Tonight was an informal evening. None of the men would be wearing white tie.
    There were two butlers and a maid waiting in the entry hall to greet them, to take any wraps the ladies might have brought and to direct them upstairs to the Roosevelts' private dining room. And of course there were