No Greater Love Part 14

"Quite a bit, I suspect, or you couldn't have given up your own life to raise five children." He toasted her silently and she raised her gla.s.s and toasted George and his bride, and Helen's father smiled at her. It had already been a very pleasant evening.

And once they got to the Cocoanut Grove, it was even more so. The four of them danced for hours, exchanged partners, chatted, and laughed at funny stories. They were like four good friends, and more than once Edwina saw Helen squeeze her father's hand or touch his arm, and he always looked at her with adoration. But she and George were close too, and they danced almost professionally for six straight tangos.

"You two are quite a team!" Sam said admiringly as George took Helen off to the floor without even pausing for breath after dancing with his sister.

"So are you." Edwina grinned. "I saw you two out there."

"Did you? Then perhaps you and I ought to try it again, just to make sure we don't step on each other's feet at the wedding."

Edwina was sure they had danced all night, and she had a fabulous time getting to know him. She already knew how much she liked Helen.

And Edwina was surprised at how easy it was to glide around the room in Sam's arms. He reminded her of someone, and she wasn't sure who, and then she realized later on, that he reminded her of her father when she had danced with him when she was a little girl. Sam Horowitz was so much taller and stronger than she was that it made her feel like a child again, and in a funny way, she realized that she liked it. She liked him, and his constant thoughtfulness and kind eyes, which seemed to take everything in and understand it. He had brought his daughter up alone too, after his wife died when Helen was only a baby. "It wasn't easy sometimes, and she always thought I was too strict." But it was easy to see she didn't think so now, and that he adored her. She was truly a beautiful girl, and she obviously doted on Edwina's brother. Edwina was happy for both of them. It made her feel both happy and sad. It was a bittersweet time, and more than once they reminded her of her last days with Charles, when they had gone to England to announce their engagement. She had put her engagement ring from him away finally, a few years before, and she looked at it now and then, when she went to get something else out of her jewel box.

Sam asked her to dance one last time, and from his arms, she watched her handsome brother glide his fiancee smoothly across the floor in a final tango, but she and Sam didn't do badly either.

All in all, the two couples had a wonderful time and they went home at three in the morning.

And when Sam dropped her off, Helen got into the car with him outside George's house. And Helen and Sam waved good night to the Winfields. Edwina thanked him again for a wonderful evening, and George kissed Helen again, as Sam and Edwina pretended not to notice.

"We'll have to do this again, soon," Sam said softly, and for an instant, Edwina felt a pang of regret that their lives hadn't been different.

And the next day, Alexis started work on the picture. It was far more arduous than she had thought it would be, and there were days when it was grueling, but no matter how hard it was, or how demanding the director was with her, it was obvious how much she loved it. Edwina was with her on the set almost every day, but after a while she felt superfluous. Alexis was doing a beautiful job, she felt totally at ease, and it was obvious that everyone on the set, from the star to the last extra, loved her. And just as George had known from the moment he came to Hollywood that he had found his home, so did Alexis. It was a fairyland of make-believe where she would always be a child and people would always take care of her, which was exactly what she wanted. And it warmed Edwina's heart to see her so happy and so involved in what she was doing.

"She's like a different person," Edwina said to George late one night, when she was dining with him and Helen, at the Cocoanut Grove, which was Helen's favorite nightspot. Edwina had been enjoying watching Rudolph Valentino dance with Constance Talmadge, and she found herself suddenly missing Sam. They had become good friends, and she enjoyed going out with him with George and Helen, but he was in Kentucky, buying two new horses.

"I have to admit," George said, as he poured more champagne for his sister and his future wife, "Alexis is very good in the picture. Much better than I thought she would be. In fact," he said, looking pointedly at Edwina, "it's going to pose something of a problem."

"What kind of problem?" She looked surprised. Thus far, everything had gone so smoothly.

"Pretty soon it may all be out of my hands. If she's good in this, she's going to be getting more offers to make other pictures. And then what are you going to do?"

Edwina had been thinking of that for the past week and she hadn't yet solved it. "I'll think of something. I really don't want to stay down here with the other two." And George had his own life now, and in spite of what Alexis thought, she wasn't old enough to live alone in Los Angeles. "Don't worry about it. I'll think of something."

But fortunately, when the picture ended, there was a lull, and they all went back to San Francisco to put Fannie and Teddy back in school. Edwina found that she hated leaving Hollywood, but she felt that she had to go home, and she had promised the younger children. But she was sad to leave George and Helen and even Sam, and she missed their elegant evenings of dining and dancing. But they were going back to Los Angeles at the end of September anyway, for George and Helen's wedding. By then, there was talk of another picture for Alexis, and Alexis was begging Edwina to let her get her own apartment, which Edwina said would only work if she could find a suitable chaperone. In fact, it was becoming a rather complicated situation. And she was still trying to sort it out when they went back down on the train for the much-heralded wedding.

George picked them up himself, and Edwina laughed at how nervous he was when he took them to the hotel. She had been determined not to get in his way, and she had booked them into the Beverly Hills Hotel again, which the children enjoyed and she had always liked too. And George was just beside himself with nerves as he told the bellboy where to put their luggage.

His bachelor party was scheduled for that night, and the rehearsal dinner was the following night at the Alexandria Hotel, and the night before they had been given a huge party at Pickfair.

"I may not live through the week," George groaned, and fell onto the couch in the suite's living room and looked up at Edwina. "I had no idea it was so exhausting, getting married."

"Oh, shut up," she teased, "you're loving every minute of it, and so you should. How is Helen?"

"A tower of strength, thank G.o.d. If it weren't for her I couldn't get through this. She remembers absolutely everything we're supposed to do, she knows who gave what gifts, who's coming and who isn't, and where we're supposed to be when. All I have to do is get dressed, try not to forget the ring, and pay for the honeymoon, and I'm not even sure I could do that much without her." Edwina was impressed, as she had been months before when Helen asked her to be her maid of honor. There were going to be eleven other bridesmaids, eleven ushers, a best man, four flower girls, and a ring bearer. And George hadn't been kidding when he said it should have been directed by Cecil B. De Mille. It sounded like one of his epics.

The wedding itself was going to take place in the Horowitzes' garden, under a gazebo covered in roses and gardenias that had been specially grown just for Helen and George, and the reception was going to be in the house, and two huge tents that had been put on the grounds, with two bands, and every name in Hollywood who would be there to see Helen marry George. It brought tears to Edwina's eyes each time she thought about it, but when they'd come down in June she had brought with her a very special gift for Helen.

"Have a good time tonight." She kissed her brother as he left to get ready for his bachelor party that night. And as she went to take a bath, Alexis, Fannie, and Teddy took off like a band of roving urchins to check out the lobby. "Behave yourselves, please," she urged, but she a.s.sumed that as long as they were together they couldn't get into too much trouble. After all, this was where Alexis had met Malcolm Stone, but that had been months before, and Alexis was reformed now.

Chapter 30.

THE HOROWITZES' DUESENBERG APPEARED FOR THEM AT THE hotel at exactly eleven-thirty, and Edwina and the three children got in and they were driven to the Horowitz estate, where everything was orchestrated to perfection.

The tents were in place, both bands had already set up their stands and their music. Paul Whiteman and his orchestra and Joe "King" Oliver's Creole Jazz Band were going to be playing from six o'clock until the wee hours of the morning. The caterers were in full swing. The Horowitz staff had everything in control. And an exquisite luncheon was being served to everyone but the bride in the dining room at precisely twelve o'clock. And when Sam Horowitz appeared to greet them, he looked calm and collected. He was wearing a business suit, and he thought Edwina looked very pretty in a white silk dress and a long rope of pearls that had been her mother's. It was a big day for all of them, and all of the Winfield children were very excited. George had asked Teddy to be his best man, which had flattered him and touched Edwina deeply. She was going to be Helen's maid of honor, Alexis was a bridesmaid, and Fannie a flower girl, so they each had a role. At two o'clock, the girls went to the room where the bridesmaids were being combed and coiffed and made up and perfumed, Teddy joined the men, and Edwina went to find Helen.

"See you later," Sam said quietly, and touched her arm just before she left. "It's a big day for both of us, isn't it?" She was more like the mother of the groom than the maid of honor and they both knew it, and he had to stand in, as he had for all of Helen's life, as both father and mother.

"She's going to look beautiful." Edwina smiled at him, knowing what a wrench it had to be for him. She was feeling it, too, and George hadn't lived at home in more than four years, and still, for all of them, it was an important moment.

And much to her surprise, she found Helen sitting calmly in her bedroom, looking beautiful and composed, her hair already done, her manicure perfect, her wedding dress all laid out. She had nothing more to do except relax and wait for five o'clock when she would walk down the aisle on her father's arm and become Mrs. George Winfield.

Edwina had never realized when they met how organized she was, how capable, and how much she was like her father. She just quietly went about what she did, smiling, being pretty and pleasant, and taking care of everyone and seeing to their comfort. It made Edwina happy seeing that, and she knew without a moment's doubt that she and George were going to be very happy. And yet, for a moment, just then, she felt almost sorry for her. It was a time when she should have had a mother and not simply a friend, to fuss over her, and send her on her way with a warm hug and a tear as she walked down the aisle, but they were two young women alone, the one who had never known her mother at all, the other who had had to take her mother's place and bring up five children.

As Edwina looked around the room, she saw the miles and miles of Chantilly lace, hundreds of tiny b.u.t.tons, rivers of tiny pearls, and a twenty-foot train, but there was no veil, and then as she walked into Helen's dressing room, she saw it. It had been pressed, and it was propped up on a hat stand high up on a chest of drawers, as it drifted across the room, fully as long as Helen's train, and as Edwina saw it, tears filled her eyes. It looked just as it was meant to, a whisper to cover a virgin's face, and make her groom long for her as she drifted toward him. It looked as it would have eleven years before, if she'd married Charles. She had given it to Helen and now she was deeply touched that she was going to wear it. And she turned at a sound, as Helen came into the room behind her, and gently touched her shoulder. They were sisters now, and not just friends. Sisters who had only each other, and as Edwina turned to embrace her, there were tears running down her face, as she remembered Charles as though she had seen him only moments before. With all the years since he'd been gone, he was still fresh in her mind and her heart, and if she closed her eyes, she could see him as she did her parents.

"Thank you for wearing it," she whispered as they hugged, and Helen was crying too. She could only guess at how much the gift meant to Edwina.

"Thank you for letting me ... I wish you had worn it too...." But what she really meant was that she wished Edwina had had the joy that Helen had now.

"I did, in my heart." She pulled away and smiled at her new younger sister. "He was a wonderful man, and I loved him very much." She had never talked about him to Helen before. "And George is a wonderful man too ... may you always be happy." Edwina kissed her again, and a little while later, she helped her dress, and it took her breath away when she saw her. She looked more beautiful than any bride she had ever seen, in real life or any movie. Her blond hair seemed to frame her face, and it was swept around her head like a halo, artfully woven with little sprigs of baby's breath and lily of the valley, and the crown of Edwina's wedding veil fit carefully above the silken hair, with its s.h.i.+mmering pearls, and its miles of white tulle. It took six of her bridesmaids to help her down the stairs, and Edwina cried again as she watched her.

Her own dress was pale blue lace, and it had a matching coat that trailed far behind her, and a beautiful hat made in Paris by Poiret that dipped low and almost concealed one eye, and made her look at the same time both demure and s.e.xy. The dress was cut low to reveal her creamy bosom, but the coat covered her for the ceremony and the pale sky blue made her s.h.i.+ning black hair look like raven's wings. She didn't know it, but her brother thought she had never looked more beautiful.

Sam was startled by her, too, and then, a moment later, there was a hush and there was Helen. The extraordinary dress and the magical wedding veil transformed her into everyone's dream, and reminded Sam that she was no longer a little girl and he was about to lose her. A tear crept slowly from Sam's eye, and a moment later he held his daughter tight and everyone sobbed, watching them. She looked so beautiful, and he looked so loving and so strong, and Edwina knew everything Helen meant to him, and also what she meant to her brother. Helen was a lucky girl. She was precious to both men, and she knew how much they both loved her.

The music started up and the bridesmaids and flower girls moved down the aisle, and then at the very end, Edwina moved out just ahead of Helen and Sam, in measured steps, holding her bouquet of white orchids. The bridesmaids all looked like little girls to her, and she could see Alexis and Fannie giggling far ahead, but as she looked toward him she could see George, waiting expectantly with his young, s.h.i.+ning face, for his life to begin with Helen. And seeing him there made Edwina wish again that her parents were alive to see him now, as she moved to the side, and Helen appeared like a miracle suddenly in everyone's field of vision. There were sighs throughout the crowd, and people straining to see, and as Edwina took her place, Sam Horowitz stood solemnly and looked down at his only child with a small, sad smile, and gave her delicate white-kid-gloved hand to her husband.

Edwina could feel a rustle in the crowd, and as Helen and George took their places under the canopy that was a tradition in Helen's faith, she watched and cried silently, tears of joy for them, and as she thought of the love she had lost so long ago, there were tears of sorrow and longing.

The wedding was beautiful, and the ceremony just what it should have been, as George broke a gla.s.s beneath his foot. They weren't Orthodox, but Helen had wanted a wedding in her own faith, and after that it didn't bother her that she and George were of different religions.

It took hours to get through the reception line, and Edwina stood beside Sam, drained at first, from all the emotions she felt, and then laughing at Sam's jokes, as he shook hands, introduced all their friends, and spoke in a series of whispers whenever he could to Edwina. He was a great source of strength and warmth throughout the wedding. And Edwina introduced him to their friends who had come down from San Francisco, mostly their parents' old friends, and Ben, of course, with his wife, who was expecting a baby. And after Helen danced with Sam, and George with Edwina, then Edwina danced with Sam, and with Teddy, and with movie stars and friends, and people she didn't know and would probably never see again, and they all had a wonderful time. And at last at midnight, the bride and groom left, in the Duesenberg Sam had given George as a wedding gift. And in the morning, they would leave for New York by train, and to Canada from there. They had talked about going to Europe, but George had balked at the thought of going on a s.h.i.+p, and Helen hadn't pressed it. She knew they would someday, and she didn't want to rush him. She was happy going anywhere with him. And she had looked blissful as they drove off, and Edwina turned to Sam with a sigh, wondering where Alexis and Teddy and Fannie were. She had seen them on and off all night, and they were having a ball, particularly Alexis.

"It was beautiful." Edwina smiled at him.

"Your brother's a fine boy," he said admiringly.

"Thank you, sir." She curtsied, smiling up at him in her blue gown. "And you have a lovely daughter."

He shared the last dance with her, and as Edwina looked around the floor, she was startled to see Malcolm Stone there. She suspected he had come with someone, because she knew that otherwise, he would never have been invited. And a little while later, she rounded up her family, thanked Sam again, and went home, exhausted but happy. And it was only later that night, as they undressed, and she chatted with Alexis, that she thought to ask her if she'd seen Malcolm.

Alexis didn't answer for a moment, and then nodded her head. She had. She had danced with him. But she didn't want to admit that to Edwina, and she wasn't sure if her sister had seen them. She had been surprised to see him there too, and he had laughed when he told her he'd crashed and pretended to have forgotten his invitation.

"Yes, I saw him there," she said noncommittally as she took off the pearls she had borrowed from Edwina.

"Did he talk to you?" Edwina frowned, as she sat down, looking faintly worried.

"Not really," which was a lie.

"I'm surprised he had the courage to turn up." But this time, Alexis didn't answer her, and she didn't say that they had made a lunch date for the next day, to talk about her next picture. He said he had auditioned for a part in it, which surprised Alexis because so far nothing was set, and Alexis hadn't even been formally signed yet. "It was a beautiful wedding, wasn't it?" Edwina decided to change the subject. There was no point talking about Malcolm Stone anymore. All of that was in the past now.

And they all decided that Helen had looked absolutely gorgeous, and as she went to bed that night, Edwina smiled to herself, tired, happy, sad, and glad that she'd given her the veil. But Alexis was not thinking of the bride, as she drifted off to sleep. She was dreaming of Malcolm, and their date tomorrow.

Chapter 31.

ALEXIS AND MALCOLM STONE MET THE NEXT DAY AT THE Amba.s.sador Hotel for lunch, and when she arrived she was very nervous. Edwina had gone to George's house to do some things for him, and Alexis had told Fannie she was going out to meet a friend. Fannie had been reading a book in the room, and Teddy was at the pool when Alexis asked the doorman to get her a cab at the hotel, and she had just gone, without telling anyone where she was going.

"My sister will be furious if she hears about this," Alexis admitted to him. She looked lovelier than ever in a cream-colored suit and a matching hat with a veil that all but obscured her eyes, as she looked up at him like a trusting child.

"Well, then, we'll see that she doesn't hear about it, won't we?" He was handsomer than ever, and a little frightening as he reached for Alexis's hand. There was something very s.e.xual about him, and yet at the same time he always made her feel like a little girl, and he was going to take care of her, and it was that side of him that she liked, not the other. "At least your charming brother's not in town." He laughed, as though amused by him. "Where did he go for his honeymoon?"

"To New York and Canada."

"Not to Europe?" He looked amazed. "How surprising." But Alexis did not explain why. "How long will they be gone?"

"Six weeks," she told him openly, as he kissed the inside of her palms with interest.

"Poor baby ... what will you do without him? He's going to be all wrapped up with his little wifey, and that leaves you all alone in the world now, doesn't it?" It didn't, of course, it left her with very capable Edwina, but as he said it, she began to feel as though she had no one left in the world. "Poor little love, Malcolm will just have to take care of you, won't he, love?" he said, and she nodded, the memory of Rosarita Beach fading from her mind as he murmured.

He asked about the timing of her next picture, and she admitted that Edwina and George wanted her to wait to sign anything until he got back.

"Then you're free for the next two months?" He looked enchanted.

"Well ... yes ... except that I have to go back to San Francisco, because my sister and brother are still in school." And suddenly, beneath the veil, even to him, she still looked like a child. She had the face and the body of an angel, and with the right direction, she could almost pretend to be a vamp. But left to her own devices, she was still deliciously childish. It was part of her charm, but in the face of Malcolm's advances, she felt awkward, and she was suddenly anxious to get back to the hotel. "I really ought to go," she said finally, as he lingered, kissing her again and again and playing with her hair. He had had a lot to drink over lunch, and he seemed to be in no hurry. And he tried to tempt her to drink some wine with him, and finally she did, hoping that after that, he would finally take her back to the hotel. But when she did, she found that she liked it, it tasted better even than the champagne they'd had the night before. And by the end of the afternoon, they were still sitting there, drinking wine and giggling and kissing, and by then she had forgotten that she had to go anywhere at all. She laughed as they drove back to his apartment. Everything seemed terribly funny now, especially Edwina waiting for her, G.o.d only knew where. Alexis couldn't remember.

He gave her more wine when they got to his place, and he kissed her until she was breathless, and suddenly she knew that there was more she wanted to do with him, but she couldn't quite remember what. She remembered they had gone somewhere together once, and for a minute she thought that they were married, but then a moment later, that thought was a blur as well. She was unconscious when he put her back in his car with a suitcase. He had thought about this all night, and decided that it was a great idea, and would solve all his problems. He left the money he owed for the rent on the table, and he was planning to leave the car with a note at the station. It wasn't his anyway, he had borrowed it from someone on his last picture.

The train was still in the station when they got there, and Alexis was half conscious again by then, and she sat up and looked around her.

"Where are we going?" She looked around at him, but the compartment seemed to be swaying around her, and she couldn't figure out where she was, or where she was going.

"We're going to see George in New York," he told her, and in the condition she was in it sounded fine to her.

"We are? Why?"

"Don't worry about it, little love," he said again, and kissed her. He had the perfect plan. Alexis was going to be his ticket to stardom. And once he had compromised her sufficiently, George would have no choice. Particularly now that he was married to Sam Horowitz's daughter, he would be far from anxious to have his younger sister labeled as a wh.o.r.e all over the business.

The train pulled out as Alexis snored loudly on the seat next to Malcolm, and as he looked down at her and smiled, he had to admit to himself that he could have done worse, she was a very pretty girl. In fact, she was a beauty.

Chapter 32.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE SHE WENT?" At the exact moment the train pulled out carrying Alexis, Edwina was questioning Fannie, who was close to tears.

"I don't know ... she said she was going to see a friend or something ... I think someone from her movie ... I don't remember ..." Fannie was getting panicked, and Teddy hadn't even been there.

"Did you see anyone?" Fannie shook her head again, terrified that something awful had happened to Alexis.

"She was all dressed up, and she looked very pretty," Fannie added, and as she said the words, a chill ran through Edwina, and she instantly suspected Malcolm Stone. She suddenly had the feeling that the night before, Alexis had been lying. She had thought so then but she hadn't wanted to press her.

The doorman told her that her sister had left in a cab. And when she hadn't come back by nine o'clock that night, she finally called Sam. She apologized for disturbing him, and told him about her problem. She wanted to track Malcolm down to see if Alexis was with him.

It was two hours later before he called her back, and the other children were asleep then. All he had was an address another actor had given him, and it was in a rotten part of town.

"I don't want you going there. Do you want me to go there now or in the morning?" He was more than willing to help, but Edwina insisted that she could handle it herself. They argued about it for a little while, and finally Edwina agreed to let him go there with her. It was midnight by the time they arrived and it was obvious that no one was at the apartment.

She decided to call the police by then, no matter how much scandal it caused. And Sam reluctantly left her with them at the hotel at one in the morning. Edwina said she was alright with them, and she didn't seem to want Sam to stay with her. She tried to tell the police what she could. But all she knew, in truth, was what Fannie had told her. Alexis had gone to meet a friend, and had never come back. But by the next morning, Edwina was truly panicked. There was no sign of the girl. And the police had no leads at all. No body had been found, no one had seen anything. And no one of her description had turned up at any of the hospitals in town. She had to be somewhere, but Edwina had no idea where, or with whom, or why. Her only thought was Malcolm Stone, but she realized she could be wrong about that. Their last run-in with him had been months before, and surely he had learned his lesson.

It was noon when Sam Horowitz called, and Edwina was frantic by then. And what he had to say told her that she had been right. With a little careful checking, Sam had learned that Malcolm Stone had left his room paid for and deserted. Sam had discovered when he went back that morning, and by sheer luck he'd been able to find out, through an actor he knew, that he'd left the car he used at the station, with a note, and one could a.s.sume that he'd left town. But the question was, did he have Alexis with him? That was what she needed to know, and she had no idea how to do it.

"You could tell the police he kidnapped her," Sam suggested, but Edwina was loath to do a thing like that. What if he didn't? If Alexis said she'd gone willingly with him, which Edwina a.s.sumed she had, then it would be all over the papers, and her reputation would be ruined forever. As Edwina thought about it, she found herself missing George. "Is there anything I can do to help?" Sam offered again, but she told him that she would try to find a solution, and let him know what was happening, as soon as she knew herself. But she didn't want to impose on him. He had done enough, and this wasn't his problem. It was also embarra.s.sing to admit to him that she was unable to control her own sister. And suddenly, Edwina was afraid to disgrace George, and Sam, and Helen.

And there was certainly no way to stop Malcolm and Alexis now, or even to catch them if they had left town, and all she could think of to do now was to go back to San Francisco, and wait for Alexis to call her. She called Sam later that afternoon and told him her plan, and the next morning she took Fannie and Teddy home to San Francisco. They were a quiet threesome on the long train ride home. Edwina's thoughts were filled with worry for her little sister, and Fannie felt guilty that she hadn't questioned her more, or told her not to go wherever she was going.

"That's silly," Edwina tried unsuccessfully to rea.s.sure her. "It's not your fault, sweetheart." What Alexis had done was her own fault.

"But what if she never comes back again?" Fannie started to cry, and Edwina smiled sadly. She would come back again ... but G.o.d only knew when, or how, or in what condition. But it was actually more comforting to think of her with Malcolm Stone than to fear that some unknown fate had befallen her. Edwina wasn't sure which fate was worse, as she and the younger ones rolled into San Francisco.

It was three days before they heard from her, and by then Edwina thought she would go crazy. The call came to San Francisco at ten o'clock at night.

"My G.o.d, do you realize how worried we've been? Where are you?"

Alexis's voice trembled. She had been almost too embarra.s.sed to call, but even Malcolm thought she should. It had been the worst week of her life. First she had been so sick on the train, she thought she would die, and then he had told her she had slept right through their wedding night. He told her they'd gotten married just before getting on the train, and to prove it, he'd made love to her all during the second night. It had been awful and not at all what she had expected, and now she couldn't imagine why she'd married him in the first place. He wasn't anything like he'd been in Los Angeles, and all he talked about were the pictures they would star in, and no matter how handsome he was, in broad daylight, to Alexis, he looked ancient.

"I'm alright," she said faintly, but even over the long-distance wires, she wasn't convincing. "I'm with Malcolm."