Free Change of Heart by Joan Wolf

straightened her slim shoulders and lifted her chin. “I’ll find someone,” she said evenly.
    “Good.” He smiled at her and changed the subject. “You look terrific. You’re going to knock them all dead tonight.”
    He had gotten her hackles up with his peremptory attitude and now he disarmed her completely with his smile, his look of admiration. “I don’t want to knock them dead,” she said after a brief pause, “I just want to have a good time.”
    “You’ll do both,” he said confidently. As they got out of the car in front of the Plaza, however, Gil found himself suddenly not so sure of how much Cecelia would enjoy the evening. For the first time he realized how awkward she might feel, faced with a large party where she wouldn’t know a soul. A large party of people all of whom were not only strangers but also older than she. Liz Lewis’s party at the Plaza was a long way from the casual beer and pizza gatherings his young wife was undoubtedly accustomed to. He took her arm as they entered the reception room of the suite, determined to stick with her for the evening.
    Liz Lewis and Lord and Lady Ashbrook were receiving their guests. When Liz caught sight of Gil’s tall figure in the doorway she felt her heartbeat begin to accelerate. Her eyes went from his silver-blond head to the girl who was beside him.
    She had thought Gil’s new wife would be smashing. But as Cecelia smiled at her and murmured a pleasantry the thought flashed through Liz’s brain that she hadn’t been prepared for this. Cecelia Archer was not smashing. She was, quite simply, beautiful. And her beauty had nothing to do with her youth. She would be beautiful when she was eighty. Gil was holding Liz’s hand now and she forced a smile. She heard him say something humorous to the Ashbrooks, whom he knew, and then he and his wife moved into the other room.
    Twenty minutes later Liz left her post on the reception line and came into the large room where most of her guests were drinking champagne and cocktails. Her searching eye picked out the Archers almost immediately. They were standing together by one of the velvet-draped windows. Cecelia’s head was tipped back as she looked up at, her husband. He was talking. Suddenly she broke into laughter and Liz saw the instant response on Gil’s face. Her lips tightened. Then a man appeared next to Gil and murmured a few words. Gil hesitated, casting a worried look at Cecelia. She smiled at him and said something that must have reassured him for he went off across the room with the man whom Liz recognized, and Cecelia was left standing by herself in front of the window. Liz regarded her isolation with satisfaction. She had no intention of lifting a finger to help the beautiful child-bride out of her obvious predicament.
    Cecelia watched Gil go off with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. One of Liz’s guests was a former secretary of state whose influence and prestige were enormous. He wanted to talk to Gil, privately, or so the young man who had taken Gil away had said. She had seen the worried look Gil had thrown her and had sent him off with a determinedly serene smile, but she felt anything but serene as she surveyed the glittering crowd before her. Gil had introduced her to a number of people, but Cecelia could not see any of them at just that moment.
    She felt utterly miserable. She longed to put down her champagne glass and just walk out the door. But of course she couldn’t do that. She had to stay and pretend she felt easy and happy and carefree. She was raising her glass to take another sip of champagne when she heard a voice call, “Cecelia!” She turned and saw a gray-haired woman dressed in blue coming toward her through the crowd. Cecelia broke into a delighted smile.
    “Maisie! What a surprise to see you!”
    “Nothing like as big a surprise as you gave us, honey. I couldn’t believe it when I read the papers. And how is your father?”
    “He’s fine, Maisie.