“Mal de mer?” she asked knowingly, wondering if they were seasick, but the little steward winked. He had gotten a good look at them, and knew better.

“Mon oeil. Lune de miel” Honeymoon, he explained, and she laughed as he pinched her bottom.

William and Sarah emerged onto the deck the next morning looking healthy and rested, and William seemed unable to stop smiling at her. Sarah laughed at him as they walked around the deck and settled into two deck chairs.

“You know, people really will know what we’ve been up to if you don’t stop grinning.”

“I can’t help it. I’ve never been so happy in my life. When can we go back to the cabin? I swear, it’s becoming an addiction.”

“I’m going to call the captain if you lay a hand on me again. I’m not going to be able to walk by the time we get to Paris.”

“I’ll carry you.” He grinned as he leaned over and kissed her again. But she didn’t look the least bit dismayed by what had happened. She was loving it, too, and loving him. But that day they made an effort to discover the ship, and managed to stay out of bed until teatime. Then they allowed themselves a brief reward, and forced themselves to get their clothes on again in time for dinner.

Sarah loved going to the dining room on the Normandie. It was a fairyland of elegance, with ceilings three decks high, and the room itself was slightly longer than the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, and no less impressive. The ceiling was gilt, and on the walls there were columns of soft lighting twenty feet high. They descended an endless, blue-carpeted staircase when they arrived, and William was wearing white tie, as were all the other men.

“Does the fact that we’re eating in the dining room tonight,” she whispered to him, “mean that the honeymoon is over?”

“I was a little bit afraid of that myself,” he confided to her as he devoured his soufflé. “I think we ought to go back to the room as soon as we finish.” She giggled at him, and they managed to stop in the Grand Salon above the dining room and dance for a while, before they took a last walk on the deck and kissed beneath the stars. Then at last they went back to their stateroom. It was the perfect honeymoon, and they had a wonderful time, swimming and walking and dancing and eating, and making love. It was like being suspended between two worlds, their old one and their new one. They tried to stay away from everyone, although most people in first class were aware of who they were, and more than once she heard people whisper as they walked by, “The Duke and Duchess of Whitfield .” “Windsor?” one dowager asked. “She’s much younger than I thought … and better looking …” Sarah had been unable to repress a smile, and William had subtly pinched her and called her Wallis after that.

“Don’t ever call me that, or I shall start calling you David!”

Sarah hadn’t met them yet, but William had told her they would probably have to pay a visit to them in Paris “You might like her better than you expect. She’s not my cup of tea, but she’s really very charming. And he’s happier than he used to be, claims he can sleep now. I suppose I know why.” William grinned. He was sleeping remarkably well himself, in between orgies with his bride.

They dined at the captain’s table on the last night, and attended the Gala. They’d actually gone to the Fancy Dress Ball the night before, dressed as a maharaja and maharani, in costumes loaned to them by the purser, and jewels Sarah had brought along herself. The roles suited them well. William looked very handsome and Sarah looked extremely exotic. But her expertise with her makeup and naked belly had only won her an early return to their stateroom. The stewards were making bets now as to how long they could stay out of bed. And so far, four hours seemed to have been their limit.

“Maybe we should just stay on the ship,” Sarah suggested as she lay in bed, on their last night, dozing sporadically after they’d made love after the captain’s dinner. “I’m not at all sure I want to go to Paris at all.” William had reserved an apartment for them at the Ritz, and they were going to stay there for a month, while taking driving tours around the châteaux outside Paris. They wanted to go to Bordeaux, and the Loire, and Tours … and the Faubourg-St Honoré, she had said with a grin … to Chanel and Dior and Mainbocher … and Balenciaga.

“You’re a wicked girl.” William accused her, as he got back into bed beside her, suddenly wondering if after all this lovemaking for the past week, they might have made a baby. He wanted to ask her about it, but he still felt a little awkward, and finally, later that night, he got up his courage. “You … uh … you never got pregnant, did you, when you were married before, I mean?” He was just curious, and he had never asked her. But her answer surprised him.

“Yes, I did, as a matter of fact.” She said it very softly, and she didn’t look at him as she said it.

“What happened?” It was obvious she didn’t have a child, and he couldn’t help but wonder why. He hoped she hadn’t had an abortion, it would have been so traumatic for her, and might have left her unable to have more children. He had never asked her about that before their marriage.

“I lost it,” she said quietly, the memory of that loss still pained her, even though she knew it was for the best now.

“Do you know why? Did something happen?” And then he realized what a stupid question he had asked her. With a marriage like hers, anything might have happened. “Never mind. It won’t happen again.” He kissed her gently and she drifted off to sleep a little while later, dreaming of babies and William.

The next morning, they left the ship at Le Havre, and took the boat train into Paris, and they laughed and chatted all the while, and as soon as they arrived they went straight to the hotel, and back out again to go shopping.

“Aha! I’ve found something you enjoy doing as much as making love. Sarah, I’m bitterly disappointed.” But they had a wonderful time going to Hermès, and Chanel, and Boucheron, and a handful of small jewelers. He bought her a wonderful wide sapphire bracelet, set with a diamond clasp, and a ruby necklace and earrings that were really stunning. And a huge ruby brooch at Van Cleef in the shape of a rose.

“My God, William… I feel so guilty” She knew he had spent an absolute fortune, but he didn’t seem to mind it And the jewelry he had bought her was fabulous and she loved it.

“Don’t be silly!” He brushed it off as an ordinary event. “Just promise me we won’t leave the room again for two days. That is the tax I will demand of you each time we go shopping.”

“Don’t you like to shop?” She looked briefly disappointed, he had seemed such a good sport about it the summer before.

“I love it. But I’d rather make love to my wife.”

“Oh that…” She laughed, and addressed his needs the moment they went back to their room at the Ritz. They went shopping repeatedly after that. He bought her beautiful clothes at Jean Patou, and a fabulous leopard coat at Dior, and an enormous string of pearls at Mouboussin, which she wore every hour of every day after that. They even managed to go to the Louvre, and on their second week there, they went to tea with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. And Sarah had to admit that William was right. Although she’d been predisposed to dislike her, she actually found the duchess extremely charming. And he was a lovely man. Shy, cautious, reserved, but extremely kind when you got to know him. And very witty when he relaxed with people he knew well. It had been an awkward meeting with them at first, and much to Sarah’s chagrin, Wallis had tried to draw an unfortunate comparison between them. But William was quick to discourage any such comparison, and Sarah was faintly embarrassed by how cool he was to the duchess. There was no question about how he felt about her, and yet he had the utmost affection and respect for his cousin.

“Damn shame he ever married her,” he said on their way back to the hotel. “It’s incredible to think that, if it weren’t for her, he could still be the King of England.”

“I don’t get the feeling he ever really enjoyed it. But I could be mistaken.”

“You’re not. He didn’t. It didn’t suit him. But it was his duty anyway. I must say though, Bertie is doing a bang-up job of it. He’s an awfully good sport. And he absolutely hates that woman.”

“I can see why people are so taken with her though. She has a way of winding you around her little finger.”

“She is one of the truly great connivers. Did you see the jewelry he’s given her? That diamond-and-sapphire bracelet must have cost him an absolute fortune. Van Cleef made it for him when they got married.” And she had an entire parure to go with it by then, necklace, earrings, brooch, and two rings.

“I like the bracelet she was wearing on her other hand better,” Sarah said softly. “The little diamond chain with the little crosses.” It was far more discreet, and William made a mental note of it for a present for her later on. She’d also shown them a wonderful bracelet from Cartier that she’d just gotten, all made up of flowers and leaves in sapphires, rubies, and emeralds. And she’d called it her “fruit salad.”

“Anyway, we’ve done our duty, my dear. It would have been rude if we hadn’t called them. And now I can tell Mother we did. She was always so fond of David, I thought it would kill her when he gave up the throne.”

“And yet she said she didn’t mind when you did,” Sarah said sadly, still feeling guilty for what she’d cost him. She knew it would bother her for a lifetime, but it never seemed to bother William at all.

“That’s hardly the same thing,” William said gently. “He had the throne, darling. I never would have. Mother feels very strongly about these things. But she’s not ridiculous, she didn’t expect me to be king.”