Barbara felt she won another Oscar for her performance as maid of honor in the church, but was sustained during the service by the thought that afterwards, she might get a little tipsy at the reception, feeling she deserved it.
The reception was held at the Lake Shore Club in Wilmette where wealthy North Shore families celebrated their holidays and major family events. It looked to Barbara like something out of the society pages of the Chicago Tribune, as indeed it was covered with article and photos in the next day's Sunday paper. More famous Chicago and Midwest names than she could recall were spoken of as being there, from barons of real estate to captains of industry and even including Chicago's Mayor Kelly and his wife.
Bill Hughes served as Barbara's escort and companion for the reception. Though she liked him, she felt no special romantic feeling for him, and he did not presume any. He stayed loyally and politely by her side for most of the evening. They danced a few two-steps together, but neither took advantage of the situation to try to make anything more of it than it was.
She had been hungry all through the wedding and was even more famished at the reception, but had to be careful not to over-eat. Pounds stayed on her like glue and were devilishly hard to lose, so she just nibbled at this and that, and that and this, and this and that until she slapped her own hand and stopped. She substituted champagne to fill the holes Paul had left in her heart and stomach.
A surprise was in store for Barbara at the reception, and it was the same to Gail. Uninvited, Chet Armstrong the Fourth crashed the reception. And he was with a date.
Barbara thought Chet was incredibly handsome as always, appropriately dressed in black tuxedo and bow tie. But his lady of the evening, a beautiful long-stemmed blonde rose, was in a rather severe-looking dark green skirt suit. Her cold demeanor seemed to match it. The suit didn't look American but foreign-made since it didn't quite hang right on her. When Chet lost no time in cornering Barbara and introducing his lady friend, she knew why the young woman and her suit looked foreign.
"Barbara, I'd like you to meet Fraulein Elizabeth von Selzenberg, daughter of Baroness and Baron Rheinhold von Selzenberg of Frankfurt, Germany."
Barbara thought Chet was impressed with the fraulein's stud breeding. His introduction almost sounded like a trumpet blaring in her ears.
He confided confidentially, as if to impress her, "She's related to the famous German industrialist family, the Krupp's."