A Virgin Bride Read online

  Finally, it was after dinner when the Stewards had moved out of the Saloon that Rock was able to say,

  “Now please do listen, Venetia. I want to apologise to you for last night and for falling asleep. I really cannot imagine why I was so tired, except that I had such a rough passage sailing from Scotland and had slept very little.”

  “Please don’t apologise. I was most comfortable in the Lilac room and, having locked the door securely, I slept peacefully.”

  Rock stared at her.

  “Locked the door! Am I then to understand you were keeping me out?”

  “Of course I was, and it is too late for us to have a conversation about it now. But we will have time on the train tomorrow to discuss ourselves. I think you will agree that we have not known – each other long enough to be – familiar.”

  She hesitated over the last words.

  Almost despite himself Rock laughed,

  “I don’t believe it. Let me get this quite clear. Did you intend not to sleep with me last night?”

  “Of course I did! You are a stranger whom I have only just met. I am not saying I don’t want to get to know you, but I would certainly never allow anyone who was a stranger to touch me.”

  Rock put his hand to his head.

  “I am sure I am dreaming all this,” he muttered. “After all, we are married – ”

  “In very unusual and peculiar circumstances. I am not criticising or blaming you, but merely saying that they were unusual, so, as we are unusual people, we will have to work out our own of way of how to tackle this situation we find ourselves in.”

  “I never expected to have this sort of conversation with you,” Rock admitted. “But I see your point and will be interested to know what you suggest.”

  “It has been an exciting day for me,” said Venetia, “and I am still tired, as I am sure you are too. So I suggest we each go to bed in our own cabins.

  “Those looking after us on board with the exception of your valet are used to the sea and used to people finding it difficult to adjust to it. Thus they will not be surprised if I sleep in my cabin and you sleep in yours.”

  Rock laughed again.

  “You are right! At the same time I am now your husband – and you are exceedingly beautiful!”

  “I do want you to think so,” Venetia smiled, “and I think you are very handsome. But I still want to know the real you before we go any further.”

  She saw the expression in Rock’s eyes and added quickly,

  “I think too you should want to know the real me, and not just a pretty girl who is, at present, exceptionally well dressed by Frederick Worth.”

  “I thought it was he who designed your wedding gown. It astonished everyone and you looked absolutely glorious in it.”

  “That is exactly what I wanted you to say,” Venetia replied. “As I have just left school and have not had any compliments, I will treasure them and they mean a great deal to me.”

  “I will remember that, Venetia, and now I suppose it would be a mistake for me to say I want to kiss you.”

  “You can say it, but I still think we should wait a little longer until we know each other better. I have never been kissed and I don’t want to be disappointed when I am.”

  “Never been kissed!” Rock exclaimed.

  “Of course not, you don’t suppose I was allowed to meet young men at school and I have not been home for nearly three years, so I have never met young men like you and I had been looking forward very much to my London Season as a belated debutante.”

  “And that never happened?”

  “No, because I was immediately told I had to marry a Duke and it was something that would make my father extremely happy. If I had refused, he would have been very angry – so I really did not have much of a choice.”

  Rock gazed at Venetia.

  “I do think you are the most extraordinary, unusual and delightful young woman I have ever met!”

  Venetia clapped her hands.

  “Those are exactly the words I want to hear!” she exclaimed. “Oh, please think of a few more for tomorrow. But now I am going to bed and it would be embarrassing if the crew found that my door was locked. So I will just say that I am so looking forward, my charming and handsome husband, to meeting you at breakfast time.”

  She smiled at him in a way that made her look even more captivating than ever.

  She reached the door before he could rise to his feet.

  “Good night and sleep well,” she said, “as I will.”

  Then she was gone.

  For a moment Rock thought he must have been dreaming.

  The whole thing could not possibly have happened.

  Yet, to his astonishment, it had.

  CHAPTER SIX

  When Rock and Venetia duly arrived at Calais, they found that her father had ordered a drawing room carriage for them and it was attached to the express train for Paris.

  Venetia had never seen one and she was thrilled.

  “It is just like a small doll’s house,” she enthused to Rock, “and I feel very grand. The only person I have heard of using one before is the Queen.”

  “I think most wealthy people have one now,” Rock replied, “and your father is so kind in ordering it for us.”

  There were two small cabins and the drawing room itself had luxurious and comfortable armchairs.

  There was also a pantry, which Rock’s valet opened at once, bringing out a magnum of champagne and two glasses.

  As the train moved off, Rock raised his glass.

  “Now this is a real beginning to our honeymoon, as Paris has always been such a special place for romance and love.”

  “Do you really think we will be in love with each other when we leave Paris?” Venetia asked him.

  “I will be very disappointed if we are not.”

  Venetia laughed.

  “I think you are being over-optimistic. Equally I am very excited to go to Paris in a different position from when I was a pupil at school.”

  “I am sure you were a very bright one?”

  “I did get a few firsts, but, as it is run by Catholics, we were not given presents or trophies of any sort. It was considered that it was our prayers that made us intelligent.”

  “I call that a cheap way of running a school,” Rock smiled.

  “Actually it was a pretty good one, and you should be able to judge just how bright I am – which naturally is entirely due to the school – by the time we leave Paris.”

  Because Venetia was so interested in everything he had to say, Rock found the journey itself far more amusing than he could have possibly expected.

  They went to bed early and when they met again at breakfast, both said they had slept exceptionally well.

  Venetia found herself delighted with Rock’s house in the Champs Élysées.

  It had a lovely garden full of spring flowers and the house itself was furnished with French furniture much of which was three centuries old.

  Some lovely pieces of French furniture had been brought to Lynbrook at the time of the French Revolution, and when Venetia told Rock about it, he said that he was looking forward to seeing it.

  “I expect you have some in your castle in Scotland. Papa says it is more splendid than a Palace,” Venetia remarked.

  “I like to think it is and naturally your father is a very good judge.”

  “I think Mama knew more about furniture than he does, but he has taught me about it and I visited all the museums when I was at school.”

  “Now you will see Paris from a different aspect.”

  “The first thing I must do, now that I have arrived,” Venetia said after luncheon, “is to visit Frederick Worth to tell him how successful my wedding gown was. I must buy some more clothes as well. I have only a very small trousseau because you were in such a hurry.”

  “If you are going to see about clothes,” he replied quickly, “I want to go to the Travellers Club which is only a little way up the road. If you dro
p me first, you can then go on to Worth’s and pick me up on the way back.”

  “That sounds a sensible arrangement.”

  He thought she was looking exceedingly lovely in a Frederick Worth dress and her hat was obviously Parisian.

  As they drove through La Place de la Concorde, Venetia looked at the fountains and exclaimed,

  “I think this the most enchanting place in the whole of Paris.”

  Rock thought any other woman would have added, “ – and to be with you.”

  But she was staring at the fountains with shining eyes and he knew she was not thinking about him at all.

  At the same time he liked the way she had asked him intelligent questions about his travels over luncheon.

  He was already planning at the back of his mind where he would take her and he found it incredible that she knew so much about so many countries.

  He had always refused to have a companion when he was exploring new places in the world, but he was well aware now that it would be impossible to leave Venetia behind without being cruel in doing so.

  Venetia was received with rapture when she entered Frederick Worth’s shop in the Rue de la Paix.

  One look at her told Frederick that she had exactly the beauty to complement his designs.

  As she told him about the wedding, he was already in his mind creating even more sensational gowns for her.

  She was very young, while most of his customers were much older and Frederick realised that he had to design dresses to accentuate both her beauty and youth.

  He sent his assistants in search of materials, all of soft shades of spring – pale green of the leaves, blue of the forget-me-nots and pink of the roses.

  There was no need to take Venetia’s measurements, as he already knew them and the dresses he had made her fitted perfectly.

  Finally, when Venetia had ordered six new gowns and Frederick Worth was already scribbling down designs for them, she reluctantly left him.

  She found it so fascinating that he had come from quite a humble home in Lincolnshire.

  His father, who was a solicitor, had gambled away all his money and at the age of eleven Frederick had been obliged to leave school and earn his living. It was not until he was thirteen that he became a cashier in a London firm.

  He spent his free time in museums and art galleries and before he was twenty he left for Paris with only one hundred francs in his pocket.

  He designed his first gowns for his wife and they proved so successful that he set up his own dress shop.

  From that moment he never looked back and in his own words, “I soared to the top of the tree.”

  Now he was the greatest couturier in the whole of Europe and, with the Empress of France and all the ladies of fashion wearing his clothes, he was almost a God to them.

  When Venetia went back to the Travellers Club to pick up Rock, he was beginning to think she had forgotten him.

  “Forgive me,” she said, “but I cannot tell you how interesting Mr. Worth is or describe the wonderful clothes he intends to make for me. If you are not proud of me, then you never will be!”

  “I am proud of you just as you are, Venetia, and tonight I thought we would have dinner at the Café Anglais and you can show yourself off to the French.”

  “The Café Anglais! I would love to! I have heard that it is the most aristocratic restaurant in France and that it serves the best food in Paris.”

  Rock chuckled.

  “You will see all the most important men in Paris and undoubtedly one or two millionaires.”

  “I would love to go there, Rock,” sighed Venetia.

  She took a great deal of trouble over having her hair dressed in the latest French fashion and wore the most spectacular of the gowns Frederick Worth had made for her.

  Rock had taken a great number of beautiful women to the Café Anglais.

  As they walked in, he noticed that everyone in the room turned to look at Venetia.

  He had reserved a table, but before they were very far down the room, Prince Galitzine sprang to his feet.

  “Rock!” he cried. “I had no idea you were in Paris.”

  He clasped his hand and Rock replied,

  “I am here on my honeymoon. Let me introduce you to my wife.”

  “Your honeymoon!” he exclaimed. “I thought you had sworn never to be married.”

  “That was before I met Venetia, she is the daughter of someone I am sure you know – the Duke of Lynbrook.”

  “Of course I have met him,” said the Prince, “and I thought him one of the most charming of the Englishmen who come to Paris to tell us that the English are far more intelligent than the French!”

  They all laughed and Venetia added,

  “I am sure, if Papa did say it, he said it very tactfully. After all he is well known as being a great diplomat.”

  “Which he undoubtedly is and please, although you are on honeymoon, come and talk to me. I want to know exactly how you have been clever enough to catch the most handsome and elusive Duke England has ever produced.”

  Rock had actually looked forward to being alone with Venetia, but the Prince insisted that they joined his table and as Venetia seemed to like the idea, Rock could not protest.

  There were several Englishmen present.

  They included Edward Cardwell who was Secretary of State for War.

  As they started what was to be a most delicious dinner, Venetia received many compliments from the gentlemen.

  They drank her and Rock’s health, wishing them ‘long life and happiness’.

  Rock, she could see, was a great favourite with all of them, including a very charming Monsieur de Kougueleff, a Russian millionaire twice over.

  His was a party solely of men and Rock gathered they were all going on to the Moulin Rouge afterwards to watch the can-can.

  And they would doubtless enjoy themselves with the famous cocottes who were there every night.

  Rock was surprised to find that Venetia was not in the least embarrassed at being the only woman at the table.

  She laughed and answered everything that was said to her and he thought she very astutely avoided questions as to when they had met and how long they had known each other.

  “My father,” she said to the last question, “has been fighting against Rock’s father for years on the Racecourse. Yet amazingly they have remained good friends!”

  “Who are you going to bet on now you are married to Rock?” someone asked.

  “I intend to put money on both of them,” Venetia answered without a moment’s hesitation, “which means it will be impossible for me to be a loser at the end of the meeting!”

  The whole table laughed.

  Then as dinner progressed, Rock realised that she was having a long and serious conversation with Edward Cardwell.

  When they left, well after midnight, there were renewed wishes for their future happiness.

  Most of the gentlemen present told Rock he was an extremely lucky fellow.

  It was only when they drove away that Rock was able to have the first conversation of the evening with his wife.

  “I have been wondering,” he said, “how you found so much to say to Edward Cardwell?”

  “I was delighted to meet him, Rock, and you must know, because you were at Oxford, that he gained a double first there.”

  Rock was surprised and then he repeated,

  “What were you talking about? I did not interrupt because I could see that Cardwell was very interested in his conversation with you.”

  “Actually he was anxious that you should support him in abolishing the buying of Commissions in the Army.”

  “I hear there is great opposition to it,” he replied. “But I really don’t think it’s my business.”

  “Of course it is, Rock. I absolutely agree with him that the purchase of Commissions should be abolished and the selection and promotion of Officers should be on merit and nothing else.”

  Rock stared at her.

&n
bsp; “Does all this really concern you?” he asked.

  “It does because it is so unjust. A man might be an excellent soldier, but at the moment he has no chance of rising further than Sergeant, simply because stupid young gentlemen who have no real interest in serving our country, can buy themselves a Commission when they want to.”

  Rock was silent as she continued,

  “You are a Member of the House of Lords and I am quite certain that being intelligent you are a good speaker. Naturally Edward Cardwell wants you to support him and who better than a young man who if there is a war will be expected to fight for his Queen and country?”

  “I have always thought it rather a bore to go to the House of Lords more than I can help.”

  “I’m certain I can make Papa persuade you to use your brain to influence people and to fight against anything that is wrong and unjust, as he has done so often.”

  She did not say anything more.

  Rock was becoming aware that he had wasted his time pursuing beautiful women.

  He should have been sitting in his proper place in the House of Lords and then contributing to the greatness of England.

  Suddenly he laughed at himself.

  Was it possible that he, the Duke of Rockinston, was listening to a young girl of eighteen?

  He felt somewhat ashamed that he had not used the brain he had been born with in serving his country.

  “I have always wanted to pay a visit to the House of Lords,” said Venetia, “but, when I have been at home in the past, there has always been so much riding to do that I have never actually had the opportunity of going there.”

  “Then I must certainly take you when we return to London, but I have the feeling you will find it very dull.”

  “If you are speaking, it would be really fascinating,” she replied. “I know that because of your good looks and your personality everyone would listen to you.”

  Rock found it stranger still that she should pay him compliments so different from those he had received from women in the past.

  He was intelligent enough to know that actually she was right.

  He should at his age begin to play his part in the Government of the country and now he thought about it, the Crimean War had been a disaster.