A Change of Hearts Read online

  In fact, he did not make an appearance until the first race was taking place.

  He came from the direction of the house.

  She thought, although she could not be sure, that, in that case, he had not been interfering with anything on the Racecourse.

  He did not come near Neisa, sitting alone at the end of one of the rows of chairs and appeared to be scowling.

  The races were fun and the Marquis by sheer hard riding was the victor in the first two races.

  The third race was a handicap, so he and the other riders who had come in second and third places had to give a considerable start to those who had not been successful.

  It was an exciting race with everyone cheering when two young riders who had failed before came in first and second.

  The Marquis produced a special prize for them.

  What pleased them most was that they had defeated those who had won previously.

  *

  When it was time for tea, they returned to the house with Neisa travelling once again with Lady Sarah.

  “It has been such an exciting day,” enthused Neisa, as they drove off.

  “I am very glad you have enjoyed it,” Lady Sarah replied, “and may I tell you what a success you have been? Everyone has told me how charming they have found you and how very unspoilt you are.”

  Neisa smiled.

  She could not help thinking that she had found very little in her life to spoil herself with before her arrival at Denholme Park.

  Now disguised as her cousin, life was very different for her.

  “I, also,” Lady Sarah went on, “find Miss Moore delightful and I must remember to tell her just how much I enjoyed her father’s last book. I thought it was brilliant.”

  Neisa was thinking it would please her father when she told him that Lady Sarah had read and enjoyed Journey’s End.

  “He certainly has a good sense of humour,” Lady Sarah continued. “I found myself laughing when the mule ran away with his baby daughter and he was frightened he would not catch up with it.”

  Neisa smiled.

  How often she had heard that particular story which had happened to her when she was only one year old!

  “I have recommended the book to very many of my friends,” Lady Sarah was saying, “and I do hope that your uncle will be writing another one.”

  “I think he has nearly finished a new one.”

  “Oh, that is splendid! If you see him, tell him how much I am looking forward to it.”

  “I will certainly do so, Lady Sarah.”

  They went into the house where there was a lavish tea waiting for them.

  As some of the riders in the races had some way to go home, they started to say their goodbyes as soon as they had drunk a cup of tea.

  “It has been such a glorious day,” one after another enthused to the Marquis as they shook his hand. “We will all be counting the days until next year.”

  “I will make it my business to ensure that you are not disappointed,” replied the Marquis.

  As he was speaking, Neisa saw a little way behind him that Randolph was listening.

  There was a grim expression on his face which she could only think of as evil and she felt a sharp stab of fear at what he might now be plotting.

  One by one the guests who were not staying in the house took their leave.

  At last there was only the house party left.

  The ladies insisted that they now go upstairs to take off their hats and rest before dinner.

  Because she felt that she should go too, Neisa rose to her feet.

  As she did so, the Marquis turned to her,

  “I would like to speak to you, Miss Waverton – ”

  They walked together across the room and as they reached the fireplace where Randolph was standing alone, the Marquis addressed him curtly,

  “Come to my study, Randolph. There is something I wish to say to you.”

  Randolph raised his bushy eyebrows at the Marquis as if he was surprised and replied mockingly,

  “To hear is to obey, Master!”

  Neisa wondered if the Marquis intended to take anyone else in with them, but apparently that was not in his mind.

  They passed one or two of the houseguests without a word.

  When they reached his study, they all three went into the room and the Marquis closed the door behind them.

  It was then that Neisa looked at the expression on his face and felt a little throb of anticipation that something unusual was about to happen.

  Randolph was staring at the Marquis in a weird way and she thought he had a sinister look in his eyes.

  And as she looked at him again, she was almost sure he had taken drugs.

  She had seen a number of drug addicts in the East with her father and, although he had treated some of them, most were beyond his help – they were totally addicted to whatever drug they were taking.

  She thought, although she could not see too clearly, that the pupils of his eyes were dark and enlarged and felt that she had been rather foolish not to suspect sooner that he was a drug taker.

  He had given a poison pill to the Berber with which to kill the Marquis and he must, therefore, have access to a supply of drugs.

  The Marquis walked to the mantelpiece and stood in front of it.

  The fireplace was filled with flowers that looked very colourful against the white marble of the mantelpiece.

  The whole room was one Neisa particularly admired – there were huge bookcases against two of the walls and the pictures on the others were all of horses.

  She recognised a magnificent Stubbs and thought it would be a picture her father would love to see. There was also his famous painting of cheetahs – animals she had seen in the East.

  Because she thought it would be expected of her, she seated herself on the sofa on the right hand side of the fireplace.

  She was expecting Randolph to sit down in one of the armchairs, but instead he stood behind one with his hands on the back of it as if he felt he needed support.

  He was looking at the Marquis enquiringly.

  For a moment no one spoke.

  Then Randolph blurted out,

  “This is rather like a Headmaster’s study. Who is to get a caning this time?”

  He spoke in a rude and jeering voice.

  There was a short pause before the Marquis replied,

  “I am afraid it is you, Randolph, and it is, I assure you, something that I find most unpleasant besides being incredible.”

  Randolph did not reply, but Neisa noticed that he stiffened.

  “This morning,” the Marquis went on quietly, “two Policemen arrested a man who was interfering with one of the jumps in the steeplechase.

  “He was an Arab and he was found to be carrying drugs. He will be charged shortly with intending to maim or perhaps kill one of the horses and its rider, besides being in possession of illegal drugs.”

  Although the Marquis was speaking softly, his voice seemed to fill the whole room.

  Neither Randolph nor Neisa said a word.

  “The Arab has informed the Policemen that he was acting on your instructions.”

  “It’s all a monstrous lie!” Randolph shouted out at once. “A lie and I had nothing to do with it and I have no idea who this man is.”

  “As it so happens, he has been staying in this house and if necessary, the servants will identify him.”

  Randolph was, for the moment, taken aback.

  Then he blurted out,

  “If he is my servant, although I doubt it, I can only swear that I had nothing at all to do with his behaviour at the jumps and he has received no instructions from me.”

  “Unfortunately for you there is a witness who heard you actually giving the man the instruction he was carrying out. He was also told that when I fell, which I should have done, if the trap you set for me had worked, he was to give me a poison pill, which would have made sure I was dead in a few moments after it entered my mouth.”


  Randolph started.

  Before he could speak, the Marquis looked at Neisa and asked,

  “That is true, is it not, Miss Waverton.”

  “That is exactly – what I heard,” Neisa answered in a low but calm voice.

  “It’s a lie! A damned lie!” yelled Randolph. “How on earth could this woman possibly have heard me? She is inventing the lie to cause trouble between us.”

  “Miss Waverton did hear you, Randolph, and she told me of your plans to make the fifth jump unjumpable. Now I am faced with a difficult decision as to what to do about you.

  “I have only two alternatives. I can have you taken to the Police Station to confirm the story that your servant has already confessed to.”

  The Marquis paused before he continued,

  “Alternatively, as I have no desire for any scandal in the family, I can make sure that you cannot do this sort of thing again.”

  He voice was sharp and he added scathingly,

  “I have always known you were jealous of me and my title. I would never allow my family to be humiliated by having anyone who was a murderer at their head.”

  The Marquis’s voice was now a whiplash.

  Neisa thought that even Randolph, who was trying to look defiant, cringed for a moment.

  Then Randolph snarled,

  “If you denounce me, the family will suffer and the newspapers will make front page headlines of it.”

  “I am well aware of that possibility, Randolph, and I therefore offer you one chance of not going to prison.”

  “What is it?”

  “That you go abroad immediately. In fact, that you leave this country within two hours and never come back. If you do, I will have you arrested for attempted murder.”

  Randolph gave out a loud gasp, but before he could speak, the Marquis carried on,

  “Out of my kindness and because unfortunately we bear the same name, I will give you a thousand pounds a year payable through any bank you wish to name as long as you stay abroad. I am appalled by the way that you have behaved and I hope that I never see you again!”

  The Marquis straightened his shoulders.

  “Let me once again make this quite clear. If you ever do return, you will be arrested. Now go – a carriage is waiting for you outside with an escort to see you actually leave the country.”

  Almost as if he was hypnotised, Randolph moved from where he was standing.

  The Marquis could no longer bear to look at him.

  He turned round and placed his hands on the marble mantelpiece with his back towards Randolph as he walked slowly towards the door.

  As he did so, Neisa rose from the sofa intending to stand beside the Marquis.

  She wanted to comfort him in some way as she was aware how deeply shocked and upset he was that one of his own blood could have betrayed him and his family in such a disgusting way.

  She sensed the hatred Randolph felt for him oozing out of his body almost as if she could see it.

  It was then, as she stood up, that Randolph glanced at her.

  She realised, as she saw the look in his eyes, that he was indeed heavily drugged.

  He stood still.

  Then, as if the idea came to him as a last resort, he drew a pistol from the inside pocket of his coat.

  The Marquis with his back turned away had no idea of what was happening.

  As Randolph began to raise his arm, Neisa knew at once what she was must do.

  With a swiftness of a frightened animal, she gave a loud cry and flung herself against him.

  He pulled the trigger, but thanks to her brave action, the bullet hit the ceiling and not the Marquis.

  He whipped round in total astonishment and saw at once what was happening.

  Before Randolph could push Neisa away from him, the Marquis stuck him a hefty blow on the chin.

  He fell backwards with a crash onto the ground.

  As he did so, the study door was pulled open and the butler followed by two footmen rushed into the room.

  “We heard a shot, my Lord,” the butler exclaimed.

  The Marquis pointed to Randolph on the floor with blood already pouring from his chin.

  “Mr. Randolph here was showing us his pistol and it misfired. Carry him to the carriage outside. There is no time to lose.”

  Neisa realised that owing to the knockout blow and his head having crashed onto the floor as he fell, Randolph was unconscious.

  The footmen picked him up and carried him out of the room.

  The Marquis walked to his desk and put the pistol into one of the drawers.

  “You have saved my life again, Miss Waverton,” he sighed.

  “How could you have known? How could you have possibly guessed that Randolph would be crazy enough to shoot you?” she asked the Marquis in a frightened voice.

  “I am unharmed and I can only say that I am more grateful than I can ever express, that you have taken me under your inspired protection.”

  There was a faint smile on his lips at the end of his speech.

  Equally Neisa knew how upset he was and she felt the same.

  She sat down heavily on the sofa and the Marquis said,

  “I must see that Randolph is on his way. My night watchmen, who are retired Policemen, are going with him. They will make sure that he leaves the country tonight.”

  He walked towards the door.

  “Please stay here, Miss Waverton, and when I come back I will bring you something to drink.”

  He was gone before Neisa could blink an eyelid.

  She thought it was only by a miracle that she had been able to save him.

  How could anyone have guessed or even imagined that Randolph would be mad enough to shoot the Marquis down in cold blood?

  It would be impossible for him to extricate himself from such a crime.

  ‘Thank you God, thank you so very much God,’ she murmured as the door closed.

  The Marquis had not returned within the next ten minutes and Neisa thought it would be tactful if she went upstairs and lay down.

  She could see quite a number of potent difficulties that would need to be quickly overcome where Randolph was concerned.

  If any of the house party became aware of the scene, they would talk.

  There would have to be many explanations and lies to explain as to what had actually been the serious crime of attempted murder.

  She walked up the back staircase and reaching her bedroom, she undressed herself without ringing for Hannah and lay down on her bed.

  She had not been there for long before Carol came bustling in.

  “I wondered where you were, Neisa, it is so sensible of you to lie down before dinner.”

  “Did you enjoy the steeplechase?” Neisa enquired. “You must have been pleased that Sir Peter won.”

  “He is delighted with himself and he thinks that it is a special omen that his invention will now be accepted by the Admiralty.”

  “I feel sure it will be.”

  “You look very tired,” Carol commented. “I had better leave you and maybe you will be able to sleep before dinner. There is plenty of time.”

  “I would like a little nap,” Neisa agreed.

  She was worried that Carol might ask her questions about what had happened this evening.

  Apparently she was totally unaware that Randolph had been taken from the house and Neisa could only hope that the same could be said for the other guests.

  She was still feeling apprehensive.

  Unlikely though it was, Randolph might somehow manage to sneak back into the house and try once again to kill the Marquis.

  ‘He was drugged up to his eyeballs and when people are drugged they will do anything, however stupid,’ Neisa told herself.

  This was no excuse, but nor did it make it any safer for the Marquis to move about on his estate.

  She lay in bed staring at the ceiling thinking about him.

  She must have been in her room for nearly half-an hour when there
was a knock on the communicating door between her room and the boudoir.

  She knew without being told who it was.

  As she called out,

  “Come in,” she sat up in bed.

  It was the Marquis.

  As he walked towards her, she saw that the expression on his face was no longer grim and angry, as it had been when he was rampaging at Randolph.

  “What has happened now, my Lord?” she asked as the Marquis reached her.

  “I knew you would be worrying, that is why I came to tell you that everything is now all right. I want you to try to forget what has occurred today.”

  “It will be quite impossible to do so! But how could we have guessed that he kept a loaded pistol in his pocket and was determined to kill you one way or another?”

  “I find it hard to believe myself,” said the Marquis, “but I cannot allow you to be upset.”

  He sat down on the side of her bed.

  He was thinking as he did so that no one could look lovelier or more concerned for him.

  “You have been so wonderful,” he breathed. “Now you have to remember it is all over and never think about it again.”

  “How can it be all over?”

  “What I have told you is not the whole story. His Berber servant was not arrested by the Police, but by two of my staff that were in the Police Force until they came to me. One of them had at one time worked in the East and has a smattering of Arabic.”

  He paused for a moment.

  “He received confirmation with some difficulty of what you told me were Randolph’s instructions. The Berber also had a considerable quantity of drugs on his person, some of which I imagine he takes himself.”

  “And so does your cousin Randolph.”

  “I thought you would realise that. I have suspected for a long time it was something he indulged in.”

  “But you know how dangerous those drugs are?”

  “Yes, I do, but I am somewhat surprised that you should know.”

  With a little start Neisa now remembered that she was pretending to be Carol.

  Her cousin had not been to the East as she had. Nor had her father treated men who had been drug addicts for many years.

  Because she feared she might give herself away she said quickly,

  “What have you done with Randolph?”

  “When I realised how deeply unconscious he was, I think more from the drugs he was taking than from my fist, I knew we should be rid of him immediately.”