A Battle of Brains Read online

  “But you thought it might be interesting,” Yolanda interposed.

  Her stepfather smiled at her.

  “I think my instinct told me that, although it looked dilapidated, there was something remarkable about it.”

  “And there was?”

  “That is exactly what we have been reading,” Lord Milborne chimed in. “Your stepfather was clever enough to recognise a great masterpiece – even though no one else had and he bought it for a song.”

  “Seventy pounds to be exact,” boasted Mr. Garrack.

  “And what is it really worth?” asked Yolanda.

  “I would not like to guess,” her stepfather replied, making a gesture with his hands.

  “Who was the artist?”

  “It was ‘St. George and the Dragon’ by Raphael,” Lord Milborne answered her. “It was only recognised after your stepfather had bought it by one of the representatives of Sotheby’s who had come from London for the sale.”

  Yolanda laughed.

  “He must have been furious that he had not bought it himself!”

  “Of course he was,” answered Lord Milborne, “and what was so brilliant of your stepfather was that he did not go to the sale himself. Otherwise if people had known that he was going to bid for the picture, undoubtedly the price would have gone up.”

  Yolanda looked at him and saw that his eyes were twinkling.

  She knew that was what had been on his mind as he had sent his secretary to the sale rather than go himself.

  “You are very clever, Step-papa, and I am longing to see the picture as I know Lord Milborne must be too.”

  “You shall see all three of my purchases when we come back from our ride. Now come on, we must not keep the horses waiting.”

  “No, of course not,” agreed Lord Milborne.

  Then they were all laughing again, and it seemed to Yolanda that their laughter set the tone of the whole day.

  The moment she saw Lord Milborne in the saddle and taking the jumps in the paddock, she realised what an exceptional rider he was.

  He handled his mount in the same competent way her father had always done.

  From the paddock they galloped over the flat land and covered most of the estate before they turned for home.

  Lord Milborne was riding on Champion and he was thrilled with his mount.

  He told its owner that he was too lucky.

  “Everything you touch just seems to turn to gold, Oliver, and it is exactly what the newspaper was reporting today!”

  “The last thing I want is for people to be told I am rich,” replied Mr. Garrack. “It means a mass of begging letters all telling me, better than I know myself, how they could spend my millions!”

  He gave a quick laugh before he added,

  “However much one gives them, I always feel they think it should have been more.”

  “You can be quite certain of that. You must be so careful of begging letters. I am told that there are people who make a considerable income by writing pathetic letters to everyone who is described in the newspapers as being a millionaire.”

  Mr. Garrack sighed, but he did not say anything.

  As they rode on they talked of other subjects.

  After luncheon Lord Milborne was taken to see the pictures and he was as thrilled with the Stubbs as Yolanda.

  “They are so lovely, Step-papa, and now you have such an outstanding collection of them you must be careful they are not stolen.”

  “I assure you that I take every precaution.”

  Yolanda remembered that she had not yet told him about the gang that was roaming the County and causing such trouble.

  She was not unduly worried – they sounded so rough that she thought it unlikely they would be interested in pictures.

  Snapping out of her unpleasant thoughts she could hear her stepfather talking to Lord Milborne about the Raphael, agreeing how different it would look when it was cleaned and beautifully framed.

  Yolanda now recalled that Raphael, before he died in 1520, had painted many religious pictures in Florence and Rome and she felt certain that this particular one was unique.

  What the exceptional painting depicted would make it extremely interesting to all collectors.

  She slipped her arm into her stepfather’s.

  “It was so astute of you, Step-papa, to recognise a picture in that state. But I am sure you are right, when it is cleaned and properly framed it will look magnificent in the drawing room.”

  “That is exactly where I was thinking of putting it, Yolanda. I know if your mother had been here, she would have been thrilled to have it in her room.”

  They went riding again for a short time later in the afternoon and when they finally came back, Yolanda asked,

  “Is there a dinner party tonight or are we alone?”

  “I am glad to say that we are alone,” her stepfather replied. “And I only hope our distinguished guest will not find it dull, although the big dinner party I have planned is for tomorrow night.”

  “On the contrary, I am delighted that I shall have a chance of talking seriously on a subject that I know we are both interested in,” remarked Lord Milborne.

  Yolanda’s stepfather did not ask what this was, and she couldn’t help wondering as they walked upstairs to change for dinner what that particular subject might be.

  Apart from pictures what could be of interest to two men who were both so knowledgeable, but in very different ways?

  Yolanda put on one of her prettiest gowns.

  She sensed that there was a look of admiration in Lord Milborne’s eyes as she came into the drawing room.

  The chandelier had been lit, although the sun had not yet set and the whole room seemed to glitter with light.

  The butler soon announced dinner and they moved into the dining room.

  As usual the food was delicious and Lord Milborne commended the wines.

  When the coffee had been served, Yolanda thought she ought to leave the gentlemen.

  She glanced at her stepfather and, as she did so, Lord Milborne said,

  “If you are thinking of leaving us, Lady Yolanda, please do not. I would like you to stay and hear what I now have to say.”

  Again Yolanda wondered what it could be.

  She thought her stepfather seemed rather surprised as Lord Milborne put down his glass.

  “The reason that I was late arriving last night was because I had been to meet with Lord Granville who, as you will know, is the new Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.”

  Mr. Garrack nodded sagely.

  “Yes, and I think he will do very well. I have met him on several occasions.”

  “Lord Granville has asked me, and he has already discussed the issue with the Prime Minister, if I would help him by becoming the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.”

  Mr. Garrack looked startled.

  “That is something I did not expect, but, of course, very many congratulations, Alan! I am sure that you will enjoy the position.”

  “I believe, as I have travelled so much in my life, I will come in useful. At least the Prime Minister and Lord Granville have agreed to the first proposal I have suggested to them since I was appointed.”

  “What is that?” Mr. Garrack wanted to know.

  There was a lengthy pause and Yolanda was quietly questioning what this all meant.

  Why had he wanted her to stay and listen to what he had to say?

  “I paid a private visit to America a few weeks ago,” he resumed. “But I took it upon myself to make a detailed investigation into George Westinghouse’s invention of the automatic air brake that has already been adopted by most American railways.”

  Yolanda was astonished at what was being said.

  She sat there listening with wide eyes.

  She could not help but wonder why Lord Milborne had brought up this particular subject.

  “When I returned,” he went on, “I spoke to several of those who are financing the English railway
s and who seem to be reluctant to start producing the air brake here in England when they could buy it direct from America.”

  “I think Westinghouse,” added Mr. Garrack slowly, “has coped with all the teething difficulties and it would be much better for the English to acquire the air brake, as it is working now, than to start again from scratch.”

  “That is exactly what I had thought. I am therefore asking you, Oliver, if you will, to negotiate on behalf of the British Government with Westinghouse for his air brake.”

  For a moment there was complete silence.

  Then Mr. Garrack sighed,

  “Such an idea never crossed my mind.”

  “I think,” smiled Lord Milborne, “that you would be a far better negotiator than I am. In fact, you are noted for the brilliance by which you have negotiated for yourself in the past. That is exactly why we do feel no one could obtain a better deal for Great Britain than yourself.”

  Yolanda clasped her hands together.

  “It is a wonderful idea, Step-papa!” she exclaimed. “Of course, Lord Milborne is right. If anyone could obtain the air brake at the right price it is you.”

  “I think you flatter me, Yolanda. At the same time I am naturally very honoured that you should have offered me such an interesting, if difficult, task and I can assure you I will do my best.”

  “So you accept?”

  “Unreservedly, Alan.”

  “The Prime Minister will be delighted and so will Lord Granville. And as it was all my idea, I feel that I shall deserve a little of the rapturous applause when you come back in triumph!”

  Mr. Garrack held up his hands.

  “Let’s not count our chickens before they are hatched. But as it so happens I have met George Westinghouse, and I have been aware for some time that he was experimenting with an invention that is so urgently needed not only in America but in the rest of the world.”

  He sighed before he continued,

  “For the simple reason, with the enormous increase in railways, there are far too many collisions and accidents because of the inadequacy of the brakes.”

  “I agree with you, and I am quite certain that if we adopt the system here in Britain, Europe will follow us.”

  “Which is just what we would like to happen. Therefore the sooner we get moving the better!”

  They rose and moved into the drawing room in a very cheerful mood.

  Yolanda realised that her stepfather was seriously delighted at being offered such an important post by the British Government.

  When she was ready to retire to bed, she kissed him affectionately.

  “I know you are thinking of what you will be able do with the air brake, Step-papa, and I am sure that you will ‘bring it off’, as my dear Papa would have said, with all your usual brilliance.”

  “I would hate to disappoint you, Yolanda.”

  She held out her hand to Lord Milborne.

  Then, when she looked into his eyes, she knew he was saying something to her secretly.

  She became aware, as if he was speaking the words, that he was saying ‘thank you’ to her.

  She smiled at him.

  Then she felt a strange little quiver she could not explain run through her entire body.

  Just for a moment she did not take her hand away from his.

  As if he could not help himself, Lord Milborne bent his head and kissed it.

  Her stepfather was not aware of this because he had gone to the drinks table to pour out a nightcap before he went to bed.

  Just for a moment Yolanda’s fingers tightened on Lord Milborne’s.

  Then, because she was feeling shy, she turned away and walked towards the door.

  Upstairs in her bedroom she told herself that if she had indeed put the idea into his mind, it was a wonderful thing to have happened.

  Undoubtedly her brilliant stepfather would make a huge success of the proposition ahead of him.

  ‘If he is working hard, it will make him happy,’ she told herself. ‘And he will not miss Mama as much as he does now.’

  Because she was so excited, she found it difficult to go to sleep.

  *

  When she awoke it was very early in the morning and the sun was only just beginning to shine.

  She felt she could not stay in bed any longer.

  So pulling on her riding skirt and without taking a jacket she hurried down to the stables.

  There was only one sleepy groom on duty and he looked at Yolanda in surprise because she was so early.

  “I would like to ride on Chestnut,” she said after a moment’s hesitation as she was considering whether she should take out Champion.

  Then she thought that she should leave the beautiful stallion for Lord Milborne.

  It did not take the stable boy very long to saddle up Chestnut and he opened the gate into the paddock for her.

  She took Chestnut over only two of the jumps and then she galloped him speedily on the piece of flat land.

  There was an isolated wood in the near distance – she sometimes went there when she wanted to think about a problem and did not wish to be disturbed.

  Now she wanted to think of what her stepfather was going to do in America and also how she could best thank Lord Milborne.

  He had been so astute in making it so easy for her stepfather to agree to undertake what he wanted, and it had all happened without him in any way being involved in one of his more doubtful transactions.

  The whole scenario was passing through her mind as she entered the wood.

  As usual she felt thrilled by the beauty of the trees, the songs of the birds and the soft shuffle of the rabbits in the undergrowth.

  A mossy path led right through the wood and in its centre there was an ancient woodcutter’s hut in a clearing.

  It was made from the trunks of trees and Yolanda speculated that it must have been there for a hundred years.

  She had never heard of her stepfather’s woodcutters using it to sleep in, but they were likely to eat their midday meal there in bad weather.

  Now, as she approached the woodcutter’s house, she saw the door was open and wondered if there was anyone inside.

  Chestnut moved into the clearing in front of the hut.

  As he did so, to Yolanda’s surprise, two men came from behind the trees on either side of her.

  They were both rough common-looking men with hard faces and she thought that they were very unlike any of the countrymen her stepfather employed on his estate.

  The two men stared at her and then two more men came out of the wooden hut.

  They were even more unpleasant-looking than the two she had already seen.

  It suddenly struck her that maybe this was the gang that Emily had told her about who were causing so much trouble in the vicinity.

  She thought it would be a mistake to talk to them or to linger any longer in the wood, so she pulled up the reins to thrust Chestnut forward.

  Then another man appeared directly on the path in front of her.

  “You be the lady,” he called out in a coarse voice, “who be the daughter of the rich man at the big ’ouse.”

  He was standing directly in front of Chestnut, who was forced to come to a standstill.

  Yolanda tried to turn him round so that she could ride back the way she had come.

  “I am in a hurry – so please excuse me if I ride back to the house.”

  The two men who had been behind her took hold of Chestnut’s saddle.

  “Bring ’im along,” ordered the man in front of her.

  “Just what are you doing? Leave my horse alone,” cried Yolanda. “I have to return home immediately!”

  “Us weren’t expectin’ you this early. Now you’re ’ere you’re savin’ us a lot o’ time.”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” Yolanda screamed, “and let go of my horse! This is my stepfather’s land and you are trespassing on it!”

  “Us knows that,” one of the men jeered roughly. “’ow much do y
ou think ’e’ll pay us if us goes?”

  There was coarse laughter from the gang.

  Yolanda was beginning to feel afraid.

  Then the two men holding Chestnut’s bridle began to follow the ruffian who had spoken to her.

  He was leading the way through the wood.

  “I insist,” shouted Yolanda, “that you allow me to go home. If you want some food or money, I will arrange for you to have some.”

  The men walking ahead of her laughed again.

  “Us’ll ’ave your money. Your Papa ’as plenty o’ it and ’e’ll want ’is little gal back.”

  There was a sneering note in his voice, which made the other men snigger.

  Now Yolanda was feeling really frightened.

  She realised that they were intending to kidnap her.

  It was obviously something they had been planning for some time and she had walked straight into their trap.

  How could she have guessed that the gang who had caused so much trouble would be lurking in the woods?

  She realised that it would be no use arguing with them.

  There was really no necessity for her to hold the reins as the two men were firmly leading Chestnut.

  She therefore sat stoutly on her saddle wondering desperately how she could make any communication with her stepfather.

  This part of the estate was not being cultivated at the moment so there would be little likelihood of anyone seeing her or the men who were with her.

  They moved on in silence.

  The ruffian who was obviously the leader walked in front, followed by the two men holding Chestnut’s bridle and then three behind her, making six villains in all.

  Yolanda thought she had little chance of escaping from them and the only sensible thing to do now was to go quietly with them with as much dignity as possible.

  She was, however, well aware that it was not going to be easy for her.

  She reckoned by now, although she did not have a watch, that it must be after eight o’clock.

  Her stepfather would now have been woken by his valet, as would Lord Milborne.

  When they went down to breakfast and she was not there, they would be told she had gone riding earlier.