A Change of Hearts Read online

  Neisa was listening intently with her eyes fixed on the Marquis.

  “I sent the two men who have been in charge of his servant and him to London straight away. They are now travelling with four horses and should be there in plenty of time to catch the first ship leaving Tilbury for Rotterdam.

  “If Randolph wishes to live in France when he recovers, that is his own business. I gave my men enough money to give him so he can make his arrangements and be comfortable for at least a month.”

  “And after that, he will receive the allowance you promised him?”

  “Of course, and I do believe that he will be sensible enough to obey my commands to stay abroad. If he comes back here, it will be impossible for me not to constantly worry that he will turn up and kill me when I least expect it.”

  Neisa gave a little cry.

  “It must not happen! Oh, please do make sure that he obeys you. He is so weird and I don’t trust him.”

  “Nor do I, but all thanks to you, Miss Waverton, he has learned his lesson and it will be some time before he approaches me again.”

  Neisa thought that this sounded unconvincing.

  Whatever the Marquis might maintain, there would always be the fear that he was lurking in the garden behind a tree!

  He would never give up his evil schemes to kill the Marquis so that he could take his position and title.

  She knew only too well, both from what her father had told her and what she had seen for herself that people who took drugs were completely reckless. They were incapable of thinking out the likely results of their actions before they did anything.

  “You are not to look worried,” urged the Marquis. “I promise you that I will take every precaution, and, if it is necessary I will arrange for Randolph to be watched, so that if he suddenly dreams up a new way of assassinating me, I shall be forewarned.”

  “Oh, do so, my Lord! Please promise you will do! I cannot feel happy unless you are safe.”

  “Does it really matter to you whether I am or not?”

  The Marquis spoke very gently and Neisa felt that she had spoken too ardently and blushed.

  He rose from the bed.

  “I must allow you to rest, but I want you to enjoy yourself tonight and look very beautiful for my party. We are going to dance to an unusual and brilliant band. And because we have a secret between us, which no one else knows, I claim the first dance.”

  Neisa gave a chuckle.

  “I will promise you that if you swear that what you have told me is true. There is no chance of Randolph blowing up the house or making the roof of the ballroom fall in on us?”

  She was speaking lightly, but there was still a note in her voice that told the Marquis she was still perturbed.

  “Leave everything to me. Tomorrow we can enjoy a quiet day and talk on subjects we both enjoy.”

  “Which is, of course, Champion, my Lord!”

  “He excelled himself today. In fact, I have never known him jump so well or to run so swiftly.”

  He moved towards the door and then he stopped.

  “I suppose, Miss Waverton, that the best way I can show my gratitude, which I can assure you is very sincere, is to let you ride Champion!”

  Neisa clasped her hands together.

  “Do you mean it?”

  “Yes, I really mean it, and it would be, I feel, of considerable more value to you than if I was to buy you a diamond necklace.”

  “Much more valuable!” agreed Neisa.

  She realised that the Marquis was thinking that she could easily buy herself a diamond necklace with all the money she was supposed to have.

  But only he could lend her Champion.

  He left the room and Neisa lay back on the pillows with a sigh of satisfaction.

  ‘He is so very kind,’ she reflected, ‘and it would be ghastly if that horrible Randolph had succeeded in taking his place and become the owner of this beautiful house!’

  And he would also be the owner of Champion and all the other horses.

  The mere idea made her shudder.

  She closed her eyes.

  As she did so, she was wondering if the Marquis remembered that the first time he had said he was grateful to her he had kissed her.

  She knew, although she scarcely liked to admit it, that she desperately wanted him to kiss her again.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Neisa was just beginning to dress herself for dinner when Carol came hurrying into her room.

  She looked at her in surprise, as she was expecting Hannah after she had dressed Carol first.

  Carol, however, was in a new and pretty day frock, but not an evening gown.

  Before she could comment, Carol blurted out,

  “Listen Neisa! I am not coming to dinner tonight. I am going out with Peter.”

  “Going out?” Neisa exclaimed in astonishment.

  “He wants to show me his house. It is only two or three miles from here, which is why he and the Marquis have been friends ever since they were small boys.”

  “You are going to see his house and dine there with him?” asked Neisa, as if she was trying to get it clear in her own mind.

  “I have written a note to the Marquis apologising. I want to be with Peter and he is very keen for me to see his home.”

  “I am sure he is,” smiled Neisa.

  Carol gave her a kiss and without saying any more hurried away.

  When she had departed, Neisa thought that it was rather odd for her to go out to dinner whilst staying with the Marquis as his guest.

  She suspected, however, that he would understand.

  At the same time she felt it would make Carol more in love with Sir Peter Jackson than she was already and that definitely worried her.

  It was a considerable cause for concern, not least in case it looked inappropriate, but there was nothing she could do about it. She knew that if her feisty cousin had made up her mind nothing would stop her.

  Hannah came along a little later and helped her put on a very pretty gown she had not worn before.

  “Miss Carol suggested that in case any of tonight’s guests have met her before, it’d be wise if you disguised yourself a little.”

  “What does she mean?” asked Neisa, astonished.

  “We were thinking how it could be done, miss, and I remembered that one of the dresses had a wreath with it. Now, you and Miss Carol look a little alike, but a wreath’ll make a huge difference with your hair arranged in the same way.”

  “I see, Hannah, and it would be a terrible disaster if someone arrived and said that I was not Carol.”

  She recognised that it undoubtedly would annoy the Marquis and she had no wish to upset him at the moment when he had Randolph to worry about and the necessity of keeping his disgraceful plot a secret.

  She therefore sat dutifully still whilst Hannah arranged a pretty wreath of roses on her head.

  It actually did make her look quite different from how she had looked for the last two days.

  However, when she walked downstairs Neisa found that she had worried unnecessarily.

  When the Marquis introduced her to the newcomers, she learned they were all near neighbours and were fully engaged with horses and the countryside.

  They were definitely not the smart fortune-seekers she had heard so much about in London.

  It did not seem to perturb the Marquis that two of his guests would be missing dinner.

  There were, in fact, a large number of new guests and even more arrived after they had gone into the ballroom.

  This was a room Neisa had not seen before and she was impressed with its white columns and cornices picked out in gold leaf.

  She only wished that she could tell someone that this was her first ball and she was feeling as excited as a child at her first pantomime.

  The Marquis claimed the first dance as he had told her he intended to do.

  The Viscountess was obviously extremely put out.

  “I thought you always danced the first
dance with me, Sheldon,” she hissed reproachfully as the Marquis put his arm round Neisa’s waist.

  “That was when we were in London, Sheila, and in other people’s houses. Tonight I am dancing with my most important guest because, as I have already indicated, her father was so generous to me when I was visiting New York.”

  It was a very reasonable explanation, but Neisa was aware that the Viscountess was looking at her crossly.

  She tossed her head as she stalked away.

  The Marquis swept Neisa gracefully around the ballroom and she could understand why every lady in the room would wish to dance with him. He was such a good dancer that she felt as though she was floating on air.

  She was a little afraid, as she had only danced with her father or with elderly foreigners that she would make a fool of herself.

  “You are as light as thistledown,” he murmured and she knew it was a genuine compliment.

  She longed to tell him it was the first time she had ever danced in an English ballroom with an Englishman.

  But that was something she must not do and so she concentrated on enjoying the dance.

  “What are you thinking about?” the Marquis asked her unexpectedly.

  “I was just thinking, my Lord, how lucky I am to be dancing with you.”

  She spoke without thinking and then as she felt that her comment might sound too personal, she added quickly,

  “You are a very good dancer.”

  “And you are a very good judge, Miss Waverton.”

  “I hope – so,” mumbled Neisa.

  This enchanting dance in this stately ballroom was something that she would always remember when she had returned to the Vicarage and there were no more balls.

  They waltzed for what seemed a long time and then the Marquis whispered into her ear,

  “Now I must go and be a good host, but you must keep me several dances before the night ends.”

  Neisa smiled at him.

  As they came to a standstill, three young gentlemen rushed up to claim the next dance.

  Although she did not wish to feel cynical, she could not help wondering whether they would have all asked her with such enthusiasm if they knew that she was not rich.

  She sensed that the Vicar’s daughter would not be in such demand, but she longed to dance again and again.

  She had so many aspiring partners that the young men decided they would adopt the American habit of ‘cutting-in.’

  This meant they could all have a turn with her. It was all very thrilling and Neisa had no idea that her eyes were shining brightly.

  As she went from partner to partner, her excitement and enjoyment was infectious.

  “It is such a pleasure,” Lady Sarah murmured to the Marquis, “to see anyone enjoy herself as much as the little heiress. One might think after being feted in London she might be somewhat blasé. Instead her enjoyment seems to vibrate through the room and has become infectious.”

  The Marquis laughed.

  “You are right, Aunt Sarah, and it is surprising how unspoilt she is, considering the fuss that has been made of her.”

  He was thinking to himself that in her delight at the ball, she would soon forget the drama that had taken place earlier in his study.

  He still found it all very hard to believe.

  Yet if she had not been so exceptionally brave and intervened when Randolph aimed his pistol at his back, he would now be a dead man.

  ‘That is twice now she has saved me,’ the Marquis told himself, ‘and I pray to God there will not be any need for her to do so again.’

  He still could not help hoping that there had been no difficulties in the carriage going to London.

  It was true that the two men escorting Randolph were Police Officers, who had each been in the local force for over ten years.

  The Marquis had persuaded them to take over the security of the house, especially at night, as it held so many fabulous treasures that were constantly being written about in the newspapers.

  He was very conscious of how incredibly valuable his treasures were.

  The two Police Officers were only too delighted, as their homes were in the village, to resign from the force and work directly for the Marquis.

  The job the Marquis offered them was much better paid, and they could see more of their wives and family. In a very short time they had both proved excellent men in every way.

  The Marquis recognised that they would be shocked and horrified at Randolph’s extraordinary behaviour.

  Not only in instructing his manservant, the Berber, to try to kill him and Champion during the steeplechase, but also in attempting to shoot him when he had been instructed to leave England.

  The only excuse for his behaviour was that he was under the influence of drugs and he rebuked himself for not having realised it sooner. As he looked back he felt that he should have known a long time ago that Randolph was an addict. What had started as an occasional indulgence had obviously spiralled out of control into dependency.

  There were so many indications that should have prompted him to discover the secret earlier. The mood swings, the constant need for money and the odd behaviour of his cousin now all pointed to one thing.

  ‘Heaven knows what will happen to him when he lives abroad,’ the Marquis wondered.

  Then he decided that he should not worry himself about Randolph any more and enjoy his party.

  The revellers danced until one o’clock to the excellent band that everyone said was the best they had ever heard.

  Then the Marquis pronounced that it was now time for everyone to retire to bed – and he was thinking more of Neisa than of anyone else.

  She looked very happy and appeared to be enjoying herself enormously.

  Yet he knew that, as a sensitive young woman, she was bound to be adversely affected by the terrible events she had been involved in during the last twenty-four hours.

  He realised too, and it was very touching, that she was truly concerned about him.

  The band played ‘God Save the Queen’, and everyone stoodto attention.

  Then all the guests seemed to be talking at once as they clamoured to thank the Marquis for the ball and the steeplechase.

  “It has been a wonderful day, my Lord,” the guests enthused one after another.

  The ladies looked up at him with a softness in their eyes, which told him how much they admired him.

  Only when the last guest had left did the Marquis give a sigh of relief.

  “Now everyone, don’t waste time. We all need our beauty sleep. Come on Aunt Sarah, you should have been in bed ages ago!”

  “I enjoyed every moment tonight even though I am too old to dance,” Lady Sarah replied. “But I shall hope to enjoy a good night’s sleep before Church tomorrow. If anyone wants to come with me, I will be leaving at a quarter to eleven.”

  Neisa realised that the Viscountess and other ladies in the party did not reply to her – instead hurrying rather quickly towards the stairs.

  She moved to Lady Sarah’s side.

  “I would love to come with you, Lady Sarah, if I may.”

  “Of course you can, child, and I shall be delighted to take you.”

  She gave a little smile as she added,

  “I think we will be on our own with the exception of Sheldon who always reads the lesson.”

  Neisa smiled.

  It was what she would have expected him to do and she knew that her father would approve.

  She did not say any more, but walked upstairs with Lady Sarah, while the Marquis was saying goodnight to the band.

  She thought, as she undressed, how much she would have liked to say goodnight to him.

  It had been very different last night when she had been frightened of Randolph coming to her bedroom and the Marquis had been so kind and so understanding about where she slept.

  Then, he had come to tell her what had happened to Randolph.

  She would not feel embarrassed if he came again, but there was
no sign of him.

  After she said her prayers, she blew out the candles and fell asleep.

  *

  When she woke in the morning, she was expecting Hannah to enter her room and call her.

  To her surprise Carol came in.

  She walked across the room and pulled back the curtains.

  Neisa sat up in bed.

  “Good morning, Carol. I was not expecting you so early,” she mumbled.

  “I have something to tell you, Neisa.”

  She walked back from the window and then sat on the side of the bed.

  “We are leaving this afternoon after luncheon.”

  Neisa’s eyes widened.

  “After luncheon?” she repeated. “But I thought we were staying until Monday.”

  Carol was silent for a moment and as Neisa looked into her face, she asked breathlessly,

  “What has happened?”

  “As I told you, I went to see Peter’s house last night and it was just as fascinating as I thought it would be.”

  “Is it as big as this?”

  “No. It is much smaller because it is Elizabethan, but still very lovely.”

  She gave a deep sigh.

  “It’s a house I could be very happy in.”

  “And what happened?” Neisa asked again.

  “I realised that Peter had taken me to see his home because he wanted me to love it. And I did love it, Neisa. It’s perfect, the sort of house I would want for myself and where I could make a wonderful home for my husband and my children.”

  There was a pain in Carol’s voice and Neisa knew there was nothing she could say.

  “We looked round all the rooms first and then we had supper in his pretty dining room. I have no idea what I ate as I was so happy being with Peter. Everything seemed like the ambrosia of the Gods!”

  “Then what – ?” Neisa persisted, knowing it must have been something disastrous.

  “A messenger arrived unexpectedly from London. He was from the First Lord of the Admiralty.”

  Again there was a long pause until Carol went on,

  “The First Lord asked him to come to London early this morning, because he has to go abroad on Monday.”

  “I hope that means that they are going to accept Sir Peter’s invention?”