They Found their Way to Heaven Page 11

“Oh, yes, that is the best time.”

  “I think so too,” he murmured. “Hey, Violet, this dog’s eating all my cake.”

  They drank wine and fed most of the cakes to Blackie and Blackie as titbits. Then Elvina noticed Violet scribbling some figures at the table.

  “I am working out how I am going to pay you for the puppies,” she admitted when Elvina asked.

  “There is no need.”

  “But of course there is. If I don’t pay you, they will be your gift.”

  “What are you two talking about?” the Duke enquired, coming to the table.

  “Can I have advance on my allowance?” Violet asked him. “I owe Mrs. Winters for a puppy.”

  “I would much rather make both of them my gift,” Elvina said.

  “I would appreciate that,” the Duke intervened unexpectedly. “If it’s not more than you can afford?”

  “It’s not and I would be glad to give them both to you,” she assured him.

  “Leave it at that, then. Perhaps Violet can think of something else?”

  “I will still need an advance on my allowance,” Violet insisted.

  It was on the tip of her tongue to ask why Mrs. Winters should want to give him both dogs, or why he should want that. But then she looked from one to the other and something held her silent.

  In many ways Violet was a perceptive young lady.

  *

  Elvina was out with the dawn next morning, galloping over the fields on Mars, but always able to keep the castle in view. At last she looked back and saw the Duke pursuing her on Jupiter.

  “I took your consent for granted,” he said, catching up with her.

  “I am sure Simpson had something to say about that,” she chuckled.

  “He tried, but I did what he always does – became deaf.”

  She roared with laughter and the Duke joined in. The next moment they had urged their horses forward and were flying across the ground together.

  They galloped until they had shaken the fidgets out of the animals’ legs and slowed down near a stream. Dismounting they led the horses to water and watched them drink.

  “I thought of you all night,” he began.

  She did not try to answer in words, but smiled and nodded her head.

  “But if I tell you what I was thinking,” he continued, “you might not believe me.”

  She raised her eyebrows.

  “Then you can surprise me.”

  “I was remembering our talk. Our kiss was beautiful, but it was what I told you that stayed in my mind. I have never spoken about myself as I did to you.”

  “You don’t talk about your feelings easily, do you?” she asked softly.

  “No, I never have done. There has never been anyone to tell. I could not confide in my parents and Violet is too young. The only one I could talk to was Bruno, but dogs have such short lives.

  “When he died it hurt so much that I swore I would never have another one, even if it meant nobody to talk to. And then I found myself telling you about Simon, saying things I have never told anyone. And now I have the Blackies that you have given me.”

  “One of them was meant to be from Violet.”

  “No, I want them both to be from you without involving anyone else. Do you understand why?”

  He was looking directly into her face and she looked back into his.

  “Yes, I think I understand.”

  “I felt so close to you and that means more than anything in the world, more than – oh, my dear!”

  On the last words his control broke and he pulled her into his arms, kissing her again and again.

  “I was thinking of this too,” he muttered hoarsely.

  “So was I,” she whispered against his lips.

  Then there was no more words, no more thought, only the feel of his heart beating against hers, his mouth sweetly enticing hers into a world of delight.

  “I promised myself that this would not happen,” he said at last. “I made so many good resolutions, but – I am a selfish man. When I want something, I am afraid – ”

  Elvina laughed joyously. As long as she was the one he wanted, he could be as selfish as he liked!

  “Can you forgive me?” he asked.

  “For what?” she asked. “For wanting me?”

  “For abusing your trust while you lived in my house under my protection, something that no gentleman would ever – oh, what am I saying?”

  “I think you are telling me that the Duke is not a gentleman,” she laughed.

  “I suppose I am. But I regret nothing if only you forgive me.”

  “Anything, anything,” she said fervently.

  “I should never – never – ”

  His words faltered and she saw the ardent look come back into his eyes. The next moment he was kissing her again and she was revelling in it.

  Then they were laughing together, as though at some private joke that only they understood.

  They headed their horses out over the fields, riding side by side towards the rising sun.

  In her delirium of joy it never occurred to Elvina that there was something ominous about his words.

  Yet afterwards she realised that she ought to have seen it. For he had already placed all the clues in her hands.

  *

  The next week was passed in an orgy of organisation. The three of them drew up lists of guests and Violet sent out the invitations with Elvina’s help.

  Somehow the Duke always found an excuse to join them in the library with his two new companions.

  “I do not intend this to be a very large party,” he declared. “About thirty, perhaps.”

  “You will have to invite far more than that or risk offending people,” Violet advised him.

  In the event they settled on fifty. When all the invitations had been despatched, there was the serious business of deciding what to wear.

  Naturally Violet must have a new dress and a seamstress came to the castle to make her a beautiful creation of pink silk gauze.

  Elvina would also have liked a new gown, but she decided to dress quietly. There would be time enough for her to relish dressing up in high fashion when her relationship with the Duke was out in the open.

  That would be soon enough, she supposed. She knew that he loved her. He made it plain in a thousand ways.

  Late at night, when Violet had gone to bed, he would join her in the library and they would talk.

  He told her about the castle, about his family. Sometimes he spoke about himself as he had done when he told her about his dead brother.

  All the time Elvina enjoyed a marvellous feeling of growing closer to him and of being able to see straight into his mind, because he was revealing himself to her.

  Later she was to wonder how she could have been so stupid.

  *

  As the day of the party grew near the castle was seized by a frenzy of excitement. Everywhere was cleaned and polished until it shone. The dining table was extended to its fullest. When the evening finally arrived, Violet’s maid dressed her carefully under Elvina’s supervision. When she had finished she looked a dream in pink gauze with the Castleforde pearls adorning her neck.

  Elvina wore pale grey satin with an opal necklace and tiny opal ear-rings.

  She looked out of the window at the view over the grounds now bathed in a golden glow as the sun began to set. Just below she could see the Duke strolling on the terrace, the puppies at his heels, as they never left his side.

  She felt a sudden desire for a few moments with him. The guests would be arriving soon, so she would have to be quick.

  Running down the stairs she was just in time to see him come in from the terrace and head for the library. In another moment she had darted into the room with him, closing the door.

  He turned, smiling with pleasure at the sight of her.

  “How pretty you are,” he said. “You will outshine every woman tonight.”

  “I do hope not,” she smiled. “Think how furious the Gor
lestons would be.”

  To her surprise a cloud came over his face.

  “Yes. The Gorlestons. How I wish I could forget them! Oh, my darling, if you knew how hard I have tried to believe that none of it matters.”

  “None of what matters?” she asked, puzzled.

  “Doing what is suitable,” he replied with a touch of bitterness. “The pride of my house. How I have fought to convince myself that it was something I could set aside because of my love for you.”

  His face was ravaged, tormented, as he continued,

  “But – but – I cannot. I was raised to put certain principles above all others and I cannot change.”

  The first faint chill began to pass over her heart, but she quelled it, looking searchingly into his face. What she suspected could not be true.

  “My darling,” he sighed heavily, “can you ever forgive me for the unpardonable liberties I have taken, knowing that I can never marry you?”

  “What?” she cried, aghast. “Liberties? You have called me your dearest and I have called you my dearest.”

  “And you are my dearest. Dearer to me than anyone has ever been.”

  “And you talk about taking liberties as though I were some servant girl – ”

  “No, no, of course not,” he said hurriedly. “You are no servant, but a gentlewoman, I have always recognised that. But I – ”

  He stopped and there was a long agonised pause.

  “But what?” she asked.

  “I am constrained in whom I may marry. I have always known that and it was unforgivable of me to forget it. If I led you to believe that I – that we – sweet Heaven!”

  He turned away, passing his hand over his eyes. His agony was so real that for a moment Elvina could feel only pity for him. Nevertheless her anger was rising as she discerned his meaning.

  “You cannot marry me because I do not have a title,” she blurted out. “That is what you are saying, isn’t it? Mrs. Winters is a lady, but not enough of a lady to marry a Duke.”

  He turned haggard eyes on her.

  “Say what you will. You cannot despise me more than I despise myself.”

  “But what do you despise yourself for?” she asked bitterly. “For giving your love to me or for lacking the courage of your convictions?”

  He winced.

  “I deserved that and you have deserved far better from me. You are generous and loving and I have such a poor return to make you. Oh, my dearest, dearest girl, I love you so much. I would give the world if only it was possible for us to marry.”

  Now was the moment to tell him who she was. When he knew that she was Lady Elvina Winwood, daughter of the Earl Winwood, he would be eager to marry her.

  But she could not make herself say the words.

  She stared at him, feeling her heart turn to stone.

  She had known that the Duke was proud, as his title made inevitable. But she also knew him to be gentle and kindly, and the patrician loftiness that made him reject her as a commoner came as a cruel and brutal surprise.

  He loved her, but not enough. That was the plain fact. And if his love was not deep enough to make him defy the world for her, then she wanted none of him.

  “I think I hear carriages,” she said in a steady voice. “Your first guests are arriving. You should go and receive them.”

  Then she turned and walked out of the room.

  CHAPTER NINE

  In the first storm of anger and betrayal Elvina ran to her room and began throwing clothes into a suitcase.

  But after a few moments she calmed down and realised that she was acting without thinking.

  She could not simply walk out of the house and leave Violet to face the party alone. She had her duties and they must be performed first before she could give vent to her feelings.

  Oh, how could this have happened?

  How could he have turned out to be so different to what she had believed?

  He loved her, but he was determined to set that love aside and make a ‘suitable’ marriage. In his eyes his duty to his house and lineage was the most important thing in his life. More important than his feelings or hers.

  On the face of it, everything was easy. She need only to tell him that she was the daughter of an Earl, he would propose and they would live happily every after.

  But they would not.

  There could never be peace between them if she knew that he had only married her after she had passed some arcane test of social worthiness.

  If he did not love her enough to set the world at nought for her sake, she could never be his wife.

  She heard Violet in the corridor and hurried out to her before the girl could enter and see the half-packed case.

  “They have started to arrive,” Violet cried excitedly.

  “Then you must go down and greet the guests at your brother’s side,” Elvina advised smiling.

  She did not know how she managed that smile when her heart was in such turmoil. But tonight she could not think about herself.

  Some of her anger died when she saw the Duke. Beneath his smiling manner she could see that he too was devastated by what had happened.

  His decision was tearing him apart. But he would force himself to stand by it, nonetheless.

  At first the guests were to congregate in the library before making their way to the dining room.

  Violet took her place beside her brother. Elvina stayed in the background. She was, after all, only the governess.

  Pearson had taken up his position at the library door. As everyone arrived he called out their names and they came forward to greet the Duke and his sister and congratulate him on his birthday.

  When the room was almost full Pearson proclaimed,

  “The Earl and Countess of Gorleston!”

  Through the door came the present Earl of Gorleston, an insignificant creature of middling height and middling appearance. With him was his new wife, who was far from insignificant. One look at the Countess’s face told Elvina all she needed to know.

  This was a determined young woman, battling her mother-in-law’s wishes to continue ruling the roost. From the set of her very firm jaw, she was probably winning. So the Dowager Lady Gorleston had set her heart on marrying her daughter to the Duke and moving into the castle.

  “The Dowager Lady Gorleston and Lady Alexandra Gorleston.”

  The two ladies sailed in together. Lady Alexandra was gorgeously dressed in white satin, sporting the Gorleston diamonds. Her mother was extravagantly splendid in a style that was far too young for her. On her face she wore a look of smug triumph.

  Clearly she anticipated victory, guessing that the Duke’s pride would ultimately lead him to marry her daughter.

  Elvina’s heart cried out at the thought. He could never be happy with Lady Alexandra.

  And she herself would be faced with years of regret that she had not told him her true identity while there was still time to save them both.

  But some core of stubbornness in her told her that this was not the way. If his love was not enough to overcome any obstacle, then they were better apart.

  As Lady Gorleston approached the Duke her eyes flickered this way and that. As they briefly alighted on Elvina, standing behind them, the smug look became even more pronounced.

  Elvina’s unease increased. This woman looked as though she knew something that nobody else knew and was relishing the moment when it would be revealed.

  As she reached the Duke she gushed,

  “Many, many happy returns, dear David. I have brought you a very special and unusual surprise. Actually it is not really a present for you, but for the young woman who is pretending to teach your sister.”

  Her voice seemed to ring out, causing many heads to turn.

  Now she did not even bother to hide her ill-will.

  “I took the liberty of bringing an extra guest, for which I know you will forgive me.”

  “Of course,” the Duke said politely.

  “He was particularly anx
ious to come – for the sake of Mrs. Winters.”

  Puzzled, the Duke stared at her, and then raised his head to watch the figure coming rather slowly through the door.

  Elvina followed his gaze and stiffened.

  “Allow me to introduce you,” Lady Gorleston resumed, “to Captain Andrew Broadmoor who has been searching for the woman who calls herself Mrs. Winters. She is actually Lady Elvina Winwood.”

  There was silence.

  Everyone looked at Elvina, but the gaze she felt most keenly was the Duke’s.

  “I do not – understand,” he stammered.

  “This gentleman is her fiancé,” Lady Gorleston trumpeted. “They quarrelled, you know. So unfortunate. But quarrels can be mended and Captain Broadmoor has come hotfoot to reclaim his lady. It is so romantic.”

  Aghast, Elvina studied Andrew, who was looking awkward. As well he might, she thought.

  “Mrs. Winters?” the Duke questioned her in a puzzled voice. “Who are you?”

  “I am Lady Elvina Winwood,” she admitted slowly, “my father was the Earl Winwood.”

  “Your father – an Earl?”

  “Yes. I left my home because I had no further wish to see or speak to Captain Broadmoor. I even changed my identity to avoid him. Far from being my fiancé, he is betrothed to a Miss Margaret Halson.”

  “No!” Finally Andrew spoke. “There is no betrothal between that lady and me. It was all a misunderstanding.”

  Elvina turned to face him.

  “What happened, Andrew?” she asked. “Is the money spent already? Now you need more, is that it?”

  His ashamed look confirmed it, but he added,

  “Miss Halson and I decided that we were not suited to each other – ”

  “Because she has no money?”

  “Please,” he begged. “I wish I knew why you turned against me so suddenly – ”

  “Because I overheard you talking to her, planning to jilt her and marry me for my money. That cheque was a goodbye present and I meant goodbye.”

  He drew in a sharp breath as she made it clear just how much she knew.

  But his need for money was too fierce to allow him to give up now.

  “Elvina,” he said desperately, “if we could only talk privately, I can explain everything.”

  “There is nothing to explain,” she told him. “It’s over, Andrew. You must accept that.”