A Battle of Brains Read online

  Again there was silence.

  ‘They really must have killed the poor animal this time,’ Yolanda surmised.

  She only hoped that if he was still breathing they would not bring him down below.

  She looked round the mine wondering if, while they were absent, there was any chance of being able to escape.

  But she knew it was impossible.

  If she now climbed out of the mine onto the ground above, they would see her and then they would surely be extremely angry with her for trying to run away.

  ‘I just have to pray,’ she decided, ‘that Step-papa and Lord Milborne will have understood the clues I wrote in the letter.’

  She was praying fervently when she heard footsteps coming down from above towards her.

  She thought it must be the chief ruffian returning – he had obviously killed the dog, as there was no longer any sound of him.

  She turned to go back to where she had come from.

  As she did so she stopped.

  It was difficult for her to see because the brambles that had grown over the entrance to the mine hid the light from the moon and stars.

  Yet in the half-light Yolanda became aware that the man coming towards her was taller than any of the gang.

  Then, as she hesitated, a voice called out softly,

  “Yolanda!”

  She gave a strangled cry that seemed to echo round the walls of the mine.

  It was Lord Milborne who had called her name and she ran towards him.

  She flung herself against him crying,

  “You have come, you have come, you understood.”

  His arms went round her.

  “They have not hurt you, my darling?” he asked her tenderly.

  Then, as she looked up at him in surprise at such a delightful endearment, his lips were on hers.

  He was kissing her wildly.

  Yolanda felt at once that the whole wide world was suddenly bathed in sunshine and it was the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to her.

  As he could feel the softness and innocence of her lips, Lord Milborne drew her closer and closer to him.

  And his kisses became more demanding and more passionate.

  After what seemed like a long time, he raised his head.

  Yolanda was just able to breathe,

  “It is you really – you,” she managed to mumble.

  “It is me,” replied Lord Milborne. “How could you have been so clever as to tell us where you were?”

  Then before she could answer him, he was kissing her again.

  Kissing her until she felt that she was melting into his body and they were not two people but one.

  Finally in a strange voice, which did not sound like his own, Lord Milborne murmured,

  “I must take you home, my precious darling. I was so terrified in case those villains had hurt you in any way.”

  “What has happened to that dreadful gang?”

  “They are on their way to the Police wagon, which is waiting to take them all to prison.”

  Yolanda gave a gasp.

  “It was so frightening – but somehow I knew that you would come and save me!”

  “It might have been a great deal more difficult if we had not known where you were.”

  “I thought as the men seemed so strange that one of them might be German or French and I only hoped that you knew a little Spanish.”

  Lord Milborne laughed.

  “I was in Spain a year ago and managed to become quite fluent. But only you would have thought of telling us how many men there were!”

  “And only you and my Step-papa would have been able to decipher my code.”

  When she mentioned her stepfather’s name, she felt Lord Milborne give a little jerk – it was almost as if he had forgotten about him.

  He kissed her very gently and affectionately.

  “Come, my darling, let us go home. We have a lot of explaining to do in a much more comfortable place than this.”

  As he spoke he drew her towards the rough path up to the ground above.

  There was no sign of the gang.

  Yolanda looked all around her.

  “Did they kill the dog?”

  Lord Milborne chuckled.

  “I was the dog! Fortunately, as you can see, I am still alive and therefore, my darling, able to kiss you!”

  He kissed her again.

  “Come along or else your stepfather will be angry with me for keeping you away from him for so long.”

  “Where is he?” enquired Yolanda.

  “In the trees with the horses we are going to ride home.”

  Yolanda slipped her hand into his and they walked back over the rough ground.

  “How on earth did you learn to make such a strange noise?” she asked him breathlessly. “I was quite certain it was a real dog!”

  “I was taught the trick in India when I was serving with the brave men who work in ‘The Great Game’, which I expect you have heard about?”

  “Of course I have,” answered Yolanda. “It is the brilliant Secret Service we are using against the Russians.”

  “That is correct. They taught me many techniques, but this one has certainly been the most effective.”

  “What happened to the men when they came out? You did not kill them?”

  “I did not touch them. The moment they appeared two of the men I brought with me – the footman and the scullion, grabbed the first villain before he was aware of what was happening. They threw a blanket over his head so that he should not make a noise. Then they tied a rope around him and marched him down to the Police van.”

  “Then the dog attracted the next two!”

  “Exactly,” agreed Lord Milborne. “I am delighted it went off so well. I only wish I could tell my teachers in India how successful I was at masquerading as a dog!”

  “I think it was fantastic of you,” enthused Yolanda. “Only you and my Step-papa could be so clever as to cope with anything so dastardly and terrifying.”

  “I will never allow you to be so frightened again, my darling one,” vowed Lord Milborne.

  He stopped and looked at her in the moonlight.

  He thought that no one could look lovelier or more desirable despite her shattering ordeal.

  “You do love me?” he asked her tentatively.

  “I did not realise it was – love that I was feeling,” whispered Yolanda, “until you kissed me.”

  “Then?”

  “It was exactly what I prayed I would find one day and God has answered my prayers.”

  “As He has answered my prayers as well, Yolanda. I was determined never to marry until I loved someone as I now love you.”

  He kissed her again.

  It was a long and passionate kiss. Then as if he was forcing himself to do so, he took her hand and started to walk on.

  When they reached the trees, Yolanda knew where they were going.

  Outside the wooden hut where she had encountered the gang, there were three horses and her stepfather.

  When he saw her, he held out his arms.

  Yolanda ran towards him.

  “I am safe, Step-papa,” she cried. “Safe, although it has been very terrifying. I am so happy you did not have to give them so much money.”

  Her stepfather’s arms tightened around her.

  “I would give them everything I possess rather than lose you.”

  “Lord Milborne was so very clever, I really thought it was a dog barking.”

  “He told me exactly what he was intending to do. When I heard him instructing the men we had chosen to take with us, it was a scheme I had never heard of before.”

  “It was new to the gang and that was what really mattered. They thought the dog would attract attention and fortunately they did not shoot at him!” exclaimed Yolanda.

  “I am very thankful for that,” added Lord Milborne.

  “It was all your idea, Alan,” said Mr. Garrack, “and I am extremely grateful to you.”
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br />   “I am afraid it is going to cost you something very expensive,” responded Lord Milborne with a broad smile.

  Mr. Garrack looked at him quizzically.

  “I want to marry Yolanda as soon as possible,” he explained. “I find I cannot live without her.”

  “Marry Yolanda!”

  There was a note of surprise in his voice, as if the idea had not occurred to him.

  “I love him, Step-papa,” whispered Yolanda.

  He looked at her with tenderness in his eyes.

  “Then, of course, I am delighted and I am happy to give you my blessing. So let’s go home and celebrate.”

  Lord Milborne lifted Yolanda onto Chestnut, who was nuzzling against her as if he was so pleased to see her.

  Then as Lord Milborne mounted on Champion, her stepfather jumped onto his horse saying,

  “I suppose, Alan, I shall now have to present you with the horse you are riding and anyway it is a suitable reward for all you have achieved tonight.”

  “What we have achieved,” Lord Milborne corrected him. “And let us hope it is the first of many campaigns we can fight together!”

  “I will say ‘amen’ to that, Alan.”

  Then he rode ahead down the mossy path, which led eventually to the paddock.

  Yolanda followed and Lord Milborne came behind.

  When they were galloping side by side across the flat land, she thought how wonderful everything was now and she shuddered that it was only a short time ago that she was desperately praying to be rescued from the villainous gang.

  They reached the house to find that the entire staff was waiting in the hall for their return.

  When Yolanda appeared, there came a cheer started by the butler and all those around him echoed it.

  “You’re safe, my Lady?” he asked. “Those devils haven’t hurt you in any way?”

  “No, and I am now safe thanks to my stepfather and Lord Milborne, and I am so very happy to be back home.”

  “I’m sure that you’re hungry, my Lady,” suggested the cook.

  “I am indeed.”

  “Dinner or rather supper, my Lady, is waiting,” said the butler. “I was quite certain your Ladyship would be hungry and the gentlemen wouldn’t touch anything before they went to rescue you.”

  “Well, we need a large glass of champagne first,” Mr. Garrack proposed, “and it is just what everyone in the house is to have tonight.”

  There was another loud cheer from the staff.

  Yolanda and Lord Milborne walked together into the drawing room.

  “I suppose,” she mused, “I ought to go upstairs and tidy myself.”

  “You look too beautiful for words, my darling, and I thought that no one could be lovelier in the moonlight.”

  He was speaking in a low voice that she could only just hear.

  He saw her blush at the depth and sincerity of his words and he was thinking that she looked like a Goddess of the moon.

  “I love you beyond the entire universe, my dearest Yolanda, and I want to kiss you again.”

  “Now I am certain that I must go and make myself look pretty for you!”

  Yolanda ran away before he could stop her.

  Emily was waiting for her in her bedroom.

  “I must tidy myself, Emily, before I have anything to eat.”

  “We was all in ever such a state, my Lady. It were terrible, really terrible.”

  “It’s all over now,” sighed Yolanda.

  She was slipping off her riding skirt as she spoke and the blouse she had worn above it.

  It only took a few minutes for her to wash and for Emily to help her into one of her prettiest evening gowns.

  She tidied her hair quickly and ran downstairs.

  The gentlemen were waiting for her in the drawing room.

  “If you are going to be long drinking champagne,” suggested her stepfather, “you had better bring it into the dining room with you. We both admit to feeling extremely hungry.”

  “So am I,” agreed Yolanda, “although the men did give me a sandwich to eat.”

  “I suppose that was decent of them,” came in Lord Milborne. “They will get a very long sentence because the Police already have a whole list of robberies and acts of violence they have perpetrated.”

  Over dinner Yolanda persuaded Lord Milborne to relate some other tricks he had learnt in India.

  What he had to say was so fascinating she thought that she could listen to him all night.

  However, when the servants had left the room, Lord Milborne said,

  “Now please tell me how soon we can be married? Personally I would much prefer a quiet wedding here in the country, but of course, my darling, if you would wish the ceremony to take place in London, I will do whatever you want.”

  “I would just love to be married very quietly in the village Church where Mama is buried.”

  She saw the delight in Lord Milborne’s eyes before he added,

  “That is what I hoped you would say and as your stepfather needs to depart shortly for America, I suggest it would be a mistake for him to delay his visit more than a few days.”

  “I agree, Alan, the sooner I get on with the job the better. I don’t suppose I shall be the only one in Europe bidding for the automatic air brake and the more competition there is, the more money we shall have to pay for it.”

  “Then I suggest, if you agree, that tomorrow I go to Windsor and inform the Queen of my engagement to Yolanda. Her Majesty is my Godmother and I know that she would be very offended if she was not the first to know that I have been ‘caught’ at last.”

  “I was not trying to catch you,” asserted Yolanda.

  Lord Milborne put out his hand towards her.

  “I know, my darling, and that makes you different from anyone else I have ever met. Actually from the first moment I saw you, I was determined to catch you and not let anyone else have you!”

  He looked deeply into Yolanda’s eyes.

  Somehow there was no need for words.

  Yolanda knew that he was giving her his heart and her heart was already his.

  *

  Yolanda and her stepfather agreed that they would make all the necessary arrangements for the wedding.

  It was to take place very quietly the afternoon that Lord Milborne returned from Windsor Castle.

  He had said that he was obliged to stay the night with the Queen and that would give them just two days to prepare everything.

  He proposed they spent their first night together at home and left the following day for their honeymoon.

  “I have a yacht in Dover Harbour and I thought it would take us down the Channel to Spain.”

  “To Spain!” Mr. Garrack exclaimed somewhat in surprise. “Why Spain?”

  Lord Milborne smiled.

  “It was the Spanish word ‘pizarra’ that enabled us to save Yolanda from a horribly unpleasant experience. I know if we go to Madrid she will enjoy seeing the pictures in the Prada, some of which are as good, if not better, than anything we have at the moment in the National Gallery.”

  “I would so love that,” cried Yolanda.

  “Next we can either sail round the Mediterranean or if you are bored, we can come home.”

  “I know I shall never be bored,” she sighed.

  “Just as I will never be bored with you, my darling. We not only talk to each other with our hearts but with our brains.”

  “That is so true,” agreed Yolanda.

  “Of course it is true,” her stepfather added. “I told you once that love is really a battle of brains. So our brains continue to excite, inspire and guide us safely all through our lives.”

  “It is exactly what Yolanda will do for me,” came in Lord Milborne. “And that is why I am determined never to allow anyone else to take her from me.”

  “Do you really mean,” asked Yolanda, “that I shall be able to help you with your vital work for the Foreign Secretary?”

  “I shall only be any good at it if
you do so. And the problems I will be confronted with can only be solved by us both using our brains.”

  “It makes the whole idea enthralling!” exclaimed Yolanda.

  Lord Milborne left the house for Windsor Castle early the next morning and she and her stepfather started in earnest to prepare for the wedding.

  The local Vicar was an elderly gentleman who was loved by the whole village.

  He was most delighted to be asked to perform the Service and promised to keep it secret until it had actually taken place.

  “I don’t want there to be anyone in the Church,” explained Yolanda, “except Step-papa and, of course, your daughter, if she will play the organ as she always does so beautifully.”

  “She will be honoured to do so,” the Vicar replied.

  *

  The ancient little Church was filled with flowers.

  Yolanda had her best white evening gown altered so that it could become a wedding dress – it only required a little chiffon adding to the décollétage.

  The train that her mother had worn at her wedding could be suspended from her waist and there was also her mother’s veil for her to wear as well as the jewellery that her stepfather had given her.

  Someone had once told Yolanda that it was unlucky to see your bridegroom on your wedding day until you met him in the Church.

  So she therefore insisted that when Lord Milborne arrived, he was to be taken upstairs to change.

  Then a separate carriage was to be waiting to take him down the drive to the Church and she would follow in another carriage with her stepfather.

  Because she could not resist listening at her door, she heard Lord Milborne arrive back from Windsor Castle.

  He was talking to her stepfather as they walked up the stairs.

  She longed to run out and fling her arms round his neck – yet she knew she must keep to their plans.

  Actually it made the whole wedding day even more exciting and something she would always remember to the day she died.

  Finally just before six o’clock she could hear Lord Milborne walk downstairs.

  When she was sure he had left for the Church, she went down to join her stepfather.

  “You look so very lovely, my dearest,” he said with admiration in his voice as she joined him in the drawing room.

  “That is a delightful compliment and I also want to say something to you, Step-papa.”