A Princess Prays Read online

  “I love you, my dearest daughter, and you are now all I have in my life.”

  Attila looked surprised at the way he spoke.

  “What do you mean? Has something happened to Stepmama?”

  The King hesitated for a moment.

  “Because she was determined, if I died, to take your place on the throne of Valdina, I have sent her back to her own land and she will not trouble either of us again.”

  Attila gave a cry of joy.

  “Oh, Papa, I am so glad! Are you certain she will not return?”

  “It is impossible for her to do so as she is now in the Convent, which as you know is just over the border.”

  Attila felt there was much more to this story and yet she did not want to bother her father into talking about it until he was ready to do so.

  All that mattered was that her Stepmama had gone and she could have her father to herself.

  She rose and putting her arms round his neck kissed him on both cheeks.

  “What you have just told me, Papa, makes me very happy and now I am going to fetch Gesa to meet you.”

  “I will be waiting here, my darling.”

  “I am first going to change my pilgrim’s dress.”

  Attila ran across the room and as she reached the door, she looked back.

  “It is wonderful, Papa, to see you downstairs and so well! That really matters more than anything else.”

  The King heard her running down the passage.

  He was now wondering desperately what he could possibly do about this strange man Attila thought herself to be in love with.

  Now he was in better health, he was quite sure he would soon be as strong as he had always been.

  The question of his successor was not so important at the moment, but even so when he did die, he still wanted Attila to take his place.

  But it would be quite impossible if she was married to someone who was not desirable – a man who would not be accepted by the people of Valdina.

  He sat back in his chair speculating frantically what he could do.

  How could he break it to Attila that she could not marry the man she loved unless he was acceptable?

  The King put his hand to his forehead as if to force his brain into finding a solution for him.

  Then he felt that Father Jozsef was near him and he was holding up his right hand in blessing. It was as if he was saying that there was no need for him to worry.

  Attila arrived at her bedroom and because she was in a hurry she did not ring for her lady’s maid.

  Instead she pulled off her pilgrim’s dress and put on one of her prettiest gowns, one that her father had once admired and that she knew made her look glamorous whenever she wore it.

  As she was in a hurry she had no time to look at herself in the mirror, but any observer could have told her that she looked radiant and ethereal.

  Her father was well, which was something she had not expected, and although she had been nervous, he had not immediately dismissed the idea of her marrying someone unknown.

  She also had a strange feeling for which she could not account – it was that everything since she had returned home was not only better than she expected but perfect.

  It was something she could not express in words.

  Perhaps it was the serene atmosphere she sensed in Father Jozsef’s house that had swept away her misgivings.

  The fears that had been with her all night had now disappeared and as she was going back to see Gesa again, she felt as if there were wings on her feet.

  She was travelling on the golden rays of sunshine streaming in through the windows.

  She ran down the stairs and without stopping by her father’s room, she opened the door into the garden.

  She ran past the fountain and into the wood.

  She thought that the birds were all singing a song of gladness and the rabbits scurrying in the undergrowth were as happy as she was.

  ‘I love him, oh, how I love him,’ she told herself, as she ran down into the valley. ‘I just know Papa is going to love him too.’

  Only when she opened the door into Father Jozsef’s house, did she feel a moment of anxiety.

  Just in case Gesa was not there.

  But he was.

  When he heard her enter the room, he jumped to his feet.

  “You are back!” he exclaimed.

  As she ran towards him, he caught her and held her away from him.

  “Let me look at you. I have only seen you look like a pilgrim, now you look like a lady.”

  He gave a little laugh before he corrected himself.

  “No, that is wrong, you look like a Goddess or do you prefer to be a Queen?”

  Attila made a little sound that might have been one of laughter or surprise.

  It was impossible to answer because he was kissing her again.

  He was kissing her wildly and demandingly as if he had been afraid that when she left him, she would not come back.

  It was a long time before Attila was able to speak.

  Then she said,

  “Come, Papa is waiting to meet you and my prayers have been answered. He is well and strong again. Oh, I am so grateful to the Shrine.”

  “I think you have another reason to be grateful.”

  “I prayed for love,” she whispered in his ear, “and found you.”

  “That is just what I wanted you to tell me,” Gesa sighed.

  Attila took his hand.

  “Come along, we must not keep my Papa waiting. I have a feeling that everything is going to be wonderful and there is no need for either of us to worry.”

  “I so hope you are right, my darling.”

  They left Father Jozsef’s house and walked through his beautiful garden.

  “The Father must have worked very hard here.”

  “I will tell you about it when we have time and I want you to see his Chapel as well.”

  She was holding his hand and they were moving as quickly as they could up the path through the little valley.

  Then they passed through the wood into the garden of the Palace with flowers all around them.

  The Palace loomed up beyond the garden wall.

  Attila sensed that Gesa was surprised, but she had no wish to make explanations, only to reach her father.

  She opened the garden door and Gesa followed her down the passage.

  She was half afraid there might be someone with her father.

  However, her father’s room was quiet as she pulled the door open and he was still sitting in the chair where she had left him.

  As she walked towards him followed by Gesa, she said,

  “I am back, Papa.”

  The King started as he had not heard her enter and he rose to his feet.

  “I want you, Papa, to meet, Gesa, who I have told you about.”

  The King looked at Gesa and Gesa at the King.

  Then Gesa exclaimed in a tone of astonishment,

  “Your Majesty!”

  Attila’s heart gave a lurch.

  Then the King called out,

  “Prince Gesalo!”

  His hand went out as he spoke and Gesa took it.

  “You have grown,” remarked the King, “if I am not mistaken?”

  “No, of course not, Sire, and it is so nice to see you again.”

  Attila looked from one to the other.

  “Are you saying,” she asked in a soft voice which did not sound like her own, “that you know each other?”

  The King laughed.

  “When I last saw Gesalo he was still a young boy and his father was a friend of mine for many years until he became so ill.”

  “I am afraid that he is still very much the same, Sire, and now it is only a question of months.”

  “I am sorry,” replied the King. “At the same time I am sure you will agree it will be a merciful release.”

  “That is what I am prepared to believe.”

  Attila was still looking bewildered as the King said,
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  “You told me, Attila, that you did not know who this young man was.”

  “And I as well did not know who she was, Sire,” added Gesa. “I was prepared to abdicate rather than lose her!”

  “And I was wondering how I could send you away without breaking my daughter’s heart.”

  They both laughed.

  “Is it really true,” asked the King, “that your life was in danger and Attila saved you?”

  “She saved me when I thought my last moment had come. My cousin, who I don’t think you have met, is heir to the throne if I am not around. He was determined to get rid of me, but by sheer brilliance your daughter saved me. So you can understand, Sire, why I cannot live without her.”

  “And I will have to look after him, Papa, in case that horrible man – tries again,” suggested Attila.

  Her voice was a little unsteady.

  She was finding it difficult to believe what had just happened.

  How could her father possibly know Gesa?

  How could he turn out to be a Prince when she had thought she would not be allowed to marry him?

  As if her father sensed her feelings, he said,

  “Let us start at the beginning, my darling. Gesalo is the eldest son of His Royal Highness the Prince of Silesia.”

  Attila gave a little gasp.

  She knew only too well that Silesia, on their border to the North, was the largest and richest of all the Austrian provinces.

  Silesia had been fought over when Prussia had tried to wrest it from the Hapsburgs, but it had gained its independence and the Ruler was of great importance in the region.

  She now remembered something her father had said to her some time ago.

  “It is reported,” he revealed, “that the Prince of Silesia has suffered a stroke and is in a coma.”

  Attila realised that this conversation had been two or three years ago and she had no idea then who would be his successor.

  She could now appreciate the vital significance of the Prince’s escape from his wicked cousin.

  “What I would request of Your Majesty,” Gesa was saying, “is your approval for me to marry your daughter as soon as it is possible to do so.”

  He smiled at Attila.

  “I am now fully aware that you are not the humble pilgrim, Miss Lala, but instead the beautiful Princess Attila of Valdina, who I have never had the privilege of meeting, but who is constantly being talked about in my country.”

  “Why ever was I not brave enough to tell you my name?” asked Attila.

  Gesa smiled.

  “I think it was so confusing for both of us to realise that our love for each other is far greater than anything we could ever possess.”

  “And I was ready to run away with you if my Papa would not allow me to marry you,” murmured Attila.

  The King laughed.

  “You are not to worry any further. I now give my blessing with the greatest pleasure to the son of my oldest friend. I only make one demand on my dearest daughter.”

  “What is that?”

  “When you produce a son,” he replied, “which will certainly prevent your cousin from troubling you any more, I can be his Godfather and you will christen him with my name.”

  Attila realised he was asking this favour because he had no son himself.

  “I think, Papa, that as our two counties are joined to each other, you will be able to help Gesalo – as I must now call him – and he and I will come and help you.”

  “That is exactly what I would like, otherwise I may be very lonely.”

  “You will never be lonely, Papa, and if we join our two countries, our children, and I think God will give us a great number, will have two wonderful places to play in.”

  She could see clearly from the intense expression in her father’s eyes how much this meant to him.

  “I think, Papa, you must send a very large gift of gratitude to the Shrine of St. Janos. I feel that all this has happened because I went on a pilgrimage to him.”

  “And I will double whatever you give,” the Prince added. “Although I did not pray at the venerable Shrine, I have prayed ever since I met Attila that she would be mine. Now my prayers have been answered.”

  The King put his hand on Gesalo’s shoulder.

  “I cannot tell you how happy I am that all this has happened. How soon do you want to be married?”

  “Tonight or tomorrow,” replied the Prince.

  The King laughed.

  “That is far too quick. But I do understand with the problems over your cousin and that your father – God bless him – might die at any moment, the marriage should not be delayed.”

  “That is what we both want.”

  “And that is what you shall have, Gesalo, and as it is nearly time for luncheon, I will go and give my orders that it must be a very special meal.”

  He touched his daughter’s cheek very tenderly and then he walked across the room and opened the door.

  Attila knew he was tactfully leaving them alone for a moment.

  It would enable them to recover from the surprise and shock of learning the truth of who they both were and that their positions in life were very different to what either of them expected.

  Gesalo put his arm around Attila and drew her close to him.

  “Only your father would be so understanding as to let me kiss you. Not as an unknown man, but as a Prince who has gained through the mercy of God the one and only woman in the world to make him happy.”

  “If you are grateful, I feel the same. I was so afraid that Papa would send you away and that I would have to marry someone like that dreadful Prince Otto.”

  The Prince made a sound of disgust.

  Then he pulled her against him.

  “There has never been any question of you being married to anyone but me and just because you are so very beautiful, my darling, I shall be wildly jealous of any man you meet and of any man you speak to!

  “After all is said and done I have been searching for thousands of years for you and now I have found you, I am never going to let you out of my sight for a single minute!”

  Attila would have replied to his wonderful words of love, but his lips held hers captive.

  Now he was kissing her in the same way he had last night.

  But this time it was more demanding, because he was so happy that she was his.

  Attila felt the same.

  She had been so frightened in case he would be sent away and she knew that if that happened her heart would have gone with him and she would never find love again.

  ‘I love you, I adore you,’ her whole body was crying out as he kissed her and went on kissing her.

  For a moment he raised his head.

  “How can you make me feel like this?” he asked. “I adore and worship you. When we are married it will be like Heaven to be living with you.”

  Then he was kissing her again.

  This was Love.

  The true love of Father Jozsef, St. Janos and God Himself.

  Attila knew their love would increase and multiply as the years went by.

  They would never lose each other or the love which had joined them.

  Either in this world or in the many worlds to come.

  Where to buy other titles in this series

  The Barbara Cartland Pink collection is available for download at the following online bookshops :-

  www.barnesandnoble.com - epub format for the Nook eReader

  www.whsmith.co.uk - epub format for the Smiths/Kobo eReader

  www.firstyfish.com - epub format

  ebookstore.sony.com - epub format for Sony eReaders

  www.amazon.co.uk - For UK Kindle users

  www.amazon.com - For international Kindle users

  itunes.apple.com - for Apple iOS users

  www.barbaracartland.com - Printed paperbacks

 

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