The Mountain of Love Read online

  She had in fact sometimes been successful with her father, but he was usually too busy to play games of that sort with her.

  Now she told herself severely that she must be calm and sensible.

  She would try to convey a message to Christopher by the power of thought.

  She was now in complete darkness, but, when she felt round the walls, she found that there was a small platform at the end of the cell.

  She supposed it was meant as a bed and it had a rough blanket on it, which she hoped was clean, especially if it had to cover her at night.

  But for the moment it made a comfortable seat and so she sat down gratefully.

  Then, clasping her hands together as in prayer, she attempted to send a message to Christopher and at the same time imagining his handsome face gazing at her.

  “Come to me! Please save me! Save me!” she called out over and over again.

  She felt, as she concentrated, that she could almost see him.

  He looked so tall and distinguished amongst all the shorter Nepalese last night.

  Then she could see him as he had been this morning, listening while she explained to him the manuscripts she had taken from the shelves in the Monastery.

  He had apparently been just as impressed with them as she was.

  ‘It was kind of him to take so much trouble for me,’ she thought. ‘I have always longed to go inside a Monastery and see the ancient manuscripts that are so precious to the monks.’

  Some contained prayers and some of them described the mountains that towered above the Monastery. A number were written about the lives of the Gods, who were as real to the Nepalese as their own people.

  What was more significant still were the manuscripts on Buddhism.

  Kayla remembered that it was believed that the Lord Buddha was reputedly born in Lumbini and it was Buddha, Kayla felt, who would save her now.

  He was a natural protector of those who were good and fiercely opposed to those who were evil.

  She prayed fervently to the Lord Buddha and then again she tried to send a message to Christopher.

  Equally it was very terrifying to be left in complete darkness and she had no idea how long she would have to stay here in captivity.

  In a panic she cried out,

  “Save me! Oh, do save me, Christopher! I am so frightened, very very frightened!”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  The jeweller took a long time finding the right boxes for the jewels and then took much longer packing them up.

  Christopher waited impatiently, wandering round the shop and wondering if there was anything else he could buy for Kayla.

  The jeweller next began to tot up the bill and this took even longer and, as might well have been expected, he got his sums wrong.

  Christopher corrected the man’s primitive arithmetic and not surprisingly the mistake was in the jeweller’s favour.

  When he finally paid and carried the parcel of jewels from the shop, he looked for Kayla and found that there was no sign of anywhere.

  He looked up and down the street.

  There were a number of people walking about, but no sign of her.

  He seemed to remember that when she had gone out of the shop she had turned to the right.

  He walked past all the shops that Kayla had looked at.

  Still she was missing and he had sent the carriage back to the hotel.

  It was then that he began to feel really worried.

  As he stood looking from right to left and in front of him, a platoon of Ghurkhas marched by.

  This gave him an idea.

  He then hailed one of the strange-looking Nepalese carriages that were parked in the square hoping to be engaged by a tourist.

  As he stepped inside it, he ordered the driver,

  “Take me to the Barracks.”

  The man whipped up his horse.

  They circled the square and passed a parade ground where there were a number of Ghurkhas drilling.

  When they reached the Barracks, Christopher asked for the Commanding Officer.

  When he gave his name, he was taken at once to an office.

  An Officer covered in medals and decorations was seated at a desk and, when the Viscount Roth was announced, he rose and held out his hand.

  “I hoped that we would meet again, my Lord,” he said.

  Christopher recalled that he had been introduced to him last night in the Residency.

  However, he had no time for gossip, so he sat down and told the Officer that Kayla was missing and that he was extremely worried in case something untoward had happened to her.

  “I am very thankful, my Lord,” the Officer replied, “that you came to me at once. This has been going on for some time.”

  “What has?” Christopher asked him sharply.

  “To put it to you bluntly, my Lord, tourists are being kidnapped here in Katmandu, usually a young woman or a child.”

  Christopher stiffened, but did not say anything.

  “They are locked up and kept prisoner until dark,” the Officer continued, “and then the kidnapper goes to wherever the family is staying. He says he knows what has happened and, while he strongly disapproves of it himself, the family must realise that the kidnapper will not give up the woman or child without payment of a large sum of money.”

  This was what Christopher had been half expecting and was confirming his worse fears.

  “He can arrange this for them secretly,” the Officer went on, “but they must understand that, as he has to live in Katmandu, no one must know that he has helped them for his own safety.”

  “I can see it is a clever if extremely crooked scheme,” the Viscount commented wryly.

  “Invariably, the family pays up. Then the victims are released and, because the family is so glad to have them back, they leave Katmandu without notifying me or anyone else of what has occurred.”

  “Then what on earth can we do?” Christopher asked, feeling seriously concerned for Kayla.

  “I have here a list of men we suspect are kidnapping tourists in this manner. As you have told me the street where your wife disappeared, I can look and see who we suspect is working in that area.”

  “I am exceedingly grateful to you,” Christopher said, “and can it be done as quickly as possible?” The Officer smiled.

  “I can assure you, my Lord, that our men have a reputation for swiftness and resourcefulness.”

  Christopher remembered that the Ghurkhas were well known as being the most quick-moving and hard-fighting soldiers in the world.

  The Officer sent for a Sergeant-Major and gave him some orders.

  A few minutes later, when Christopher went outside with the Officer, there were a number of Ghurkhas waiting for them.

  They came to attention and the Officer gave further orders to the Sergeant-Major.

  He then suggested,

  “Follow behind, my Lord, but keep at a distance so it does not appear that you could be connected in any way with the platoon of Ghurkhas.”

  “I understand,” said Christopher.

  He told the man driving the vehicle he had hired to put up the hood and this covered the back seat of the carriage, so that he could hardly be seen by anyone walking along the streets.

  It took them a little while to drive back to the place where he and Kayla had been shopping.

  The Ghurkhas inspected first an alleyway between two shops and then only the Sergeant-Major and two of his men ventured deep into the alley.

  When they came out, they shook their heads and then they marched across the road to where a little further down on the other side was the jeweller’s shop that Christopher had visited.

  They did not go as far as that, but stopped at another shop.

  This was the one Kayla had noticed, selling whips, saddles, fishing rods and golf clubs, in fact everything that would be of some interest to a sporting gentleman.

  It was then that Christopher was almost certain that he could sense Kayla calling to him.r />
  He had experienced the same strange feeling when he had driven to the Barracks and he had thought then it could only be his imagination.

  Now he was absolutely sure that wherever she was she was concentrating on him and calling out for him.

  The Sergeant-Major and the two men with him were walking down a dark passage.

  As they did so, Christopher was suddenly aware that in front of them there was a man running away as fast as his legs would carry him.

  The Sergeant-Major held up his hand and the rest of the Ghurkhas, who were outside the shop, rushed in.

  Christopher was certain that they had found someone who might know what had happened to Kayla.

  He climbed out of the carriage and walked along the pavement and now he could see what was happening.

  There was obviously a scuffle going on at the far end of the alley and a few seconds later, a man was caught and handcuffed by the two Ghurkhas so that he was unable to struggle any further.

  The Sergeant-Major searched his pockets and drew out a large key.

  As Christopher came to join them, he said in broken English,

  “Find cell – where lady prisoned.”

  Christopher took the key from him.

  He had noticed as he walked down the passage that there was only one door leading off it.

  Just as if he was being guided by an invisible hand, he retraced his steps.

  He fitted the key into the keyhole of the door.

  *

  The walls of the cell were very thick and yet Kayla thought that she had heard noises outside as if people were passing by.

  She was still crouched over the makeshift bed, feeling desperately alone at the far end of the cell.

  She was now sending up a prayer to the Lord Buddha, as well as yet another cry from her heart to Christopher for help.

  Suddenly she heard a muffled click that sounded like the turning of a key.

  A moment later the door swung open.

  She was just able to make out the outline of a man. For a moment she thought it was her captor. Then a voice called out softly in the darkness,

  “Kayla!”

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

  She jumped up at once and then ran across the cell throwing herself against Christopher.

  “You – have – come,” she gasped out incoherently. “I have – been so – terribly frightened.”

  Christopher’s arms were round her.

  “It’s all right, Kayla, I have found you.”

  “Take me – away, please – take me away.” He was aware that she was crying.

  He took her up in his arms and carried her back to the street.

  He saw that the Sergeant-Major and his platoon of Ghurkhas with their prisoner were watching them go.

  He lifted Kayla into the carriage.

  As he did so, he told the man to drive them to the hotel and, as he joined her, he put his arms round her and held her close against him.

  “You – came to me and I was – praying that you – would,” Kayla stammered in a broken little voice.

  “I heard you, my darling, I heard you loud and clear.”

  Bending his head, he kissed her gently on her lips.

  For a brief moment, Kayla could not believe it was happening.

  Then, as Christopher kissed her again and went on kissing her, she felt as if she melted into him.

  It was the most wonderful feeling she had ever had in her whole life. He tenderly kissed her lips, her wet eyes and the tears on her cheeks.

  Then he kissed her lips again.

  It was impossible for Kayla to say anything.

  She could only think that the sky had fallen down on her and that the sunshine was burning in her breast.

  Only when the carriage turned in at the hotel did she murmur,

  “I cannot – let anyone – see me.”

  She had left her hat behind and despite Christopher’s burning kisses, she knew that there were still tears on her cheeks.

  He drew some money from his pocket and, when a servant opened the door of the carriage, he told him to give it to the driver.

  He also handed him the parcel of jewels.

  Then he jumped out of the carriage and, when Kayla began to follow him, he lifted her down.

  “Hide your face against my shoulder,” he said, so that only she could hear, “and I will take you straight upstairs to our rooms.”

  Kayla did as she was told.

  She thought, as he carried her, how strong he was and how light she seemed in his arms.

  Christopher took her into her bedroom and pushed the door to behind them.

  Then he sat her down on the bed and kissed her again.

  “You are safe now, my darling,” he sighed. “This will never happen again.”

  “I was so – terrified you would never find me – and perhaps go away without me.”

  “How could you ever think of anything so foolish? I nearly went mad when I guessed that something terrible had happened to you and then I went to the Barracks to ask the Gurkhas to help me find you.”

  “I was praying so hard – you would come and was trying to tell you – where I was.”

  “I heard you incredibly clearly, it’s almost impossible to believe it.

  He was sitting on the bed beside Kayla, but now he rose.

  “Don’t – leave me,” she turned to him quietly. “I am – still frightened.”

  “I have no intention of doing so, my darling, but I am going to find you a glass of champagne. In fact I think we both deserve one.”

  “I only want to – be with – you,” whispered Kayla.

  “Jump into bed,” Christopher said. “I will only be a few minutes.”

  As he spoke, he undid the back of the cotton dress she was wearing and then he went into their private sitting room that adjoined their bedroom.

  Kayla felt that, if she remained dressed, she might in some evil way be spirited out the room by another kidnapper.

  She therefore did as Christopher had told her.

  She slipped out of her dress and put on a pretty blue nightgown that was lying on the bed.

  She pulled the sheets over her.

  Then she became half-afraid that Christopher had after all left her.

  Even as she thought she must call him, he came back into the room, carrying two glasses of champagne.

  She saw he was wearing his dark robe that meant he had changed.

  He put a glass of champagne into her hand.

  Then he crossed the room to lock the door out into the corridor.

  “Drink every drop,” he urged her, “and you will feel much better.”

  “I am already better – because you saved me,” Kayla sighed. “How could you have found me – when there are so many alleyways in Katmandu and I was foolish enough to go down one on my own?”

  “Why did you do so?” Christopher now asked her.

  “I was looking for a present to buy for you – ” “There is only one present I could ever want from you, my darling one,” he murmured.

  H took off his robe and climbed into bed beside her.

  He pulled her close against him.

  “I love you, my precious darling,” he said softly, “but I have to know what you feel about me.”

  “I love you – I love you, Christopher. I knew when I was trapped in that horrible cell – that I wanted you not only to save me, but – because I love you so much.”

  She hid her face for a moment against his neck and added in a whisper,

  “I think perhaps – I have loved you for a long time, but I did not know – it was love.”

  “And I love you, Kayla” he breathed. “I have loved you ever since I saw you looking like Aphrodite.”

  “I was wearing – nothing,” Kayla mumbled shyly.

  “You looked so beautiful and so perfect I knew that I could never lose you.”

  His lips moved over her cheek, as he added,

  “I
have found the love I have always been looking for and which has come to me when I least expected it.”

  “Is – this really – true?” Kayla asked him. “Or am I – dreaming?”

  “We are both dreaming, and that, my precious one, is what we will go on doing for the rest of our lives together.”

  “I love you. I love you, Christopher,” Kayla cried. “How could I imagine this could ever happen when we were married in that horrible way?”

  Christopher did not answer.

  He began to kiss her not so gently but possessively.

  He knew she was beginning to respond to the burning fire she had lit within him.

  He had been aware of the fire for a long time and had found it difficult to understand exactly what was happening to him.

  But he knew he had to make Kayla love him before he could ever think of touching her.

  Now the sublime wonder of their love was moving inside them both.

  It was like the burning sun that was turning the snow on the heights of the mountains to crimson.

  Christopher could feel Kayla trembling against him.

  Not with fear but with the intensity of their love.

  When he made her his, they felt as if the sun not only enveloped them, but rose within them like a searing flame.

  A long time later, as they were lying contentedly in each other’s arms, Christopher suggested,

  “I think, my darling, you should have something to eat. What I have ordered will be waiting for us in the sitting room.”

  “I am far too happy to be hungry,” Kayla answered. “I always believed that love was wonderful, but nothing could be as perfect and as heavenly as ours.”

  “That is what I feel too, Kayla, and it is something, my precious darling, that will grow and grow and become more intense day by day.”

  He did not wait for her to answer.

  He kissed her again passionately so that she felt as if the sunshine was once again moving within her breasts.

  Christopher lifted his head.

  “Put on your dressing gown, my darling, and come through to the sitting room.” He climbed out of the bed and went out of the room leaving the door open.

  Kayla quickly put on her pretty pink negligee that had belonged to her mother.

  She tidied her hair, as Christopher had taken out her hairpins and it was falling over her shoulders like a cascade.