Love Joins the Clans Read online

  “Are you – really suggesting that – loving you as I do, I would be – prepared to – marry anybody else?”

  “I cannot marry you!” Tarquil said quickly. “How can I? I can only ask you again to forget me.”

  He drew in his breath.

  “I came to see you because you asked me to do so and now I am going to say ‘goodbye’, Clova. It would be best if we do not see each other again at least until you are aware of how mistaken you are in your feelings towards me.”

  As he finished speaking, Clova made a sound like an animal that has been hurt.

  Then she asked,

  “How can you be – so cruel? How can you be so – unkind? I shall never – never love – anybody but you and – I cannot possibly cope with – everything I must do here – without you.”

  “That is what you have to do.”

  “Just because of my – money? If that is all that stands between us – then as far as I am concerned I – no longer – want it.”

  She felt as if Tarquil was hardly listening to her and that if he was he did not believe what she was saying.

  Insistently she put out her hand to hold onto the lapels of his jacket.

  “Listen – to me,” she said. “That money was not mine in the first place. It was given to my mother by a man who found her – attractive and amusing for a – short time until he remembered somewhat belatedly that he had a wife and children in South Africa.”

  She paused before she forced herself to continue,

  “He was – paying for the – favours she had given him making – her, as Euan said, although I could – never think of it in that way, nothing but a – harlot.”

  Tears came into Clova’s eyes and ran down her cheeks as she went on,

  “She never – enjoyed that – money and, if you feel it is – tainted and unclean, then I will – send it to Jan Maskill’s family in Johannesburg. I am sure they will be only too – willing to take back what their father – expended on a woman they would despise.”

  The tears now blinded her eyes as she continued brokenly,

  “I was only – glad to have it because at the moment it came there was nothing – nothing – not even a few francs – between me and starvation. Now I can throw – myself on the charity of the Clan – and if they will not have me – perhaps you will – find a place for me in your home.”

  It was impossible to say anything more and, sobbing tempestuously, Clova moved to rest her head against Tarquil’s shoulder.

  His arms went round her and, as she cried so that her tears wetted the cloth of his jacket, she heard him say wonderingly,

  “Do you really love me as much as all that?”

  “I – love you so much that there is – nothing else in the – world but you,” Clova sobbed, “and – if you don’t – want me, I wish I had been – brave enough last night to – throw myself from the tower – as I thought of doing.”

  His arms tightened.

  “My ridiculous darling,” he said in a very different voice from the one that he had used before. “You must not talk like that.”

  “It – is true,” Clova insisted. “I-I cannot live – without you – whatever you may – feel about me.”

  She felt his lips on her forehead as he said,

  “It is because I love you that I am trying to do what is right and, although it is hard, to behave like a gentleman.”

  “I don’t – want you to be a – gentleman. I-I want you to be – my husband!”

  She heard Tarquil give a short laugh before he said,

  “My darling, my sweet. Is there anyone like you? I knew the moment I saw you that you were the woman I had been looking for all my life, who I thought must be merely a figment of my imagination and could not possibly exist. Then suddenly you were there and I was complete for you were the other half of myself.”

  “That is – what I feel – too,” Clova whispered.

  Now there was a faint light of hope in her eyes and Tarquil thought, as he looked down at her tear-stained cheeks and the softness of her lips, that it was impossible for any woman to be more beautiful.

  “I love you – God, how I love you!” he breathed. “But I know that what you are asking me to do is wrong.”

  “It is right – absolutely right, as far as – we are concerned!” Clova insisted. “And I have told you – if you hate – my money, we will send it back or – give it all away.”

  “That is what we will do,” Tarquil said quietly. “We will give it to those who need it and, if I can utilise it, as I should be able to do, your money will bring employment into the Highlands and it will be a blessing rather than a curse.”

  “That is what I – want it to be,” Clova cried, “and Tarquil, if I am really – as you say – the other part of you, then – everything that is – mine, including me, is yours. So how can you be so – foolish about it?”

  “I told you I have my pride,” Tarquil replied, but he was smiling.

  “And I have no pride,” Clova answered. “So – please Tarquil – please – please I beg of you, if necessary on my knees, to marry me. I love you and I will do – anything you ask of me. I want to be – your wife, I want to be – with you, I want to work – with you and have you – guard and protect me and I am not too proud to say so.”

  Tarquil did not answer.

  He only kissed her, demandingly, fiercely and possessively.

  His kisses told her without words that, although he loved her, he would always be her Master and would always be the strong authoritative person in her life.

  This was what she wanted.

  She understood that unless she surrendered herself completely and absolutely to him, he would always feel that, because of his relative poverty, he was imposing on her.

  But there was only one thing that mattered, Clova thought as he kissed her and went on kissing her.

  Nothing else in the whole world was of any consequence except that Tarquil should love her.

  She would do anything, anything he asked of her, rather than lose him.

  Although there might be difficulties ahead because of his pride and because his Clan had not the standing of hers, she knew that somehow she would be tactful and clever enough to make him forget it.

  “I love you! I love you – Tarquil!” she said aloud, when he raised his head.

  Her lips were a little bruised from his kisses, but now her eyes were shining and her cheeks were flushed.

  “You are mine,” he asserted fiercely, “mine! And no one shall take you from me. At the same time, my darling, I doubt if the McBlanes will approve of your choice of a husband.”

  “They did not worry about me in the past,” Clova replied, “and, if Uncle Rory had not died, I could have remained in exile without their giving me as much as – a thought. Now since Fate has brought me back to the Clan, I am prepared to devote my life to – their service.”

  She looked up at him and there was a note of anxiety in her voice as she went on,

  “Y-you will not mind – that Mama did not – behave very well according to people like Euan McBlane and the Elders? I am afraid too that the Elders of the McCowans may disapprove of me and think that I am not the right – wife for you.”

  “If they do, they will not say so to me,” Tarquil replied.

  Then with a faint smile he added,

  “I realise, my darling, exactly what you are saying to me and why you are saying it and I adore you for being so tactful.”

  He kissed her before he carried on,

  “But I know, as you do, that our love is greater than all the difficulties and problems that we may both have to face personally.”

  “I don’t want to – think about – them,” Clova said quickly. “I just want to think about you – and let you – manage everything.”

  “That is exactly what I intend to do,” he replied.

  He put his cheek very tenderly against hers as he said,

  “You don’t deceive me at all! Everything you s
ay makes me realise how adorable you are and at the same time that, when you want to have your own way, you are very clever about it.”

  Clova moved a little closer to him.

  “I want my own way in only one thing,” she whispered, “and that is that – you should – marry me.”

  He did not answer for a moment and she looked at him a little apprehensively.

  “I have been thinking it over,” he said after a moment, “and I feel that I should make up my own mind about you. So, my beautiful, fascinating little Chieftain, I will assert my prerogative as a man and ask you, if necessary, of course, on bended knee, if you will honour me by becoming my wife?”

  Clova gave a little cry.

  “You said it! That is what I – wanted you to – say! Oh, darling, darling Tarquil – my answer is ‘yes’. I love you! I promise I will try in – every way to make you – happy.”

  Tarquil laughed.

  “I will arrange that our Wedding will be a demonstration to the whole of Scotland that the ancient hostility between the Clans is now out of date. In celebrating our marriage we will show this by making sure that a Clansman from every Clan in the Highlands is represented.

  Clova clasped her hands together.

  “Oh, Tarquil, what a wonderful idea! Nothing could be more effective, because I am sure that everybody, wherever they live all over the world, enjoys a Wedding.”

  “And everybody loves a lover,” Tarquil added quietly. “That is what we will be, my darling, lovers now and for ever, setting an example of love and happiness to everybody we meet.”

  “Oh, Tarquil.”

  The tears were now back in Clova’s eyes, but tears of happiness and joy as she knew that he had surrendered to her insistence.

  And he was showing the initiative and authority that would be his for the rest of their lives together.

  She put up her arm to draw his head down to hers.

  “I love you – I love you!” she murmured. “There are – no other words to tell you how – wonderful you are!”

  She saw the light in his eyes and there was also a hint of fire in them.

  Then he was kissing her once again, kissing her to show her that he not only adored and worshipped her but at the same time possessed her.

  A Conqueror and a Victor after a hard battle.

  OTHER BOOKS IN THIS SERIES

  The Barbara Cartland Eternal Collection is the unique opportunity to collect as ebooks all five hundred of the timeless beautiful romantic novels written by the world’s most celebrated and enduring romantic author.

  Named the Eternal Collection because Barbara’s inspiring stories of pure love, just the same as love itself, the books will be published on the internet at the rate of four titles per month until all five hundred are available.

  The Eternal Collection, classic pure romance available worldwide for all time .

  Elizabethan Lover

  The Little Pretender

  A Ghost in Monte Carlo

  A Duel of Hearts

  The Saint and the Sinner

  The Penniless Peer

  The Proud Princess

  The Dare-Devil Duke

  Diona and a Dalmatian

  A Shaft of Sunlight

  Lies for Love

  Love and Lucia

  Love and the Loathsome Leopard

  Beauty or Brains

  The Temptation of Torilla

  The Goddess and the Gaiety Girl

  Fragrant Flower

  Look Listen and Love

  The Duke and the Preacher’s Daughter

  A Kiss for the King

  The Mysterious Maid-servant

  Lucky Logan Finds Love

  The Wings of Ecstacy

  Mission to Monte Carlo

  Revenge of the Heart

  The Unbreakable Spell

  Never Laugh at Love

  Bride to a Brigand

  Lucifer and the Angel

  Journey to a Star

  Solita and the Spies

  The Chieftain Without a Heart

  No Escape from Love

  Dollars for the duke

  Pure and Untouched

  Secrets

  Fire in the Blood

  Love, Lies and Marriage

  The Ghost who Fell in Love

  Hungry for Love

  The Wild Cry of Love

  The Blue-eyed Witch

  The Punishment of a Vixen

  The Secret of the Glen

  Bride to the King

  For All Eternity

  King in Love

  A Marriage made in Heaven

  Who can deny Love?

  Riding to the Moon

  Wish for Love

  Dancing on a Rainbow

  Gypsy Magic

  Love in the Clouds

  Count the Stars

  White Lilac

  Too Precious to Lose

  The Devil Defeated

  An Angel Runs Away

  The Duchess Disappeared

  The Pretty Horse-breakers

  The Prisoner of Love

  Ola and the Sea Wolf

  The Castle made for Love

  A Heart is Stolen

  The Love Pirate

  As Eagles Fly

  The Magic of Love

  Love Leaves at Midnight

  A Witch’s Spell

  Love Comes West

  The Impetuous Duchess

  A Tangled Web

  Love lifts the Curse

  Saved By A Saint

  Love is Dangerous

  The Poor Governess

  The Peril and the Prince

  A Very Unusual Wife

  Say Yes Samantha

  Punished with love

  A Royal Rebuke

  The Husband Hunters

  Signpost To Love

  Love Forbidden

  Gift Of the Gods

  The Outrageous Lady

  The Slaves Of Love

  The Disgraceful Duke

  The Unwanted Wedding

  Lord Ravenscar’s Revenge

  From Hate to Love

  A Very Naughty Angel

  The Innocent Imposter

  A Rebel Princess

  A Wish Comes True

  Haunted

  Passions In The Sand

  Little White Doves of Love

  A Portrait of Love

  The Enchanted Waltz

  Alone and Afraid

  The Call of the Highlands

  The Glittering Lights

  An Angel in Hell

  Only a Dream

  A Nightingale Sang

  Pride and the Poor Princess

  Stars in my Heart

  The Fire of Love

  A Dream from the Night

  Sweet Enchantress

  The Kiss of the Devil

  Fascination in France

  Love Runs In

  Lost Enchantment

  Love is Innocent

  The Love Trap

  No Darkness for Love

  Kiss from a Stranger

  The Flame Is Love

  A Touch of Love

  The Dangerous Dandy

  In Love In Lucca

  The Karma Of Love

  Magic For The Heart

  Paradise Found

  Only Love

  A Duel with Destiny

  The Heart of the Clan

  The Ruthless Rake

  Revenge is Sweet

  Fire on the Snow

  A Revolution of Love

  Love at the Helm

  Listen to Love

  Love Casts out Fear

  The Devilish Deception

  Riding in the Sky

  The Wonderful Dream

  This Time it’s Love

  The River of Love

  A Gentleman in Love

  The Island of Love

  Miracle for a Madonna

  The Storms of Love

  The Prince and the Pekingese

  The Golden Cage

  Theresa and a T
iger

  The Goddess of Love

  Alone in Paris

  The Earl Rings a Belle

  The Runaway Heart

  From Hell to Heaven

  Love in the Ruins

  Crowned with Love

  Love is a Maze

  Hidden by Love

  Love is the Key

  A Miracle in Music

  The Race for Love

  Call of the Heart

  The Curse of the Clan

  Saved by Love

  The Tears of Love

  Winged Magic

  Born of Love

  Love Holds the Cards

  A Chieftain Finds Love

  The Horizons of Love

  The Marquis Wins

  A Duke in Danger

  Warned by a Ghost

  Forced to Marry

  Sweet Adventure

  Love is a Gamble

  Love on the Wind

  Looking for Love

  Love is the Enemy

  The Passion and the Flower

  The Reluctant Bride

  Safe in Paradise

  The Temple of Love

  Love at First Sight

  The Scots Never Forget

  The Golden Gondola

  No Time for Love

  Love in the Moon

  A Hazard of Hearts

  Just Fate

  The Kiss of Paris

  Little Tongues of Fire

  Love Under Fire

  The Magnificent Marriage

  Moon over Eden

  The Dream and the Glory

  A Victory for Love

  A Princess in Distress

  A Gamble with Hearts

  Love Strikes a Devil

  In the Arms of Love

  Love in the Dark

  Love Wins

  The Marquis who Hated Women

  Love is Invincible

  Love Climbs in

  The Queen Saves the King

  The Duke Comes Home

  Love Joins the Clans

  The Power and the Prince

  THE LATE DAME BARBARA CARTLAND

  Barbara Cartland, who sadly died in May 2000 at the grand age of ninety eight, remains one of the world’s most famous romantic novelists. With worldwide sales of over one billion, her outstanding 723 books have been translated into thirty six different languages, to be enjoyed by readers of romance globally.

  Writing her first book ‘Jigsaw’ at the age of 21, Barbara became an immediate bestseller. Building upon this initial success, she wrote continuously throughout her life, producing bestsellers for an astonishing 76 years. In addition to Barbara Cartland’s legion of fans in the UK and across Europe, her books have always been immensely popular in the USA. In 1976 she achieved the unprecedented feat of having books at numbers 1 & 2 in the prestigious B. Dalton Bookseller bestsellers list.