A Dangerous Disguise Read online

  "How did you know where to come?"

  "Luckily my two spies saw them take you. Joan chased the carriage on a bicycle that she seems to have 'borrowed' from a policeman. She got far enough to tell me your direction."

  "I must thank them both. I realise now that I had the clue all the time. The people I saw in the crowd were men. It didn't worry me because I thought you sent them, but they must have been watching me to make sure what I looked like."

  "You mean that you never saw Mildred and Joan?"

  "I bumped into them outside the hotel, but I didn't know who they were until you told me tonight. Then I realised something was wrong. I was going to tell you when you came back from the Queen."

  The Duke groaned.

  "I'll never take my eyes off you again."

  When they reached Buckingham Palace, Anthony and Jack rejoined them, the three men walking so that nobody could get near Ola. Together they approached Her Majesty's dais.

  Prince Victor was still there, but now he was with the Queen, pouring out an unstoppable stream of words. Strangely, for one who had declared herself bored by this man, Queen Victoria made no attempt to silence him. The few remarks she offered seemed designed to keep him talking, and the Duke realised that his Sovereign and godmother was exerting herself to assist him.

  He was sure of it a few moments later when the Prince said,

  "I fear I grow tedious. I will leave Your Majesty now."

  "Stay where you are," the Queen demanded imperiously. "I am intrigued by your conversation and wish to hear more. You haven't yet told me about Ivan the Terrible."

  "But Your Majesty, I have told you all about Ivan the Terrible."

  "I forget. Start again."

  Trapped, he looked about him, unable to depart in defiance of the royal command, yet eager to be off to the Thames, to take his prize down the river and out to sea, where a Russian warship was waiting.

  Just a little longer, he promised himself.

  Then his eyes fell on Ola.

  He knew it was her, for his agents who had been watching her for days had pointed her out to him when he arrived earlier that evening.

  But he couldn't believe his eyes.

  He blinked.

  Then he swallowed as he realised what this meant.

  The Queen had followed his gaze and seen the Duke and Ola standing there. Her face lit up with a smile that was relief as much as pleasure.

  "My dear children, there you are! How naughty of you to vanish like that! You've missed such a fascinating talk by Prince Victor Paskevich. Come and meet him."

  He was the last man in the world that Ola wanted to meet, but by now she had recovered her nerve enough to look him in the eye and enjoy his dismay.

  "Such a pleasure to meet you, Prince," she murmured. "I always felt sure that our paths would cross one day, and now they have. What a pity that our acquaintance couldn't have been longer. Not a pity for me, of course. But a great pity for you."

  He understood her. He gobbled like a turkey cock.

  The Duke clapped him on the back with dreadful heartiness.

  "I'm sure Her Majesty will release you now, old chap, won't you ma'am?"

  "Of course. But only with the greatest reluctance," Queen Victoria said, amused.

  Her little eyes twinkled. She was enjoying herself.

  "So why don't you get off to your ship on the Thames?" the Duke went on. "The Captain wants to have a word with you. And when you get home, empty handed, I dare say the Czar would like a word with you, too."

  Prince Victor's face was ghastly. He began to stammer.

  "England – a lovely country – I have often thought – I might – settle here – "

  "Goodbye, Prince Victor," said Queen Victoria implacably.

  He tottered away.

  Smiling, the Queen turned to Ola, who dropped a deep curtsey.

  "No, come here, my dear," she said, holding out her arms.

  When she had hugged Ola soundly, she said to the Duke,

  "Well done, John."

  "And thank you, ma'am, for your invaluable assistance in keeping him here," he said, grinning. "It was a noble effort."

  "I'm glad you appreciate it. I don't know when I've suffered so much."

  "Ivan the Terrible?"

  "And the flooding of the Volga," she said with a shudder. "Never mind. I hope never to see him again. Now listen, I have some excellent news. I expect you've heard the rumours from Oltenitza."

  "That the royal family has been rescued, ma'am?"

  "Yes. It's definite. A group of English soldiers, travelling incognito, did most of the business, but they were helped by the people, who rose against the Russian troops. The whole family is safe, including the Princesses Flaviola and Helola."

  "Then it's over?" Ola asked eagerly.

  "Yes, my dear. Soon everyone will know that the family is free, and I think you should vanish at once."

  "She's going to," said the Duke. "If I may have your permission to leave, ma'am, I would like to take her to Camborne Park, where she will stay until our wedding." "So I should hope."

  "We shall marry quietly, in the little chapel there, and be away from London for some time."

  "To give people a chance to forget they saw her in another incarnation," the Queen agreed. "Very wise. Well, I would have liked to attend your wedding in Westminster Abbey, which is where you ought to be married. But I can see that will not be possible.

  "When you return to London I shall give a reception for you, and when people see that I accept the Duchess of Camborne, they will forget any passing resemblance to a Princess who is no longer here."

  The Duke kissed her hand.

  "Dear godmother," he said, "you are too good to me."

  "Give me a kiss," the Queen said. "You too, Ola, my dear. And may God bless you both, and make you as happy as I was with dear Albert, but for much, much longer."

  *

  They stopped at the hotel to collect Greta and the luggage. It was past midnight but nobody wanted to linger. Before dawn broke they were on their way out of London, headed for Hampshire, and Camborne Park.

  At first Greta's presence inhibited them, but gradually she nodded off in the corner, and they were able to pretend they were alone.

  The Duke took her into his arms and kissed Ola until it was difficult for either of them to breathe.

  "You grow lovelier every time I look at you," he whispered. "I'm convinced now that you're not human but someone supernatural, or perhaps an angel who has come from heaven to make me happy."

  "All I want to do," she said in a small voice, "is to make you happy, because I'm only happy when I'm with you."

  "And I'm only happy when we are together," the Duke replied. "There's no woman in the whole world who is as important to me as you are. If I were offered all the Queens and all the angels, I should not find any of them as wonderful as you."

  "I'm just an ordinary girl. Not even a Princess."

  "You are Ola. You are my love. There is nothing more wonderful than that."

  They kissed again and then she snuggled contentedly against him.

  "I'm longing for you to see my home," he said. "I think you'll love it, and the little chapel where we'll marry. The priest will receive you with open arms, because he's always been afraid I would end up marrying someone who loved me only because I was a Duke and not because I was a man."

  "You know I love you as a man," Ola answered. "I would love you if you were a crossing-sweeper. I think we've been looking for each other for a long time, although we haven't known it."

  "I knew it as soon as I saw you," he replied.

  There was silence for a few miles and then she asked,

  "Why are you frowning?"

  "I was just wondering – why a crossing- sweeper?"

  She gave a sleepy, contented laugh.

  "It was the furthest thing from a Duke that I could think of. Mind you, I think I prefer you being a Duke, and having all those lovely horses to ride."
<
br />   "Ah, you're marrying me for my horses?"

  "Well, you made them sound marvellous when you talked about them."

  "Do you remember all that?" the Duke asked.

  "I remember everything you have ever said to me,"

  Ola told him. "I want you to remember what I am going to tell you now, because it will never alter. I love you, I love you and there has never been another man in my life and there never will be."

  The Duke was very moved.

  As he kissed her he knew he had found what he thought would never be his. A true love that came from the heart, from a woman with a deep, honest soul, who loved him for himself alone, without thought of worldly advantage.

  There would never be in either of their lives anyone else of any importance.

  A week later, wearing her most beautiful white gown and some of her mother's precious jewellery, Ola was married to the man she loved in the small chapel adjacent to the Duke's great mansion.

  The chapel was filled with flowers which scented the air, as the old priest pronounced them man and wife.

  "How can it be possible that we are so happy?" the Duke asked later that evening. "How can I have been so fortunate as to find you?"

  "My whole heart and soul are yours," she said. "God brought us together and no human being will ever separate us or make us unhappy again."

  "Amen to that," the Duke replied.

  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER ONE 1887

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN