Danger in the Desert Read online

  “I have thought it over for some time and I have come to the conclusion, Arthur, that there is only one way to make Royden see any sense. And that is to force him, however unpleasant it may be for him, into marriage.”

  Lord Waverstone sighed.

  He had heard this before and he was quite certain that Royden would fight every inch of the way to remain single and unattached.

  “I have therefore decided,” the Earl said, speaking slowly and distinctly, “that the only possibility of making Royden see sense is to make him marry your daughter.”

  Lord Waverstone jumped and for a brief moment his coffee was in danger of being spilt.

  As he put it down, he exclaimed,

  “Marry Malva! My dear Edward, I am sure it’s the last thing Royden would ever want to do and I am almost certain that Malva would feel the same about him.”

  He hesitated for a moment before he added,

  “After all she is only twenty. Because my wife was ill for so long she has not really been a debutante in the full meaning of the word. And she has only come to London occasionally instead of having a Season here as she should do.”

  “But now poor Edith is dead,” the Earl said, “Malva will undoubtedly come to London and a great number of young men will find her charming and beautiful. Then, as far as I am concerned, she will be lost to both me and my son.”

  It suddenly struck Lord Waverstone for the first time that it would be, as far as he was concerned, a perfect marriage if Malva would agree to it.

  The two estates would join each other and the estate that had been in the Earl’s family for so many generations was treble the size of Lord Waverstone’s.

  Also Hillingwood Towers, which had been in the possession of the family since the reign of Queen Elizabeth was not only magnificent but contained some of the most famous pictures to be seen anywhere in the country.

  He could imagine that most girls would jump at the opportunity of being married to Royden however difficult he might be at times.

  But Malva was different from other young women.

  She had already said to her father that she had no intention of getting married quickly as most of her friends were anxious to do.

  She was perfectly content to be at home with him, especially when she could ride his horses and that would please her far more than dancing at endless London parties or trotting up and down Rotten Row in some fashionable and expensive outfit.

  Because he so enjoyed the company of his daughter when he was at home and, because she had been so very attentive to her mother until she died, Lord Waverstone had not concerned himself greatly with the thought of his daughter marrying or if she would make a good choice when it came to the point.

  Now he could not help thinking that nothing could be so satisfactory as the Royden marrying Malva.

  They could then join the two estates together and they would be the most envied couple in the whole of the Social world.

  Although Lord Waverstone was well off and had no reason to worry, he was not in the same field as his friend, the Earl of Hillingwood.

  He was undoubtedly one of the richest men in the country and his horses, which won so many classic races, were superb.

  Yet he had in fact never thought for one moment that his friend’s son, who was the most sought after and educated young man in the whole of London, should marry his daughter.

  It was not only the difference in their ages that had blinded him to the fact of how suitable such a marriage could be.

  It was also because he had always thought of Malva as a child and he had not really ever considered her to be of marriageable age.

  Yet she would be twenty-one in two months’ time.

  It struck him as it had never done before that he should by now have had her presented at Court.

  And she should certainly take her place among the debutantes who attended all the parties in the Season and made sure they received a great deal of attention whenever they appeared in public.

  Because of his wife’s protracted illness and now her death, Lord Waverstone had been in the country since Malva had left school.

  She had seemed totally happy riding her father’s horses and attending to her mother who she adored.

  When he had left home this morning in answer to the letter from his friend asking to meet him at White’s Club, he had never for one moment thought that this was the reason why the Earl wanted to see him so urgently.

  Yet now he could not help feeling again that it was a proposition that could well be of considerable advantage to his daughter and to him.

  “Well, Edward, what do you want me to do?” he now asked.

  “I want you to talk to Malva in the same way I will talk to Royden and we will make it clear to both of them that this is their destiny and we do not wish to argue about it.”

  Lord Waverstone could not help thinking that while he was uncertain of Malva’s attitude he was quite sure that Royden, who only liked older women and those who were married, would take up a very different one.

  There was no doubt that he was talked about by every gossip in London.

  But they had to admit that while he was attracted to the most beautiful women in the Beau Monde his affaires-de-coeur never lasted long.

  In fact by the time the husband in question began to get angry and talked about having a duel, young Royden had already moved on to someone else and was no longer a menace.

  Aloud Lord Waverstone remarked,

  “I can understand, Edward, that you are anxious for Royden have a family. Equally you would not wish him to be unhappy or worse still to have a divorce.”

  The Earl held up his hands in horror.

  “There has never been a divorce in my family since we first became of note in the reign of King Canute. And I will make certain that it does not happen in this century at any rate!”

  “So what do you want me to do?” Lord Waverstone asked again.

  “I want you to talk to your daughter and, as we have a house party coming to the races that I have arranged for next week, you must bring her, looking charming as she always does. I am sure that after I have spoken to Royden that there will be no more difficulties.”

  Lord Waverstone thought that there might easily be a great many of them.

  First of all Royden would refuse to marry Malva or any other girl who was, in his opinion, too young and inexperienced to be of any interest to him.

  But he knew that it was no use whatever saying so to the Earl, who was determined to have his own way as usual.

  It was obvious that once and for all he wanted to provide his family with the heir it needed to carry on his illustrious lineage.

  Aloud Lord Waverstone said,

  “Of course I will do, Edward. At the same time I think you should be tactful about this proposed marriage. It’s not going to be easy for Royden, who is having such a good time, to settle down. I cannot help thinking that he has no idea that Malva is as old as she is and in point of fact now grown up and a young lady.”

  “We have to make both my son and your daughter do as they are told,” the Earl insisted. “I will speak to Royden before we go down to the country and make it very clear to him that he is to do his duty and that is to marry and have children.”

  One again Lord Waverstone was thinking that there were a great many problems about this proposition from his old friend and neighbour.

  But he thought it was no use him arguing in support of Royden, but leave him to do his own fighting, which he was sure he was capable of doing.

  “I will certainly do what I can, Edward,” he said, “But I have a feeling that it will be more difficult than you think. You must therefore use a great deal of patience and it would be a great mistake for either of us to start fighting with our children.”

  As he spoke, he saw the Earl’s lips tighten and he knew that, because he was so determined to have his own way, he was quite prepared to fight for it if it became at all necessary.

  “Now, Edwa
rd, I must be getting back to the House of Lords,” he said. “There is a very important motion this afternoon which I have to discuss with Her Majesty the Queen and there are certain people I have to see before it actually takes place.”

  “I quite understand,” the Earl replied. “But I will expect you at The Towers on Thursday night for dinner at our usual time of eight o’clock.”

  He paused before he added,

  “Actually, now I think about it, it would be a good idea for you to stay the night.”

  Lord Waverstone turned to look at him in surprise.

  “But we are less than a mile away,” he pointed out.

  “Yes, but there is always the endless fuss of having a carriage waiting and you cannot keep the horses up too long. No, you stay with me, Arthur. It will be easier then for the two young people to get to know each other better than they do at present.”

  “It seems extraordinary as we live so near that they don’t know each other better,” Lord Waterstone said. “At the same time you must be patient, Edward, and realise that the marriage of my daughter is a very serious matter and she may not wish to leave me so soon after her mother’s unfortunate death.”

  “I can well understand that,” the Earl replied. “But, as she is very pretty, it would be a great mistake for her to be snatched up by another man who would not be able to offer her anything as prestigious as Royden can.”

  Lord Waverstone knew that this was the truth and so he thought it a mistake to argue over the matter.

  “We will naturally be delighted to be your guests, Edward,” he replied.

  “As it is so important for Malva to look her best,” the Earl said, “I think you should persuade her not to wear black but white. As she is so young it is permissible in the circumstances and will not have the depressing effect that a black dress of mourning always has on a young woman at a ball.”

  “That is very sensible of you,” Lord Waverstone said. “I am sure that, as we are in the country, she need not at any time appear in mourning, although I am sure that she will not wish to wear very bright colours.”

  He only hoped that his daughter had the right sort of clothes that were not black to wear at the Earl’s house party.

  There was no point in discussing it with the Earl as he invariably expected his orders to be obeyed at once. And he therefore became irritated if crossed in any way.

  ‘I am sure that Malva will be all right one way or another,’ he thought, as he rose to his feet and said,

  “Goodbye Edward. We will come to you, if it is all right, on Wednesday night. And, if your party is arriving on Thursday, it would be a good idea for the young people to get to know each other before there is any question of any of your guests having an idea of what you are now planning.”

  “We are planning,” the Earl countered firmly. “It is absolutely essential that we don’t waste any time but marry them off as soon as we possibly can.”

  It did pass through Lord Waverstone’s mind that such haste would appear most unfeeling when his wife had only been dead for six months.

  Queen Victoria had made rules for mourning to be extended to as long as a year and from Her Majesty’s point of view it would be totally impossible for the daughter of a deceased woman not to wear black and nothing but black for at least twelve months.

  But, as he told himself, this was surely exceptional circumstances and the Earl had to bring off this marriage before any more time was wasted in case he was no longer there to direct events with his usual rod of iron.

  Lord Waverstone rose to his feet.

  “I will look forward to seeing you on Wednesday, Edward. I can only hope that everything will go as you want it to, but young people have minds of their own, you know.”

  “Then they should be taught to do as they are told,” the Earl said sharply. “That is absolutely vital as far as my son is concerned.”

  Lord Waverstone did not then volunteer an opinion about his daughter Malva’s reaction to the idea and it was something he had not thought about before.

  Of course as she had been brought up in the shadow of The Towers, so to speak, it was very obvious that she was extremely impressed by the beauty of the house and all its precious treasures.

  Also he knew that the one thing that attracted her to it more than anything else were the horses.

  Although he himself had spent quite a considerable amount of money on buying the best horseflesh available, he knew that he could not compete in any way with those that belonged to his friend, the Earl.

  ‘But I can hardly ask my daughter to marry a man because he has good horses,’ he told himself, ‘but, as every woman seems to fall head over heels in love with Royden immediately, there is no reason why Malva should not do the same.’

  The idea cheered him up as he later drove towards Windsor Castle.

  He had in fact found it rather difficult to listen to the motion in the House of Lords the Queen wanted him to report to her on, for the simple reason he kept thinking of what the Earl had said to him at White’s.

  However, he could only tell himself that no woman, old or young, could help being impressed by The Towers and all women found Royden an irresistible lover.

  At the same time before he reached Windsor Castle he was feeling that, whatever happened in the near future, it was not going to be as his friend, the Earl, anticipated.

  *

  The Earl, driving back from White’s to his house in Park Lane was thinking over what he would say to his son.

  How he must be absolutely firm in his decision that he was to stop playing around and settle down as a married man.

  ‘He can take over The Towers,’ the Earl thought, ‘and I will go North to Scotland to my house there which I have always found most comfortable. The grouse shooting and fishing are certainly better than anything we have in the South.’

  He was so busy working things out as he wanted them to be that it was with a start he realised that he was outside his house in Park Lane.

  As the Earl now stepped out of his carriage, a horse drew up ridden by his son, who had just returned at that moment from Rotten Row.

  The two of them walked up the steps together and in through the front door.

  “I want to speak to you, Royden,” the Earl said as soon as they were inside, “so come now into the study.”

  “I am in rather a hurry, Papa,” he replied. “I have a luncheon engagement and I must change my clothes. You know how angry a hostess can become if her guests arrive late.”

  “I have the idea, Royden, that your luncheon party consists of just two people. You must therefore excuse me if I take up a little of your time.”

  Royden laughed.

  “You always hit the nail on the head, Papa, and you have done so again. She is very pretty and has a wit which most English women lack. In case you are curious, I will tell you that she is French and only arrived in London from Paris two days ago. But I am seeing her for dinner and she will not be at the luncheon party.”

  By the time he had finished speaking, Royden was half way up the stairs and the Earl knew that it would be impossible to stop him.

  “Very well,” he now said, “if you must keep your engagements, I will not prevent you from doing so. But I wish to speak to you as soon as you can tear yourself away and come back here. It is very important!”

  “I will do my best,” Royden shouted, as he reached the landing. “But I make no false promises, Papa.”

  He had disappeared into his room before the Earl could reply.

  A little later he heard his voice in the hall and knew he was setting off again to meet some pretty Frenchwoman who certainly was a newcomer to his tally of beauties.

  *

  It was in fact not until the following day that the Earl had his serious talk with his son.

  During which time the whole scenario had been going over and over in his mind.

  Finally on the Monday as they were to leave on the Wednesday for the country for the party which
was to be at The Towers before the race meeting, Royden joined his father in his study in the middle of the afternoon.

  “I am home early,” he said, “because the luncheon party I went to was spoilt by having too many people. The majority of them being conversational bores, who talked on and on without pausing and at the end of it all had said nothing but a lot of hot air.”

  The Earl laughed.

  “I know exactly what you mean, Royden. But what I have to say to you is very different and a matter I have been trying to bring to your attention for several days.”

  “I do know, Papa, and you must forgive me, but I never seem to have a moment to myself when I am in London. In point of fact at almost every party I go to there are hostesses reproaching me because I have not been to theirs or left almost before I arrived.”

  He threw himself down in one of the easy chairs as he spoke.

  The Earl had to admit that he was an extremely good-looking young man.

  Because he was so active he was thin and perfectly proportioned.

  He was over six feet tall and his square shoulders seemed to accentuate his exceedingly handsome face.

  It was not surprising, the Earl thought to himself, that so many women fell in love with him. He had only to look in their direction and they were ready to run into his arms.

  “Now what is it, Papa?” Royden asked. “And if I have offended you in any way, then I am more than ready to apologise before you say anything more.”

  “You have not offended me,” his father replied. “I only want you to think seriously about your future.”

  He was aware as he spoke that his son stiffened as if he sensed what was coming.

  The Earl went on somewhat quickly,

  “As you will doubtless remember, I have spoken to you before about you getting married, but it is essential that you should do so now. Therefore I have chosen your wife for you.”

  “Chosen a wife for me!” Royden exclaimed. “But that is most unfair, Papa. After all I have to marry her, not you!”

  “Just let me explain to you what I have planned,” the Earl carried on, ignoring his son’s hostile reaction.

  Because he anticipated what was coming, there was a wary look in Royden’s eyes as he sat up a little more in the chair.