Love, Lies and Marriage Read online

  His voice had deepened when he spoke of his wife and Teresa was aware of the pain it caused him. Then he went on quickly,

  “I want you to have the most beautiful gowns, the finest horses, in fact anything your heart desires.”

  “Darling Papa, you would say something like that!” Teresa replied, “but you have forgotten something.”

  “What is that?” Sir Hubert asked.

  “When you and Mama made me, she gave me her looks and you gave me your brain!” Sir Hubert stared at his daughter in surprise. “My brain?” he said slowly.

  “Of course that is what you have done. They said at school, first behind my back, then to my face, that I had a man’s brain, which was a mistake in a woman. And of course that is your fault.”

  Sir Hubert laughed.

  “I have been accused of many things in my life, but this is the first time I have been accused of producing a too-clever child!”

  “The trouble is, you see,” Teresa said, “I get bored when things are too easy. I need to struggle to get things right. I want to fight, as you fought, to possess what is worth having.”

  “You astound me!” he answered, “and it’s something, my dearest daughter, I have never thought about before.”

  “Well, just think,” Teresa said, “what fun it would be if I could help you to control your ships, make plans for new contracts, visit new countries, and invent new improvements. I promise you, I shall be just as good as any young man you might wish to have as your assistant!”

  Because it was something he had never anticipated and seemed almost revolutionary, Sir Hubert did not reply.

  *

  The next day, Teresa went shopping with the Dowager Countess.

  When they were alone, Sir Hubert told the Marquis what she had said to him.

  “That is certainly unusual,” the Marquis observed when he had listened. “But I suppose, Hubert, it is something you might have expected. If you had had a son, he would obviously have been brilliant, like you, and it would be impossible for any daughter of yours to have a beautiful face and nothing behind it.”

  “That is all very well,” Sir Hubert complained, “but she is bound to be critical of the men who wish to marry her.”

  “And a good thing too!” the Marquis said. “Some of these young hobbledehoys have no more brains than an earthworm and I certainly would not trust them with my money!”

  Even as he spoke, he knew he had made a mistake.

  There was a frown on his friend’s forehead as once again he was thinking of the fortune-hunters that might circle her.

  It was then, as they looked at each other, that the same thought struck both men.

  “Wellington was very pleased with Harry,” the Marquis said after a pregnant silence. “He told me that, if he had remained in the Army, he would eventually make an exceptionally fine General.”

  “But you told me he insisted upon resigning,” Sir Hubert replied.

  “That was the Army of Occupation,” the Marquis explained. “It might have been necessary. But it was bad for all those young men to have little or nothing to do and even the allurements of Paris grew stale after a while.”

  Sir Hubert did not reply.

  He was thinking that Harry had merely exchanged the allurements of one Capital for another.

  At the same time he was now twenty-seven and certainly could not be considered a fortune-hunter.

  As his Guardian, the Marquis had invested Harry’s money as well as his own on the advice of Sir Hubert.

  The Marquis was now an exceedingly rich man and, when his fortune was added to his nephew’s, there would be no reason for Harry to marry for money.

  But he must not marry an actress.

  To do so would not only break his uncle’s heart, but also be an insult to his place in the Peerage and the family he was destined to head.

  Aloud Sir Hubert spoke the words already in the Marquis’s mind.

  “We will go to Stoke Palace on Friday,” he said.

  “I will make Harry come with us,” the Marquis answered.

  *

  When she was told they were going to Stoke Palace, Teresa was delighted.

  “Do you realise, Papa,” she said, “because we always went home for the holidays, I have never seen Stoke. In my mind it has always been a Fairytale Palace and it kept recurring in my dreams.”

  “Now you will see it,” her father said, “and I am sure it will thrill you! You have no idea how hard the Marquis and I have worked to make it as perfect as it was when it was first built.”

  He realised that Teresa was listening intently and he went on,

  “We scoured England to find the furniture that had belonged there over the ages. I think you will also appreciate the picture gallery, which is the Marquis’s most precious hobby and which I am actually convinced is better than any gallery in London.”

  “I can hardly wait until Friday, so as to see it all, and by that time I shall have some of the beautiful gowns the Countess has chosen for me.”

  She laughed before she said,

  “She is so sweet to me, Papa, and says that buying my clothes is as exciting as if she was buying them for herself. Because her family was poor when she was young, they had to skimp and save for her to have just two pretty gowns in which to make her debut.”

  “But she married a rich man,” Sir Hubert remarked.

  “They fell in love with each other the very night they met,” Teresa said, “and the Countess told me how happy she was until he died last year.”

  Her voice dropped as she added,

  “I think, Papa, one of the reasons why the Marquis has asked her to chaperone me is because it has given her something else to think about besides the loss of her dear husband.”

  The compassion in Teresa’s voice was very moving and her father said,

  “Do what you can, my dearest, to cheer her up and of course we are very grateful to her for saying she will present you.”

  “I only hope I do not disappoint you, Papa,” Teresa said. “I know you have told me that I shall be a great success. It will be too humiliating if, when I do appear, nobody takes any notice of me!”

  “You need not worry about that,” Sir Hubert countered.

  Some cynical part of his brain was provoking him.

  Even if the Social world was not bowled over by Teresa’s beauty they would be thinking, as his only child, how exceedingly rich she was!

  *

  The Marquis was busy making arrangements for their visit to Stoke Palace.

  Teresa was shopping in the country and Sir Hubert went to Tattersall’s salesrooms.

  He had heard there were some very fine horses coming up for sale, but when he saw them he was not disappointed.

  He bought six without even noticing that they were extremely expensive and he arranged for them to be taken to Stoke Palace immediately.

  He thought that this would certainly be an inducement for Harry to come down for the weekend. Even if he had been thinking of doing something quite different, the horses would be an indubitable attraction.

  He was just leaving Tattersall’s when he saw a friend.

  It was Lord Charles Graham, who had told him of Harry’s intention to marry Camille Clyde. He was inspecting one of the horses that had not been in the sale.

  Sir Hubert walked across the yard and put his hand on Lord Charles’s shoulder.

  “I expected to see you here, Charles,” he began.

  “Hello, Hubert,” his friend replied. “I suppose, as I am late, you have picked all the best cherries off the tree!”

  “I shall be extremely annoyed if I have missed any!” Sir Hubert replied.

  His friend laughed.

  “I am wanting a new mount for the winter. And of course, I have arrived too late for this sale at any rate.”

  “I wanted to see you,” Sir Hubert said. “About what?” Lord Charles enquired. They walked a little to one side of the other people in the yard.

  �
�You know what you told me about Harry Lanbourne?” Sir Hubert asked. “Is it still true that he intends to marry that woman?”

  “It is funny you should say that,” his friend replied. “I was with Rosie last night. She has a small part in the play in which Camille Clyde is appearing.”

  Sir Hubert nodded.

  He knew that this was where Lord Charles had originally obtained the information about Harry.

  “Did she tell you anything new?” he asked. “She said that Camille had made up her mind to accept Harry.”

  Sir Hubert drew in his breath.

  “You are sure of that?”

  “My girlfriend is her confidante and is also very envious of her. I suppose after this it will be the ambition of every pretty creature who walks the boards to shine in the Peerage.”

  Sir Hubert was frowning and moved a little closer to his friend.

  “Now listen, Charles,” he said, “I must know if you have any idea of when this marriage might take place.”

  Charles shrugged his shoulders.

  “If my girlfriend had been aware of it, she would have told me,” he replied, “but she is absolutely certain that Camille is now determined to marry young Lanbourne. If you ask my opinion, I think he is a fool!”

  “So do I,” Sir Hubert agreed heartily.

  He did not waste any more time, but hurried away from Tattersall’s.

  He could only hope, as he went to find the Marquis, that the marriage would not take place before the weekend.

  Harry had promised his uncle that he would come to Stoke Palace and he hoped that the young man would keep his word.

  He then remembered that he had an appointment with a Sea Captain who had just arrived in England from a long voyage to China and the East.

  Sir Hubert had actually forgotten about it in his anxiety to buy some horses for the Marquis.

  Now he recalled that he had told his secretary to get in touch with the Captain whose name was Chang-Mai.

  Sir Hubert promised to call on him some time during the day, but he could not say the exact hour.

  As he stepped into his carriage, he drew from his waistcoat pocket the address that his secretary had given him.

  When he read it, he raised his eyebrows and smiled.

  Knowing that Chang-Mai was an old rascal in many ways, he was not surprised that his address was in Chinatown.

  He would be very surprised if this particular ship had not carried a number of illegal goods.

  There was always a good market in Chinatown for goods such as fine jewellery, Oriental treasures, precious stones and talismans.

  Not to mention, Sir Hubert told himself, drugs.

  There was always an abundance of eager purchasers of opium and cocaine for which Chinatown was famous.

  ‘I wonder what he has brought me this time,’ Sir Hubert thought.

  He had asked the Captain, when he set out a year ago, to bring him back anything he thought he would appreciate.

  “What Your Excellency ask for,” the Chinaman had replied, “make hole in pocket!”

  “I don’t mind several holes, if you bring me what I want,” Sir Hubert replied.

  He had a strong suspicion that many of the things Chang-Mai had brought back to England in the past had been stolen.

  Isolated temples were invariably fair game and Monasteries, whose treasures had been guarded ferociously over the centuries, sometimes grew lax.

  Sir Hubert was wise enough not to ask too many questions.

  Whilst he deplored the wrongdoing, he was content to add to his collections with some exquisite statues of the Buddha, one of which was carved out of a whole emerald.

  There were also pearls, which had come to Bombay from the Gulf and, when his wife wore them, she was the envy of every other woman in the room.

  He was sure now that what the Chinaman had waiting for him in Chinatown would be well worth having.

  *

  The Marquis, standing at the window of his house, saw a phaeton drive up to the front door.

  He knew that it contained Harry.

  He had not expected him back this afternoon, although he had hoped to see him later in the evening.

  It suddenly occurred to him that it would be a great mistake if Harry told him now what was in his mind before, as they had planned, he came to Stoke Palace and met Teresa.

  The Marquis therefore walked across the room to stand in front of the fireplace, holding some papers in his hands.

  A few minutes later the door opened and Harry came in.

  The Marquis thought he was looking extremely handsome and at the same time rather pleased with himself.

  Because he was afraid of what he might say, the Marquis said quickly,

  “Oh, there you are, Harry. I am glad you have come as I am just going out. But I wanted to tell you it is important that you should come to Stoke tomorrow.”

  He thought there was a look of consternation in Harry’s face or it might have been a trick of the light.

  With a slightly questioning note in his voice he asked,

  “Why is it important, Uncle Maurice?”

  “Sir Hubert has given you and me a very generous present,” the Marquis replied. “He heard that Feversham’s horses were for sale and has gone to Tattersall’s this afternoon to buy them for us.”

  “Feversham’s horses?” Harry exclaimed. “I had heard they were being sold, but understood that the prices they expected were outrageous and therefore did not trouble to go.”

  “Well, Sir Hubert said that he would give them to us. It would appear very ungrateful if we were not waiting at Stoke when they arrive.”

  “But of course,” Harry agreed. “I shall certainly look forward to riding them.”

  He gave a sigh.

  “If you ask me, Uncle Maurice, only Sir Hubert could afford them.”

  “I agree with you there, Harry, and Feversham would not sell them if he had not made a mess of his affairs which, if you ask me, was sheer stupidity.”

  “Well, it has certainly turned out to our advantage,” Harry said. “I am extremely grateful to Sir Hubert for adding to your stable, which is already a very fine one, as I don’t have to tell you.”

  “That is the sort of compliment I like!” the Marquis said.

  There was a little pause and he had the feeling that Harry was about to confide in him.

  Quickly he glanced down at the papers in his hand and cried,

  “I am late! I am sorry I cannot stay and talk to you now about the latest addition to our possessions at Stoke, but I promised to be with the Duke half-an-hour ago.”

  He walked towards the door and, as he reached it, Harry asked,

  “Will you be in for dinner, Uncle Maurice?” “Not tonight,” the Marquis replied.

  As he reached the hall, he saw to his relief that his carriage was waiting outside.

  When he stepped into it, he was determined to go to White’s Club.

  He hoped that there would be some of his friends there who would be able to tell him a little more about Harry and his appalling intention to marry an actress.

  The Marquis’s carriage went up Berkeley Street and into Piccadilly.

  He found himself unexpectedly praying that by some miracle he would be able to prevent Harry from ruining his life.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Sir Hubert arrived back at his house in Berkeley Square at nearly seven o’clock.

  When he walked into the hall the butler said,

  “His Lordship’s in the study, sir.”

  Thinking that there must be something wrong, as the Marquis had called unexpectedly at such a late hour, Sir Hubert hurried to his study.

  The Marquis was already there, reading a newspaper.

  He put it down as Sir Hubert appeared and said,

  “You are very late coming home! I was wondering what had happened to you.”

  “I have been to Chinatown,” Sir Hubert replied, “and I have brought back some exciting purchases to show you.�
��

  He put the parcel he was carrying down on a table and asked,

  “I presume you have something to tell me.”

  “I have,” the Marquis answered in a heavy voice, “but I want to see your treasures first.”

  “I think it is more important that we should have a drink,” Sir Hubert suggested.

  He walked across to the grog table and poured out two glasses of the Marquis’s favourite champagne, which was in an ice-cooler.

  “I thought somehow,” he said as he did so, “that you would need this tonight, and so I told the servants to put it on ice.”

  “You are too kind,” the Marquis replied, still in a heavy tone.

  Sir Hubert poured himself out a glass.

  Then he went to the table where he had put down his parcel.

  It was roughly packed, but he undid it carefully.

  He lifted from it an exquisite effigy of Krishna, the Hindu God of Love. It had been sculpted in gold and set with a variety of different precious stones.

  “I like that!” the Marquis said as Sir Hubert stood it up on the table.

  It suddenly struck Sir Hubert that it was not very tactful at this particular moment to be showing the Marquis the God of Love.

  He therefore hurriedly brought something else from his package.

  This was an elephant in pink quartz, holding his trunk above his head, in which was set a large and perfect pearl.

  The Marquis looked at it with delight.

  “I cannot think how your Chinese Sea Captain, whom you have often described to me, has such amazing good taste.”

  “I suspect he has been educated by centuries of ancestors,” Sir Hubert answered. “I think you will enjoy the third item he has brought me, which is another treasure to add to my collection.”

  He produced a Bodhisattva, carved and painted in wood, and told the Marquis it was from the Sung Dynasty in about AD 960.

  Despite its great age the wood was not cracked and the colours were still bright and not faded at all.

  Sir Hubert was looking at it with delight when the Marquis asked,

  “Is that all?”

  “I think it is quite enough for the moment,” Sir Hubert replied. “There is one thing more, but I will tell you about that later.”