They Found their Way to Heaven Page 3

  She remembered that her initials, E.W., were on some of her suitcases. So she needed a name that fitted them.

  ‘I will be Mrs. Winters. It will be easy to remember, because now it is winter in my heart.’

  She reflected that she was losing not only the man she loved, but also the girl who had been a wonderful companion and friend, someone who had been almost as dear to her as a sister.

  At the Railway Hotel she booked a room without any trouble in the name of Mrs. Winters. She ate an excellent dinner and in the hall she found a book about the locality, which she took up to bed.

  As she had hoped, there was a chapter about Castleforde Castle, which was about twenty miles away.

  ‘The house was started by the first Duke of Castleforde in the twelfth century and has been added to by subsequent Dukes over the generations. Parts of the original castle can still be seen in the centre block, but there is now a Tudor wing, a Jacobean wing and a Georgian wing.’

  It seemed to be a huge estate with a mansion full of art works. Elvina was intrigued.

  At last she put out the light and settled down in bed.

  She had the strongest feeling that her father was looking over her and was approving of all she was doing.

  ‘I am running away, Papa,’ she murmured. ‘But what else could I have done? Somehow I know you are helping me.

  ‘Perhaps one day, if God is kind, and you, darling Papa, are guiding me from Heaven, I will find a man who will love me for myself and not because you left me money.

  ‘He will love me because I am an equal part of his heart and soul.’

  She fell asleep.

  *

  Next morning she hired a cab to take her to Castleforde Castle.

  The journey lay through some of the loveliest countryside she had ever seen, and she remembered that this part of England was known as the Lake District because of the number of large and beautiful lakes and the magnificent scenery that surrounded them.

  Suddenly, just ahead, she saw high double wrought iron gates. Each side bore a huge crest that Elvina recognised as the coat of arms of the Dukes of Castleforde. She had seen it in the book last night.

  On one side of the gates was the porter’s lodge, out of which a man emerged and approached the carriage.

  “I am Mrs. Winters,” Elvina said through the window. “I am here to see the Duke about a position as governess.”

  She thought the porter muttered, “another one?” before turning away and pulling open the gates for the cab to pass through.

  There was still a mile to go before the castle came into view. Then it was in front of her. The original building could easily be seen in the centre with its turrets and battlements. And there on the largest turret was a flagpole with a flag flying bravely.

  Elvina gave a sigh of relief. At least the Duke was at home.

  As the cab drew up outside the front door, Elvina climbed out and said to the driver,

  “You had better wait here, please.”

  Boldly she knocked on the door and after a moment it was opened by the butler.

  “I would like to see His Grace,” Elvina stated. “I understand he is looking for a governess.”

  “Oh, yes, ma’am,” the butler replied, wooden-faced. “His Grace is always looking for a governess. I will take you to him.”

  He started to walk along the passage in front of her with Elvina following. Glancing around her, she saw that the building was magnificent inside as well. It had been well maintained over the centuries and she could sense the history that permeated the walls.

  After what Elvina had read the night before, she felt she had a good idea of that history.

  The name of Castleforde had always been prominent in England. In whatever age, whatever reign, there had always been a Castleforde beside the monarch, exercising influence, either openly or secretly.

  Starting as Barons they had finished as Dukes. Their daughters had married great titles, sometimes even minor royalty.

  Their portraits lined the walls, stern-faced matrons covered in jewels, glamorous men, covered in even more jewels. Their fingers lingered on the ruby-studded hilts of their daggers. Their eyes gleamed with ambition.

  “What name shall I tell His Grace?” the butler asked.

  “Mrs. Winters.”

  He was leading her to the rear of the castle. Suddenly he stopped before a huge oak panelled door, pushed it open and announced,

  “A Mrs. Winters to see you, Your Grace.”

  She moved past him and found herself in an impressive library. Row upon row of shelves soared up to the ceiling, so that ladders had to be used to reach the top shelves.

  At first Elvina thought the room was empty and turned to the butler in dismay. But he had withdrawn and the door was closing behind him.

  Baffled, she looked around, until a voice from above her said,

  “I am up here.”

  She saw him then, sitting up high on a ladder, looking down at her.

  He was in his thirties, with a face that would have been exceedingly handsome but for his air of sternness and gravity.

  There was no doubt that he was a Castleforde. He boasted the family features, lean and fine, and the family eyes that were dark and brilliant.

  Lady Croften had said that he was a proud man and Elvina could see that it was true. He was neither lofty nor imperious, but even at this angle he had the indefinable air of a man who had lived at the top of the aristocratic tree since birth, and could imagine no other place for himself.

  “You have come to see me?” he asked.

  “My name is Mrs. Winters,” Elvina began.

  “So my butler said.”

  “It is very difficult while you are up there,” she said. “I am getting a crick in my neck.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  He descended the ladder, jumping the last few steps. Now she could see that he was very tall, over six feet.

  “Here I am,” he said. “But I must tell you, Mrs. Winters, that it is not my custom to see people without an appointment.”

  His voice was rich and pleasant but serious and he was regarding her as though uncertain of what to make of her.

  It did not make for an auspicious beginning.

  “I appreciate that this may look a little odd,” she answered cautiously, “but I was told by some friends that you are looking for a governess for your sister. They suggested that I should call on you when I was in this part of the country.

  “Of course I should have notified you first, but my decision was made suddenly.”

  “Are you a governess?”

  “I know a great deal about training young women who are leaving school.”

  The Duke stared at her as if, for some reason, he found this hard to believe. Then he said,

  “Please sit down and I can tell you exactly what I require. I hope, although it may be impossible, that you will succeed where, as you have doubtless been told, other women have failed.”

  “I have been told that they just walk out,” Elvina said. “Although how anyone can bear to leave this lovely place amazes me.”

  For the first time he smiled.

  “It is lovely, isn’t it?” he said. “I think it is the most wonderful place on earth. I love its history, and the knowledge that my family have played an important role in this country for centuries.

  “If only my sister felt the same. She just wants to get out of the schoolroom as fast as possible and start enjoying herself as a debutante. I try to tell her that no young man will be interested in a girl who has learned nothing in her life.”

  “Nothing at all?” Elvina asked, surprised.

  “Well, something, obviously. Even Violet hasn’t been through school and governesses without learning something. I know she’s intelligent. She learned to read when she was only four.”

  “Doesn’t she read now?”

  “Oh, yes. Periodicals called The Modern Young Lady and The Debutante’s Friend, full of fashion plates and foolish st
ories.”

  “I read those when I was her age. They do no harm, and sometimes a lot of good.”

  “Good?” he echoed, startled.

  “They reinforce good principles,” Elvina responded, assuming the serious demeanour that she felt would impress him most. The stories are always extremely moral, as I expect you have noticed.”

  “I?” His outrage was so vehement that she almost laughed. “I – read such things?”

  “But if you haven’t read them, how do you know they are foolish?” Elvina questioned him demurely.

  Suddenly and with perfect timing, a memory from the book she had read the previous evening, came into her mind.

  “Did not your illustrious ancestor, the second Duke, advise King James I, ‘Let no man speak of that which lies hidden from his eyes.’?”

  Then was an astonished silence. Then the Duke’s lips twitched.

  “It was the third Duke, actually,” he stated quietly.

  “The third, of course. How could I have forgotten that?”

  Again there was a gleam of humour in his eyes, suggesting that there was more to this man than aristocratic pride.

  “You are well informed, Mrs. Winters,” he said. “I compliment you. Tell me, did you study my family’s history before you came here?”

  She hesitated and then decided that the strict truth would serve her best.

  “I did, for precisely one hour last night. My hotel had a book on the locality and I made a point of reading the chapter about the Dukes of Castleforde. What you have just heard me recite is the beginning and end of my knowledge.”

  “Then I compliment you again for your honesty and your shrewdness. Whatever else you are, you are no fool.”

  “And what else do you think I might be?” she asked, daringly.

  He seemed taken by surprise.

  “That is something that I would not undertake to speculate about,” he answered slowly. “Not just yet. Tell me something about yourself. Is there a Mr. Winters?”

  “No longer.”

  “Then you are a widow and he left you in straightened circumstances, since you have to earn your living.”

  “Not precisely. I have an income large enough to live comfortably, but I detest idleness and would rather be useful. I am extremely well educated and I dislike waste. I speak French and Italian. I can dance, sing and ride.”

  Suddenly he shot out a question.

  “Tell me, who is the Prime Minister?”

  “Mr. Gladstone, of course,” Elvina replied at once. “He won the general election last year.”

  “So you know something about what is going on in the country. That’s a relief. It might be happening on the other side of the moon for all that Violet knows or cares.”

  “Well, that should be remedied naturally,” Elvina agreed. “But when she is dancing around a ballroom in the arms of some eligible young man, he will want to be talking about something other than Mr. Gladstone. After all, do you discuss elections with young ladies when you are dancing with them?”

  He grinned. “A good point, madam. I will remember that the next time I am dancing with a beautiful young lady. But Violet is the daughter of a Duke. She will move in the first circles, which means not just that she will meet other aristocrats, but gentlemen who are going into politics.

  “Her husband will probably sit in the House of Lords. If not, he may be elected to the Commons, even become Prime Minister. She must be sufficiently well-informed to be a credit to those who raised her.”

  “How old is Violet?”

  “She is almost seventeen,” the Duke replied, “so in a year she will be a debutante. I naturally want her to be a great success.”

  “I find it hard to understand how she could fail to appreciate this castle,” Elvina commented. “Even the little I have seen is a history lesson in itself.”

  “I am very sure that she does not see it like that,” the Duke sighed.

  “I expect it’s because one never appreciates what one has always known since birth,” Elvina replied. “Most of us long for what we have never seen, more than what we can see.”

  The Duke stared at her.

  She looked back at him, thinking how very handsome he was, especially when he gave one of his rare smiles.

  “Yes, I suppose that is true,” he agreed. “I am beginning to feel that you could be the one person who might help me. I am being honest, telling you how hopeless the whole situation feels.

  “If you are brave enough to try what has been impossible for so many other women, I can only tell you how grateful I would be. But I do not want you to be deceived into thinking such a task will be easy.”

  “Of course I realise the problems,” Elvina told him. “But I enjoy a challenge.”

  “Do you really think you have a chance?” the Duke asked. “You are still very young.”

  “I am older than I look,” Elvina responded quickly. “I think I can cope with most eventualities. But I would like to know why Violet has this attitude. Has she always been this way?”

  “No, only since she was twelve. That was when my mother died. An aunt came to stay with us and on her advice I sent Violet to a school in London.

  “It was a failure from the very beginning. She hated school, perhaps because she was missing her mother. She ran away, and I hadn’t the heart to send her back when she was so unhappy. My aunt was furious and stormed out. thought Violet and I could manage together with the help of a governess.”

  The Duke paused for breath and Elvina enquired,

  “But that plan failed too?”

  “Completely and absolutely,” the Duke replied. “I took her on a visit to London. We went to the theatre several times. I thought she would enjoy it.”

  “And didn’t she?”

  “Too much,” he groaned. “Her latest notion is to be an actress. Can you imagine anything so absurd? That my sister, a Castleforde, should want to take up such a vulgar, tawdry way of life, where the women are little better than – forgive me, I should not speak of such things.”

  “Never fear, I think I am unshockable,” Elvina told him. “And it’s best for me to know what I will have to contend with. Depend on it, she sees only the glamorous and romantic side of the theatre. She has no idea that the life of an actress leaves much to be desired.”

  “And I do not want her to find out,” the Duke said firmly. “I have tried explaining to her that it’s impossible – ”

  “And only made it sound more attractive,” Elvina observed.

  “I suppose so,” he sighed. “Now we live in a permanent state of armed truce. She flees the house to spend her days riding.”

  Elvina did not say so but she thought that this was a point in Violet’s favour.

  Aloud she said,

  “Allow me to meet your sister, please”

  “I will take you up to her.”

  Then a thought seemed to strike him.

  “Wait – let me talk to her first. If I spring you on her it may simply make her more difficult. Stay here and I will be back in a moment.”

  Elvina would have protested but he was gone before she could speak. This was not what she had wanted at all.

  Left alone she looked around the library, marvelling at its extent. How she would love to explore all those books, she thought.

  She mounted a few steps on one of the ladders. Then a few steps more, her excitement growing with every moment. She reached out and pulled a volume from one of the shelves, making herself comfortable on the ladder so that she could read.

  At first she scarcely heard the clatter on the terrace outside. Then the French windows were thrown open and a young girl stormed into the room.

  “They say you’ve brought another governess here,” she cried. “But I’ve told you I won’t have it. Why won’t you ever listen to me? I won’t have a governess, I won’t, I – where are you?”

  In her fury she had not, at first, noticed that she was alone. Now she came to a halt and glared around her.


  “Where are you?” she demanded.

  “I am up here,” Elvina declared.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Startled, the girl looked up quickly and her eyes met Elvina’s gazing down at her.

  “Is it you?” she demanded. “Are you the new governess, because if so, I won’t have you. Go away. I don’t want you.”

  Elvina climbed down the ladder and faced her. The girl glared back. She was small and pretty with large glittering blue eyes and an air of fury. In fact, she resembled nothing so much as a dainty, infuriated wasp.

  “I don’t want you,” she repeated.

  “It seems that nobody wants me,” Elvina replied.

  “What are you saying?”

  Elvina thought quickly.

  “I am saying that I need your help,” she confided in a low voice. “Nobody else must know what I am about to tell you.”

  The girl stared at her in astonishment.

  “My help?” she exclaimed.

  “Please, please help me,” Elvina pleaded. “If you can’t, then I will have to leave and – ” she shuddered, “I am afraid of doing that.”

  Violet’s eyes widened.

  “Tell me why you are afraid,” she asked.

  She was looking at Elvina in a fierce manner which might have frightened anyone else away. But there was curiosity in her eyes too.

  “And why have you come here?”

  “I have come here to hide,” she confessed, “because some terrible things have happened to me. I couldn’t think of anywhere to stay, but I heard you wanted a governess, so I pretended to be one so that I could hide here.”

  The girl’s eyes widened.

  “You are not a governess?” she exclaimed.

  “No, of course not,” Elvina replied. “I had a governess myself and I know what horrors they can be.”

  Violet regarded her curiously, as though not sure what to make of someone who talked like this.

  “Does my brother know how you feel?” she asked at last.

  “Certainly not,” Elvina said, “and please promise me on everything you hold sacred that you will keep my secret.”

  “As long as you are not a governess.”

  “Of course not. I have never taught anybody anything in my life,” Elvina declared with perfect truth. “That is why this is the safest place for me to hide, because nobody who knows me will think for a moment that I am pretending to be a governess. Also I have given your brother a false name.”