Love in the Highlands Page 4

  "You will not, under any circumstances, marry Prince Stanislaus, because I will take whatever steps are necessary to thwart him. You have my word on that."

  "I – thank you," she stammered. There was something in his look that almost frightened her.

  "Do you understand?" he repeated. "I will do anything that is necessary. Anything."

  For a moment Lavina was too taken aback to speak, Lord Elswick's manner was so strange. It was as though he were looking through her towards a far horizon, where he could see something that he wanted, and which had nothing to do with her.

  To her relief he resumed speaking in a more normal voice.

  "We must go about this properly, and be prepared for any eventuality. The Queen will be annoyed, no question about that. She will also, probably, be suspicious."

  "Yes, I'm afraid she will," the Earl agreed with a sigh.

  "She'll set people to watch us, and report back to her how we behave. If you come and stay here it will look more convincing. Have you heard from her yet?"

  He shot this question out suddenly at the Earl.

  "She's had no chance to reach me," he replied. "I left London too quickly."

  "If she doesn't find you at home in London she will send her messenger to Ringwood Place. She had better not find you there either.

  "In fact it's best if a notice appears in The Times as soon as possible. We can do that by telegram."

  "I've never sent a telegram before," said the Earl, who

  was nervous of new-fangled inventions.

  "I send them sometimes, or rather, my secretary does it for me. The local newspaper office has a cable facility by which they transmit news to London, so we'll use them."

  He sat down at his desk and began to write the announcement. The Earl passed the time by looking around some of the books. He was not an imaginative man, and he had completely missed the currents of emotion and agitation that had swirled between Lavina and the Marquis.

  Lord Elswick took advantage of the Earl's absorption to indicate for Lavina to sit beside him so that he could talk to her in a low voice.

  "It is as well that you understand me," he said quietly. "In a moment my secretary will arrive, and I will give him the announcement. Once that has been sent off, the die is cast. Do you realise what that means?"

  "Of course," Lavina said.

  "I'm not sure that you do. It means that I will not be made a fool of. When our engagement is announced it will last until I say otherwise. I and I alone will decide when and how it is terminated. Is that quite clear?"

  Lavina did not answer. She was outraged at this manner of talking to her and longed to put this arrogant man in his place. But she did not dare. She needed his help too badly.

  After a few moments of silence he looked up and saw her face, full of outrage.

  "Be as angry at me as you like," he said coolly. "I care nothing for that, so don't bother to tell me about it. I am not fooling, madam. If you want my help you will do as I say, in every particular. Swear to that now or so help me, I'll turn you out to meet your fate."

  "I have no choice," she said in a voice of deep mortification.

  "On the contrary, you do have a choice. You can tell me to go to the devil."

  "And marry Prince Stanislaus?" she asked bitterly. "I would rather die."

  The Marquis shrugged.

  "Oh, I don't think so. One says these things, but one doesn't die you know. Life goes on, somehow. Are you going to give me the promise I want, or shall I tear up this announcement?"

  "I promise," she said in a low voice.

  "Good, then we understand each other. You will find me a most attentive and devoted fiancé, and I expect the same from you. That will be necessary if we are to carry this off."

  Without waiting for her to answer he held up the paper on which he had been writing and said,

  "There, I think that will do."

  He rang a bell and after a moment a young man with an austere manner entered the room.

  "Hunsbury, I want you to send a telegram immediately," said the Marquis. "The engagement is announced between Lady Lavina Ringwood, daughter of Lord Ringwood, and Ivan, Marquis of Elswick.

  "The bride and her father are currently paying a visit to Lord Elswick's estate in Oxfordshire."

  Hunsbury was too well trained to allow his astonishment to appear by more than the very slightest hesitation in his manner. He took the slip of paper the Marquis held out to him, glanced at the words and hurried out of the room.

  "Now he'll tell everyone, and it will be in The Times tomorrow morning," the Marquis said. "The Queen will read it over her breakfast, and that may save you a deal of trouble."

  "It would be a great relief," said the Earl.

  "Let's just hope it doesn't occur to Her Majesty to contact you by telegram."

  "She hates the things," observed the Earl.

  "Good. Go home now, get what you need, bring whatever servants you consider necessary, and arrive back here as quickly as you can."

  "Then I shall bring my maid and my dresser," Lavina told him defiantly. She was resolved that this man, who disliked having women in his house, should never be able to say that she had not been honest with him.

  "Whatever you please," he replied, sounding uninterested.

  "I mention it," she said firmly, "because you are reputed to have no women in the house, even servants."

  His head jerked round to look at her suddenly, and his eyes bore a look of cold malevolence that almost made her flinch. Then it was gone.

  "You are mistaken, madam," he said distantly. "I have very few women here because it is a bachelor residence, and the house is run by a butler, rather than a housekeeper. But there are several female maids doing the cleaning."

  "The menial tasks, in fact?" she said.

  She knew she was unwise to be going out of her way to provoke him, but, despite the fact that he was to be her saviour, he annoyed her more than any man she had ever met.

  He regarded her, baffled.

  "Do not maids dust and clean in your own establishments?" he asked.

  "Well, yes, but – "

  "Then I am at a loss to understand what point you are making."

  "It isn't important," she said, chagrined.

  "I am not quite the ogre that legend appears to paint me, and you are welcome to bring any female servants that you wish. Just tell them to stay out of my way.

  "Hurry now, so that you can return to your home and leave it quickly. And make sure you tell everyone in your household before you leave, that's the best way to spread news."

  There was a touch of bitterness in his voice as he added,

  "Servants love nothing better than to gossip about their masters."

  "We'll go at once," agreed the Earl.

  Lavina took a step forward. Her anger had faded. Now all she could think of was that he was saving her from a terrible fate, and she spoke earnestly.

  "Thank you! You have helped my father and saved me. We are both very, very grateful to you."

  The Marquis did not look at her as she was speaking.

  But as she finished he rang the bell which was at the side of the fireplace. The butler appeared so quickly that he must have been just outside the door, and it was clear, from his face, that he had already heard the news.

  "My guests are leaving," said the Marquis, apparently unaware that his butler's eyes were popping. "Show them to their carriage".

  "Very good, M'Lord," the butler said, holding open the door.

  Lavina held out her hand to the Marquis, but he did not take it. In fact, he put both hands at his sides and bowed from the waist.

  Lavina was astonished to realise that he would not touch her.

  Then, as if she understood, she dropped her hand and said,

  "Thank you! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!"

  She turned away to her father, and they walked from the room together. She did not look back, and so she did not see Lord Elswick watching her wit
h a strange expression on his face.

  Only when they were in the corridor did Lavina realise that the Marquis had not followed them, as courtesy indicated, and as a man would normally do for his fiancée.

  So much for being an attentive fiancé, she thought.

  Or perhaps this was how he thought attentive fiancés behaved!

  The news had spread through the house like wildfire. As they walked through the corridors towards the front door Lavina realised that they were being watched by a hundred eyes.

  Servants looked out to catch a glimpse of the woman who had apparently achieved the impossible. If she looked at them they vanished, only to reappear the moment she had passed.

  But in the hall they were lining the stairs, frankly staring. And just before she climbed into her carriage she glanced back to see the windows crowded with faces.

  As they went down the drive, Lavina turned towards her father and clasped his hand between her own.

  "We have won, we have won!" she said.

  "I hope so and believe so," the Earl replied. "At the same time, my darling, you may find that strange young man somewhat difficult."

  "It does not matter," Lavina answered. "I can put up with him, because I know that in the end I will escape him. After all, the worst I know of him is that he is very rude. And the best I know of him is that he is putting himself out to help me."

  "He certainly seems to be exerting himself to do

  everything thoroughly," the Earl agreed. "His idea about the telegram was excellent. And after he had refused us so definitely, too."

  "Yes, it was strange how he changed his mind so suddenly," Lavina mused. "In fact, I can't help the feeling that he's doing this for his own reasons, and not for us at all."

  "Yes, I too received that impression," agreed her father. "But how it could matter to him I can't imagine."

  Then, because he had a romantic heart, he added,

  "I remember it happened when he turned round. I wonder if he saw you in a better light, realised how beautiful you are, and fell instantly in love with you."

  "Papa!" she exclaimed scornfully.

  "All right, my dear, it was just one of my fancies, you know."

  "It's an appalling idea. Rude, arrogant, insufferable, bigoted – "

  "If this is how you talk about the man who's doing you such a huge favour, I dread to think what you'd say about an enemy," her father observed mildly.

  It flashed through her mind that, in his own way, the Marquis was an enemy, but she did not trouble her father with the thought. He would not have understood.

  Instead, she replied,

  "That's quite a different thing. He's the last man in the world I'd want to have in love with me. Why, he'd be almost as bad as Prince Stanislaus."

  Her father patted her hand.

  "If you say so, my dear."

  *

  As soon as they reached Ringwood Place both Lavina and her father realised that something had happened.

  The butler, who admitted them, was in a state of agitation.

  "The Queen's messenger called while you were away, My Lord," he said, holding himself very upright, as befitted a man who spoke of the Queen.

  "Oh heavens!" Lavina exclaimed. "Already. I thought we would have a little more time."

  For a horrible moment she could see all their gains slipping away.

  "Never fear, my darling," the Earl said, trying to sound more certain than he felt. "I will be very firm."

  "But this man has obviously come to take you to see Her Majesty. How firm can you be when you confront her face to face?"

  The Earl, who was wondering that himself, drew himself up.

  "I shall say what has to be said," he declared. "They shall not have you. Where is the messenger, Denton?"

  "He is not here, My Lord," the butler declared. "He left a letter which he required me to give you as soon as you arrived. And here it is. He says he will return in an hour."

  The Earl took the letter and mopped his brow. But as he was about to open it Lavina whisked it out of his hand.

  "How unfortunate that we should have missed him," she said. "Please bring us some sherry to the library, Denton."

  Taking her father by the arm, Lavina guided him into the library and spoke in a low, hurried voice.

  "Papa, we must leave immediately."

  "But my dear, how can we? It was different before this letter arrived. Now that I've received it I have to obey its commands."

  "But Papa, you have not received it."

  "Yes I have. You saw Denton – "

  "We haven't seen Denton because we haven't been

  home. We have been visiting Elswick Towers, where the Marquis invited us to stay. We did not return here – "

  "But my dear, we did."

  "No Papa, we didn't."

  The Earl blinked in confusion.

  "Strange, I could have sworn we just arrived home."

  "You're imagining it," Lavina said firmly. "Actually we're still at Elswick Towers."

  Faced with his daughter's stronger personality Lord Ringwood yielded and admitted that he was still at Elswick Towers.

  "We sent a groom back home to announce that we were remaining there," Lavinia continued, "and our things were to be sent over."

  "But Denton would have sent the letter over with our things."

  "In the confusion, the letter was lost," Lavina said firmly. "It did not come to light until later this evening. You cannot be accused of ignoring the Queen's command, because you knew nothing about it."

  "But suppose the messenger follows us to the Towers?"

  "The Marquis can deal with him. He's unpleasant enough to deal with anything. But we must leave quickly. Hurry Papa and give your valet instructions, while I talk to Mrs. Banty."

  She sped away and got to work with a will, leaving the Earl to fortify himself with sherry.

  First Lavina went to the stables and ordered that another carriage, a closed one this time, should be brought round to the front door, with two fresh horses harnessed.

  Then she approached Denton, giving him the delightful smile that made any servant eager to do her bidding.

  "Denton, you're such an old friend of the family," she said, "that I want you to be the first to know, that I'm about to announce my engagement to the Marquis of Elswick."

  Denton's eyes opened at little wider at this astounding news, but he was too well trained to do more than murmur,

  "My felicitations, Your Ladyship."

  "Thank you, Denton. Now I need your help. The Marquis has invited Papa and me to stay at his home for a while. So we did not return here, and know nothing about the letter."

  Denton looked shocked.

  "My Lady! Do you mean that I neglected to pass on the Queen's letter?"

  "I realise that it's something you would never do," she said in a coaxing voice.

  "A blot on my record," he said, deeply offended. "Which, I may say, has never been blotted before."

  "I'm asking a great sacrifice, I know."

  "Will the Queen send me to the Tower of London for losing her letter?"

  "I won't let her," Lavina promised.

  "Well, I may have given it to the under footman to look after. He is notoriously forgetful. Leave matters to me, My Lady."

  "Thank you, Denton. And when the messenger returns, kindly tell him that he can find us at the Towers.

  "Very good, Your Ladyship."

  "You will explain about my engagement – "

  "Then it is not a secret?"

  "Oh no. You may inform the household, and the Queen's messenger."

  She hurried away to her room.

  Luckily the visit to the Marquis involved very little

  preparation, as they had only just arrived from London, and most of their clothes were still packed. Mrs Banty received her instructions with a brief nod, and assured Her Ladyship that everything would be attended to.

  The closed carriage, with fresh horses, was waiting. Lavina and
the Earl hurriedly climbed aboard and they were on their way.

  For the first part of the journey they each peered nervously out of a window, just in case the messenger returned to be sure his letter was delivered. But they saw nobody, and at last they began to relax.

  "I can't believe that we're actually going to get away with this," the Earl murmured.

  "We will if we keep our heads," Lavina told him. "And if the Marquis learns how to play his part properly."

  "Why, whatever do you mean by that, my dear?"

  "I'm talking about the way he refused to say goodbye to me. In fact, he put his hands behind him rather than touch me."

  Her Father nodded and she continued,

  "He spoke of behaving like a devoted fiancé – "

  "Did he? I don't remember hearing him say that."

  "It was while you were looking round the library. He said he would play his role with conviction – which, frankly, I doubt – and expected me to do the same."

  "I suppose that's only reasonable. I'm afraid you will have to endure a certain amount of attention from him."

  "Just as long as he doesn't try to kiss me," Lavina said, setting her chin stubbornly.

  "I'm sure such an idea has never crossed his mind."

  "Yes," she said crossly. "So am I. Did you see how he behaved when we left? It would be quite obvious, to anyone with any sense, that he was being forced into matrimony, rather than begging me to honour him by becoming his wife."

  The Earl sighed.

  "I have to admit, my dear," he said, "that he does not play his part well. I'm not looking forward to this visit."

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Their second arrival at Elswick Towers was as different from the first as anything could be. Clearly the Marquis had reflected that his earlier distant treatment of his 'fiancée' would not produce the desired effect, and had decided on a different approach.

  He was there on the step to greet them, personally handing Lavina down from the carriage. Then, to her astonishment, he raised her hand to his lips, bending his head to kiss it with an air that would have looked like reverence to anyone who did not know the truth.

  From behind him there came a great cheer from the assembled staff, lined up to greet the woman whom they supposed would be their new mistress.

  "I didn't expect this – " she stammered.