Two Hearts in Hungary Page 4

  When finally it was her turn, she asked if it was possible to book a cabin.

  To her relief there was one available and the Purser was obviously pleased to give her all the details.

  She knew that this was because the cabins were expensive and the majority of travellers were not prepared to spend extra money on them for a relatively short journey.

  A Steward brought her luggage into the fairly comfortable cabin that she had been given.

  When he closed the door behind him, Aletha thought with some relief that she was now safe until they reached Ostend.

  Having crossed the English Channel to France several times with her father, she knew that she was a good sailor.

  Although the sea was indeed slightly choppy with the wind churning up the waves into white horses, she did not feel in the least seasick.

  Only when the Steamer was out of sight of the coast did she think with delight that she had taken her second hurdle in even more style.

  ‘I have been rather clever,’ she told herself. ‘At the same time I must most definitely not be seen by Mr. Heywood when we reach Ostend.’

  She guessed like most men, he would want to walk around the deck and enjoy the sea breezes.

  Their Courier had then booked them into the best cabins aboard the Steamer in which she had travelled with her father.

  Her father had, however, pooh-poohed the idea of staying in it.

  “I hate being shut up,” he had asserted firmly.

  He walked around the deck almost the entire time they had taken to cross from Dover to Calais.

  As Aletha was hiding, she wanted to stay in her cabin for as long as possible.

  Only when one of the Stewards suggested that he should take her luggage ashore did she come out.

  Keeping her head low she hurried down the gangway to walk the short distance to where the train for Vienna was waiting.

  As she did not have a ticket, she had to go to a kiosk to buy one before she went aboard.

  In a way it was a blessing as it ensured that Mr. Heywood would have already taken his seat by this time.

  Anyway he would certainly not be looking particularly for anybody he might recognise.

  The First Class fare with a sleeper was expensive and Aletha thought that it was a good thing that she had been sensible enough to have plenty of money with her for the journey.

  She knew, of course, that Mr. Heywood would have to pay for her return to Dover.

  At the same time in case anything went wrong she might have to look after herself.

  It would be very frightening to be stranded in a foreign land and penniless.

  At least she had her ticket in her reticule.

  The porter discovered in which carriage her sleeper was located and carried her luggage into it.

  Aletha could speak French fluently as her mother had always claimed that it was the only language in the world worth speaking after English.

  She then enquired from him how long it would be before the train stopped so that the passengers could eat at a Station restaurant.

  The porter replied toher with all the information that she required.

  She realised that despite her spectacles and the veil that covered her face, he was looking at her with an undoubted look of admiration in his eyes.

  ‘I must be careful,’ she told herself again and again.

  She certainly had no wish to be involved with any of the male passengers other than Mr. Heywood.

  Ten minutes after she had boarded the train it began to chug slowly out of Ostend.

  She had taken the third hurdle with some aplomb.

  Now at least she could feel safe from being sent home ignominiously.

  The next difficulty would be to find Mr. Heywood. There had been a great deal of talk in the newspapers recently about the introduction of coaches on trains with corridors.

  It would mean that the passengers could easily move around from one compartment and from one coach to another.

  Her father had severely disapproved of the idea.

  “Men could frighten attractive women by knocking on their doors and then entering their compartments.”

  He paused a moment and then went on in a hard voice,

  “It would also make it easier for thieves to rob a traveller when he was asleep.”

  “I saw in one newspaper,” Aletha had replied, “that it might mean that a train that was going for a long distance could have a restaurant car and the passengers could walk down the corridors to it.”

  “Then one would have to eat while being shaken about by the movement of the train,” her father added, “which is something that women, at any rate, would dislike.”

  At the moment, however, Aletha thought that it would have made it much easier for her to find Mr. Heywood.

  As it was, she would have to wait until the train arrived at the Station where they would disembark to be served a meal.

  She took off her bonnet and settled herself comfortably in her carriage seat.

  At least she had a carriage to herself.

  She thought now how uncomfortable it would have been if she had to travel with other people.

  It would mean sitting up all night, instead of being able to lie down.

  She had read in the newspapers how comfortable Queen Victoria’s private carriage was in which she travelled in France and on Royal visits to Scotland and the North of England.

  Her Majesty’s sitting room was connected with her bedroom and to a luggage room in which her maid slept on a sofa.

  Aletha thought that, if she had been with her father, perhaps they would have been able to hire a private coach.

  It would certainly have made the journey very exciting and unusual.

  ‘Nevertheless,’ she told herself, ‘I am on my way and now I shall see the Hungarian horses that thrill the Empress Elizabeth and will certainly please her when she comes to stay with us at Ling Park.’

  Because she was interested in the land that they were passing through, she sat looking out of the window.

  She was quite surprised when she found that the time had passed more quickly than she might have expected.

  In fact it was nearly six o’clock by the time when the train was expected to stop.

  She thought that it would be a mistake not to wear her veil and spectacles until she found Mr. Heywood.

  She therefore dressed herself as carefully as she had been when she came aboard.

  When she looked in the small mirror, she thought that even her father would have found difficulty in recognising her.

  With a great deal of smoke and even more noise the train steamed into a Station and then came to a halt.

  There were numerous people on the platform as some were boarding the train and others meeting travellers from it. There were also porters and trucks containing the mail and a great deal of luggage.

  Aletha waited for a few minutes before she opened her carriage door.

  She made sure that the Steward in charge of her coach understood that she was leaving her possessions in the train while she had gone for dinner.

  She thanked him in her excellent Parisian French when he told her that he would take good care of them.

  Then she walked to the restaurant and it appeared to her when she first entered that every table was taken.

  She could fortunately see no sign of Mr. Heywood.

  She thought helplessly that she might have to return to the train without having anything to eat.

  Then a man who was sitting at a table near to the door said to her in French,

  “There is a seat here for you, madame.”

  With a quick glance Aletha realised that beside the man who had spoken to her there was an elderly couple.

  They looked, she thought, as if they might easily be Austrian.

  A little reluctantly, still hoping that she would soon see Mr. Heywood, she sat down in the empty seat.

  “It is always difficult to find a place here,” the man said who had
spoken to her before, “unless one jumps out of the train almost before it stops.”

  “I should have thought that they might well have provided enough places for everyone,” Aletha replied.

  She spoke in a cold voice.

  She felt by the way that the stranger was smiling at her that he was not deceived by her disguise.

  Because he was polite and there seemed little point in being rude, she allowed him to suggest what was palatable on the menu.

  She knew that a Frenchman would advise her better than anybody else.

  She refused, however, when he asked her if she would share his bottle of wine with him.

  “No, thank you,” she said firmly.

  “You are making a mistake,” he insisted. “You must know that in places like this one it would be dangerous to drink the water.”

  He paused and smiled at her before continuing,

  “What I have ordered comes from a famous vineyard and is a quite excellent wine”

  Because it seemed stupid to go on refusing, Aletha accepted a glass.

  The food was not long in coming.

  Yet while she was still eating, the elderly couple, having consumed little but drunk two huge mugs of beer, returned to the train.

  “Now we can talk,” the Frenchman said. “Do tell me about yourself, because I can see, mademoiselle, that despite those disfiguring spectacles you are very pretty!”

  Aletha stiffened.

  She was about to reply that she was not a mademoiselle.

  Then she realised that, although she had thought of everything, she had not remembered that she should be wearing a Wedding ring.

  The idea had not occurred to her when she had taken off her gloves to eat.

  But the Frenchman had not missed the ringless fourth finger of her left hand.

  As she did not reply, he bent a little nearer to her.

  “Tell me about yourself,” he went on, “and may I say that I find you very fascinating and intriguing.”

  “I am just a traveller, monsieur,” Aletha answered, “and as time is now getting on I am anxious to go back to the train.”

  “It will not move for at least another twenty minutes,” he replied, “and I want to know a great deal about you and also you must tell me which coach you are in.”

  There was something in the way he spoke that made Aletha look at him sharply.

  He put his hand out and took hers.

  “I have not a sleeper,” he said. “I was unfortunately too late to obtain one, so why should you not be generous and share yours with me?”

  Aletha tried to take her hand away, but he held onto it.

  “We could both be very happy,” he said softly, “on what is otherwise a very tedious and uneventful journey.”

  “The answer is ‘no’, monsieur, definitely ‘no!’” Aletha riposted.

  She meant to speak in a firm crushing voice, but instead she only sounded young and rather frightened.

  The Frenchman’s fingers tightened on hers.

  “I promise I will make you very happy,” he said, “and, when we are alone, I will tell you how beautiful you are and how thrilled I am to have found you!”

  There was a determination in his voice that made Aletha feel increasingly afraid as well as intimidated.

  It flashed through her mind that, if she went back to her carriage, he would follow her.

  She might then be unable to prevent him from entering her compartment.

  Then she knew that she would be at his mercy and there would be nothing that she could do about it.

  She thought quickly that the only thing she could do was to appeal to the Steward.

  But the Frenchman might even be able to prevent her from doing that.

  She felt her heart thumping in her breast and a sense of panic began to sweep over her.

  The waiter came up for the bill, but the Frenchman did not loosen his hold on her hand.

  He pulled two notes out of his pocket and gave them to the waiter.

  “I would prefer to pay for myself!” Aletha stipulated firmly.

  “I cannot allow you to do that,” the Frenchman insisted.

  She struggled to free her hand, but he still held it captive.

  He took the change from the waiter, put it into his pocket and rose to his feet still holding onto her fingers.

  She sat still looking up at him and now she was really frightened.

  The people in the restaurant were moving towards the train and in just a few minutes she would have to go back to her compartment.

  The Frenchman began to pull her to her feet.

  She tried to resist him with all her strength, but it was just hopeless.

  Then, as he moved towards the door still holding her prisoner, she saw coming from the very back of the restaurant a figure she instantly recognised.

  The Frenchman, dragging her as if she was a reluctant mule, had by now almost reached the door.

  He had to wait for several people to pass by and as he did so Aletha saw Mr. Heywood coming nearer to her.

  With a sudden twist of her hand she moved sharply away from the door.

  It took the Frenchman by surprise.

  She pushed past the passengers queueing up to go in through the door and threw herself against Mr. Heywood.

  “I have – found you! I have – found you!” she cried.

  Mr. Heywood stared at her in sheer astonishment before he exclaimed,

  “Lady Aletha! What on earth are you doing here?”

  “I am on – the train,” she answered, “and – looking – for you.”

  It was then, before she could say anything more, that the Frenchman was beside her.

  He took her again by the arm, obviously having no idea that she had been speaking with Mr. Heywood.

  “Come along,” he urged, “there is no escape so don’t try and run away from me again.”

  “Go away and leave me ‒ alone!” Aletha demanded.

  She was conscious as she spoke that Mr. Heywood was taller and looked much stronger than the Frenchman who was not a big man.

  She took Mr. Heywood’s arm.

  As if he realised what was happening, he enquired in English,

  “Who is this fellow? Is he bothering you?”

  “Send him – away! Please – send him – away!” Aletha begged him.

  There was, however, no need for Mr. Heywood to say anything.

  The Frenchman obviously understood what Aletha had said and then realised that he was defeated.

  He turned and, pushing his way through the crowd, disappeared through the restaurant door.

  Aletha gave a sigh of relief.

  “I-I was – so frightened,” she murmured in a small voice.

  “Do you mean you are here alone?” Mr. Heywood asked. “I cannot understand – ”

  “I wanted to – come to Hungary with you as Papa cannot – take me,” Aletha responded, “and I had no – trouble until – that Frenchman – started to talk to me.”

  “You must be crazy to do anything quite so outrageous!” Mr. Heywood said. “Have you a compartment to yourself?”

  “I have – a sleeper.”

  She realised that he was frowning and in fact looked extremely angry.

  By this time they had reached the door of the restaurant.

  The passengers were all hurrying onto the train and some of the doors had been slammed shut already.

  “Where is your compartment?” Mr. Heywood asked.

  Aletha went towards it and he said,

  “I will come and see you at the next stop. You are not to get out until I do. Then I want a full explanation of what is going on.”

  He stopped speaking a moment before he went on,

  “I think, Lady Aletha, your father would be very angry if he knew that you were here.”

  “I-I know that,” Aletha agreed, “but I did so want to – come with – you and help buy – the Hungarian horses for – the Empress Elizabeth.”

  “I have to t
hink how I can send you back with somebody to protect you,” Mr. Heywood said grimly.

  “I will not go!” Aletha retorted. “And I have a splendid idea ‒ which I will tell you about when you have – time to – listen.”

  She knew by the expression on Mr. Heywood’s face that this was not the right moment to appeal to him to help her.

  By this time they had reached the door to her compartment.

  To her relief the Steward was standing beside it.

  He was waiting to lock the door when she was inside.

  She looked up at Mr. Heywood.

  “I shall be quite – safe until you – find me at the next stop,” she assured him.

  Mr. Heywood did not answer.

  Instead, in what she realised was quite fluent French but with a decided English accent, he told the Steward that no one was to approach her compartment.

  Then he tipped the man so generously that he was overcome by what he had received.

  Without saying anything more to Aletha Mr. Heywood turned and walked away towards his own compartment.

  It was, she saw somewhat ironically, in the next coach to her own.

  “Bon nuit, madame,” the Steward said as he closed the door.

  The bed had been made up whilst Aletha was in the restaurant and she now sat down on it feeling for the moment apprehensive that Mr. Heywood was so angry with her.

  Then she told herself that it was what she might have expected, but there was nothing he could do about it.

  He could either take her home immediately which would mean that he could not buy the horses that her father really wanted.

  Or else he would have to carry out the plan that she had thought out so carefully.

  As she undressed, she thought how lucky she had been to find him.

  She had never anticipated that anybody would behave as the Frenchman had done.

  Now, as she thought about it, she could imagine it would be quite a clever way of getting a comfortable compartment without having to pay for it.

  Perhaps, besides finding a pretty woman amusing, he was also a thief.

  If she had been obliged to endure his presence, he might have taken her money and what jewellery she had with her.

  She could now fully understand exactly why Mr. Heywood was so horrified at the idea of her travelling alone.

  ‘All the same, I am here,’ she thought triumphantly, ‘and it will be impossible for Mr. Heywood to send me back!’