A Miracle of Love Page 5

  As she spoke the last word she gave a little cry,

  “Of course, I must be a teacher. People want to learn languages and will pay me to teach their children.”

  The Prince smiled.

  “You look little more than a child yourself.”

  “I am nearly nineteen. That is one reason why Papa is anxious for me to marry.”

  “Is this the first proposal you have had?”

  “No, I have had two others. But Papa did not think them good enough for me and sent the men away. If I have to marry someone, I would rather marry any of them than the man he wants to be my husband.”

  As she spoke the fear and horror was back in her voice and he knew the prospect was still terrifying her.

  “Please trust me,” he said, “and I will tell you what we will do.”

  Sacia gave a little murmur but did not interrupt.

  “I will take you at once to where I have my horses. We can immediately ride away from Venice before the hue and cry is organised to some place which is safe. That is to say if you can ride.”

  “Of course I can,” replied Sacia. “Will you really do this for me? How can you be so kind and so different from other people when you have never even seen me until I fell into your gondola?”

  “I can understand why you are running away,” the Prince added, “because actually I myself am running away too, but I will not bother you with the details now. I am sure together we can find a solution to your problem and perhaps to mine as well.”

  He felt not very optimistic as he spoke, but it was a really strange coincidence that they should both be in the same position.

  Their Guardian Angels, if it was indeed they who had brought them together, would he hoped find a solution, one which so far he, at any rate, had overlooked.

  “You are so kind, so unbelievably kind,” Sacia was saying. “I can only say a special prayer of thankfulness tonight that you have been sent to save me when I least expected it.”

  “Do you think that by now,” the Prince asked, “they will be out scouring Venice for you?”

  He saw Sacia shudder as she answered,

  “Not quite yet, but he will soon arrive and they will send upstairs for me.”

  “All they will find is your rope dangling outside the window and if you are not in the water below, there will undoubtedly be a hue and cry to find you.”

  Sacia made a little sound which was like a bird or a small animal being hunted.

  “Once it is known that I am missing, there are many people in Venice who will recognise me.”

  “In which case, Sacia, if we hurry, we will just have time to pick up my horses and ride across to the mainland before the search begins.”

  They very quickly reached the Hotel Rialto.

  While the horses were saddled up and his saddlebag attached, the Prince told Texxo briefly what had happened and instructed him to return the gondola to its owner.

  He reckoned they would still have time to ride over the causeway to the mainland before the search began.

  This they safely managed, after he had instructed Texxo to stay at the hotel and await his further orders.

  They then galloped across country westwards for an hour or so.

  There were trees in the far distance, but none near them and they moved on rather more rapidly.

  *

  After a while the Prince saw ahead what appeared to be a small village.

  Already the sun was sinking rapidly and darkness would soon follow and they rode on faster towards the few houses he could see ahead.

  There were a number of cottages and beyond them a larger house and the Prince thought it might be a place where they could stay.

  “Are we stopping here?” Sacia asked nervously.

  “It will soon be dark,” replied the Prince, “and we must find somewhere to stay the night. Then we will leave early in the morning before anyone is up.”

  “I feel I am a terrible nuisance to you, Nico. But if you were not here and I was on my own, I am sure they would find me and drag me back.”

  “Which is the one eventuality we intend to avoid – so come on, Sacia.”

  They rode towards the larger house.

  As they reached it and dismounted, he realised she was taller than he had thought but still quite small.

  Sacia’s dress was very expensive looking and her long auburn hair that had fallen over her shoulders when she had climbed down the rope made her look young and innocent.

  The Prince took off his riding coat.

  “Put this round your shoulders,” he said, “as if you are feeling the cold. It will hide the fact that your dress must have cost quite a lot of money, which any woman would notice.”

  “I had not thought of that,” Sacia murmured.

  “I think too you should put this handkerchief of mine over your hair. It will make you look more ordinary and I will explain we stayed out later than we intended. Incidentally I think I should say you are my sister and we must choose a name for us.”

  Sacia laughed.

  “I feel sure this is not happening and – we are just dreaming it.”

  “Well, unless your story is completely untrue, it is all happening now and it is so important that what we say is believed. We must not make anyone suspicious.”

  “No, of course not, you are so right and so clever,” Sacia sighed.

  “Then what shall we call ourselves?” he persisted. “It’s vital that it does not sound a grand name.”

  He picked up his bag and they were both silent for a moment as they led their horses towards the larger house.

  “My Nanny, who I mentioned just now, was called Noemi. Will that do for a name?”

  “Excellent! And because you speak like a lady, I think you should say as little as possible and let me do the talking.”

  “I was going to anyway. You are so kind and I am so lucky to have found you. I will not trust myself to do anything unless you tell me what to do.”

  “That is just the right attitude that every woman should take!” the Prince remarked sardonically.

  He thought as he was speaking that it was the sort of light-hearted remark that he would have made in Paris or among his own friends to raise a laugh.

  To his surprise Sacia responded,

  “That is exactly what all men think and if a woman is intelligent she does not argue about it.”

  The Prince wanted to reply, but they had by now reached the house.

  It turned out to be a rather poor-class bar at which two middle-aged men, obviously workmen, were drinking and a publican in shirtsleeves was serving them.

  The Prince then walked up to the bar and spoke in a deliberately rather coarse Italian,

  “I wonder if you can help me. My sister and I have had a little trouble with our horses. As it is getting late, is it possible we can stay the night and leave early in the morning? Can you let us have two bedrooms?”

  The publican looked them up and down.

  It was as if he was calculating if they could afford it and then he answered,

  “I’ve two empty rooms, but they’re not very smart, and you looks to me as if you wants one of them grand hotels which be springin’ up round here everywhere.”

  “We will be extremely happy if you could make us comfortable in your two rooms,” the Prince answered. “My sister is very tired and so am I. We have done enough riding for one day.”

  One of the men at the bar laughed.

  “That’s what they all say,” he blurted out.

  “In this case it just happens to be true,” parried the Prince.

  “Just you wait here,” the publican came in, “while I goes and talks to the Missus. I’m sure she’ll put you up somehow, but it’ll cost you – ”

  “I am quite willing to pay and if you would like it in advance, I will give it to you now.”

  “No, no,” the man said, “of course I trust you,” and then he hurried away.

  Next the Prince suggested,

&n
bsp; “As I could do with a drink myself, let me stand you men one too. I assure you I am grateful to be able to rest here.”

  “If you’ve been ridin’ for long, it’s ain’t surprisin’ you’re tired,” one of the men remarked.

  “My sister wanted to see Venice and now we have seen it and there is indeed plenty to see.”

  The men thought this was a joke and they were laughing as the publican returned.

  “The Missus says she’ll have two rooms ready for you in a short while. She supposes you’ll want somethin’ to eat.”

  “We are very grateful that she should have thought of it. And these two gentlemen would like to join me in thanking you with a glass of your best wine.”

  “What about the little lady?” the publican enquired.

  Sacia had sat down in a rickety chair with a small table beside it – quite a number of glasses of wine must have been spilt on it at one time or another.

  The Prince walked across to her.

  “What would you like to drink?” he asked. “You must have something.”

  “I would like anything you are having,” she smiled.

  He thought she was behaving very sensibly and was trusting him in a way he found almost pathetic, and then he realised that she had no idea of the trouble she might have been in if she had fallen into other hands.

  There were men who would have exploited anyone so pretty and they made money from less pleasant visitors who were looking for loose women.

  And there were also men who would have taken her straight round to the front of her father’s house and expect to be rewarded for saving her from falling into the water.

  ‘She is so young and innocent,” the Prince said to himself. ‘She is also defenceless and there is nothing I can do but look after her.’

  He took her a glass of red wine that he thought was better than most of the other drinks obtainable.

  Then the Prince asked the publican what he could give them for supper.

  The two men in the bar thanked him for the drinks he had bought them and wished him goodnight and were obviously delighted at a free drink from a visitor.

  “They’re surprised at you bein’ so generous,” the publican said as they left through the open door. “Most tourists as comes here and there ain’t many, never spend a lira more than they can help.”

  “Well, I have had a bit of luck lately. That is why I brought my sister here to enjoy the beauty of Venice. As we are both hungry, I am quite prepared to pay whatever you ask for the best meal you can possibly provide.”

  The publican’s eyes lit up and again he disappeared towards the kitchen.

  He came back to announce,

  “Me wife says she’ll have somethin’ for you to eat that’ll be real tasty in about twenty minutes. If you’d like to go upstairs, I’ll show you to your rooms and you can lie on your beds while you’re waitin’.”

  “That is a good idea because we are both tired and if you will find me the finest white wine you have, we will enjoy it at dinner.”

  “You be a real gentleman after me own heart and I promise you what my wife be cookin’ be worth eatin’.”

  “I feel sure it will be, but first, do you have decent accommodation for our two horses?”

  The publican assured the Prince that he had and that there was a lad who would look after them.

  He led them up some rough stairs to where there were two bedrooms, one on each side of the passage. They were small rooms and neither of them properly furnished.

  There was just a bed and bare boards on the floors, but to the Prince’s surprise both the rooms were clean. The windows had obviously been opened since they arrived and the rooms did not smell as musty as he had feared.

  “These rooms will do us splendidly,” he said to the publican, “and we are very grateful to you for having us.”

  “You’ll have a good night’s rest and be fine in the mornin’, sir. I’ll give you a shout when supper’s ready.”

  “Thank you very much.”

  The Prince went into the room opposite his where he found Sacia looking out of the window.

  “I am sure no one would think of finding me here,” she whispered.

  “I am afraid you will not be very comfortable, but at least you are safe. I am quite sure no one will be looking for you so far afield or in a place like this.”

  Suddenly Sacia laughed.

  “It’s all so funny,” she cried, “and so extraordinary. It’s like a story in a book!”

  “That is the best way to view it and tomorrow we will make plans of where we will go and what you can do.”

  She was suddenly still and her eyes grew wide.

  “You’re not trying to tell me – I should go back?”

  It flashed through the Prince’s mind just how much he had been pushed into inviting Princess Marziale to stay.

  “I promise you one thing,” he said, “I will not ask you to do anything you don’t want to do. I will only advise you on what I think will keep you safe and happy.”

  “Thank you, thank you, Nico. You are so kind and wonderful. I think you are an archangel sent down from Heaven to protect me.”

  “I have never been suspected of being an archangel before, but I am quite willing to try to be one!”

  “I don’t think you have to try,” she replied, “I think it just comes naturally!”

  Then they were both laughing and the Prince added,

  “I must congratulate you, Sacia. You have behaved so wonderfully well in peculiar and trying circumstances. Let’s hope we will both escape tomorrow.”

  “Are you really running away too?” she quizzed.

  “Just as much as you are and that is why I am so sympathetic.”

  “You have been brilliant, absolutely brilliant,” she sighed, “and as you have just said, no one would ever think of looking for me here.”

  The Prince knew he might say the same of himself, but it would be wrong to talk too much about himself.

  “I am going to wash before supper,” he now said and went back into his room.

  CHAPTER THREE

  After a surprisingly well-cooked supper of fried fish and local cheeses the Prince went out to see that the horses were comfortable.

  Both he and Sacia had slept well and came down to breakfast early. It was what the publican and his wife had anticipated.

  As soon as they sat down at the table, the breakfast, which was simple but good, was put in front of them.

  Needless to say the publican’s wife was curious and as soon as she had finished in the kitchen, she came and talked to them while they ate.

  This meant they could not plan where they would now go and it was only after they had finished eating and the Prince had paid the bill that they were alone.

  They said their goodbyes and walked to the stable at the back of the house.

  “I have something to say to you,” murmured Sacia.

  “What is it?” the Prince asked her.

  “I thought of where I could go and where I will not only be safe but could earn some money of my own.”

  The Prince looked at her.

  She was so beautiful and so young in the morning sunlight and he just thought that it was wrong for anyone so lovely to have to work for a living.

  “I am listening – ”

  “When I was at my Convent School in Rome,” she began, “we had a teacher who came in to instruct those who took extra lessons in Greek.”

  The Prince stared at her in astonishment.

  “Are you telling me you can speak Greek?”

  “Yes, and I know Classical Greek too.”

  “I don’t think even scholars speak classical Greek. There would be no one to talk to!”

  The Prince could speak modern Greek himself and because of his great interest in the ancient Gods, especially Aphrodite, he had made an effort to learn Classical Greek.

  But he had never known a woman who had learnt it too and he found it hard to believe her.

&n
bsp; “My teacher said I was the best pupil she had ever had,” Sacia was saying, “and I am sure she was very fond of me. She would let me work with her. Perhaps, if she has as many pupils as she had then, I could earn a little.”

  “What is really important now, Sacia, is that you have somewhere to hide so of course we will certainly go to Rome and see her. What we have to do is go across to the Western coast and find a ship to take us there.”

  It was all very difficult.

  If, as he anticipated, her parents were searching for her, people would soon learn that she had disappeared and they would be only too ready to search for her if they were offered a reward.

  ‘I wonder who she is?’ he thought again to himself and then he felt that was irrelevant at the moment.

  What he must do is to spirit her away to safety just as he too wanted to feel safe.

  They saddled the horses.

  “Now we can really start moving,” he remarked. “Although it will take us quite a time to reach Rome, it should not be as difficult as one might think.”

  “You are so good to me, Nico. At the same time I cannot expect you to worry about me. How could I have been so stupid as not to have brought any money with me or for that matter any clothes.”

  The Prince chuckled.

  “I guessed that you would be worrying about your clothes sooner or later. It will be very annoying to have to wear the same dress day after day.

  “If you and I can find a shop, which I rather doubt out here, I will advance you any money you might require, and then when you are making your fortune by teaching rather stupid children to speak Greek, you can pay me back.”

  He was joking and Sacia laughed.

  “You may have to wait a very long time!”

  “I am prepared to do so,” he replied.

  When he first went downstairs he had been sensible enough to order a picnic luncheon and the publican and his wife had been only too pleased to oblige him.

  “If we don’t eat it all at luncheon time,” the Prince had said to Sacia, “we can always keep it for supper and who knows where we might have to sleep.”

  As they rode on he talked to her about Greece and he found that she knew a great deal about the Greek Gods and Goddesses and all about the teaching of Socrates, who with the brilliant philosophers who followed him, Plato and Aristotle, had made Athens into the most brilliant and intellectual City of the ancient world.