73. A Tangled Web Read online

  “I want to talk to you,” he insisted, “and I shall think it very cruel if you walk away and leave me alone.”

  “What do you want to talk about?” Carola asked.

  “You know the answer to that – you, of course!”

  “From now on, this is a forbidden subject,” Carola objected quickly. “It would be dangerous, very dangerous for us to talk indiscreetly.”

  She paused a moment and then continued,

  “In any case, I have been told that if you want to have a successful disguise, you have to think yourself into the part from first thing in the morning until last thing at night.”

  “If you are insinuating,” the Duke said, “that I should think of you as Alexander’s wife, I intend to do nothing of the sort! I know Alexander very well and where his interests lie at the moment.”

  He stopped speaking for a moment to smile at her before he went on,

  “I know I am not ‘poaching on his preserves’ by telling you that you intrigue me and I want to know a great deal more about you than I do at the moment.”

  Carola gave a little laugh.

  “Why are you laughing?” the Duke asked.

  “Because this is exactly the sort of conversation my brother Peter warned me against. He said that anything that was said to me, like you are saying now, would be because you would be thinking of me as the married woman I am pretending to be.”

  She saw the expression on the Duke’s face and laughed again.

  “It sounds rather complicated,” she said. “At the same time, as Peter intimated, the compliments you pay me are not for me as I am, but who I am pretending to be.”

  Now the Duke laughed.

  “I can tell you one thing,” he replied, “I don’t think for a moment that you are the quiet and innocent little country girl you would have me believe. That is the pretence and you are much more at home as you are now as the bogus Marchioness of Broxburne!”

  Carola put her fingers to her lips.

  “Do be careful!” she said. “You never know whether somebody might be eavesdropping and Peter says that Mr. Westwood’s man, whom he takes everywhere with him, may be a spy!”

  The Duke instinctively looked over his shoulder.

  “Does he really think that?” he questioned.

  Carola nodded.

  “He is a man who has been with Mr. Westwood as his secretary for many years. It is understood therefore that he should repeat everything he hears to his Master.”

  “Yes – I can see that!” the Duke said slowly. “You are right! We must all be on our guard.”

  He looked towards the door before he asked,

  “But just between you and me – what do you think of your ‘husband’ – now that you have one?”

  Because Carola knew that he was being curious the dimples appeared on either side of her mouth.

  “Now you are definitely speaking out of turn,” she said, “and that is a question I do not intend to answer!”

  Before the Duke could say any more, she rose to her feet.

  “I am a well-behaved, loving and very faithful wife,” she said, “and I can assure you in all sincerity that I have never looked at another man since I married him!”

  “Magnificent!” the Duke exclaimed, “but whatever you may do or say, my lovely little Marchioness, I will do my damnedest to make you look at me!”

  Before Carola could prevent it, he reached out and took her hand in his.

  He raised it to his lips, actually kissing it.

  Because she felt embarrassed and a little unsure of herself, she pulled it away quickly.

  And then without looking back she walked out of the room.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Carola thought that dinner was a huge success.

  Everybody seemed to be laughing and joking.

  She was very conscious that she looked dazzling in the diamond tiara that the Marquis had sent to her by his valet.

  It arrived just as she was putting the finishing touches to her gown and with it there was a diamond necklace and earrings to match.

  Her finery made her look older and she thought that she was very much ‘the Marchioness’ as she walked down sedately the stairs.

  Carola saw the admiration in the Duke’s eyes, but she decided not to talk to him and to concentrate instead on Alton Westwood.

  He was in evening clothes and they were obviously cut in the American style.

  Mary-Lou looked adorable.

  She had on a fluffy dress of the type a young girl would wear.

  She was very vivacious and the men sitting on either side of her at dinner were laughing at everything she said. With flushed cheeks and shining eyes no English girl of the same age would have been so self-assured.

  At the same time Mary-Lou was unselfconscious about her appearance.

  After dinner they did not go into the drawing room, but into the music room and to Carola’s surprise a man was at the piano playing the latest dance tunes.

  She looked at the Marquis enquiringly and he said,

  “I understand that both you and Miss Westwood wish to dance and, as there is a shortage of ladies, I could not spare either of you to be the pianist.”

  “You do – you really do wave – a magical wand!” Carola exclaimed, remembering her conversation with Peter in the drive when they had first arrived at The Hall.

  She saw the Marquis’s eyes twinkle at the idea of being a magician.

  “It is a role,” he said, “I am quite prepared to assume, but most women tell me I am ‘Prince Charming’!”

  “I can quite believe that!” Carola remarked, “but Brox Hall is enchanted and there must be a Merlin about somewhere.”

  The Marquis laughed.

  Then the Duke was at Carola’s side to say,

  “I think, Marchioness, we should open the ball together.”

  There was nothing Carola could do but agree and the Marquis, as was expected, asked Mary-Lou to dance.

  They swung round the room while the other men sat watching them and Carola was certain that they were being very critical.

  She noticed, however, that in one corner of the music room there was a card table and she was therefore not surprised when the Marquis suggested to Alton Westwood that he might enjoy a game of bridge.

  “I remember,” he said, “that you were very fortunate at cards when I was in America.”

  “If you are looking for your revenge, Marquis, I am quite prepared to accommodate you!” the American replied jovially.

  “Because that makes me feel rather nervous,” the Marquis replied, “I will make the stakes very low.”

  Alton Westwood smiled at this.

  The Earl and Lord Durrel were obviously anxious to make up the four.

  This left the Duke to dance with Carola and Peter partnered Mary-Lou.

  The Duke was a very good dancer, while Peter and Mary-Lou were trying out new steps and finding it very amusing.

  “Do you need me to tell you how beautiful you look in all your finery?” the Duke asked.

  “Compliments make me embarrassed,” Carola replied coyly.

  “Nonsense!” the Duke exclaimed. “Every woman enjoys being told she is lovely, especially those who are not!”

  “And, of course, it is even more exciting when the compliments are paid by someone as important as a Duke!” Carola said provocatively.

  “Now you are laughing at me,” he complained, “but actually, my lovely little pretender, I am completely sincere.”

  “Do be careful,” Carola begged. “You know we all walk a tightrope!”

  “I am enjoying it much more than I expected,” the Duke answered.

  “If you are indiscreet and mess up the whole thing, the Marquis will never forgive you and neither shall I!”

  The Duke raised his eyebrows.

  “Does it mean so much to you?”

  “It means everything to my brother!”

  “Then if you ask me very nicely,” the Duke said, “I will
obey your command.”

  The dance came to an end and Carola and the Duke sat down on one of the sofas on the side of the dance floor.

  “Now let us talk about ourselves,” he said.

  She did not answer and after a moment he went on,

  “I was just thinking that I would like to see you in the Cumbria tiara. It’s one of the largest and most important ever seen outside of Buckingham Palace!”

  “Quite frankly,” Carola answered, “I would much prefer to wear a wreath of flowers. If I wore even this tiara for long I would undoubtedly have a headache.”

  “I wonder what flowers would suit you best,” the Duke mused. “They would have to be something unique and certainly not as commonplace as roses or orchids.”

  “I am sure that you have some very fine greenhouses in your garden,” Carola said conversationally.

  She thought that she must try to prevent the Duke from being so personal as well as not looking at her in a manner that she was afraid would be noticed by the other members of the party.

  “You are trying to change the subject,” he said reproachfully, “and I think I should warn you, my lovely little Marchioness, that I am a very persistent man.”

  “I cannot think what you have to be persistent about,” Carola remarked.

  She looked away from him, watching Mary-Lou and Peter who once again were dancing.

  “Then I will tell you,” the Duke said. “From the moment I set eyes on you I wanted to kiss you and every moment we have been together since I am more and more determined that that is what I shall do before the party ends!”

  The way he spoke made Carola feel that she had to do something about him.

  She rose to her feet and, before the Duke could prevent her, walked across the floor to the piano.

  “I am enjoying your music so much!” she said to the pianist. “I wonder if you would play two of my favourite tunes?”

  “Of course, my Lady,” the pianist agreed, “if you will tell me what they are.”

  Carola mentioned two that she herself played. They had both been composed by Johann Strauss.

  The pianist smiled.

  “I would like to say, my Lady, they are also two of my favourites as well!”

  He started to play a dreamy waltz and as he did so Carola saw the Duke approaching her.

  She deliberately stepped down from the platform where the piano was placed and walked in the direction of the card players.

  When she reached them, she stood behind the Marquis’s chair.

  He looked up at her and said,

  “Have you come to see if I am losing all our money?”

  “I sincerely hope you are not!” Carola replied lightly, “and I would like to remind you that I have a birthday next month.”

  “There you are, Westwood,” the Marquis said. “If you take any more out of my pocket, my poor little wife will be very disappointed on the anniversary of her birth.”

  “It’s a date I must remember,” Alton Westwood said, “and perhaps the very first automobile that comes off the production line should be called ‘Carola’!”

  There was silence until the Earl exclaimed,

  “That is an excellent idea, and actually, it is rather a good name for a motor car.”

  “It was something I was going to discuss with you,” Alton Westwood said. “Perhaps we should have a meeting about it tomorrow.”

  “That is certainly an idea,” the Marquis replied. “In the meantime I want to say two no trumps.”

  The Earl countered,

  “Three hearts!”

  Carola moved away.

  She thought, in order to avoid the Duke flirting with her any further, she would sit near the card players.

  There anything he said would be overheard.

  He was clever enough to ask Mary-Lou to dance with him, which meant that Peter came towards her.

  Because she wanted to talk to him, they went onto the dance floor.

  “Is everything all right?” he asked in a low voice.

  “The Duke is behaving in exactly the way you expected he would,” Carola answered.

  “I guessed that was what was happening, but all that matters is that Westwood is enjoying himself.”

  They danced for a few minutes and then Carola said,

  “I think, as I am supposed to have been ill, I will now slip up to bed. Will you make my apologies to the others when they have finished their game of bridge?”

  “Of course,” Peter agreed, “and you have been marvellous tonight. I am very proud of you, my lovely sister.”

  Carola smiled at him.

  “Thank you, Peter, but be careful and don’t let anyone drink too much.”

  Peter nodded.

  “I have thought of that and ‘in vino veritas’ is the last thing anyone wants is for the truth to come out inadvertently at this moment.”

  Carola gave a little chuckle.

  When the music came to an end Peter opened the door for her and she slipped out.

  She went upstairs and rang for Betty to come and help her undress.

  “Everyone downstairs, my Lady,” the lady’s maid said, “was sayin’ how beautiful you looked at dinner!”

  “Thank you,” Carola answered, “but I am really rather tired and the doctors have told me I must not do too much too quickly.”

  “That’s good advice, my Lady.”

  Carola climbed into the four-poster bed.

  When Betty had left the room, she picked up the book that she had decided to read.

  She was soon enthralled by it and after she had read two chapters and was just thinking that perhaps it would now be wise to go to sleep.

  Suddenly she heard a gentle knock.

  It flashed through her mind that it would be Peter come to tell her something.

  “Come in!” she called out.

  To her astonishment the communicating door opened and the Marquis appeared.

  He had obviously undressed and was wearing a long robe. It was like the one her father had worn and was frogged across the chest, military fashion.

  She stared at him as he closed the door and walked towards her.

  She thought with horror that something terrible must have happened downstairs and he had come to tell her about it.

  “What– is – it?” she asked. “What has – happened since – I left?”

  He reached the bed and sat down on the side of it without asking if he might do so.

  “I had to see you,” he began, “and this was my only chance of doing so.”

  Carola looked at him with worried eyes.

  “What is – wrong?”

  “Not exactly wrong,” he said, “but I thought I ought to warn you that I must appear to be very affectionate towards you until the party ends.”

  “Very – affectionate?” Carola repeated beneath her breath. “Why?”

  “I was talking to Westwood this evening,” the Marquis explained, “and he told me something that he had not mentioned before – that his father was a lay preacher.”

  Carola made a little murmur of surprise as he went on,

  “There are a great number of them wandering about America and they are of more importance there than they are here. Westwood was therefore brought up very strictly.”

  “Y-you mean – he is – religious?” Carola asked.

  “In his own way – very, and he is certainly extremely shocked at any sort of immorality.”

  Carola’s eyes widened.

  “Apparently, when he was coming over in the ship,” the Marquis continued, “somebody told him about the affaires de coeur of the Prince of Wales and insinuated that everybody who was part of London Society behaved in the same manner.”

  “And it really – shocked him?” Carola asked.

  “He asserted that he was not having his ‘Li’l Gal’s’ morals corrupted by women who were unfaithful to their husbands, nor, he added firmly, would he allow her to marry a man who was flitting from boudoir to boudoir after w
omen who were cuckolding their husbands!”

  Carola drew in her breath.

  She could understand that this was something that the Marquis had not expected.

  He was watching the expression on her face.

  “I can see you understand,” he said, “and of course I am extremely nervous that he might not consider me a fit and proper person to be the Chairman of his Company.”

  “If people gossip, what can – you do about – it?” Carola asked.

  “I took the precaution,” the Marquis replied, “just in case Westwood hears any gossip about me, of what I might call ‘covering my tracks’.”

  “What are – you – saying?” Carola asked.

  She thought it likely that Alton Westwood had already been told that the Marquis was pursuing the beautiful Lady Lucas and gossip was something no one could prevent.

  From all Peter had told her, very little went on in Mayfair without everyone, including the servants, being aware of it.

  “What I have told him,” the Marquis said, “is that he should not believe everything he hears. There are always people ready to exaggerate and make innuendoes sound far worse than they really are.”

  He gave a dry laugh before he continued,

  “That is certainly true, but I think, as I was saying it, that Westwood was sensible enough to guess that there is no smoke without fire!”

  “But – surely,” Carola said in a frightened voice, “he would not – call everything – off that has been – planned when it has – gone so far?”

  “He is quite capable of doing so,” the Marquis replied, “and you know what moralists are like, especially Americans who can be fanatical on any subject that arouses their emotions.”

  “So – what did – you say?” Carola asked.

  “I told him that because I was so successful on the turf, there were always people ready to be envious of me and who wanted to take me down a peg or two.”

  “He understood that?”

  “He seemed to, but to make quite certain I said, ‘for instance, I know that people are talking about me because I am constantly with a very beautiful woman – in fact the most beautiful in the whole of England whose name is Lilac Lucas.”

  The Marquis looked at Carola closely as he spoke.

  She knew that he was questioning whether she had heard the rumours to this effect.

  She tried not to blush, but she felt the colour come into her face and, despite every resolution, her eyes flickered and she looked away from him.