Little Tongues of Fire Read online

  “Where has my niece gone?” she asked the man who was just finishing his cup of tea.

  “She said something about going to the library,” he replied.

  “Books!” Lady Wallace sniffed disparagingly. “That girl thinks about nothing but reading. As I told her, she will be blind before she is fifty!”

  She looked up expectantly as the door opened and Lord Edgar came into the room.

  One of the gentlemen looked up at him to say,

  “Hello, Edgar. Where have you been? I missed you this afternoon.”

  “I have been drinking,” Lord Edgar said in a somewhat slurred and uncompromising voice.

  Then, as he saw Lady Wallace, he walked towards her.

  “Where is your niece?” he enquired.

  “She is in the library,” Lady Wallace replied, simpering a little as she spoke.

  Without another word Lord Edgar turned on his heel and left the room.

  Lady Wallace gave a sigh of relief and, without realising it, clasped her hands together.

  This was the moment that she had been waiting for.

  This is what she had planned and now her dreams had come true.

  *

  In the library Vina collected half a dozen books, finding each one more irresistible than the last.

  As she carried them from the shelves to the window seat of rich red velvet, she thought that never had she seen so many books she wanted to read.

  She wondered wistfully if she would ever have time to devour even a few before they went home.

  The difficulty now was to know where to begin.

  She turned over the pages of two of those she had selected before finally she opened a third, being immediately absorbed by the very first paragraph she read.

  As usual she was swept away into another world and did not hear the library door open or be aware that there was anybody but herself in the room.

  Then Lord Edgar was standing beside her and she looked up at him.

  Her immediate thought was that it was infuriating to be interrupted and she hoped that he would not want to stay and talk to her.

  Then she thought that there was a strange expression on his face before he said in a voice that was unexpectedly harsh,

  “As we both know why you are here, I suggest that the sooner I say what has to be said, the better.”

  Because of the way he spoke and what she thought was almost an aggressive look in his eyes, Vina was surprised.

  “What it amounts to,” Lord Edgar went on, “is that the sooner we are married the better it will be as far as I am concerned. What date do you suggest?”

  Now, as Vina stared at him in bewilderment, it flashed through her mind that he must have had too much to drink.

  “I-I don’t understand – ” she began.

  “Of course you understand!” Lord Edgar said sharply. “And it is ridiculous to think it should be tied up in ribbons when it is quite simply a commercial bargain.”

  He seemed almost to spit the words out.

  “A – bargain?” she faltered.

  “Whatever you like to call it, that is what it is,” he said. “You want my title. I want your money. We should deal quite well together.”

  Now he was sneering and Vina rose slowly to her feet.

  “I am afraid – my Lord,” she said, “I don’t know – what you are – talking about.”

  “Come on!” he said. “Don’t play the simpleton with me. Your uncle and aunt have the whole thing tied up with my brother and, as I have said, all I want to know is the date. There are quite a number of people interested in that.”

  Vina took a step in the direction of the door and, as if he realised that she was trying to leave the room, Lord Edgar stated roughly,

  “It cannot be very difficult for you to make up your mind whether it be two weeks, three weeks or four weeks’ time. I have told you, as far as I am concerned, the quicker the better.”

  Now Vina looked at him a little nervously and once again went towards the door.

  Angrily Lord Edgar stepped in front of her.

  “Are you playing hard to get?” he asked. “Or are you just rebuking me for not going down on one knee and kissing your hand? If that is what you want, and I cannot get a word out of you in any other way, why, dammit, I will do it!”

  “I honestly – don’t know – what you are talking – about,” Vina protested.

  “Then let me put it in plain English,” Lord Edgar answered. “I want to know the date of our Wedding because I am asking you to marry me!”

  Vina stiffened and then she said very quietly,

  “My answer, Lord Edgar, is ‘no’. I have no intention of marrying you, but – I am sure it is an honour that – you should – ask me.”

  She could not help a sarcastic note creeping into her voice, even though it trembled a little because she was frightened.

  She was quite certain that Lord Edgar was drunk and did not know what he was saying.

  Even so she had never been spoken to in such a way by any man and she thought it insulting.

  Once again she would have moved towards the door, but Lord Edgar was there before her.

  “You cannot mean that you are getting to cry off at the last moment? The whole thing is arranged by my brother and your uncle and aunt and it is no use either of us kicking against the pricks.”

  “W-what – are you s-saying?” Vina asked anxiously.

  Lord Edgar stared at her.

  “Do you honestly tell me they have said nothing to you?”

  “About my being – married? No, of course – not!”

  He looked at her as if he still did not believe that she was telling the truth and then he said,

  “It seems extraordinary to me, but it does not matter. Now that you know what is going to happen, you will just have to put up with it, as I have to.”

  “Put up with – what?”

  “Our being married,” he replied, as if she was half-witted.

  “But – I have no intention of – marrying you – nor anyone whom I do not – love!”

  “Oh, God, is that what is worrying you? I would love anyone who would pay my debts and let me live the life I enjoy.”

  Vina looked over his shoulder at the door.

  She could not reach it unless she pushed past him and she had the frightening feeling that he might hold her and prevent her from leaving.

  She drew in her breath before she stammered,

  “If as you – say my uncle and aunt have really connived with your – brother for us to be – married – surely it is something that – concerns us and not them? And while I am very honoured, Lord Edgar, by your – proposal, my – answer is ‘no’.”

  It was an effort to say the words and they came from her lips in a hesitating frightened manner because she was trembling.

  Lord Edgar took a step towards her.

  “Now listen to me, this is something which you cannot back out of. Your uncle is your legal Guardian and by law you have to obey him.”

  He paused before he went on,

  “I may make you a rotten husband, but I will try to be polite in public. Anyway we will have enough money for you to live the sort of life you want and I can live mine.”

  He moved a little closer to her as he said,

  “After all it may not be as bad as you think.”

  Then, with a swiftness of movement that took him by surprise, Vina reached the door.

  She pulled it open and before Lord Edgar could stop her, she ran away down the passage with the speed of a frightened deer.

  For a moment he considered going after her and then realised that she would by now have reached the hall, where there were footmen on duty.

  He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and mopped his forehead.

  “Curse the little fool!” he swore angrily.

  Chapter Four

  Vina ran upstairs to her bedroom.

  There was nobody there as her maid had not yet come to arrange her bath an
d for a moment she looked around her wildly.

  Then it occurred to her that her aunt might come in to talk to her, so she locked the door.

  She could hardly believe that what Lord Edgar said was true.

  Yet she was intelligent enough to realise that it was not only a possibility but it explained what she had sensed in her uncle’s and aunt’s attitudes before they had arrived in Quarington.

  This was why her aunt had kept stressing what an attractive young man Lord Edgar was and it was also definitely part of her excitement at being a guest of the Duke at his majestic home.

  Vina seated herself on the chaise longue that stood at the bottom of the bed and tried to think clearly of what had happened and what she could do about it.

  She was still trembling because of the way that Lord Edgar had spoken to her.

  Yet her horror at what he had suggested was far deeper than the emotions he had aroused with his rudeness or the shock of what he had told her.

  She knew that ever since she would find him repulsive and, as her intuition had never failed her, she was sure that she was not mistaken.

  ‘How could I marry a man like – that?’ she asked herself. ‘Somebody who – wants me only for – my money?’

  When she had first been told of the enormous fortune left to her father, she had simply been glad that all the kind acts he had done for other people had been duly recognised.

  Then, when she understood that as he was no longer alive and that the money was now hers, she had wanted to help the people of India.

  She had, therefore, instructed her uncle’s Solicitor, who had taken charge of her affairs, to send money to a number of people who had worked for her father. These included the servants who had shown him mounting devotion during his lifetime.

  What she had suggested had not come to an enormous sum, but her aunt nevertheless had told her to think of herself before she started ‘throwing her money around like water’.

  Vina had not replied, but had felt an overwhelming need for her father’s advice on how she could expend her fortune for the good of others.

  When she was a child, she could remember her mother saying to her father,

  “I hope you don’t mind, darling, but I gave fifty rupees to our tailor’s wife. She is expecting their eighth child.”

  “I should think it impossible for him to afford so many!” her father had remarked.

  “That is true and he has got into debt,” Mrs. Wallace had answered. “At the same time he is such a nice little man and, although we cannot afford it, I felt that I had to help them.”

  “Of course you did,” her husband answered and put his arms around her. “But I do know that, if I did not control your kind heart, we should be bankrupt!”

  He had been teasing her mother, but Vina had known that there was a grain of truth in what he said.

  Her mother could not bear to see anybody suffering for lack of food, which sadly was all too prevalent in India.

  When she was older, Vina realised that her mother had often economised by not having a new gown so that she could help those who were hungry or ill.

  She was aware that, if her aunt had anything to do with it, all her money would be spent on clothes and fripperies.

  While Vina wanted to buy books for herself, she was not particularly interested in what she wore.

  She had been thinking during the last month, when she learnt that the money had been paid into her uncle’s Bank and the jewels had arrived at their house, what she would do in the future.

  She thought that the best thing to do would be to talk it over quietly with her uncle.

  Unfortunately the opportunity had not arrived before she was told that they were to stay at Quarington and after that her aunt had left her no time to think of anything except clothes and more clothes.

  Now, as she thought it over, she understood what had been planned.

  The whole idea was so horrifying that her first impulse was to leave the house immediately, never to see Lord Edgar again.

  Then, because her father had taught her to reason things out logically, she remembered how Lord Edgar had said that her uncle was her Guardian and that she had to do what he told her.

  She knew this to be true.

  It was not really surprising, considering that in India all marriages were arranged by the parents of the bride and bridegroom and the majority of Hindu girls never saw their bridegrooms until the Wedding Ceremony took place.

  Vina, however, had a horror of arranged marriages ever since one of the young wives of a senior Maharajah whom her father was visiting had confided in her.

  She was a young girl of fifteen who had been married for only two months and Vina, visiting the women’s quarters in The Palace, had found her sobbing bitterly.

  She had wandered away to explore parts of The Palace alone and, as she was so upset by the girl’s unhappiness, she had sat down and tried to comfort her.

  Vina could speak Urdu quite fluently and she soon learned why the girl was so unhappy.

  First of all she was lonely and, as the latest and youngest of the Maharajah’s wives, the others were bullying her.

  Then, as Vina knew already, the Maharajah was a very old man and in ill health.

  “It is a great honour for my father that I should be his wife,” the young woman sobbed, “but the astrologers say that he will soon die and then I must die too!”

  “You do – not mean – ?” Vina exclaimed in horror.

  “Although the British have forbidden it,” the girl answered, “the other wives will all commit Suttee on our Lord’s funeral pyre.”

  Vina had not known what to say.

  She was well aware that the British, after they had conquered India, had done everything in their power to stamp out Suttee.

  It was a tradition for the widows to throw themselves onto the burning flames that consumed their husband’s body.

  It had been a custom in India for centuries and it was very difficult to prevent an action that was considered sacred.

  Vina had spoken to her father about it and he had agreed that Suttee was barbaric and cruel.

  At the same time it took place.

  The Maharajahs, who had the power of life and death in their own States, considered it right and proper that their wives should die with them.

  “But Ajsha is only fifteen, Papa!” Vina had expostulated.

  “I know, my dearest, and I realise how much it upsets you,” her father had said. “I will do everything in my power to prevent it from taking place when the Maharajah dies, but I doubt if I will be successful.”

  A month later Vina learned that the Maharajah was dead and, although the British had tried to prevent it, his wives had all committed Suttee.

  It had made Vina feel more strongly than ever that arranged marriages were cruel, however advantageous they might be to the parents.

  She saw that for the bride it could be terrifying, not only from the point of view of Suttee but how could a girl of fifteen be expected to love an old man who was practically on his deathbed?

  Remembering Ajsha made Vina think how frightening it would be to be confronted for the first time by a man one had taken an instant dislike to.

  She herself had known what she wanted and that was to be as happy as her father and mother had been. Wherever they went, whatever they were doing, however uncomfortable it was, nothing was more important than that they were together.

  She would have been very obtuse if she had not realised that, when her father was away on one of his mysterious trips, her mother was worried and anxious.

  When he returned, usually unexpectedly and unannounced, her mother’s cry of joy and the eager way that she ran to her husband’s arms seemed to light the room.

  It was as if it came from some Divine Power.

  “Oh, darling, you are back!” her mother would exclaim.

  Her voice was like a paean of happiness that seemed to vibrate in the atmosphere.

  ‘That is how I
want to feel when I am married,’ Vina told herself.

  She knew now that never in a thousand years could she feel anything but horror at being married to Lord Edgar.

  Because her father had taught her how to look into the heart of a man, she realised that he was everything she disliked and, what was more, he frightened her.

  She had felt herself flinch when men tried to sit too near to her or hold her hand for longer than was necessary and, when she was no longer a child, to kiss her.

  She had learnt to avoid such intimacy with an adroitness that was an integral part of her intelligence.

  If somebody was inclined to be familiar, she either disappeared before they were in the house or managed never to be alone with them. It was instinctive but very sensible and prevented her from being involved in any unpleasant arguments.

  Now she was faced with something far more difficult and very much more frightening.

  Trying to think objectively, she realised that if she told her aunt that Lord Edgar had mentioned marriage, Lady Wallace would be delighted.

  Vina was certain now that it had been her idea that she should marry Lord Edgar.

  She was well aware that living in the vicinity of Quarington and never being invited by the Duke to a party had irked her aunt.

  Lady Wallace had longed to know and be on intimate terms with all the most important people in the County. There was no one more important than the Duke, yet she and the General had never dined at Quarington and Vina could remember her frequently complaining about it.

  Slowly everything fell into place like a jigsaw puzzle.

  Vina realised that every pressure would be brought to bear on her to accept Lord Edgar’s extraordinary proposal.

  ‘How can this happen to me?’ she asked. ‘And how could Papa have guessed, when he saved the Maharajah’s life, that he would leave him so much money?’

  She had been slightly apprehensive when she had first learnt what a huge sum it was.

  Now she knew that as far as she was concerned, it was a tragedy.

  ‘If it is not Lord Edgar, then perhaps Aunt Marjory will find somebody just as titled – and just as unpleasant.’

  She felt herself tremble at the thought of being touched by such a man and perhaps being forced to bear his children.