A Battle of Brains Read online

  Yet somehow she felt it unlikely.

  The men she had met in the very brief time she had been in London had seemed so young and immature. They were not intelligent, but in fact rather stupid.

  However, she was sensible enough to realise why they had disappointed her.

  She had always spent time with older men, like her father and his many friends, and now it was the same with her stepfather.

  Even when she had disliked him, it was impossible not to be very impressed by his brain – and impressed by the interesting comments he made about his work.

  ‘Maybe,’ she pondered, ‘I shall find all young men are boring and dull because they have not lived exciting and adventurous lives as Papa and Step-papa have lived.’

  It was indeed a rather depressing thought, but then she told herself firmly that in this new adventure anything could happen.

  The unexpected was always round the corner.

  ‘What I am going to do, Mama,’ she whispered as she lay alone in the darkness, ‘is to try to enjoy myself as I know you would want me to and it will please Step-papa.’

  She was beginning to realise now why her mother had undoubtedly been fond of Oliver Garrack, even though she had given her heart and soul to her first husband.

  ‘I was very foolish not to realise that, although he is different in so many ways to my Papa, he is an extremely interesting man and a most intelligent one.

  ‘It meant everything to her when she was so bereft, lonely and totally penniless to have someone in her life who literally worshipped her.’

  Above all else he wanted her mother to be happy.

  ‘I must try to understand people better than I have done in the past,’ Yolanda told herself, ‘and not judge men as I have been doing because they do not resemble Papa.’

  When she mulled it all over, she concluded that her mother had always found something nice to say about everybody – however different they were and whatever their position in life, she was always complimentary.

  As she fell asleep, Yolanda was thinking that she must try to make her stepfather happy.

  She had never even thought of worrying about his feelings before, but now she realised how much he must be missing her mother.

  Perhaps in his own way he was trying to ease his unhappiness at losing her by working even harder, and that was the real reason why he had brought Mr. Watson down to the country.

  Without, of course, imagining for a moment that he would behave as he had to her.

  She was quite certain that never again would her stepfather invite her to help him as he had done over Mr. Harpole and then Mr. Watson.

  It was very wrong in the first place and even worse, because he had embroiled her in his nefarious schemes.

  He had not considered her as an attractive young woman or even as his stepdaughter.

  He was thinking only of the money he could make.

  Money, which must fill his life completely now that he had lost her mother.

  His beautiful wife had been, as he always claimed, the best and most wonderful thing to ever happen to him.

  ‘I understand! I do understand!’ she whispered.

  Then because it was impossible to go on ruminating any more, she fell asleep.

  *

  The next morning Yolanda was awake bright and early and after breakfast a carriage was waiting for them outside the front door.

  As they drove away, Yolanda thought the country had never looked more beautiful and it seemed almost a crime to leave it for the City of London.

  The servants were following them in a large brake with their luggage and besides her stepfather’s valet there were two footmen and Emily.

  Emily had begged Yolanda to ask the housekeeper if she could accompany her to London, and, as she was very attentive and a nice girl, Yolanda had done what she asked.

  “Of course you can have her if you wants her, my Lady,” the housekeeper said. “But make sure she comes with you when you returns or we’ll be short-handed here.”

  As the house seemed to boast an array of servants, Yolanda thought this was a little unlikely.

  However, she promised that Emily would return when she did.

  “We’ll all miss you, that we shall,” the housekeeper went on. “But I’m sure the Master’ll be bringing down his friends and you, my Lady, must bring yours. It’s nice to have a house full and the chef says he’ll get fat and lazy if there ain’t no one to cook for!”

  Yolanda laughed, but she thought it a good idea and told her stepfather what the housekeeper had said.

  “You are reading my thoughts!” he exclaimed. “I have every intention of having friends at the weekends, but first you and I have to decide who we will invite.”

  “You think of everything!” smiled Yolanda.

  “I try to,” he answered. “It’s most important to plan ahead and not leave everything until the last moment. You know as well as I do that can be disastrous and all that happens is that everything of any importance is left behind. You will find yourself with the people you don’t want, while those you do have made other arrangements!”

  Yolanda laughed.

  “You must be careful not to let that happen, Step-papa, and I am sure London is going to be very exciting. At least, as Papa would say, it is something new and that is always an adventure.”

  They stopped on the way for luncheon at a posting inn and when they set off again, Yolanda knew the horses had been well rested and that the servants had also enjoyed a good luncheon.

  Her Papa had always been most particular that they should look after their staff, when they had any.

  He had often become angry when he had heard that mean people neglected those who served them and allowed them to be housed in damp rooms and fed badly, while the gentry were enjoying the best of everything.

  “I learnt as a soldier,” he told his daughter, “that a good Officer looks after those he is commanding before he thinks about himself. That is what I have always done in my private life and I shall expect you to do the same when you are grown-up.”

  “Of course, Papa” Yolanda had replied.

  But it was something she thought she would never encounter – she would be with her father and then perhaps with her husband.

  As they approached London, she could not help but wonder if her stepfather was now hoping that she would soon be married.

  She was certain that the subject had already crossed his mind and that was why he had insisted on her attending dances and receptions in the country, even though she was still in mourning.

  She only hoped that the people who had invited her would not be shocked.

  She felt sure that she should not be amusing herself so soon after her mother’s death.

  They arrived at the enormous house in Park Lane.

  Yolanda thought that without the sunshine and the country surroundings they had left behind, it was all rather gloomy.

  However, once she was inside she was impressed with the magnificent way it was furnished and by the many pictures on the walls.

  That night after they had finished dinner together, Mr. Garrack told Yolanda the names of the people he had written to.

  “They are all your mother’s friends, but I daresay you can remember some more.”

  “I will try,” replied Yolanda, “but this is a long list and I think, if everyone on it asks me to a party, I shall very likely be here until Christmas!”

  Her stepfather laughed.

  “It’s not as bad as that. But I shall feel very sad if you sit at home night after night like Cinderella with only your decrepit old stepfather to talk to!”

  “I have a feeling that if you come to the parties with me, Step-papa, you will dance more than I will and be far more successful with the ladies than I can ever be with the gentlemen!”

  “Now you are being ultra modest. Let me prophesy that you are going to be the most beautiful debutante of the Season. Tomorrow before we do anything else the shops are coming to us.” />
  Yolanda knew exactly what this meant.

  When she had last been briefly in London, her stepfather had sent to the shops in Bond Street and they had brought an enormous number of gowns to the house.

  At the time Yolanda had thought that it was a rather grand way to shop, but certainly much more comfortable than traipsing from shop to shop.

  The vendeuse, with two assistants, had arrived at the Park Lane house with what seemed like a mountain of boxes.

  Once they had shown their wares to Mr. Garrack, he had decided which ones he wanted Yolanda to try on and she had chosen from them.

  She presumed the same procedure would happen again, so was delighted when he said,

  “I think you are sensible enough now to know what you want and what your dear mother would prefer you to wear. So I will leave it to you. Just tell them to send me the bill.”

  “You are so kind, Step-papa.”

  Mr. Garrack put his hand on her shoulder.

  “Everything I can give you is a thanksgiving for the happiness your mother gave me. It is just something that cannot be paid back in words, clothes, jewels or anything else. But if I am able to make you happy, that will be the only payment I require.”

  ‘How can he be so generous?’ she asked herself.

  She knew the answer.

  What she had felt about him before had been her own fault, because she had not dug deep enough into his character – nor had she ever been close enough to him to understand his feelings.

  She had disliked him because she thought he was pushy – and, if she was really honest with herself, because he had taken her father’s place.

  She had never thought of him as someone who could be hurt or upset, nor as a person who could love anyone in the way that he had loved her mother.

  Now she understood and felt ashamed of herself.

  ‘If I am to be happy,’ she determined, ‘then I have to find some way to make him happy too.’

  She spent the morning, as he had arranged, trying on dress after dress and gown after gown.

  Looking through the lovely shades of silk and fine muslin, she realised that she really did need to restock her wardrobe. Fashions had changed so much in the time she had been away and it was impossible not to feel excited by the beautiful array of garments laid out before her.

  She had gone to the Convent with such a large number of clothes that the other girls had teased her.

  But except for what her mother had sent to her and the few dresses Mr. Garrack had bought last time, she had not had anything new since before going to Paris.

  The vendeuse told her that she looked beautiful in everything she tried on, which was not very helpful, and she wished that her mother could be there to help and advise.

  Finally, after much deliberation she chose four day dresses and five evening gowns.

  Next, she chose from beautiful handmade shoes and dainty boots, embroidered underclothes, fine stockings and, of course, hats of every shape and size.

  Each shop that specialised in these items had brought enough for a bride’s trousseau.

  The thought made Yolanda shudder – and she tried hard not to think of Cecil Watson again, as she had promised her stepfather.

  *

  That night he took her to dine with an old friend of her mother’s who he also knew well.

  As they entered the drawing room, Yolanda could see that there were six young men present beside her host and hostess and their daughters.

  Suddenly she felt a sense of fear and it made her want to turn round and run away.

  Then she told herself she was being very stupid.

  How could she be frightened of these young men who were all gentlemen?

  They would never behave like Cecil Watson!

  Yet still the horror she had felt when he had thrown himself on top of her was present once again.

  Then her hostess was saying very charmingly,

  “It is so lovely to see you, Yolanda. Your mother was such a dear friend of mine and I am so anxious for you to meet my family.”

  She introduced first her daughters, then two of the young men who were her sons.

  As they took her hand, Yolanda wanted to snatch it away and it was with the greatest difficulty she prevented herself from doing so.

  ‘I am being so stupid, foolish and idiotic!’ she told herself angrily.

  Yet when they went into dinner she disliked putting her hand onto the arm of the hostess’s eldest son who was escorting her.

  But it was his father, who said to her,

  “You are the prettiest girl I have seen for a long time. I cannot think why you have been hiding away from us for so long!”

  It was difficult for Yolanda to look at him.

  “We have been in the country,” she murmured.

  “Well, now you must make up for it by being the belle of the ball at every party,” he said, “and undoubtedly all the critics in White’s will be lifting their glasses to you!”

  The mere idea of it made Yolanda shiver.

  Then she saw her stepfather watching her from the other side of the table.

  With an effort she forced herself to smile and knew that was what he wanted her to do.

  ‘I am not frightened. I am not frightened,’ she repeated silently to herself.

  She was well aware that this was an inward battle that she must face alone without being a coward.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Two weeks later everything was different.

  Yolanda had won her battle.

  She no longer shuddered when a young man put his arm around her waist to dance and she could now accept a compliment without feeling shy.

  She was an undoubted success.

  Hostesses, who had paid no attention to her at first, fell over themselves to invite her to parties.

  Everyone was talking about her.

  As her stepfather had so astutely predicted, she was undoubtedly ‘the belle of the ball’.

  There was only one somewhat unfortunate incident during the first week.

  She had gone to a rather bigger dance than she had attended before and there was a garden at the back of the house.

  She danced twice, or perhaps it was three times, with a young man who had interested her.

  He had been in the Royal Navy and was telling her about the recent modern improvements that had been made to the ship in which he was serving.

  It was very warm and when the dance finished, they went into the garden to sit under a tree where it was cool.

  Mr. Garrack was sitting in the drawing room when Yolanda came running up to him.

  “I want to go home,” she told him breathlessly.

  He looked at her in surprise.

  Then without asking her any questions, he replied,

  “Of course, Yolanda, if that is what you want.”

  She hurried down the stairs in front of him and they waited without speaking until their carriage was brought to the door.

  Only when they drove off, did Mr. Garrack ask,

  “What has happened? What has upset you?”

  For a moment he thought Yolanda was not going to reply and then she murmured,

  “The man I was dancing with asked me to marry him.”

  There was a short pause, before he commented,

  “Yolanda, I suppose you realise that is the greatest compliment you can be paid and the most expensive one.”

  He paused to smile at her before continuing,

  “After all, the gentleman in question is taking you ‘for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, until death do us part’. By that time you may be sightless, toothless and extremely irritable. No man could offer you more!”

  For a moment there was silence and then Yolanda began to laugh.

  As her stepfather laughed too, she moved closer to him and put her head on his shoulder.

  “You are quite right, Step-papa. I am a fool, but he took me by surprise, so I ran away.”

  “He will certainly n
ot think you are running after him,” Mr. Garrack remarked dryly.

  Yolanda laughed again.

  “I just don’t know why I am so stupid, but I am no longer as frightened as I was.”

  “I do realise that, Yolanda, but I think that now you are such an overwhelming success, you will think as I do that it is silly to worry about anything in the past. After all what is done is done and cannot be altered. It is tomorrow that is important.”

  “Of course it is,” agreed Yolanda, “and you must forgive me for behaving so badly.”

  “It was getting late anyway and as I have to be in my office early tomorrow morning, I am actually delighted to be going home to bed.”

  Yolanda knew that he was making things easier for her.

  When they arrived back at his house, she kissed him affectionately.

  “I am so sorry I behaved so stupidly,” she told him.

  “Forget it, Yolanda, I think tomorrow may be very exciting for you.”

  He made it exciting by giving her an attractive and very expensive present.

  He knew only too well that he was spoiling her.

  Because Yolanda was such a social success, she and her stepfather were invited to endless parties given by the most exclusive hostesses.

  They would certainly not have been invited to them in the past.

  In her new dresses for the daytime, as well as new gowns for the evening, she recognised that her stepfather was proud of her.

  *

  At the end of the third week, he said to her casually,

  “Oh, by the way, Yolanda, we are travelling to the country for the weekend.”

  Yolanda’s eyes lit up.

  “To the country! How wonderful!”

  “There are several new horses for you to see and there are three pictures I have just bought that I think will interest you.”

  “Why did you not tell me before?” asked Yolanda. “You knew I would be thrilled.”

  “I could not go to the sale myself, but my secretary did well and brought back a Van Dyck, which I am sure will delight you, as well as two more by Stubbs.”

  Yolanda clapped her hands together.

  “Oh, Step-papa, that is exciting. You know I love the Stubbs you have already and I did think it was a pity there were not more horses inside the house when there are so many outside!”