A Royal Rebuke Read online

  For a moment he thought that the Princess was going to refuse to play.

  Then, in a voice he could hardly hear, she said,

  “That will be ‘love-all’!”

  CHAPTER SIX

  They came within sight of Zararis late in the afternoon.

  The engines slowed down and Lord Victor realised that they were to wait for the barge which the Ambassador had told them about.

  When he looked out of the porthole, he could see in the distance two lines of small sailing yachts.

  They were getting into position so that the barge could pass down between them.

  There was, however, no sign yet of the barge.

  It was the Ambassador who suggested that they should all dress early, but Lord Victor had thought it unnecessary.

  This was confirmed when the Captain remarked knowingly in an aside,

  “These people are always late. No idea of time! Never have had!”

  Lord Victor knew this to be true.

  When he was finally dressed, he thought that in his frock coat, stiff collar and carefully tied tie he certainly looked as was expected of a representative of the Queen.

  Because there was nothing else to do, he went up on deck.

  There was still no sign of the barge that was to carry them ashore.

  The sun was beginning to sink lower on the horizon and very shortly the first stars would be coming out overhead.

  Last night there had been almost a full moon and Lord Victor had deliberately not gone on deck with the Princess after dinner as he knew that she wished him to do.

  They had sat talking stiffly of nothing of importance until she said,

  “I am going out to look at the stars!”

  She walked out of the cabin as she did so.

  Lord Victor was aware that the two Ladies-in-Waiting and both the men were expecting him to follow her.

  Because he thought that it would cause more comment if he refused, he somewhat reluctantly rose to his feet.

  As he expected, the Princess was in her usual place. She was leaning against the ship’s rail with the moonlight shining on her golden hair.

  As Lord Victor reached her, she asked in a small voice,

  “Why are – you being – unkind to – me?”

  “I am trying to be sensible,” Lord Victor replied.

  “But – I may never – have a chance – of being alone with – you again.”

  “You know that tomorrow,” Lord Victor answered, “we have to behave in a very different way from what has been so enjoyable these last weeks.”

  “I know – I know,” the Princess answered, “but how can I – bear it? How can I do – all the things that are – expected of me – if you are – not there?”

  Lord Victor thought that the pain in her voice made it unbearable for him to go on listening to her.

  He leaned over the rail some way from her and stared at the distant City and the lights were now just beginning to appear.

  “I-I am – thinking,” the Princess said, “that, if I – throw myself into the – sea, there would be no more – problems.”

  “Now you are being over-dramatic, ma’am, and, if you did such a thing, everybody would say it was my fault.”

  “And – that is what – it would be,” she sighed beneath her breath.

  Because he knew that if he stayed any longer they might both say things that they would afterwards regret, he turned away.

  “I am going to my cabin,” he said. “If you are wise, you will go to bed and forget about tomorrow.”

  He did not wait for her answer.

  He felt as he walked away from her that he was shutting the Gates of Paradise behind him.

  Now this evening, as he looked out towards Zararis, he thought that he had never imagined for one moment that he would fall in love on this voyage.

  But it was not the joy he had expected it would be.

  It was an agony, it was like a knife turning in his heart.

  At last he was aware that there was something moving towards them in the distance and he saw that it was the barge.

  He watched it come nearer and nearer.

  When finally he could see it clearly, it was different from anything he had expected.

  He guessed from its appearance that it was very old and it had perhaps been used by the Kings of Zararis ever since they had first arrived in this part of the Balkans and created a Kingdom.

  The barge was painted a brilliant red and picked out in white.

  It was to all intents and purposes in two tiers and in the lower tier there were at least twenty men rowing it seated in pairs.

  They looked, Lord Victor thought, like slaves locked to their seats in a Roman galley.

  It would be impossible for them to stand up, since the roof that formed the upper deck was just above their heads as they sat.

  This was long and wide and the rail, which was low, only about a foot high, was carved and painted in different colours.

  The whole deck was massed with flowers and exactly in the centre on a raised platform there was a throne, which was covered with flowers and fruit.

  There were bunches of grapes, small oranges and peaches and they were arranged with the brilliantly coloured flowers that were characteristic of the region.

  There were huge pots containing small shrubs, which were all in blossom and there was also a profusion of fairy lights and lanterns, which were not yet lit.

  A tall mast covered with these was behind the throne on which the Princess would sit.

  Lord Victor thought that they had most certainly done their best and no one could complain that they were not welcoming their future Queen in style.

  He longed to discuss it with the Princess, but knew that it would be a mistake to go near her.

  She had looked at him reproachfully at breakfast and he had the idea that she might have had, as he had, a more or less sleepless night.

  Mr. Orestes had droned on about the history of Zararis, which he had taken upon himself to impart in every detail to the Princess.

  Lord Victor did not listen.

  He was quite certain that Princess Sydella was thinking only of how, if it was possible, she could talk to him alone, which was something that he was determined to avoid.

  Therefore when breakfast was ended, he had gone up on the bridge to see the Captain.

  “When will you be returning to England, my Lord?” the Captain asked. “We have orders to wait for you. However, our ships are wanted here, as you will understand.”

  “I noticed that we passed some British Battleships as we steamed up from Athens,” Lord Victor remarked, “and I suspect that there are more just outside the Dardanelles.”

  “We are just keeping an eye on things,” the Captain said, “but the Russians have no wish after losing so many men on their march to Constantinople ten years ago to start another war.”

  “I hope you are right, Captain,” Lord Victor said. “But I understand that they are infiltrating wherever possible into these smaller countries.”

  “That is true enough,” the Captain agreed. “As your Lordship knows, there are no dirty tricks they will not get up to if they can get away with it.”

  Lord Victor thought that this was cold comfort.

  The Princess would be left in a very small country defended by what he had ascertained from the Ambassador was a ridiculously small Army.

  “I have always thought that we should have a fleet of our own Battleships,” the Ambassador had added, “but the Prime Minister will not incur the expense. And His Majesty believes those who tell him that there is no necessity for it.”

  Lord Victor could only hope that Queen Victoria and the Marquis of Salisbury were right in their confidence that the mere presence of an English Queen would keep the Russians at bay.

  He now realised painfully that Princess Sydella would be extremely lonely once he had left.

  Aloud he said to the Captain,

  “I will let you know when I think
it is expedient for me to leave. But you do realise that I shall have to be here for the wedding and the Coronation.”

  “Yes, yes, of course,” the Captain agreed.

  The barge came nearer and nearer and finally it drew alongside the Battleship.

  Seamen appeared on the deck and managed to secure the barge to the side of H.M.S. Victorious, so that it could be attached without scratching the paint on either vessel.

  A gangplank was then put in place.

  Lord Victor thought that it was his duty to ascertain that it was safe and to be the first person to use it.

  He stepped onto the deck of the barge as its crew were busy lighting the lanterns and they were just in time before the sun finally sank completely out of sight. The dusk deepened swiftly, as it always does in Mediterranean countries.

  There was some delay while a small orchestra arranged itself near the stern.

  As they started to play, a message was sent to the Princess to say that her throne of flowers was now ready for her.

  There were three Statesmen on the barge and, when they greeted Lord Victor, he saw that they carried their speeches in their hands.

  He was dismayed to see that each one consisted of half-a-dozen pages or more and he knew how boring it would be for the Princess.

  Yet he told himself fiercely it was a routine that she had to become accustomed to.

  When at last Princess Sydella came up on deck, she was breathtakingly lovely.

  It seemed wrong that the Statesmen were all in their sixties and that he was the only young man to appreciate how exquisitely she looked.

  She was wearing a white gown that accentuated her tiny waist and it was décolleté enough to reveal the whiteness of her skin and it also showed off her long graceful neck.

  She had, Lord Victor noticed, been tactful enough not to wear jewellery.

  Her necklace was of small white lilies and orchids made into a wreath perched like a crown on her golden hair.

  She moved slowly and with dignity over the gangplank.

  The two Baronesses followed and behind them came the Ambassador and Mr. Orestes.

  The elderly Statesmen stepped forward.

  As they bowed, the Princess looked over their heads at Lord Victor.

  He thought that he saw a desperate appeal in her eyes.

  He knew that he could not help her.

  It hurt him bitterly not to be able to do so and, as she settled herself on her flowery throne, he turned away.

  The first Statesman started his speech of welcome.

  Lord Victor then moved to the stern of the barge, passing the orchestra that was now playing softly.

  There was a trellis of flowers behind them that left him in partial darkness and he was invisible to all the others on deck.

  The moon was casting its silver rays on the sea and now the two lines of yachts between which the barge was to move to the Port were ablaze with lights.

  As Lord Victor stood gazing at them, he suddenly became aware that something was moving below him.

  He looked down to see a boat, no bigger than a canoe, beside the barge.

  There was only one man in it and Lord Victor wondered vaguely if he was a guest arriving late.

  Or else an oarsman who had missed filling his place when the barge set sail.

  Because he wanted to think of anything rather than the Princess, he watched the man ship his oars.

  It was then he became aware that there was somebody in the stern of the barge below him leaning over.

  Lord Victor could not see him clearly, but the man in the boat picked up what seemed a solid article, which he held up as high as he could.

  Then the other man bent forward to take it from him.

  Lord Victor wondered if it was something that had been left behind, perhaps a lantern.

  It was then he heard the man in the boat say,

  “Be very careful and hurry!”

  The man on the barge did not reply.

  But a few seconds later he sprang over the rail to join the man in the boat and he then rowed away at what seemed to Lord Victor a quite abnormal speed.

  It suddenly occurred to him that the man in the boat had spoken in Russian.

  Because he could now understand it, he had not realised for the moment what language had been used.

  Now, as he stared after the boat, the man who had joined it from the barge looked back.

  As the moonlight shone onto his face, Lord Victor was almost certain that it was Alexander.

  It was then with a quickness of mind that was characteristic of him, he knew what they had been doing.

  Running as swiftly as he could to the centre of the deck, he seized the Princess by the hand.

  He pulled her from the throne.

  As he did so, he shouted,

  “A bomb! A bomb in the stern! Move quickly! A bomb in the stern!”

  He was speaking in Greek, but, as he was not certain if the word he was using was right, he repeated it in English as well.

  “A bomb! A bomb!”

  As he was shouting, he was also running, pulling the Princess towards the bow of the barge.

  When they reached it, he was almost breathless.

  Through the chatter of voices behind him, he called to the Princess,

  “Can you swim?”

  “Y-yes,” she answered.

  “Take off your slippers,” Lord Victor ordered.

  He was kicking away his own shoes as he spoke and then pulled off his tight-fitting frock coat.

  He seized the Princess once again by the hand.

  As he did so, he heard the first ominous sounds of an explosion behind him.

  Without turning his head, he drew the Princess forward and jumped.

  Even as they splashed into the sea, there was a violent bang behind them.

  Then there were screams and shouts from above deck and below it.

  Lord Victor did not speak.

  He was swimming and at the same time supporting the Princess.

  He knew that she would have difficulty in using her legs owing to her long gown.

  Then, as he was trying to decide which direction to swim in, he realised that they were in the grip of a strong current.

  Local currents were characteristic of the Aegean Sea and Lord Victor had read about them.

  Now in the savage grip of one, he felt it carrying them away from the barge.

  He decided that it was better to go with the current than try to swim against it.

  Their hair was saturated by the sea, which also blinded their eyes.

  As they were carried away, there was another explosion.

  The flash of it for the moment dazzled Lord Victor.

  Now he knew that he was fighting not only for his own life but also for the Princess’s.

  It was many minutes later, although it seemed far longer, that Lord Victor managed to manoeuvre them out of the current.

  He half-supported, half-pulled the Princess with him.

  He was fortunately a very strong swimmer and it was a sport that he had enjoyed whenever he had the opportunity.

  Finally they were in smoother water and Lord Victor spoke for the first time.

  “Take it slowly,” he urged. “We must not exhaust ourselves.”

  The Princess did not answer, but her fingers tightened on his.

  He wondered how long she would manage to stay afloat without any further assistance.

  Then unexpectedly he was aware that they were in sheltered water and, as he put down his foot, he found that there was sand beneath it.

  Now he could see the outline of a small cove and he pulled the Princess towards it.

  A few seconds later they were treading in only a foot or so of water and they were soon on a sandy beach enclosed by a bay.

  Lord Victor straightened himself and turned towards the Princess.

  She took one step forward, then her arms were round his neck.

  “You – have – saved – me! You have – save
d – me!” she cried.

  Her face was lifted up to his and for the moment it was impossible to think clearly.

  Lord Victor was only aware that they were both alive and he drew her close to him.

  Then his lips were on hers.

  Their faces were wet from the sea water and for a moment their lips were cold.

  Then, as Lord Victor felt the Princess moving closer to him, his kiss became demanding, possessive and finally passionate.

  He kissed her as he had longed to do, until he felt that he made her his.

  To Princess Sydella it was as if he took her heart from her body and she gave him her soul as well.

  Only when at last Lord Victor raised his head, did she say in a voice that seemed like the song of the angels,

  “I – love – y-you. I-I love – you!”

  It was then that Lord Victor came back to reality.

  “My darling,” he said hoarsely, “those devils might have killed you.”

  “But – you saved – me – you s-saved me,” she whispered.

  “We were saved only because I have learnt Russian,” he told her.

  “Was it – the Russians?” the Princess queried. “They – wanted to – kill – me?”

  “It was Alexander who planted the bomb in the barge,” Lord Victor said in a harsh voice.

  “Alexander!” the Princess exclaimed. “I told you he had hard eyes – but I did not think he would try to – kill me!”

  “What they wanted,” Lord Victor said, “was to prevent there being an English Queen on the throne of Zararis.”

  He gave a deep sigh.

  “But they failed!”

  He looked back and could just see the Battleship much further away than he expected. It was silhouetted against the fire on the barge blazing on the far side of it.

  He was certain there were sights on the barge that the Princess should not see.

  It was also obvious they could not get back to it anyway.

  He turned round saying,

  “Now we had better explore and see if there is somewhere where we can at least dry ourselves.”

  He was thinking that inland there might be crofts of some sort or even a village, but there were no lights, in fact no sign of human beings.

  They walked along the shore and suddenly Lord Victor gave an exclamation.

  Just at the end of the bay, somewhat above the beach, was a small hut and he thought that it was probably a boatshed of some sort.