Love and the Cheetah Page 8

  There were two giraffes, one of them quite small, the other very tall.

  There was also a black panther, which the Duke refused to allow Ilesa to go near.

  “He has been here with me only for a few months,” he warned her, “and he has already attacked two of the men who look after him. I therefore absolutely forbid you, and I mean this, Ilesa, to go into his enclosure.”

  Ilesa did not seem to notice that he had used her Christian name for the first time.

  She looked up at him with shining eyes as she asked,

  “What will happen if I disobey you?”

  “Apart from the fact that the panther might spoil your beauty, I should be very angry and probably would lock you in a cage in my menagerie so that you can never escape.”

  Ilesa laughed.

  “I would be quite happy if I could play with Rajah and Che Che every day and perhaps I will grow fur like theirs to protect me when it is cold!”

  The Duke did not answer.

  He was thinking that nothing could be more attractive than her golden hair, which was glittering in the sun so that it was like a halo round her small pointed face.

  As they left the panther, the Duke told her,

  “I am afraid that this is where my menagerie ends at the moment. But I intend to make it very much bigger and I have been wondering lately if it would be possible to include bears and even elephants.”

  Ilesa clapped her hands.

  “But, of course, you must! Your menagerie would not be complete without an elephant. And think too how majestic you would look riding it around the estate!”

  The Duke laughed.

  “I had not thought of that.”

  “It would certainly surprise your neighbours when they come to call.”

  “Then they will want to see the rest of my menagerie,” the Duke said, “and I want to keep it to myself.”

  “I need not point out that you are being very selfish, Your Grace,” Ilesa answered, “and, please may I go round again later today in case I never see it again?”

  “Would that be such a disaster?” the Duke asked her.

  “To me it would be a catastrophe!” Ilesa replied. “So please be kind and let me enjoy every moment of your exquisite menagerie while I can.”

  The Duke then thought that most women would like to be with him rather than with his possessions, but he replied,

  “You shall have your wish on one condition.”

  “What is that?” Ilesa enquired.

  “That you do not tell your sister or anyone else that you have been here.”

  “I would certainly not tell Doreen,” Ilesa replied. “She is terrified of animals and even dislikes my dogs.”

  She spoke without thinking and then thought that what she had said was unkind.

  “She loves your house,” she said quickly, “and I can quite understand that because it is so magnificent.”

  “I like to think of it as my home,” the Duke said, as if he was correcting her.

  “But naturally you think like that,” Ilesa smiled “Anywhere where we have been born and where we have been very happy with our parents is home, whether it be a cottage or a mansion as spectacular as Heron Court.”

  “Are you saying that you really prefer the Vicarage, which I admit is very attractive, to Heron Court?”

  Ilesa put her head on one side as if she was thinking.

  Then she said,

  “You are trying to institute an impossible comparison. The Vicarage is part of me. It is where I have been blissfully happy ever since I was a child. It is difficult to think of it apart from myself.”

  She paused before she continued,

  “But Heron Court is undoubtedly the most majestic as well as the most beautiful house I have ever seen, so you are very very lucky, Your Grace.”

  The Duke laughed.

  “That is a clever and well-thought-out answer! And, of course, I stand here corrected for having asked the question.”

  Ilesa smiled and there were dimples in her cheeks as she said,

  “I think actually you were trying to catch me out because you were so surprised that I could make friends with Rajah and Che Che. Please can we see them once more before we go back to the house?”

  “Of course,” the Duke agreed at once.

  They went back to Rajah’s enclosure and he bounded towards them as if he was a child running towards his parents.

  As the Duke and Ilesa made a great fuss of him, he turned from one to the other as if he wanted to express his affection for both of them.

  Once, as they were both running their hands through the fur down Rajah’s back, the Duke unintentionally touched Ilesa’s.

  Unexpectedly she suddenly felt a strange sensation sweep through her.

  She looked up at him and their eyes met.

  And somehow it was quite impossible to look away.

  Then in a voice that seemed to come from a far distance the Duke said,

  “You are a very unusual person, Ilesa. I have never met anyone at all like you before.”

  “I think perhaps that is because you never meet anyone ordinary,” Ilesa replied. “I live in the country, but I love animals. And I am most fortunate because they love me back.”

  “That is not surprising.”

  Then, as if Rajah was annoyed that he was losing their attention, he nibbled the Duke’s ear, just like Che Che had done.

  They suddenly realised that they had spent a long time with the animals at the menagerie.

  And, when they returned to the house, the butler informed the Duke that the Vicar and Lady Mavis had waited for a while after breakfast, but had then gone riding.

  “That was sensible,” the Duke commented. “Miss Harle and I will have breakfast at once and tell the grooms to bring the horses round in half an hour.”

  “Am I really going to be able to ride ‒ one of your magnificent horses?” Ilesa asked him with a broad smile on her face.

  “You made it very obvious to me at the Vicarage that it was what you wanted to do,” the Duke replied.

  “I will go and change now in case I keep you waiting. I know that is an unpardonable sin!”

  She did not wait for the Duke’s reply, but she heard him laughing as she ran up the stairs.

  Her riding habit was old and certainly not what might have been expected at Heron Court. But, because she was in such a hurry to ride, Ilesa did not think about her appearance.

  She pinned up her hair in a tidy manner as she always did when she went out hunting.

  She put on her hat, which was also old, but had a pretty blue gauze veil round the crown.

  It was, although she did not realise it, something that was rapidly going out of fashion, but it had been correct fifteen years ago when her mother had first purchased it.

  It was certainly very becoming, the Duke thought, as she hurried back into the breakfast room with shining eyes.

  He knew how excited she was at the prospect of being able to ride one of his horses.

  Because she was anxious to ride, Ilesa ate her breakfast very quickly and, as the Duke put down his cup of coffee, she had finished hers.

  “Come along,” he urged, “the horses will be waiting for us and I am waiting to see if you are as proficient a rider as you would have me believe.”

  “It will be very humiliating if I am thrown at the first fence!” Ilesa admitted. “But I did not mean to boast, Your Grace”

  “After what I saw this morning,” the Duke responded, “you are entitled to boast as much as you wish and I would not allow anyone to contradict you.”

  “I may have to keep you ‒ to that promise,” Ilesa replied.

  She ran down the steps outside the front door and saw the grooms holding two superb horses.

  They were certainly finer than anything she had ridden from her grandfather’s stable and she knew that, if her father was riding an equally fine animal, he would undoubtedly be in his element.

  The Duke then lifted her i
nto the saddle and skilfully arranged her riding skirt for her over the pommel.

  Then almost before he could mount, Ilesa was riding away.

  She knew at once that she was mounted on the finest horse that she had ever ridden or even imagined.

  There was no need to express her excitement and delight, the Duke could see it on her face.

  They had now ridden onto some level ground on the other side of the Park when, without really arranging to do so, they were racing each other.

  The horses obviously realised what was expected of them.

  When the Duke and Ilesa reached the end of a very long field, they were running neck and neck. It would have been impossible to say who was ahead.

  As they drew in their horses, Ilesa exclaimed,

  “That was the most exciting ride that I have ever had. Oh, thank you! Thank you, Your Grace. It is a joy that I will remember for the rest of my life.”

  “I hope,” the Duke then said quietly, “that it is something we will do very often.”

  She thought that he was reassuring her that she would be invited again to Heron Court when he married Doreen.

  She told herself, however, that it was a privilege that she could not really count on.

  She was quite certain that, once Doreen had become a Duchess she would, as she had done before, forget about her family altogether.

  She would certainly not invite her father or her to Heron Court.

  They rode on to the paddock near the stables and their horses flew over the jumps as if they were birds.

  When finally they turned to go back to the house, Ilesa enthused,

  “Thank you, thank you again! There are no words for me to tell you what a wonderful morning it has been and how happy you have made me!”

  “I may have played a small part in it, but your thanks should really go to Rajah and Che Che and, of course, to Skylark, who you are sitting on at the moment.”

  Ilesa bent forward to pat her horse’s neck.

  “He is perfection!” she exclaimed. “I think really that he has been ridden across the sky by one of the Gods ‒ perhaps carrying a message to Mount Olympus.”

  “You don’t think of yourself as a Goddess?” the Duke asked dryly.

  Ilesa smiled.

  “You have forgotten that I am just a country bumpkin who lives amongst the cabbages and turnips. It is only your magic wand that has transplanted me for these sublime moments into a Paradise that I did not even know existed.”

  “Then that is where you will have to stay,” the Duke said.

  As they reached the level ground, they were racing each other again.

  Doreen was just coming down the stairs as they arrived rather breathless back at the house.

  When she saw that the Duke was alone with her sister, there was a sudden darkness in her eyes.

  It told Ilesa immediately that she was furious.

  “Where have you been?” she asked sharply. “I was told that Papa and Lady Mavis waited for you at breakfast and then rode off without you.”

  “I was in the garden,” Ilesa said lamely.

  “It was my fault,” the Duke intervened. “I insisted on your sister coming back to her rather late breakfast with me. Then we went riding, but somehow missed finding your father and my aunt.”

  Doreen did not reply, but, as they went towards the salon, she slipped her arm through the Duke’s.

  “There are so many things I really want you to show me, Drogo,” she said in her most caressing voice. “And I shall feel very neglected if you refuse.”

  “You know I will not do that,” the Duke said, “and, of course, there must be things that will interest your father.”

  As he spoke, Lord Randall came down the corridor.

  “You will hardly believe it, Drogo,” he said, “but I overslept and I suppose I have missed all the fun.”

  “All of it!” the Duke replied. “That will teach you not to drink so much at night.”

  Lord Randall laughed.

  “I admit I am not as abstemious as you. At the same time I am regretting that I did not ride with you this morning.”

  “Let’s make plans for what we are going to do this afternoon,” the Duke suggested.

  They had reached the salon by this time and the Vicar greeted the Duke,

  “Good morning, Your Grace! I hope you did not mind our going ahead of you, but we expected you to catch up with us.”

  “I must have gone in a different direction,” the Duke replied vaguely, “but now I would like you to tell me what you would like to do this afternoon.”

  He stopped for a moment and then went on,

  “Personally I would like to show you my racehorses. The yearlings are trained here before they go to Newmarket and I think you will enjoy viewing them.”

  “I shall indeed,” the Vicar agreed, “and Ilesa must come with us because she is very knowledgeable on breeding.”

  The Duke looked at her in surprise.

  “Another talent?” he asked.

  “Papa is flattering me,” Ilesa answered. “I read aloud The Racing Times to him, so I know quite a lot about your racehorses and how they have carried off all the important prizes, giving no one else a chance.”

  The Duke laughed.

  Ilesa was aware once again that her sister was looking at her with fury in her eyes.

  “I am sure,” Doreen came in now in the sweetest of tones, “that Papa will not want to be away from his beloved parishioners for long. So, if he and Ilesa are leaving tomorrow, we must, Drogo dear, show them everything of interest today.”

  She emphasised the word ‘we’.

  It was then that Lady Mavis said,

  “I too would like to come with you to see your horses, Drogo, and I am quite certain that Lord Randall will want to as well.”

  “I refuse to be left out,” Hugo Randall asserted. “Why do we not get your phaetons out of the store, Drogo? I will race you as we have done before and this time I intend to have the best team.”

  The Duke laughed.

  “That is indeed a challenge! All right, it is what we will do.”

  They walked round the garden and then enjoyed an early luncheon.

  Ilesa hurried up the stairs to put on her hat.

  She gave only a passing thought to the fact that Doreen was looking as if she was going to a Royal Garden Party.

  What did her looks matter when she could ride the Duke’s fabulous horses and see his superb yearlings?

  She came downstairs again and walked into the salon.

  Only the Duke and Doreen were there.

  As she entered the room, Ilesa was aware that Doreen had her arms around the Duke’s neck and was pulling his head down for him to kiss her.

  Ilesa stood still feeling embarrassed at having interrupted them.

  Then she realised that neither of them were aware of her presence in the room.

  “Not here, Doreen!” she heard the Duke saying sharply.

  CHAPTER SIX

  They spent the afternoon very enjoyably as planned, seeing the yearlings being trained and watching the Duke and Lord Randall winning one race each in their splendid phaetons.

  When they were going upstairs to dress for dinner, Ilesa said to her father in a low voice,

  “Are we leaving ‒ tomorrow?”

  The Vicar shook his head.

  “No,” he replied. “I had intended to do so, but plans have changed.”

  Ilesa looked startled and he continued,

  “The Duke has asked me to help him with the alterations he is planning for his Private Chapel here at Heron Court.”

  Ilesa was listening to him and he went on,

  “The Chapel was actually first built in Tudor times and then it was destroyed by the Puritans and reconstructed during the reign of Charles II.”

  “It sounds fascinating,” Ilesa murmured.

  “It is,” the Vicar agreed, “and Adam was wise enough to leave it alone. Unfortunately early in this century some tim
e before Queen Victoria came to the Throne, the reigning Duke enlarged the Chapel.”

  He gave a short laugh as added,

  “As you might imagine, the additions he made were completely alien to a Chapel of the Restoration period.”

  “So you are going to advise him on restoring it,” Ilesa commented.

  “The builders are coming tomorrow afternoon to see the Duke to discuss plans for the alterations and then we can go home the following day.”

  Ilesa wanted to say that this news delighted her because then she would be able to be with Rajah and Che Che again.

  “You must come and look at the Chapel,” her father was saying. “It is one of the few Private Chapels in England still in existence where anyone can be married without having to obtain a Special Licence from the Archbishop of Canterbury.”

  “Like the Mayfair Chapel!” Ilesa exclaimed.

  “That is right,” the Vicar agreed.

  Ilesa went to her bedroom thrilled that they were to stay for another whole day at Heron Court.

  She had, however, a somewhat intractable problem concerning what she was to wear that evening.

  The Duke had told them before they went upstairs that he had lent the ballroom to one of his cousins who was giving a party for the young.

  “They are seventeen and eighteen year olds,” the Duke explained, “but we old ‘fuddy-duddies’ can go in later and dance to the orchestra if we wish to.”

  He was looking at Ilesa as he spoke.

  She clasped her hands together as she cried,

  “Oh, that would be really wonderful! I have never been to a ball. I only remember the children’s parties that I was too old for after Mama died. But it would be delightful to dance in your beautiful ballroom.”

  “Then I insist on your celebrating your first appearance at a ball by dancing with me.”

  She dropped him a mocking curtsey.

  “I am honoured, Your Grace.”

  Then she became aware that Doreen was looking at her in a hostile fashion.

  Hurriedly she joined her father who she could see was going upstairs.

  Now, as she entered her bedroom, she was wondering if it would look too obvious if she wore her mother’s Wedding gown again.

  To her surprise, however, the housekeeper, Mrs. Field, a somewhat formidable figure in black, was in her bedroom.