Born of Love Page 8

  Then, as he followed her, he told himself that she was certainly the most extraordinary girl he had ever met. And, from his point of view, quite the most sensible.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  The Duc raced ahead of Marcia and, as they pulled in their horses, she was laughing.

  She had no idea how lovely she looked with her eyes sparkling, her cheeks flushed and her golden hair rioting over her head.

  She turned to him and said,

  “I am not going to say ‘the best horse won’, because I think your stallion is already very pleased with himself.”

  “And I suppose you are thinking the same of his owner,” the Duc remarked.

  “But of course!”

  Looking towards the château in the distance, she added,

  “How can you be anything else when you possess so much of everything? But, as my Nanny always warned me, ‘pride comes before a fall!’”

  “I think mine said something similar,” the Duc nodded, “but it would be churlish not to tell you that you ride better than any woman I have ever seen.”

  “Papa would be pleased to hear that,” Marcia answered.

  Then she gave a little cry and put up her hand as if to silence her lips.

  “Be careful! Be very careful!” she cried. “If you say anything like that to Papa, he will think that you are growing to like me.”

  She paused before she said urgently,

  “I have just thought – nobody must know that we met out riding and you must ignore me when we get back to the château.”

  “Are you really telling me how to behave, Lady Marcia?” the Duc asked.

  “Of course I am,” Marcia replied. “I have as much, if not more, to lose than you by being a puppet in this ridiculous drama.”

  She did not see the surprise on the Duc’s face, but went on,

  “The one thing we must not do is to ride back to the château together. I will go one way and you must go another.”

  “It gets more and more complicated,” the Duc said, “but I understand what you are saying to me.”

  “I will hurry back now,” Marcia said as if she was thinking it out, “and join Papa for breakfast. If you come in later, there is no need for anybody to think that we met out riding.”

  She had assumed as she spoke that they had been unobserved.

  Then she suddenly realised that it would not be difficult for someone, if they were looking out of the windows, to be aware of them talking together.

  Because the thought agitated her, she said quickly,

  “I will go now, but before I do, may I choose which horse I would like to ride this afternoon in the races?”

  “No,” the Duc replied, “I will choose one for you.”

  Marcia looked at him to see if he was serious and said,

  “If it is some hobbledehoy animal that prevents me from winning any of the races, I shall get even with you in one way or another!”

  She did not wait for his reply, but rode away on Aquilin at a gallop.

  The Duc looked after her, thinking that she was certainly amusing as well as being different from any woman he had ever encountered.

  Then obediently he turned his horse towards the valley.

  He knew how he could arrive back at the château by a different route from the one Marcia had taken.

  *

  Having left Aquilin in the stables, Marcia walked into the château to find her father in the breakfast room, where there were several other men present.

  The majority of the women had either breakfasted in their bedrooms or else it was still too early for them to appear.

  Marcia did not mention that she had been out riding and her father remarked as she kissed him good morning,

  “I see you are ready dressed for the fray. I have been hearing more about the Duc’s exciting programme and we must in one way or another keep the Union Flag flying.”

  “Of course we will, Papa,” Marcia assured him.

  The servants brought her several dishes to choose from. this was different from the custom in England where the guests helped themselves at breakfast time from a selection of dishes on the sideboard.

  She was hungry and found that the salmon trout, which came from the river in the valley, was delicious.

  She was finishing her meal with toast and honey when the Duc came in.

  “Good morning, my Lord,” he said to the Earl and nodded to his friends around the table.

  He ignored Marcia.

  She saw that her father looked a little pained at the way he did so.

  She quickly finished what she was eating and rising asked,

  “What time will you be leaving for the paddocks, Papa?”

  “I think we should follow the Duc’s instructions and go first to the stables,” the Earl replied. “We will mount the horses we are to ride as we watch the parade.”

  “That is a good idea!” Marcia agreed.

  “I will meet you in the hall at a quarter past ten,” the Earl went on, “and don’t keep me waiting!”

  “You know I am never late,” Marcia replied.

  She smiled at him and went from the room.

  As she did so, one of the men at the table said,

  “Your daughter, my Lord, is one of the most beautiful young women I have ever seen! You must be very proud of her.”

  It was a remark that the Earl had heard a thousand times and he responded,

  “Of course I am and all I want is her future happiness.”

  He glanced as he spoke at the Duc, who was sitting down at the table.

  He had, however, apparently not been listening to what was being said.

  *

  Upstairs Marcia changed into another habit that was the smartest she had brought with her.

  She then arranged her hair, sweeping away the curls and making sure that it was smooth against her head.

  Her riding hat was exceedingly becoming with a gauze veil that fell down her back and she was dressed entirely in the pale leaf-green of spring.

  When she came downstairs, all the women exclaimed at how smart she looked.

  Only English tailors, they said, could make riding clothes that fitted so well.

  Marcia went to the stables with her father.

  She found that he and she were privileged to be allowed to ride from the beginning of the proceedings.

  The rest of the party were brought to the paddocks in an open brake.

  They were informed that they could not ride any of the horses until they had shown themselves off in the way the Duc had planned.

  It was certainly a very impressive parade.

  A groom or a stable boy led every horse past the guests and their manes and tails had been decorated for the occasion.

  Everybody applauded the outstanding stallions.

  The Duc called out their names and gave the Earl and anyone else who wished to listen a short history of their breeding.

  Marcia was fascinated.

  She was also delighted with the horse that she had been given by the Head Groom.

  He was slightly larger than Aquilin and she was sure that the Duc would not have allowed any other woman in the party to ride him.

  He was obstreperous and restless, but she soon had him under control.

  As she did so, she had the idea that the Duc glanced at her approvingly.

  She took care not to speak to him directly and he did not speak to her.

  But there was no necessity to look or think of anything but the horses themselves.

  Then the races began.

  They were joined by several of the Duc’s neighbours who wished to compete on their own horses.

  Marcia easily won the Ladies’ race, which took place first and she was told that as the winner she could enter for the men’s race.

  She had the idea that it was something that the Duc had thought up on the spur of the moment.

  She could not help glancing at him with a grateful expression in her eyes and it was clear from the tw
inkle in his that it was something he would not have allowed any other female rider to do.

  Then quickly they looked away from each other in case anybody should be watching them.

  The Gentlemen’s race on the flat was exciting.

  Marcia came in fourth.

  Later, after luncheon, she was allowed to enter for the steeplechase.

  She knew then why the Duc had given her the particular horse she was riding.

  While they had been inside the house eating, and it had been a very amusing meal, the fences had been erected on the Racecourse.

  They were high and, after the first two or three, the other women dropped out.

  Finally the three leading horses were the Duc’s, Marcia’s and the Earl’s.

  It was a spectacular finish and it was impossible to guess until the last moment who would be the winner.

  Then, by a piece of superb riding, the Duc forged ahead and passed the Winning Post a length ahead.

  Marcia and her father dead-heated.

  She thought as she pulled in her mount that she had never enjoyed anything so much.

  It was difficult not to enthuse with the Duc and her father was able to tell him that he had never ridden a more satisfactory race.

  By the time they returned to the château everybody was tired and the ladies went to their bedrooms to rest before dinner.

  The Comtesse took Marcia to hers.

  “You rode brilliantly, my dear,” she said, “and I am sure that my nephew must have been very impressed. There was no other woman present who could touch you.”

  “I had a very fine horse,” Marcia replied modestly. “And it was very very exciting.”

  The Comtesse kissed her cheek.

  “I am so glad you enjoyed it, I want you to be happy here in the château.”

  Marcia was afraid that she might say more, but to her relief the maid came in to help her to remove her riding clothes and the Comtesse left.

  They were a large party at dinner.

  And afterwards there was a band, which played for them to dance.

  The ballroom, as Marcia might have expected, was as exquisite as the rest of the house.

  The white pillars picked out in gold were a perfect background and it made the ladies in their beautiful gowns with their bustles and trains look like swans.

  The Comtesse and her contemporaries wore magnificent jewellery that glittered in the light of the chandeliers.

  Marcia was besieged by partners, especially by the young men who had come from neighbouring houses.

  At the same time she could not help wishing that she could dance with the Duc.

  Because he was so athletic he moved round the dance floor as elegantly as he rode his horses.

  He deliberately avoided her.

  So she had therefore to content herself with peeping at him occasionally when she thought that nobody would be aware of it.

  It was late when they went up to bed.

  Some of the older guests, like her father, had already retired.

  Marcia was glad to put her head onto the soft pillows and she fell asleep almost immediately.

  It had been a long day, but it had been a thrilling one.

  *

  Marcia was sailing over fences with several inches to spare when she awoke.

  She thought at first that her maid must have called her.

  Then she realised that her father had come into the room and was drawing back the curtains.

  “I am sorry to wake you, my dear,” he said, “but in a short while the Duc is taking me to visit one of his friends who has some particularly fine horses to sell and he thought that I might be interested.”

  “How exciting. Papa!” Marcia exclaimed sitting up in bed and rubbing her eyes.

  “May I come too?”

  “I wish you could, my dearest,” her father answered, “but the Duc made it quite clear that the invitation was for me alone and we are staying for luncheon.”

  “Oh – I understand.”

  As Marcia spoke, she thought that the Duc was being sensible as it would have caused comment if she had been included in the invitation.

  However she felt a little disappointed.

  “What is the time, Papa?” she asked.

  “Ten o’clock,” the Earl replied.

  Marcia gave a cry of dismay.

  “I did not mean to sleep so late! I wanted to ride this morning.”

  “You will be able to ride after luncheon,” the Earl said. “I don’t expect that we shall be back very early. The place we are going to is some distance away.”

  He pulled up a chair to the bed and sat down.

  “I woke you,” he said, “because I want to talk to you.”

  “About what, Papa?” Marcia asked.

  She put another pillow behind her head so that she could sit up.

  As she faced her father, she wondered what he was about to say.

  “I am afraid this will shock you, as indeed it has shocked me, but I think it is something you should know.”

  Marcia looked at him in surprise.

  Then he told her exactly what the Comtesse had told him about Sardos.

  Marcia listened and then, when her father ceased speaking, she questioned,

  “Do you really believe what the Comtesse has told you, Papa? It seems incredible.”

  “That is what I thought myself,” the Earl agreed. “At the same time I dislike that young man and I would not put anything past him.”

  “I dislike him too,” Marcia nodded, “but it is very difficult to believe that he would murder his uncle.”

  “We cannot ignore the possibility,” the Earl remarked.

  “It is no concern of ours,” Marcia said quietly.

  The Earl was silent.

  Then he said,

  “I have always been very fond of the Duc since he was a small boy and his father was a good friend of mine. Can I be so callous as to let this happen when I could prevent it?”

  “You mean when I could prevent it by marrying the Duc!” Marcia contradicted him. “But that would not stop Sardos trying to kill him, just because he was my husband.”

  “It would be a senseless murder if you were having a child,” the Earl said bluntly.

  Marcia was still for a minute.

  Then she stammered,

  “Yes, of course – I had not thought of that. But, surely, if at all, he will try to – murder the Duc before he is – married?”

  “The Comtesse has begged the Duc to take every precaution. But you know as well as I do that, if a man is determined to kill another, there are always opportunities that have not been anticipated. An unfortunate accident can always happen unexpectedly.”

  “It would be difficult to arrange one here,” Marcia said, “when the Duc is surrounded by servants. But he would, of course, be wise not to ride alone, if that is what he does.”

  She thought as she spoke that it was foolish of the Duc to go out alone early in the morning.

  If there was no guest to go with him, he could easily take a groom.

  Yet she guessed that it would annoy him to have to do so.

  “I think,” the Earl said slowly, “that what the Duc needs, and which might well save his life, is to have a wife to look after him.”

  Marcia gave a little cry and held up her hands.

  “No, Papa, no! That may be your solution of throwing him a lifeline, but it is not mine!”

  The Earl rose from the chair.

  “How can you be so stubborn and pig-headed?” he said in an exasperated tone. “What more could you want than this extremely prosperous estate, this fine château and a man who, in my opinion, outshines and excels in every way all his contemporaries.”

  There was a silence for a moment.

  Then Marcia said quietly,

  “You know perfectly well, Papa, that the Duc is not in love with me.”

  “He might easily fall in love with you,” the Earl said sharply, “if you were a little more pleas
ant to him. I noticed that you did not even congratulate him when he won the race and, as far as I could see, you never spoke to him at any other time.”

  “You could say that he did not speak to me,” Marcia answered defiantly. “And you must be aware, Papa, that he is infatuated with the beautiful Marquise, even though he cannot marry her.”

  The Earl made a sound of disapproval.

  “What is happening between the Marquise and the Duc is of no consequence. What is important to him and to his family is that he should marry and produce a son.”

  He walked to the window.

  “Can you imagine what will happen if that unpleasant young man, Sardos, inherits the estate when his mother dies?”

  He put his hand down heavily on the window sill and added,

  “Long before she is dead he will have sold everything he can get hold of to spend on the prostitutes of Paris. He will strip the château bare of everything in it that has been accumulated over the centuries.”

  “You make it sound very sad, Papa. However, I am not concerned with what happens to the château, but with the happiness I have found at home at Woode Hall and the possessions that you have told me will be mine one day.”

  “If that is your attitude,” the Earl said angrily, “there is no point in our going on talking about it.”

  “None at all, Papa,” Marcia agreed. “I am sorry for the Duc, but his troubles are not mine. There are plenty of attractive girls in France who would do everything in their power to save him if he so much as raised his little finger.”

  The Earl did not answer.

  He walked out of the bedroom and slammed the door behind him.

  Marcia sighed.

  She hated upsetting her father, whom she loved. At the same time she was convinced that he was exaggerating the whole situation.

  He was only using it as a lever to force her into marrying the Duc.

  She wondered if he had said anything to the Duc himself.

  She longed to know what was happening, but thought that it would be very difficult to have another private conversation with him.

  ‘Perhaps tomorrow morning I shall have a chance,’ she thought.

  She determined to rise early as she had yesterday and go riding at six o’clock.

  She thought that she would try to convey to him by some means that it was what she intended to do.

  The question was how she would get the opportunity.