73. A Tangled Web Read online

  “I will find it,” Carola said. “But just in case Mr. Westwood wants to look at it you had better ask the gardeners to bring in some flowers, otherwise he may criticise the Marquis for having neglected it.”

  “Yes, of course,” Peter said, “that is a good idea. And by the way, Carola, everyone is stunned by the brilliant manner you are carrying off this whole scenario.”

  “We still have quite a long way to go,” Carola said warningly, “so we must be really very careful.”

  “That is what I am trying to be,” Peter replied.

  *

  Dinner was an amusing meal and wholly delicious.

  Afterwards, instead of going to the music room as Carola expected, the Marquis took the party to the billiard room.

  This was in another wing and it was a huge room containing an enormous billiard table which was very skilfully lit.

  There were also several different games that Carola had not expected to find there.

  There was a small skittle alley, a dartboard and an amusing game of hockey that could be played by four people manipulating the ball with sticks that had to be turned at the side of the table.

  Carola played this with the Earl and then the Duke insisted that she had a game of skittles with him and, after a few mistakes at first, she became quite skilful.

  She was enjoying the game until, realising that the rest of the party were fully engaged, the Duke said in a low voice,

  “I want to talk to you alone. You must know that you are driving me crazy!”

  “Do be – careful!” Carola murmured. “You know you are in deep – mourning for – your wife!”

  “I am tired of this farce!” the Duke complained in a petulant tone. “It’s quite warm. Come and walk with me in the garden.”

  “You know quite well that Mr. Westwood would be very – shocked!” Carola replied.

  “Damn Alton!” the Duke exclaimed. “I am fed up with watching Alexander mooning over you and you know it means nothing. I want to tell you what I feel about you, Carola, which is a very different matter.”

  “I think it is – time I went– to bed,” Carola said. “Goodnight – Your Grace!”

  She moved away from the skittles and walked up to the Marquis.

  He was playing billiards with Alton Westwood.

  “I am a little tired,” she said, “and I know you will understand if I retire to bed.”

  “Of course I understand, and I think it very sensible of you, darling,” the Marquis replied. “I will see you to the stairs.”

  He put down his cue and said to Alton Westwood,

  “Forgive me a moment, Alton. My wife is slipping off to bed and, as I don’t want to disturb her when I go up, I will say goodnight to her now.”

  He did not wait for the American to reply.

  He put his arm round Carola’s waist and drew her to the door.

  When they were outside he set her free.

  “You have been marvellous!” he said, “and some day I will be able to say so more ardently.”

  “There is still tomorrow,” Carola warned.

  “I have not forgotten.”

  They reached the bottom of the stairs.

  Carola noticed that there was a footman on duty in the hall.

  However, the Marquis was aware of him too and he merely lifted her hand and kissed it.

  She felt his lips touching her skin softly before she started up the stairs.

  “I will not be late coming to bed,” he said, “we have had a long day.”

  “And a very enjoyable one,” Carola replied from the top of the stairs.

  She hurried to her room and rang for Betty to come and undo her gown.

  It was a relief to be able to get into bed.

  At the same time, she still wanted to read a little and so she opened her book.

  Then she knew that after the hard ride this morning and the drive this afternoon, she really was tired.

  She closed her eyes expecting to fall asleep.

  Instead she found herself thinking about the Marquis.

  She was still feeling his lips on her hand and she wondered if he was missing Lilac Lucas and longing for the time when he could return to London and see her again.

  She heard the footsteps of people coming up to bed and the sound of doors being closed.

  She was still awake and then she thought that she was in fact rather thirsty.

  She pulled herself out of bed and drew back the curtains slightly.

  The moonlight streamed in and there was no need for any more light to guide her to the washstand. On it there was a jug of water for her to drink.

  She stood for a moment entranced by the beauty of the night. The moon and the stars seemed to fill the sky.

  It was so lovely, so much part of her dreams, that she felt it could not be real.

  She stood transfixed, oblivious for the moment of everything but the enchantment before her that dazzled her eyes.

  Suddenly she heard a sound behind her.

  Carola turned her head.

  She was aware that the door leading out into the corridor was being opened very slowly.

  For a moment she could hardly believe it.

  Then she felt that it must be Peter who had come to tell her that something had gone wrong.

  The door opened a little further and now a man was silhouetted against the light of the sconces outside in the corridor.

  Her heart seemed to stop beating.

  She knew who it was and was suddenly desperately afraid.

  There was no mistaking his height and his square shoulders.

  As he came further into the room, she was aware of the communicating door near where she was standing.

  Swiftly and silently in her bare feet she reached it and, turning the handle, she managed to slip into the next room.

  CHAPTER SIX

  The Marquis’s room was in darkness and Carola stood as if staring into a void.

  Her whole body was shaking.

  Before she could think of what she should do a door opened on the other side of the room and the Marquis came in.

  He was carrying in his hand a candelabrum with four lighted candles.

  He set it down on a bedside table and as he did so Carola ran towards him.

  She flung herself against him.

  As his arms went round her she said in a whisper that was almost incoherent,

  “The – the – D-Duke has – come to my – r-room and – I am – f-frightened!”

  The Marquis could feel her trembling against him and for a moment he just held her.

  Then he said in a low voice,

  “I will deal with this,” as he sat her down on the bed.

  Then he walked across the room until he reached the communicating door.

  Carola had not shut it behind her, she had only pushed it to.

  The Marquis realised that there was a gap that would bring a streak of light into the room and in his ordinary voice he said aloud,

  “As I was telling you, Peter, you and Carola must be very careful what you say in front of Alton Westwood. He told me again this evening how shocked he was at what he had heard of the behaviour of London Society.”

  He paused, then, as if Peter or Carola had replied to what he had just said, he laughed.

  “That, of course, is true,” he continued, “and at the same time we cannot expect people from other countries to understand all the peculiarities of our own. But I remember my father always used to say that we are an insular people, especially where it concerns our pleasures.”

  As he finished speaking, he listened and was sure that he heard the sound of a door closing.

  He went back across the room to Carola.

  She was sitting on the side of the bed where he had left her.

  Her eyes seemed to fill her face because she was so afraid and she seemed oblivious to the fact that she was wearing a thin transparent nightgown.

  Her red hair fell over her shoulders almost to her wais
t.

  She looked so lovely that the Marquis could understand the Duke’s desire to be alone with her.

  He was, however, very angry about it.

  He sat down beside her.

  “It’s all right,” he told her in a quiet voice. “He has left now.”

  Carola gave a little cry and turned her face against his shoulder.

  “I-I never thought – never imagined – he would – come to my bedroom,” she murmured.

  “I expect he wanted to talk to you,” the Marquis said. “It is very difficult to do so when there are so many people listening.”

  “He s-said,” Carola went on, “that he – wanted to – kiss me, but – I don’t want – him to.”

  The Marquis thought that the Duke would want a great deal more than a kiss and he realised that Carola was so innocent that she would not understand, so he said,

  “I am quite sure he will not come back.”

  He felt a little tremor go through Carola’s body before she stammered,

  “It was – clever of you to – pretend that – Peter was here.”

  “Actually,” the Marquis smiled, “I am rather proud of myself, but it would be a mistake to accuse the Duke of being over-familiar.”

  “I have been – trying to – avoid that – I have – really!” Carola said pleadingly.

  She did not want the Marquis to think that she had encouraged the Duke or that she had flirted with him so that he thought he could take liberties with her.

  “I noticed that,” the Marquis replied, “and I thought it was very sensible of you to come to me for help. At the same time, Carola, he is a Duke and unmarried.”

  Carola raised her head and he could see the astonishment in her eyes.

  “Y-you do not – mean – ?” she began.

  She paused and went on,

  “But he is – old – very old – and it never – crossed my mind that he might be – in l-love with me.”

  “You are very beautiful,” the Marquis said quietly, “and you have to get used, Carola, to men losing their heads when they look at you, whether they are old or young.”

  Carola shivered before she said,

  “I think the – sooner I can – go back to – living quietly with only – my horses for company – the better!”

  The Marquis smiled.

  “I think that would be a great waste of your looks and, of course, your brains, which we have talked about before.”

  “I never – imagined that – anyone like – the Duke would – come to my room! Mama – would be – horrified!”

  “I think she would also be shocked at you pretending to be my wife,” the Marquis laughed, “but you are aware that by doing so you have now saved me and, of course, Peter from being continually in need of money.”

  Carola gave a little gasp of excitement.

  Then she exclaimed,

  “You mean – everything is settled? You are to be the Chairman and Peter is on the Board of Directors?”

  “It was all arranged this evening before dinner and, unless something terrible happens, it will be signed and sealed as soon as we all return to London.”

  “I am glad – so very – very – glad!”

  “And I am very grateful,” the Marquis added.

  Carola rose to her feet.

  “Do you think it is safe now for me to go back to my room?” she asked a little nervously.

  “Yes, I am sure it is, Carola, but let me first make certain.”

  He stood up, walked across the room and opened the communicating door.

  With the moonlight shining through the window he could see that Carola’s room was empty and the door into the corridor was closed.

  He felt Carola move up behind him.

  “Has he – really – gone?” she whispered.

  “You can see for yourself,” the Marquis answered, “but so that you will not worry I will lock your door while you get into bed.”

  When he had done so, he turned round.

  In the moonlight she looked ethereal and insubstantial like a Princess in a Fairy tale.

  The Marquis stood gazing at her without speaking.

  She pushed back her long hair from her shoulders before she said,

  “Thank you – thank you for being so – kind and understanding – perhaps it was – stupid of me to be so – frightened – but – ”

  “What you did was very sensible,” the Marquis assured her. “You came to me and, if there are any more disturbances in the night, whether they be ghosties, ghoulies or human beings, remember that I am next door.”

  Carola laughed at the way he spoke, as he meant her to do.

  Just as she thought that he was about to leave her she put out her hand.

  “You may think me – very foolish,” she said a little hesitatingly, “but – could you just leave the door between us – open? Then if I do – scream you – will hear – me.”

  “I promise you I am a very light sleeper,” the Marquis answered. “If you should call me, I will come at once.”

  “Thank – you.”

  The Marquis took her hand in his.

  “Now go to sleep,” he suggested, “I want you to look especially lovely tomorrow so that Alton goes back to America thinking that, whatever else Society may be like, our Marchionesses are very beautiful.”

  Again Carola laughed,

  “I am sure, whatever – you may – say, he will find – an American woman who will – eclipse the English.”

  “I expect you are right,” the Marquis agreed. “At the same time, when I do marry, it will not be to an American!”

  He spoke so firmly that Carola was surprised.

  Instead of kissing her hand, he picked it up and put it gently down on the sheet in front of her.

  “Goodnight, Carola,” he said and his voice was very deep.

  “Goodnight,” she answered. “Once again – you have waved – your magic – wand and – everything is – enchanted!”

  “That is what I want it to be,” the Marquis said quietly.

  He walked to the window and closed the curtains, shutting out the moonlight and the stars.

  Then he went from the room leaving the communicating door open behind him.

  *

  The Marquis had given his valet, Dawkins, strict instructions to call him early as he intended to ride before breakfast.

  He had invited Alton Westwood to ride with him suggesting that they should take some exercise before it was time to go to Church.

  The American said it was something he would greatly enjoy and the Marquis promised to take him to a part of the estate where they had not been before.

  “There are some hedges there,” he said, “too high for any woman to jump, but I think you will enjoy them.”

  “I sure will!” Alton Westwood replied.

  The Marquis was helped into his clothes by his valet in silence.

  He disliked talking first thing in the morning and when he was ready, Dawkins, who had been with him for many years, said,

  “I thought I ought to let your Lordship know, that yesterday when one of the new servants was down in the village ’e says they was a-talkin’ in the pub about some nasty lookin’ strangers who was askin’ if you, my Lord, ’ad an American stayin’ ’ere.”

  “Strangers?” the Marquis enquired sharply.

  “They was a-sayin’ in the pub as they talked in a strange manner through their noses and I were a-wonderin’, my Lord, if that meant trouble for Mr. Westwood.”

  The Marquis was frowning.

  “It certainly seems odd that there should be Americans in our village,” he remarked, “but it would be better, Dawkins, to say nothing to Mr. Westwood or his manservant.”

  “That’s what I thinks, my Lord, but in case there be any trouble I’ve got your Lordship’s revolvers ’ere.”

  “Where have you put them?” the Marquis asked.

  “In the chest-of-drawers, my Lord, the old one and the new one you buys afore we went
across the Atlantic.”

  “Then let us hope we don’t need them,” the Marquis said. “At the same time, Dawkins, keep your eyes open. I know nothing happens that you are not aware of!”

  “Leave it to me, my Lord!” Dawkins grinned.

  The Marquis left his bedroom and went downstairs and Stevens was waiting for him. The horses that he and Alton Westwood were to ride were outside.

  “How many nightwatchmen are on duty?” the Marquis asked.

  “Two, my Lord,” Stevens answered. “I believe Sir Peter appointed them before we came down from London.”

  The Marquis nodded.

  At that moment Alton Westwood came hurrying down the stairs.

  *

  Carola had ordered her breakfast in bed.

  She had to excuse herself from going to Church because she had a headache and the Marquis had, she told Betty, insisted on her taking things easy.

  She guessed he would inform Alton Westwood that she had done too much yesterday with the riding and driving. Besides of course, seeing to the comfort of their guests.

  “My wife never spares herself,” he told him.

  “I’ve noticed that!” Alton Westwood replied, “and I think you’re a very lucky man indeed!”

  “I assure you I am well aware of it!” the Marquis had replied.

  Carola looked at the sunshine outside her windows.

  She could not help wishing that she could go riding before breakfast, as the Marquis’s horses were so superb.

  She knew when she reached home she was going to find Kingfisher and the other horses in their stables very slow.

  ‘It may be disloyal of me,’ she thought, ‘but I would love to ride Heron again before I leave.’

  She had, however, an interesting book and read it while she ate her breakfast.

  It was nearly an hour later before there was any need for her to get up.

  Betty came to help her and she was nearly dressed when the lady’s maid piped up,

  “Miss Westwood didn’t go to Church with the gentlemen, my Lady.”

  Carola was surprised.

  “She is still in the house?”

  “Yes, my Lady. His Lordship drove off about half-an-hour ago, but Miss Westwood was still asleep and she’s only just woken up.”