A Virgin Bride Read online

  There were puffs of tulle and flowers, all glittering in the sunlight streaming through the Church windows and there was a bustle with a short train.

  Instead of a traditional veil of Brussels lace, Venetia wore a veil of white tulle and sparkling with diamante it fell over her hair and shoulders.

  It was such a fantastic ensemble that it would have astounded Paris and it made everyone in the Church gasp as the bride came into view.

  Rock had no doubt when he saw her face that his bride would be extremely beautiful, but in a different way from the beauty he had seen in so many other women.

  As Venetia reached him, the Service started.

  Only when he put the ring – which his mother had given him – on her finger, did Rock notice that she was very nervous and her fingers trembled beneath his.

  He then looked into what he thought were the most stunning eyes he had seen on any woman.

  They knelt for the Blessing.

  Venetia prayed that her marriage would not be so frightening or as horrible as she anticipated.

  ‘I am married,’ she thought, ‘and no one can end it. Somehow I must be clever enough to ensure that this man beside me makes me happy.’

  She felt as if her whole being sent out a protracted cry to the Heavens for God to help her.

  They signed the Register in the Vestry.

  Rock offered his arm to Venetia and they walked down the aisle.

  The whole congregation appeared to be moved by Venetia’s appearance and, as they reached the West door, women were crowding out of the pews chorusing,

  “Good luck! God Bless you! You look wonderful!”

  A carriage was waiting outside the Church to take them the short distance to Lynbrook Hall.

  Now the drive was lined with villagers and small boys and girls ran along throwing flowers into the carriage.

  It was impossible for the bride and bridegroom to look at each other, as they had to keep turning to the people waving and cheering on either side to accept their good wishes.

  When they arrived at the house, the domestic staff were all waiting on the steps.

  They were led into the huge ballroom where the Duke of Lynbrook had optimistically felt he would be able to receive everyone who attended the wedding.

  It was then, as the guests were drinking champagne and raising their glasses to the bride and bridegroom, that Venetia’s father suggested,

  “There is such a crowd outside that I think you will both have to go and show yourselves. They are shouting for you and I am afraid they might try to rush the doors!”

  Venetia laughed.

  “Of course, Papa. I can quite understand they feel out of it when they cannot see what is happening inside.”

  “I did not expect to have so many people wishing me luck,” Rock said with a touch of sarcasm in his voice.

  The Duke of Lynbrook laughed.

  “I did not realise I was so popular either – or rather that Venetia is. And as you will see, a number of people who have cheered us frequently at the races have turned up from London.”

  “Have they really?” Rock replied in astonishment.

  “This is such a romantic marriage, which, I am told, has caught the attention not only of the Press but of those who have made money by following our horses.”

  Both men were laughing as they reached the steps outside the front door.

  There was an enormous crowd and they cheered wildly when Venetia and Rock appeared.

  Rock saw that the Duke had not exaggerated when he had said there so were many from the racing world. Jostling to the front of the crowd, they shook his hand and wished him luck at Ascot.

  At least several of them shouted out,

  “It’s just like you, Your Grace, to be as lucky at choosing a bride as you’ve been at choosing a winner!”

  Rock thanked them, but there were so many well-wishers that he was relieved when the Duke suggested,

  “I think you should now both go and change and be ready to go away. Otherwise this lot will drink the cellar dry! I am told the barrels of beer I provided for them are already beginning to run out!”

  “That would be a real tragedy – we will go at once, Papa,” laughed Venetia.

  She ran upstairs and she realised as she did so that it had been impossible for her to have even a word with her husband since they had left the Church.

  Mrs. Johnson and four maids were waiting to help her out of her wedding gown.

  Her ‘going away’ dress had also just arrived from Paris and it was just as spectacular as her wedding gown.

  “You look so lovely, my Lady,” Mrs. Johnson kept saying. “I just thinks when I looks at you how proud your mother’d be.”

  Knowing her father was not exaggerating when he said it was hard to restrain the crowd, she changed quickly.

  Her ‘going away’ dress was blue with touches of pink on it and the flowers in her dainty but smart hat were of the same colours.

  When she walked downstairs, the women waiting in the hall gave exclamations of surprise and appreciation.

  Rock was already at the front door and he thought she might have stepped straight off the stage of a brilliant designer show. She literally dazzled the other women.

  Rock’s four chestnuts had been replaced in his open chaise by the Duke of Lynbrook’s special white team that were famous locally and were most suitable for a wedding.

  As they drove away, there were cries and shrieks of good wishes that seemed to rise up into the sky.

  “You have been so wonderful, my dearest Venetia,” her father sighed as he kissed her.

  “Think of me, Papa, and I hope I will not be away for too long.”

  She only had time to kiss one more person before she climbed into the chaise – and that was Lady Manvill.

  “Thank you for everything, Aunt Alice. You have given me courage. Perhaps I will now be able to do what you have told me to do.”

  “I am betting on it, Venetia, and with your beauty and brains I feel I am on to a certainty!”

  They both laughed as Rock picked up the reins and they drove off.

  They were leaving later than they had intended and Rock knew he had to make the horses perform miracles if they were to arrive in London in good time for dinner.

  Actually it was only just after nine o’clock when he drew up outside Rockinston House in Park Lane.

  The butler followed by four footmen hurried out.

  “We was worried, Your Grace, in case you’d had an accident.”

  “We were prevented from leaving as soon as we hoped by people being too kind to us. We will therefore have dinner as soon as possible as we are both very tired.”

  He then introduced Venetia to the rest of the staff who were waiting for them in the hall.

  Then the housekeeper led Venetia upstairs.

  Her room was magnificent and she realised as soon as she walked in it through the door that it was where the Duchesses of Rockinston had always slept.

  Undoubtedly the Duke would be next door.

  However, she had little time to make an appraisal of her room as she changed quickly from her ‘going away’ dress into an evening gown – not so elaborate, but still very fashionable.

  At her wedding she had worn her Mama’s diamond necklace and diamond bracelets that were seldom taken out of the bank.

  “As His Grace has given us orders to pack a large selection of the Rockinston jewels for you to take with you to Paris,” the housekeeper informed her, “I think it would be easier for Your Grace to keep the jewels you’re already wearing.”

  “That’s a very sensible idea,” agreed Venetia, “but I would prefer the pearl necklace in my jewel case.”

  The pearl necklace was fastened around her neck and it made her feel as if her beloved mother was near her and directing her.

  “I will come up to bed,” she said, “as soon as I can, but I do not wish to have anyone waiting for me.”

  “Your Grace wouldn’t like one of th
e maids to help you out of that pretty gown?” the housekeeper asked.

  “I can manage quite easily, thank you. I always feel worried if people are waiting up for me.”

  She smiled at the housekeeper, who knew that these were her wishes and they must be obeyed.

  She hurried down the stairs to find her husband had already changed into his evening clothes and was waiting for her in the drawing room.

  As Venetia entered the room, he handed her a glass of champagne.

  “I think if anyone needs this – you do,” he smiled. “It has been a very tiring but exciting day.”

  “It must have been so tiring for you too,” Venetia replied. “After all, you drove yourself from London and I gather you only arrived in London late last night.”

  “That is true. But I will find, as you will, when we go aboard The Thistle tomorrow we can at last relax.”

  “Are we really travelling on your yacht?”

  “We most certainly are, unless it has sunk during the night! My Captain and crew are anxious to meet you.”

  “If my right hand still works, which at one time I rather doubted, then I will be delighted to meet them!”

  Dinner was then announced and they walked into the dining room.

  Rock had wondered what he should talk about to his wife the first time they were alone.

  But he found he need not have worried, as Venetia told him the history of some of the people who had been at the wedding and to his considerable surprise she made the account interesting and amusing.

  The dinner was delicious, but longer than necessary and Venetia realised how disappointed the kitchen would be if she did not sample everything on offer.

  When finally the meal came to an end, it was after half-past ten.

  “What time are you thinking of leaving tomorrow?” Venetia enquired.

  “I have no wish to hurry you, but, if we are to catch tomorrow afternoon’s train to Paris, we shall have to leave at the latest at nine o’clock to be on the safe side.”

  “I will be ready – and now I am going to bed.”

  “I will not be long,” replied Rock, “but I just want to have a look at what my secretary has left for me as I will not have time in the morning.”

  Venetia smiled and hurried up the stairs.

  She found, as she had expected, that her bedroom was ready for her and the lights had been left on by the bed and dressing table.

  She went to the dressing table and blew out all the candles, picked up her nightgown and slipped across the room to her boudoir. The boudoir would have been in darkness, but that the curtains were only lightly drawn and the moonlight was shining in on either side of them.

  She found her way over the room and then quickly and quietly she opened the door into the corridor.

  There was no sign of Rock and she rather suspected his valet was waiting for him in the bedroom beside hers.

  Taking off her shoes she slipped down the corridor and entered a room she guessed must be one of the State bedrooms.

  She had said earlier to the housekeeper,

  “You have so many rooms on this corridor, but then the house is very big.”

  “These are what we calls the State bedrooms. All of them are named after a special flower. Needless to say, Your Grace, this is the Rose room.”

  “I thought it must be by the colour of the curtains.”

  “We’ve a Lilac room and many other flowers. It be His Grace’s mother who decorated these rooms when she first came here as a bride. We’ve always prided ourselves they’re the prettiest State rooms in the whole of London.”

  “I am sure they are,” Venetia responded, “and I am looking forward to having time to inspect them all.”

  She said no more.

  She realised now that she was in the Lilac room and it was just as pretty as she had expected.

  She locked the door, undressed and got into bed.

  She thought it was most unlikely her bridegroom would seek her out.

  If he did try, he would find it embarrassing, if not somewhat humiliating to be knocking on the door of every State bedroom.

  Actually what happened was that Rock was coming up the stairs twenty minutes later and hurriedly undressed with the help of his valet.

  Then he went, as he was certain that his wife was expecting him, into the Rose room that had always been his mother’s.

  He was not surprised to find Venetia not yet in bed.

  There were candles burning beside the bed and he thought she was either washing or perhaps writing a letter to her father in the boudoir.

  He climbed into bed and for the first time realised just how exhausted he was.

  He had slept very little coming back from Scotland as the sea had been rough and he was worried about what might happen at the wedding.

  He had driven from London to the country and back into London again.

  The bed felt so comfortable.

  He closed his eyes just for a moment and then fell fast asleep.

  *

  Rock woke with a start.

  It was morning and the curtains had been drawn back from the windows looking out over Hyde Park.

  Seated at the dressing table was his wife.

  She was brushing her hair and the sunshine coming through the window was turning it to gold.

  He sat up in bed.

  “Have I been asleep all – ?” he began to say.

  But before he could finish the sentence, Venetia put a finger to her lips as the lady’s maid came bustling into the room.

  “I’m sorry if I’ve kept you waitin’, Your Grace,” she said. “But I was told not to wake you until you rang. Then I saw the curtains were drawn.”

  “It is quite alright, Lucy. We are a little late, but now we will have to hurry as His Grace wants to leave as soon as we have finished breakfast.”

  Whilst the maid was speaking to Venetia with her back to him, Rock had climbed out of bed and put on his long robe.

  Without saying a word, he walked to his room.

  ‘How is it possible,’ he asked himself, ‘that I could have fallen fast asleep on my wedding night? What must my bride think of me?’

  He was feeling most embarrassed when she came downstairs a little later.

  They ate a somewhat hurried breakfast in the dining room waited on by the butler.

  “You are not to worry,” Rock said when she asked him if they would miss the train at Calais. “I can assure you that The Thistle can be very fast. In fact I pride myself that I have one of the fastest, if not the fastest yacht afloat.”

  A carriage took them to the Embankment near the Houses of Parliament where The Thistle was anchored.

  They were piped aboard and then Captain Fortescue congratulated them on their wedding.

  The Thistle moved out into midstream.

  As soon as they were in the Saloon, Rock ventured uncomfortably,

  “I must apologise to you for last night – ”

  “Before we discuss anything,” Venetia interrupted, “I wish to inspect The Thistle. I have always been terribly interested in yachts and longed for my Papa to have one. Unfortunately Mama always hated the sea and therefore I have never been on one before.”

  She paused and then added in a pleading manner,

  “Please, please do show me your yacht. I am sure, being yours, it is most up-to-date.”

  Rock laughed.

  “There is nothing that will give me greater pleasure and, as you will realise, the crew are longing to meet you.”

  “And I would like to meet them.”

  As the yacht gathered speed, they walked round it and Rock realised what a success she was with the crew.

  Venetia shook hands and spoke with every man.

  To his surprise, as he listened to all she was saying to the men, he was aware that she knew a good deal about English yachts.

  He learned she had read about The Pearl, which had been built in 1820 in Essex and The Arrow that appeared two years later, which
Rock reckoned was one of the most successful cutters in the world.

  He was about to tell her about The Alarm that had been built in Hampshire and was one of the largest afloat, but Venetia had however already read about it.

  To his astonishment this young girl, who admitted never having been on a yacht, seemed to know almost as much as he did about yachting.

  When they eventually went in for luncheon in the Saloon, Rock reckoned that Venetia had looked over every inch of The Thistle.

  She had praised it in a manner that had delighted Captain Fortescue as well as himself.

  “I can now see,” he said, “that we will be spending a great deal of time afloat, if you are really as enthusiastic as you appear to be.”

  “If you only knew what it means to me to hear you say that. I have always longed to be at sea and naturally I want to explore the world.”

  “Do you really mean it, Venetia, or is it just your way of being polite?”

  “I mean it. Papa told me that you have explored all sorts of exotic and unusual places.”

  She felt he was still sceptical, so she went on,

  “I have dreamt about visiting India. Also what I would enjoy more than anything else would be to go into the African desert and meet the Bedouin who I have read so much about. I look forward to talking to them.”

  Rock stared at her.

  “What do you mean talking to them, Venetia? Are you telling me you can speak Arabic?”

  “I am getting quite good at it actually. I grew bored with the European languages at school, although it will be very useful to me to be able to speak Italian, German and Spanish as well as French.”

  She sighed before she continued,

  “I also concentrated on Greek, because I so enjoyed reading Homer and the other famous Greek writers. But in my last two terms at school I have had Arabic lessons.”

  “You astonish me, Venetia – ”

  They talked about his travels during the afternoon, but Venetia spent a great deal of time on the bridge with the Captain, fascinated by the way he navigated the yacht.

  It was difficult, Rock found, if not impossible for him to have a private conversation with her.

  He felt he must apologise for the previous night and only when he was able to do so would he feel at ease with himself.