Love and Apollo Read online

  She was sure that Apollo had heard her.

  Then she remembered that the Duke was anxious to be on their way to Larissa.

  She turned around and for a moment it seemed as if she was turning her back on Heaven itself as she walked away from the light that emanated from the ruins.

  There was no movement anywhere, except the yellow butterflies hovering over the flowers.

  Yet she felt as if the God himself had spoken to her and his arms embraced her.

  Valona ran back down the winding path onto the beach where the seamen were waiting for her.

  As soon as she stepped into the boat, they pushed it into the water and rowed her back to the battleship.

  She climbed aboard and murmured, “thank you” to the seaman who helped her up on deck.

  Then she went below and into her own cabin.

  She closed the door and flung herself down on the bed hiding her face in the pillow.

  She felt as if she had touched the stars.

  After this she would never be the same again.

  *

  The battleship was now moving and leaving Delos behind. Its speed quickened and they were hurrying on to Larissa.

  Yet Valona knew she held within herself the Light of Apollo.

  Several hours later, fully dressed and with her hair neatly arranged, Valona entered the Saloon.

  The Duke was sitting on a sofa reading a newspaper that had come aboard at Athens.

  “How did you enjoy your visit to that mysterious island?” he asked her.

  “It was the most wonderful experience I have ever known and thank you so very much for allowing me to go ashore.”

  “I felt that you wanted to be alone, so I did not join you.”

  Valona thought it was just like him to be so kind and understanding.

  She sat down on one of the comfortable chairs in the Saloon and the Duke said,

  “The Captain has informed me that if we keep up this speed we shall arrive at the Port of Zante, the Capital of Larissa, at around about six o’clock this afternoon.”

  As he spoke to her, Valona remembered again what was awaiting her at Larissa and felt as if she had come crashing back to earth with a bang.

  She had been living briefly in the mystic world of the Gods and now she was forced to face the difficulties and problems of earth.

  “Do you think,” she asked in a small rather scared voice, “they will expect me to marry the King at once?”

  “If the situation is quite as bad as our Ambassador in Athens told me, I do believe they will want to make you their Queen as soon as possible.”

  Valona gave a little sigh, but she did not speak.

  The Duke was thinking how brave she was.

  He was so aware that any young girl would shrink from the horror of being married to a much older man who was in ill-health.

  Especially as there was no time to make his acquaintance first or even become friends before she was to be his wife.

  He was wondering what he could say to console her when the Stewards came in to lay the table for luncheon.

  “I am sure that the chef has taken on some fresh food at Athens which we shall enjoy,” remarked the Duke.

  He walked across to the porthole and looked out at the sea.

  The Aegean Sea was brilliant blue and glassy calm with the sun shining overhead.

  It was the sort of weather any traveller would be happy to find when exploring a new country and the Duke knew that normally he would be delighted.

  But there was still the ominous darkness of the Russians hanging over what lay ahead for them.

  To take his mind off these worries he discussed the history of Greece again with Valona and soon they were both enjoying an animated discourse on the merits of the Greek Philosophers.

  It always amused the Duke when he found a very pretty woman who used her brains, as he had noted that far too many of the beauties in London were only interested in themselves and their appearance.

  On the subject of Greece they both naturally talked about Olympus.

  The Duke had visited the mountain only to find it rather disappointing.

  “There was no feeling of holiness that I somehow expected to find there,” he reflected.

  Valona longed to tell him how different Delos was – yet somehow it was impossible to put into words what she felt when she had stood on the island.

  She still felt the glory of it within herself.

  The Duke was aware that there was a reserve about her that had not been there before, so he deliberately turned the conversation to other matters.

  When luncheon was over, they went up on deck.

  There was little to see except the blue sea through which they were moving at what the Captain said proudly was a record speed.

  “We will certainly be at Zante, Your Grace, by six o’clock, if not earlier,” he boasted.

  “I do congratulate you, Captain, I had no idea that these heavily armoured battleships could travel so fast!”

  He realised that his praise pleased the Captain and after paying him several more compliments, he and Valona went below.

  “I intend to write a letter to Mama,” she said. “I hope if we post it as soon as we arrive, it will not take too long to reach her.”

  The Duke picked up the newspaper again, while she sat down at the writing desk.

  She wrote two pages to her mother, telling her what she had seen in Athens and also a little about Delos.

  She did not mention what had happened with Lady Rose and the Marquis, knowing that it was a secret that must not be revealed to anyone till the Duke gave her permission to do so.

  This meant that she could not tell her mother either that she had agreed to marry the King in Rose’s place.

  Then, as she signed her name with endless love and kisses, she was aware that the battleship was slowing down.

  She was about to say that it seemed a little strange, when she looked round and saw that the Duke was asleep.

  She therefore started another page of her letter and told her mother how very kind and considerate the Duke had been to her.

  The only good news she could think of concerning her own future was that her mother would doubtless enjoy coming out to Larissa.

  The engines of the battleship, having slowed down, started up again.

  As they did so, the Duke woke up.

  “Have I been asleep?” he muttered.

  “You have,” answered Valona, “and I think it must have been the engines that woke you.”

  “Engines? What do you mean?”

  Before Valona could explain, the door of the Saloon opened.

  The Steward announced,

  “His Royal Highness Prince Ajax, Your Grace.”

  Both the Duke and Valona stared at the newcomer in astonishment.

  Then, as he entered the Saloon, Valona gave a gasp.

  For one moment she thought she must be dreaming and imagining what she saw.

  The man joining them seemed to be her image of Apollo himself.

  The Duke and Valona rose to their feet as Prince Ajax came towards them.

  It was then that Valona told herself her eyes must have deceived her – it was a tall, exceedingly handsome young man who had just joined them, but not the God of whom she was still dreaming.

  The Duke looked at him in surprise and asked,

  “How is it possible that Your Royal Highness has joined us?”

  The newcomer smiled.

  “I have been watching and waiting for you for what seemed to me to be a very long time.”

  “I must apologise for that, Your Royal Highness,” replied the Duke. “I am afraid that we have taken longer in coming from London than we expected.”

  “I was reckoning on your arrival almost a week ago and I have had three ships looking out for you and waiting to flag your approach if it was in daylight or to send a ball of fire into the sky if you came at night.”

  He gave a sigh of relief and continued,
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br />   “But now you are here – and I can only say how glad and grateful I am to see you!”

  As he spoke, Prince Ajax looked towards Valona.

  Hastily, the Duke, although still astonished by the Prince’s arrival, announced,

  “May I please be permitted to present Her Royal Highness, Princess Valona?”

  Valona curtsied and the Prince bowed.

  “May I offer you some refreshment?”

  “I have come aboard now,” he said, “because it is essential that you should understand the situation we are in before you actually arrive in Larissa.”

  “Perhaps Your Royal Highness would prefer to sit down,” offered the Duke, indicating the sofa.

  Prince Ajax did as was suggested and the Duke sat beside him with Valona in an armchair close to them.

  There was silence for a moment and then he looked at the door.

  “I presume that no one can hear us and it is safe for me to speak?”

  “Quite safe, Your Royal Highness.”

  Valona noticed from the expression in the Duke’s eyes that he was surprised by the Prince’s demeanour.

  Again there was a somewhat uncomfortable silence, before Prince Ajax began,

  “Perhaps it would be best also for your sister, Lady Rose, and the Marquis of Dorsham, the representative of Her Majesty, to hear what I have to say.”

  The Duke held his breath.

  “If you would excuse the suggestion, Your Royal Highness,” he replied, “it would be best if the Princess and I heard what you have to say first, in case it is upsetting.”

  “Yes, you are right,” agreed Prince Ajax.

  Once again he looked towards the door as if he was afraid that someone might be listening.

  Then in a low voice, he declared,

  “I have come to tell you that my father, the King, is dead!”

  The Duke started.

  “Dead, Your Royal Highness?”

  “He died yesterday morning, but, as we have feared for at least a week, there was no chance of saving him.

  “You can understand that the situation in Larissa is now more dangerous than ever. The Prime Minister and the Chiefs of Staff are all convinced that the moment the Russians learn of my father’s death, they will begin their move to take over the country.”

  Valona clasped her hands together.

  After a pause the Duke enquired,

  “I presume that Your Royal Highness is now taking every precaution to prevent them from doing so.”

  “The only deterrence to really prevent them would have been my father’s marriage to Lady Rose. Now, as I am King, it must be mine.”

  For a moment the Duke stared at him.

  “Yes, of course, I understand.”

  “What we are afraid of,” he resumed, “is that they will strike before the marriage actually takes place. That is why no one else, with the exception of my father’s doctor and his valet, knows that he is dead.”

  The Duke stared at him.

  “Surely it has been very difficult to keep the news a secret.”

  “It has been difficult because you did not arrive at the time we expected you. But now you are here, I have made arrangements to which I hope you will agree.”

  “What are they?” enquired the Duke.

  “The marriage will take place tomorrow morning and no one in the whole of Larissa will have any idea that my father is not the bridegroom.

  “I am fighting for my people’s lives and my own and I assure you the only way I can save my country is to make the Russians realise we are now under the protection of Great Britain.”

  “So Your Royal Highness will be married in your father’s place,” the Duke stated, as if he was determined to clarify the situation completely in his own mind.

  “That is correct and immediately that the Marriage Service has ended, I and Lady Rose will be crowned King and Queen of Larissa.”

  The Duke could see it was a very astute plan if the Russians were kept in ignorance of what was happening.

  But Prince Ajax had referred to his sister, assuming that she was on board.

  “I have something to tell Your Royal Highness, but I do not think it will interfere with your plan.”

  “What is it?” the Prince asked a little sharply.

  It made Valona believe that he was nervous in case his plan, which he had obviously thought out very carefully, could not be carried out.

  “My sister was taken seriously ill while we were in Athens and the doctors claimed it was impossible for her to travel any further and essential that she should remain in their care.”

  “Are you now telling me that your sister is not with you?” Prince Ajax demanded.

  There was a note of horror in his voice that made the Duke respond quickly,

  “My sister regrettably is not with us, but Princess Valona, the daughter of the late Prince and the Princess of Piracus, is prepared to take her place. She is in point of fact more closely related to Queen Victoria than my sister.”

  The Prince now turned round to look at Valona and he gave her a long searching look.

  Then he said in a different tone,

  “I can only thank you, Your Royal Highness, and I will be exceedingly grateful if you will take Lady Rose’s place.”

  “I will most certainly do so,” responded Valona in a low voice, “because I realise it is the only way Your Royal Highness can save your country.”

  “It is indeed the only way,” he repeated. “And as I have already said, we must be married tomorrow morning. No one in the Palace will have the least idea until the very last moment that I am taking my father’s place.”

  “I do understand,” muttered Valona.

  For the first time Prince Ajax smiled at her.

  “I believed you would – I remember how bravely your father fought against all the rebels in his country, but sadly they succeeded in throwing him off his throne.”

  “And wounding him first,” added Valona, “so that he died soon after we arrived in England.”

  “I am sure your father would not want Larissa to be taken over by the Russians. We therefore have to be very clever and outwit them, although I am afraid it is not going to be easy.”

  “Surely Your Royal Highness is ready to thwart the Russians?” the Duke asked.

  There was a little pause before he answered,

  “I am afraid, as my father had been so ill for some time, that we have been most remiss in not enlarging the Army or bringing it up-to-date with modern weapons.”

  The Duke looked worried and Prince Ajax went on,

  “I have been travelling abroad as I wanted to see something of the world, and actually you do not remember me, but I was at Oxford University at the same time as you were.”

  The Duke looked amazed.

  “You were!”

  “Yes, but I was at a not very important College, and I was not as skilled as you were on the cricket field, nor did I row in the Oxford boat against Cambridge.”

  The Duke smiled.

  He had been Captain of Cricket for one season and a keen rower.

  “I am sure I would have remembered Your Royal Highness if we had ever met. But as we both know Oxford is a large collection of men and one is inclined to keep with those in one’s own College.”

  “But his having been at Oxford,” remarked Valona, “explains why His Royal Highness speaks such excellent English.”

  She gave Prince Ajax a little smile as she added,

  “I have been struggling to learn your language before I arrived just in case no one could understand what I wanted or what I was trying to say.”

  “It will give great pleasure to my people if you can speak to them in our language,” Prince Ajax enthused. “And I must thank you again for coming to our rescue.”

  He rose to his feet and walked to a porthole.

  “We shall be coming into port in five minutes time and I have to tell you who will be waiting to greet you on your arrival.”

  “Th
at, of course, will be most helpful, Your Royal Highness,” replied the Duke. “In fact Valona has prepared a little speech in your language if any of your people will be making one to her.”

  “The Prime Minister will do that and he will have five or six Members of the Cabinet with him.”

  He hesitated for a moment and then he added,

  “I think it would be a great mistake to explain that the bride has been changed at the very last moment. Anything unusual happening, when the Russians learn about it, might prompt them to take immediate action.”

  The Duke stiffened at the last words.

  “So you do expect them to take action?”

  “I have tried to take every precaution possible, but what we were really afraid of was that they would attempt to kill my father before he could reach the Cathedral for his marriage. Once he was dead, their attention would then be turned to me and I would undoubtedly die as well. As it is, I think the odds against my surviving are pretty short.”

  “That is wrong,” exclaimed Valona unexpectedly. “I know you would love to be the King of your country and make it great again.”

  Prince Ajax looked at her in surprise and the Duke explained,

  “The Princess herself is half Greek and possesses a unique gift of clairvoyance. If she makes any prediction it invariably comes true – almost uncannily so.”

  He looked at Valona as he spoke and knew that she was thinking of how she had assured Rose that she would eventually marry the Marquis and it had happened so very quickly that they could hardly believe it.

  “What you have said is most reassuring,” continued Prince Ajax. “Equally we must take no chances, so would you mind if my people waiting for you think you are the Duke’s sister, which is who they are expecting?

  “When we are married, you can use your own name and we will explain later that Rose was the second name you were baptised with.”

  “Very well,” she agreed, “but it makes everything seem unreal and I can hardly believe it is all happening.”

  As she was speaking, she realised that they would never understand what she had felt at Delos.

  It was something she could tell no one and yet to her it had been completely and absolutely real.

  Just as this strange and complicated plot was true even though it was hard to comprehend.