The Castle Read online

  From any other man, she would have accepted it as no more than her due.

  From him so unflirtatious and sparing in personal remarks, it seemed valuable.

  *

  The next afternoon, Lord Waterford was busy with his factor on estate business and Valeria decided to check out an idea she had for the exterior of The Castle.

  She put on stout shoes and wrapped a shawl around her shoulders to protect herself from the stiff breeze.

  A steep slope led down from the wide courtyard to the entrance portico with its portcullis and heavy wooden door.

  She walked out over the drawbridge.

  Then she started to walk alongside the moat with its tangle of brambles, weeds and rubbish.

  It looked a terrible mess, but Valeria could see that the bottom was more or less dry.

  Beyond the moat, The Castle was surrounded with smooth green fields, which eventually gave way to a curve of woodland.

  Deep in thought Valeria followed the moat, working her way back to the drawbridge.

  This was clearly not a residential part of The Castle as there were no windows in the walls and behind them were the stables and working areas.

  Suddenly she was swept off her feet and dragged into the trees.

  She struggled against the strong arms that held her and tried to scream.

  Then she shuddered as her mouth was closed in a passionate kiss.

  As her bones turned to liquid, she realised that her captor was Sir Peter Cousins!

  With a long sigh he raised his lips, looked into her eyes, and sighed,

  “I have waited days for this kiss. I have haunted this bloody Castle, watching you and that damned Peer ride out together, laughing as you went. I tell you, for ten pins I would have pulled him from his horse and beaten him into the ground.

  “And then, this afternoon, there you were, walking all alone straight into my arms. How could you keep me waiting so long?”

  Her blood racing through her veins, Valeria tried to control her speech.

  “How dare you grab me like that,” she screamed.

  “Oh, don’t try outrage, my girl, you know you have been longing for me just as much as I have been for you!”

  She gazed at his blazing blue eyes, his handsome face, the bright blond hair and knew she could no more deny the way he aroused her than deny that the sun rose in the sky every morning.

  “Tell me why Lord Waterford threw you out of The Castle,” she demanded.

  A curious expression came over his face.

  “You mean that you have heard nothing from either him or Susan?”

  So Sir Peter had been familiar enough with Lady Stratfield to call her by her Christian name!

  She gazed belligerently back at him.

  “I guessed it must have been something serious.”

  He released her, his hand only lightly resting on her shoulder as he leant back against a tree trunk.

  “It was a case of misunderstandings and a tragedy.”

  He glanced at The Castle.

  “I was a friend of John Stratfield, Susan’s husband – a close friend.”

  He looked Valeria full in the face again.

  “Sadly the Waterfords hold me responsible for the race in which he lost his life.”

  He dropped his hand and gave an elegant shrug.

  “Nothing I could say would convince them I had nothing to do with the tragedy. So I am banished from the family circle. If it were not for the fact that you are now so securely within it, I should not care.”

  He caught Valeria once again in his arms.

  “But I do care because you are the most beautiful woman I know and you have to be mine – all mine.”

  Valeria desired nothing more than to sink into his arms and allow him to kiss her into oblivion, but a small stern voice within her told her that this was not right, not without being engaged.

  “I am not your plaything, sir,” she insisted firmly, forcing herself to step out of the circle of his arms.

  He looked at her with unsettling intensity.

  “I shall show you just what a plaything you are and how you will enjoy the games I play.”

  Whatever she felt, this was too much for Valeria.

  “I suggest you leave now, sir.”

  He gave her a long look.

  “You need not think you can escape me,” he said finally, his voice throaty and passionate. “You will be in London for the Jubilee – and indeed so shall I. We shall meet again. In the meantime, remember me!”

  Suddenly she was once again swept up in his arms and into another passionate kiss.

  With a small cry Valeria disentangled herself.

  Every pulse in her body throbbed from the impact of his assault and cried out for more.

  Her few wits fought against her emotions.

  “I hope I never see you again,” she shouted.

  Then she turned round and ran as fast as she could back towards The Castle.

  As soon as she was safely on the drawbridge, she stopped and drew deep reviving breaths.

  Away from the pulsating presence of Sir Peter, she could tell herself that no gentleman of any honour would behave in the way he did – Lord Waterford never would.

  She was very relieved that their meeting could not have been seen from The Castle.

  Suddenly something inside her so wished that Lord Waterford could make her feel the way Sir Peter did.

  *

  Nothing else occurred to disturb Valeria before she left for Richmond and her beloved home.

  As soon as she arrived, her Papa told her that he too had been invited to join them at Waterford House.

  “However,” he said with a wicked look in his eye, “I thanked him, but had to decline his very kind invitation as I had already accepted another.”

  “Papa! Where are you going?”

  “Lady Braithwaite has asked me to join her party. You were included in the invitation, but I explained that you were otherwise engaged. You will remember Lady Braithwaite?” he added, a little anxiously.

  It took her a moment or two to recall an attractive widow who was part of her father’s Social circle.

  “I do, Papa. And I like her very much. I shall not tease you, but will await further developments with happy anticipation!”

  Despite her words, however, Valeria felt unhappy. However charming, no woman could ever take the place of her dearest Mama.

  “Now, now! Cast such thoughts from your mind! My darling girl, I have no intention of marrying again. It is just that Maria and I have a comfortable understanding.”

  Valeria immediately felt happier.

  Then her Papa remarked,

  “Now you are going to stay at Waterford House, I feel that I should be looking forward to the announcement of your engagement.”

  “Papa! There is no such understanding with Lord Waterford. I am merely helping him to restore his castle.”

  He refused to put off. He placed a finger beside his nose in a gesture of complicity and muttered,

  “Quite, quite, my dear. I fully understand.”

  “Papa, I think that Lord Waterford has changed his mind over wanting to offer for me.”

  “Has he said so?”

  “Not in so many words. But – it’s rather difficult to explain – it is just that I don’t think he trusts me anymore.”

  Even as she said it, Valeria realised how much the thought hurt.

  “Of course he trusts you. My daughter would not behave in any sort of way that could make him doubt her.”

  Valeria gave up.

  Nothing would make her Papa understand. She did not want to mention Sir Peter.

  After all, Lord Waterford could have no idea how his kisses made her feel. Nor could she explain that she felt guilty every time she remembered those kisses.

  As she travelled to London, Valeria was nervous.

  She was wondering what her relationship with Lord Waterford would be away from The Castle. There they had seemed to share a
purpose. In London there would be so many distractions.

  When she arrived at Waterford House in Park Lane, Valeria was intensely disappointed to find that neither Lord Waterford nor Susan was at home.

  “His Lordship and her Ladyship will return soon,” intoned the butler. “Tea is served in the drawing room.”

  Later she was taken into a bedroom that looked out onto a garden and graceful trees.

  There was, however, nothing rural about Waterford House itself. Everything about it breathed an entrancing mix of elegance and comfort.

  Then Lord Waterford arrived and was concerned to find out if Valeria had been properly received.

  He seemed rather distant. With a sense of depression, Valeria became certain that he no longer wanted her as his wife.

  Susan appeared delighted to see Valeria and swept her into the same friendship they had enjoyed at The Castle.

  From then on there hardly seemed a spare moment.

  Susan seemed determined that the ball was to be the success of the Season and every aspect of the arrangements had her full attention.

  Valeria herself was involved with tracking down a vast number of items she deemed essential for The Castle.

  This did not interfere in any way with her attending all the luncheons, receptions, dinners and balls that Susan, Lord Waterford and she were invited to.

  It seemed everyone in London wanted to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of Queen Victoria’s accession to the Throne.

  As Lord Waterford claimed a dance from Valeria at the first ball they attended, he murmured,

  “I don’t know how many trunks you brought with you, but this is one of the loveliest gowns I have ever seen. Or perhaps it is that the wearer makes it look so.”

  Her heart raced at this unexpected compliment.

  He had seemed so offhand since she had arrived at Waterford House, such a compliment now was disturbing.

  She smiled at him.

  “It was one that I chose for Juliette’s engagement celebrations. I am so glad you like it, my Lord.”

  “Ah! Now I do remember it, but I failed to see the gown as it was the girl who wore it who was so captivating!”

  Another compliment!

  Valeria’s heart thudded in a very unfamiliar way.

  Could it be that Lord Waterford was still interested in renewing his suit?

  If so, could she bring herself to accept it? Was she now prepared to accept his offer of marriage founded on friendship rather than passion?

  Lord Waterford said nothing else as he guided her round the floor. His hand in the small of her back felt very protective and Valeria for once was content not to indulge in frivolous chitchat with her partner.

  Instead she let the music and the movement of their bodies spirit her away from the crowds and into a glorious space that only they inhabited.

  At the end of the dance Lord Waterford looked into her eyes and said in a quiet voice,

  “Thank you, Miss Montford, that was – ” he left the end of the sentence hanging in the air as a young man came up, eager to claim Valeria for the next dance.

  She was in demand for every dance.

  She had hoped that Lord Waterford would take her into the buffet, but when there was a break in the music, he was chatting with Lady Mere, a married beauty with a reputation for fast living.

  Valeria felt quite surprised to see them together, but Lord Waterford did seem to be enjoying her company in a way that suggested they were completely at ease with each other.

  Lord Mere, she knew, was elderly and never went out in Society and there was gossip about his exceedingly attractive young wife’s flirtations.

  Was Lord Waterford her latest conquest?

  Then, at the other end of the ballroom, Valeria saw a sleek blond head rising above the figures around him.

  Her heart lifted.

  Next Valeria’s Papa appeared in a jovial mood.

  “I saw you take the floor with Charles Waterford,” he murmured. “Lovely couple you make.”

  “Hush, Papa,” responded Valeria nervously.

  “Have you decided to accept him yet?”

  “Papa!”

  “I thought that was the idea for you to be staying at Waterford House. Of course!” he exclaimed as though a sudden revelation had hit him. “The announcement will be made at the Waterford Ball. Quite right, too.”

  “Papa,” Valeria scolded him sternly. “Stop talking like this. Don’t you remember what I told you?”

  She felt very strange.

  Had it been any other man she had danced with in such an intimate fashion as she had with Lord Waterford, she would have been convinced that he was madly in love with her.

  But Lord Waterford was not any other man.

  He hid his feelings so expertly that two unexpected compliments and his way of moving with her as though they inhabited one body could mean nothing.

  “There you are, Christopher! And with Valeria, how lovely!”

  Lady Braithwaite then slipped her hand through Sir Christopher’s arm.

  “Valeria, my dear, I do hope that you and both the Waterfords will be coming to my Thé Dansant next week.”

  Valeria summoned a smile.

  “The acceptances were sent out this morning, Lady Braithwaite. It should be a delightful occasion.”

  Lady Braithwaite gave her a complicit smile.

  “And it will be delightful to have you all there. So splendid to see you so happily settled in Waterford House.”

  “I am fulfilling my commission connected with the restoration of Waterford Castle,” Valeria told her as calmly as she could manage.

  “Of course, my dear. I quite understand.”

  But she knew Lady Braithwaite’s understanding of the situation was exactly the same as her father’s.

  Her heart sank.

  “Now, I am going to snatch dear Christopher away. I wish him to meet some old friends from the North.”

  Valeria watched them walk away feeling despair.

  They both seemed convinced that Lord Waterford wanted her to be his wife.

  “So, this is where you have hidden yourself is it?”

  Sir Peter stood in front of Valeria.

  He gave her one of his most wicked smiles. It was the sort of smile that made her think that he could see right through her clothes to her naked body.

  She felt herself flush and she was filled with sudden anger. She wondered what he wanted.

  He told her he was consumed with passion for her, yet he made no move that suggested he was ready to make her an offer of marriage.

  In fact, she suddenly realised, he behaved as though his intentions towards her were quite different.

  How could he possibly raise such wayward feelings in her and not behave with propriety?

  Valeria’s anger grew.

  With a single skilful movement, Sir Peter tweaked her dance programme and pencil off her arm.

  She thanked the fates that it was completely filled. There was no dance available for Sir Peter.

  Sir Peter scratched off a couple of names, wrote his own, and handed the programme back to her.

  “There now,” he crowed with an arrogant look that burned into her. “We shall draw all eyes.”

  “How dare you!”

  Valeria’s anger spilled over.

  She dug the pencil into the programme, obliterating his name.

  “You have no right!”

  His teeth gleamed as his smile broadened.

  “Oh, I have every right,” he cooed softly. “You will be mine. I know it and you know it.”

  It sounded as though it might just be a proposal of marriage, but Valeria knew with absolute certainty that it was not.

  “You are mistaken, sir,” she retorted stiffly and left him standing there as she rejoined her partner.

  As she took up her plate of food, she could feel Sir Peter’s eyes boring into her back.

  She refused to turn around.

  A little later an acquaint
ance brought up Lady Mere to be introduced to her.

  “I had to meet the girl who has been doing so much to restore Waterford Castle,” she said and looked at Valeria with interest. “Charles and I are such close friends – ”

  Valeria thought she heard a particular emphasis on the last words and understood exactly what her Ladyship intended to convey.

  “Indeed,” she said, taking an instant dislike to her.

  She softly touched her wrist with her fan.

  “We must have a long chat, you and I, sometime. But not now, I think.”

  A moment later she was snatched away by her other friends and Valeria was relieved to see her go.

  She was not sure what Lady Mere meant by a ‘long chat’, but she felt certain it would not to be to her, Valeria’s, advantage.

  Towards the end of the interval, Lord Waterford appeared at her side.

  He looked concerned.

  “Miss Montford, I am so sorry, my sister is feeling unwell. I need to take her home. We don’t want to spoil your evening and Lady Braithwaite is happy to act as your chaperone instead of Susan.”

  Valeria knew at once what she wanted to do.

  “Lord Waterford, it is so kind of Lady Braithwaite, but I would prefer to accompany Susan home. Poor Susan must be feeling sad to leave and I would worry about her and have no pleasure if I remain while she goes home.”

  His face immediately lightened.

  “How very good of you, Miss Montford.”

  Susan was sitting in the hall, her face very pale and she held a hand to her eyes.

  It did not take long for Valeria to find their wraps and to assure Susan that she much preferred going with her than staying at the ball.

  “There are so many balls over the next few weeks that to shorten one is nothing,” she assured her. “Please tell me how you feel.”

  She put out a hand to help her to the door.

  “It is merely a sudden headache. But it was so hot I felt that if I remained a moment longer, I would collapse. Oh, isn’t the night air refreshing?”

  As they stood on the top step of the porch, waiting for their coach, a tall man with blond hair hurried down the steps past them.

  Susan suddenly grabbed at Valeria’s arm, gripping it so hard, Valeria almost cried out.

  The young man turned and waved at a coach down on the road.

  Susan’s hand relaxed.

  In a moment of blinding insight, Valeria realised that she had thought he might be Sir Peter.