Their need for each other was so strong, so irresistible, that it had been almost violent in its intensity.
Lord Frome put his arms round Chandra and kissed her until she felt it was impossible to think.
She could only feel his love sweep over her like the waves of the sea and she was drowning in an ecstasy that carried her down into the very depths of the ocean.
“I love – you! I adore – you!”
She felt as though her whole body was crying the words and when at length Lord Frome with a fire in his eyes and his heart beating tumultuously raised his head, she looked up at him and felt as if the love that they had for each other blinded her.
“I must let you sleep,” he said as if he spoke to himself, “Oh, my darling, I want you! I need you! Thank God we have not to wait very much longer!”
He kissed her again, but gently and then he climbed into his own bed beside hers and turned to look at her for a long moment before he blew out the candle.
“I am – praying that I shall always make you as – happy as you are – now,” Chandra whispered.
“And I am praying I will make you very much happier once you are my wife,” he answered, “as happy as I shall be because you are mine, completely and absolutely mine and nobody shall ever take you from me!”
*
Chandra and Lord Frome arrived in Bairagnia a little earlier than they had expected because the route was downhill and, as Chandra remembered, much easier than at any other part of the road to Kathmandu.
The flowers were even more beautiful, the orchids more profuse and the trees gave them shade from the sun which had been lacking yesterday.
She knew that Lord Frome was a little apprehensive that the thick rhododendrons and other bushes might afford a hiding place for robbers.
Mehan Lall and the other Indian servant walking beside her pony were also alert, their eyes searching for any movement among the trees or from behind a protruding rock.
They reached Bairagnia, however, without there being an incident of any sort and Chandra felt that the Dak bungalow, which was so superior to the other two they had stayed in in Nepal, was almost a Palace of luxury.
Now she was back in the India she loved and she knew that, if she could have chosen any place in the world to be married in, it would be there.
The luggage was taken into the same bedroom she had used on her outward journey, but Mehan Lall immediately moved the charpoy into the next room and then was intent on barring the window through which she had heard the little boy asking her to speak to the Lama.
This evening there would be no reason for anybody to call her and she had already planned in her mind that as soon as they had finished their meal, she and Lord Frome would go together to find the Lama Teshoo.
She was sure that he would be waiting for her under the tree where he had been before.
But Lord Frome had already said that she was not to move outside the bungalow or go anywhere alone unless he was with her.
The previous night Mehan Lall had slept outside their door and, when Chandra had protested that he would be uncomfortable, Lord Frome had merely replied,
“A good servant is always prepared to protect his Master. When I showed Mehan Lall the kukri which I found stuck in your bed, he himself offered to sleep outside our door.”
Now, while Chandra changed, Mehan Lall waited in the passage outside so that she only had to call out should anything disturb her.
Perhaps such elaborate precautions were unnecessary. At the same time it was comforting to know that those who might want to rob the Monastery of the sacred emerald would find it impossible to do so.
The dinner was ready and Chandra thought as they ate the usual hot soup, chicken and caramel pudding, that no French chef could have provided a more delicious meal.
She knew that it was because Lord Frome’s eyes were looking into hers and, although they talked of ordinary things while the servants were in the room, their hearts were saying secret words to each other that nobody else would have been able to understand.
Lord Frome finished his glass of whisky and then said,
“Now, my darling, let’s go and see if we can find the Lama who will relieve you of that dangerous jewel. I shall not have a moment’s peace as long as I know you have it in your possession.”
“I have been quite safe from the moment – you knew about it,” Chandra answered.
“I am taking no chances where you are concerned,” Lord Frome said determinedly, “and I have already told Mehan Lall and the other man that they are to come with us to the tree where your friend will be waiting.”
“I shall feel rather uncomfortable arriving with an armed bodyguard,” Chandra smiled.
“I have told you I will take no risks,” Lord Frome said, “and. although I am prepared to argue with you, my precious, on a great number of subjects, I will not listen to anything that might constitute your being in any danger.”
Because he spoke with such love in his voice, Chandra moved towards him and put her arms round his neck.
“How could I have imagined when I came into this room after I arrived, frightened of you and – terrified you would send me home, that you would ever speak to me like – this?”
His arms went round her to pull her closely against him.
“It was what I wanted to do,” he said, “but thank God I was afraid of losing my permit to visit Nepal.”
He kissed her and then said,
“Come along, let us get this over. Then I shall try to believe that nobody is interested in you except for myself.”
She put her hand in his and he raised it to his lips.
“I also hope in future you will be interested in nobody except me,” he added. “I find I am unbelievably jealous of an emerald, so Heaven knows what I should feel about any man who even looks at you!”
Chandra gave a little laugh.
Then she said in a low voice,
“If there are any other – men in the world beside you – it would be impossible for me – to see them.”
She knew by the expression on his face that Lord Frome was pleased by what she said. Then, as if he forced himself not to kiss her again, he pulled her by the hand out onto the verandah.
The two Indian servants who were waiting for them walked a few paces behind as Chandra and Lord Frome moved through the bushes towards the trees that stood on the edge of the bungalow garden.
As soon as she could see clearly through the shrubs, Chandra saw that she had not been mistaken in thinking that the Lama would be waiting for them.
He was there, sitting as he had done before, his back upright, his fingers touching the wooden rosary that hung from his waist.
Chandra and Lord Frome reached him and, as she stood in front of him, she put her arms together and raised her fingers to her forehead.
“Greetings, my daughter!” the Lama said, “and to you, my son. The prayers of those in the Sakya-Cho Monastery have been answered and our treasure has returned to us.”
“I have it here for you,” Chandra said, pulling the ribbon that the little chamois bag was attached to over her head.
She held it out to the Lama who took it from her and it disappeared immediately into the folds of his heavy blanket-like robe.
Then he said,
“I told you that you would be protected and that the merits you acquired in bringing back the jewel would also bring you the happiness you sought. That, I see, has come true.”
“It has indeed!” Chandra answered, looking at Lord Frome.
The Lama nodded his head as if he had known about it already.
“Your honourable father will also be happy when he translates The Song of the Celestial Soul.”
“How did you know we found that?” Chandra asked.
“These things are known,” the Lama replied, “and so that he shall be free from the worries of the material world, I have here a present which I ask you to convey to him with gratitude from the Abbot and all those wh
o worship in the Sakya-Cho Monastery.”
As he spoke, he held out an envelope made of thick paper that Chandra knew was used in Tibet.
She took it from him and the Lama went on,
“Carry it to your honourable father with our blessings, even as we bless you, our daughter, and will remember you always in our prayers.”
Before Chandra could speak or thank him, the Lama said to Lord Frome,
“Guard her, my son. You have brought many treasures from our world to yours, which one day will understand their significance. In the meantime, you have found the treasure that all men seek.”
“That is what I thought myself,” Lord Frome said quietly.
The Lama raised his hand.
“May The Holy Buddha, the Perfect One, bless you both,” he said. “Go in peace!”
After he had spoken, just as he had done before when Chandra had first met him, he closed his eyes and once again his fingers were busy with his rosary.
She knew that there was nothing more to say and, slipping her hand into Lord Frome’s, they walked back towards the bungalow.
“Will he be safe?” she asked in a low voice. “Supposing the thieves are waiting to attack him.”
“He will be safe,” Lord Frome said positively. “I feel sure that he will not have travelled alone and, as you know only too well, he is protected by invisible powers.”
“I am sure he is,” Chandra agreed confidently, “and he told you to protect me.”
“That is something I am very willing to do and it will be easier after tomorrow.”
She knew that he referred to their wedding and, as they entered the bungalow, she asked,
“Where – can we be – married?”
“I have already sent a telegram,” he said, “to Patna which is the first stop after we leave here tomorrow morning.”
“I can hardly believe it!” Chandra exclaimed. “I wish I had a new gown to wear so that you will think I look beautiful.”
“You will always look beautiful to me, my darling, and as soon as we reach Delhi I intend to buy you a trousseau which will keep you happy until we can shop in London.”
“You have – everything planned?”
“Everything!” he said positively, “and what I am really interested in, my precious one, is not what you shall wear but how soon I can hold you close in my arms – really close without you being barred from me by those most restricting quilts!”
Chandra blushed and she heard him give a little laugh.
“I am making you shy,” he said, “which is something I adore doing! I shall miss that very special look in your eyes and the flood of colour in your cheeks when you become blasé about the words I say to you.”
“I-I will – never do that,” Chandra said, “never – never! And – ”
She put her arms round his neck to whisper against his ear,
“ – I too will be – glad when there is no – longer any need – for the – quilts.”
He pulled her closer to him and she felt his heart beating against hers.
Then his lips were on hers, fierce and passionate, so demanding that she felt as if he was a conqueror, determined to make her subservient to his will.
It was not a shaft of sunshine that swept through her, now but the flame of fire that echoed the fire on his lips.
It seemed to rise higher and higher until it consumed them both and far away at the back of her mind Chandra knew that this was the love which was both human and divine.
It was somehow symbolic of Nepal itself with its deep, warm, friendly valleys and above them the glittering, remote snowy peaks of the unconquerable Himalayas.
This was real love, the celestial love that both men and the Gods themselves sought.
“I love you, my precious darling!” she heard Lord Frome say.
Incoherently because her happiness made it hard to speak, she managed to whisper,
“I – love you – I love you – there is nothing else in the – world – the sky – or beyond – but you.”
* * *
OTHER BOOKS IN THIS SERIES
The Barbara Cartland Eternal Collection is the unique opportunity to collect as ebooks all five hundred of the timeless beautiful romantic novels written by the world’s most celebrated and enduring romantic author.
Named the Eternal Collection because Barbara’s inspiring stories of pure love, just the same as love itself, the books will be published on the internet at the rate of four titles per month until all five hundred are available.
The Eternal Collection, classic pure romance available worldwide for all time .
Elizabethan Lover
The Little Pretender
A Ghost in Monte Carlo
A Duel of Hearts
The Saint and the Sinner
The Penniless Peer
The Proud Princess
The Dare-Devil Duke
Diona and a Dalmatian
A Shaft of Sunlight
Lies for Love
Love and Lucia
Love and the Loathsome Leopard
Beauty or Brains
The Temptation of Torilla
The Goddess and the Gaiety Girl
Fragrant Flower
Look Listen and Love
The Duke and the Preacher’s Daughter
A Kiss for the King
The Mysterious Maid-servant
Lucky Logan Finds Love
The Wings of Ecstacy
Mission to Monte Carlo
Revenge of the Heart
The Unbreakable Spell
Never Laugh at Love
Bride to a Brigand
Lucifer and the Angel
Journey to a Star
Solita and the Spies
The Chieftain Without a Heart
No Escape from Love
Dollars for the duke
Pure and Untouched
Secrets
Fire in the Blood
Love, Lies and Marriage
The Ghost who Fell in Love
Hungry for Love
The Wild Cry of Love
The Blue-eyed Witch
The Punishment of a Vixen
The Secret of the Glen
Bride to the King
For All Eternity
King in Love
A Marriage made in Heaven
Who can deny Love?
Riding to the Moon
Wish for Love
Dancing on a Rainbow
Gypsy Magic
Love in the Clouds
THE LATE DAME BARBARA CARTLAND
Barbara Cartland, who sadly died in May 2000 at the grand age of ninety eight, remains one of the world’s most famous romantic novelists. With worldwide sales of over one billion, her outstanding 723 books have been translated into thirty six different languages, to be enjoyed by readers of romance globally.
Writing her first book ‘Jigsaw’ at the age of 21, Barbara became an immediate bestseller. Building upon this initial success, she wrote continuously throughout her life, producing bestsellers for an astonishing 76 years. In addition to Barbara Cartland’s legion of fans in the UK and across Europe, her books have always been immensely popular in the USA. In 1976 she achieved the unprecedented feat of having books at numbers 1 & 2 in the prestigious B. Dalton Bookseller bestsellers list.
Although she is often referred to as the ‘Queen of Romance’, Barbara Cartland also wrote several historical biographies, six autobiographies and numerous theatrical plays as well as books on life, love, health and cookery. Becoming one of Britain’s most popular media personalities and dressed in her trademark pink, Barbara spoke on radio and television about social and political issues, as well as making many public appearances.
In 1991 she became a Dame of the Order of the British Empire for her contribution to literature and her work for humanitarian and charitable causes.
Known for her glamour, style, and vitality Barbara Cartland became a legend in her own lifetime. Best remembered for he
r wonderful romantic novels and loved by millions of readers worldwide, her books remain treasured for their heroic heroes, plucky heroines and traditional values. But above all, it was Barbara Cartland’s overriding belief in the positive power of love to help, heal and improve the quality of life for everyone that made her truly unique.
Love in the Clouds
Barbara Cartland
Barbara Cartland Ebooks Ltd
This edition © 2013
Copyright Cartland Promotions 1979
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