“There is nothing particularly wrong,” he answered, “but I have decided that I would like to stay here.”
“Stay here!” the Duke exclaimed. “You cannot be serious.”
“I am serious,” William said, “because I have fallen in love with Natasha. I was going to tell you today that she loves me and we want your help in persuading the Prince I can marry her.”
For a moment the Duke was silent and then he said,
“It is certainly a great surprise and something that I never expected. But of course, William, if you love her, you will have to persuade her father that you are of enough stature for him to accept you as his son-in-law.”
“That is what I was going to talk to you about at breakfast and, by the way, before I ride back, I would like something to eat.”
“You have taken my breath away and so I am not thinking clearly, but I will see to that if nothing else.”
The Duke walked to the door, opened it and called for a Steward.
It was only a moment before one came running and looked at the Duke in surprise.
“We weren’t expecting Your Grace,” he said.
“I know that,” the Duke answered, “but I am here and so are my two guests and we would like breakfast as quickly as possible.”
“Yes, of course, Your Grace. I will tell the chef. I expect he’s awake by now.”
The Duke smiled.
“If he’s not, then wake him up.”
The Steward was already running to find the chef and the Duke went back into the Saloon.
“Now I think about it,” he said, “I am both hungry and thirsty myself.”
She shut the door and sat down opposite Alnina.
“The problem is,” he said, “how to make William important enough to be accepted by the Prince.”
He looked at his friend for a moment and then he asked,
“I suppose you are brave enough to live with a man who was prepared to kill me and I expect you as well, if necessary, by throwing us off the top of a mountain.”
“Only because he wanted Alnina as his wife and I cannot believe that he treats many of his guests in the same way or we would have heard about it.”
“I would not trust him further than I can see him,” the Duke said. “But then, if you are brave enough to marry Natasha, you will have to make yourself so important that he does not dispose of you as he intended to do with me.”
“I realise that, but I think if he has what he wants, an English son-in-law, he will behave reasonably.”
William looked towards Alnina and said,
“After all, you could hardly blame him for wanting Alnina when she is so beautiful and, of course, he believes that, as an English Duchess, she will be almost as good as a distinguished son-in-law.”
“I can understand,” Alnina said, “that I was only the second choice. I want to say before we go any further that I think Princess Natasha is a charming and attractive girl and William will, I am sure, be very happy with her.”
William smiled at her.
“Thank you so much, Alnina. I thought you would understand. As you have been clever enough to save the Duke, be clever now and tell me how I can make Prince Vladimir believe that I am of great stature in England.”
“It’s not going to be easy,” the Duke remarked.
“I realise that,” William said, “but Alnina has never failed us yet.”
Alnina drew in her breath and then she asked,
“Surely there was someone in your family who was of consequence. A General or perhaps a Knight.”
William stared at her.
“As a matter of fact,” he said, “my grandfather was knighted when he became Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire. I was very young when he died, so I cannot say that he made a great impression on me.”
“But you say he was knighted?”
“Yes, but, although he held that particular post, it was not, of course, inherited by my father.”
“Nevertheless your grandfather was a Sir,” and your great-grandfather was Lord Armstrong.”
William nodded and Alnina went on,
“I cannot think that Prince Vladimir will be aware of the difference between a Knighthood and a Baronetcy. If you say that your grandfather was a Baronet, your father would in turn have been a Sir, and you, when he died, would have become Sir William Armstrong.”
Then the Duke chipped in,
“William can say that he is not using his title when he is abroad because, as he is with me, one title in the party was quite enough for foreigners to remember!”
William looked at the Duke and asked,
“Do you think I could really get away with it?”
“Of course you can,” the Duke replied, “and, when I go back to London, I will ask the Queen, if necessary on my knees, to grant you the title of Baronet.”
“Even if she says ‘no’,” Alnina said, “no one out here would be able to find out if you are genuine or not. It would be too complicated.”
“I am sure you are right,” William said, “and I have never thought about it myself. But then, Alnina, you have always been our little angel from Heaven since you first advertised your mother’s wedding dress.”
Alnina laughed.
“It does sound rather ridiculous, but everything has happened because of that and the last disclosure has been very very frightening.”
“That is something you need not fear any longer,” the Duke said, “but to return to William, only you could be astute enough to make him sure of gaining the Prince’s approval.”
He rose as he spoke and went to the writing desk in the corner of the Saloon.
“I am going to give you a letter to take back to Prince Vladimir and in it I will mention who you are and tell him that you are an extremely respected and admired British subject when you are in your own country.”
William laughed and was about to say something jokingly about it when the Stewards came in to lay the breakfast.
By the time they had laid three places and brought in the coffee, the Duke had finished his letter.
However, he could not read it while the Stewards were serving them with eggs and bacon.
Only when they had withdrawn did he suggest,
“Would you like to hear what I have written?”
“Yes, of course,” Alnina said. “I was wondering how we could leave the Palace without there being any unpleasantness about it, because it might affect William.”
“I thought about that too,” he answered.
He held up the letter that was written on his crested writing paper and began,
“To His Royal Highness, Prince Vladimir Petrov.
Your Royal Highness,
It is with deep regret that we had to rush away from your delightful party without saying goodbye.
But a messenger arrived at midnight to inform me that I must, on the orders of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, return to England immediately.
Her Majesty requires me to welcome some Rulers from other countries who are arriving in ten days’ time at Windsor Castle.
You will, I know, understand that I can do nothing but obey Her Majesty’s command and I must arrive in England before or at least not later than Her Majesty’s guests.
I just cannot thank you enough for the kind and generous manner you received me and my wife.
We will always remember how much we enjoyed staying in your beautiful Palace and being with Your Royal Highness.
My wife particularly wishes me to tell you that she will never forget how lovely your flowers are in the garden and the delightful parties Your Royal Highness was gracious enough to give for us.
We are leaving behind us my dear friend, William Armstrong, who has, as Your Royal Highness will soon learn, fallen in love with the beautiful Princess Natasha.
I cannot imagine anyone else who would make you a more delightful or intelligent son-in-law.
A great number of our friends in England will be thrilled at the marriage.
He has asked me to apologise for the fact that he did not tell you that he is now, on his father’s death, Sir William Armstrong.
He did not use his title because he thought that one title in the party was quite enough and in most foreign countries they find it difficult to appreciate the variety and distinction of our heritage.
The Armstrongs have been distinguished servants of Great Britain all down the ages. They have served in the Army and Navy and, of course, in the political world.
In the last two hundred years we have not had a King or Queen who has not been grateful to them in one way or another.
I can only hope that my dear friend, Sir William, will be able to assist you in your very beautiful country.
My wife has asked me to say that she will never forget the beauty you have shown her of the Caucasus Mountains.
Again a thousand thanks for our delightful visit and I hope Princess Natasha and Sir William will be as happy as my wife and I are at this moment.
We both send you our good wishes and grateful thanks.
Yours sincerely,
John Burlingford.”
As the Duke finished reading, Alnina clapped her hands.
But William laughed.
“If he believes all that, he believes anything,” he said. “Although there is, I would admit, a grain of truth in it. My great-grandfather was a General and my uncle was an Admiral.”
“They have certainly served our country nobly,” the Duke said. “If you had told me about your uncle being an Admiral, I would have said that he was the right-hand man to Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar.”
“You are obviously an author of fiction and will have to write a novel, John, and, of course, nothing could be more dramatic or exciting than what we have endured in Georgia.”
“What I really hope,” Alnina said softly, “is that you will be very happy.”
“I know I will be. Now if you will give me the letter I will ride back and you had better move off. So if the Prince is as much in love with Alnina as I am with Natasha, he might turn up at any moment!”
“Don’t frighten us,” Alnina replied. “But you are very sensible and the sooner we are out of the Black Sea the happier I will be.”
“Very well” the Duke agreed, getting up from the table. “I will go and find the Captain and tell him to put to sea immediately.”
He held out his hand to William.
“Take care of yourself, William, and let us know if it all goes as well as we hope.”
“You know I will keep in touch with you, John, and thank you again for everything.”
He kissed Alnina, then headed down the gangway, which was pulled in as soon as he was on the quay.
Alnina waved to him as he walked away towards the stable.
As she did so, she felt the engines turning below and the yacht began to move very slowly out of the Port.
She had the last glimpse of William as he reached the stable and then, as he waved and she waved back, the yacht was out to sea and moving more quickly.
It was then that she went to her cabin.
She was wondering as she did so what she had left to wear on the voyage, knowing that they had taken almost everything they possessed with them to the Palace.
She took off her riding clothes.
And then thinking that maybe Albert was right and she was in fact very tired, having had no sleep that night, she climbed into bed.
She had one last look out of the porthole before she did so and she realised that they were now a long way from the shore and Georgia was left behind.
She gave a deep sigh of relief.
Then, once she was in bed, she thought that nothing really mattered except that the Duke was now no longer in danger and that they were sailing back to England where he would be safe from the Prince.
‘I love him! I adore him!’ she whispered to herself as she fell asleep.
*
Because she had been very tired, for it had in fact been a ride in the dark that would have exhausted a man let alone a young woman, she slept all through the day until it was nearly time for dinner.
When she awoke with a start, it was to find that Albert had come into the cabin.
“What is it?” she asked sleepily.
Then she remembered where she was and sat up.
“I have been – asleep,” she mumbled.
“You have indeed, Miss Alnina,” Albert replied. “It be getting on for seven o’clock and His Grace, who’s had a sleep too, be hoping you’ll have dinner with him at seven-thirty. He’s too hungry to wait till later.”
Alnina laughed.
“It seems incredible that we slept so long,” she said, “and, of course, I will be delighted to have dinner with His Grace. I think I have some dresses left here to wear.”
“There be two or three I didn’t pack, miss. I thinks they weren’t quite grand enough for the Palace, but you’ll look like a Queen in ’em as you always do.”
“Thank you, Albert,” Alnina smiled. “And now I would love a bath.”
“That’s just what I’m going to get for you, miss.”
Albert went into the bathroom and Alnina lent back against the pillows.
Everything that had happened seemed to flash in front of her eyes, almost as if it was occurring on a stage.
And the most significant of all was that the Duke was safe on the yacht.
They were at sea and far far away from Prince Vladimir and his wicked plan and they were on their way back home, where everything would be as it was before.
As she was pondering, she remembered that there were still her brother’s debts to be paid off and more things to be sold.
Then she told herself that she still had the Duke for at least ten days, however fast they steamed and it would undoubtedly be a glorious time for her to remember and savour.
The dress that Albert had left out for her was a very pretty one of blue chiffon embroidered with flowers, which made her look very young and, although she did not realise it, very lovely as well.
She took a great deal of time arranging her hair and because she felt that the dress needed it, she put on a small diamond necklace, but it was not one of the larger and more valuable jewels the Duke had brought with them.
As she then went into the Saloon, she felt a little shimmer of excitement because she was seeing the Duke again.
He was sitting on one side of a comfortable sofa reading a newspaper.
As he rose to his feet when she came in through the door, she saw that he had changed into evening clothes.
They were what he usually wore when they were at sea and Albert had not thought they were stylish enough to be taken to the Palace.
“Have you had a nice sleep?” the Duke asked.
He was smiling at her as she walked towards him and she replied,
“I slept and slept and I woke up so very thankful because you are safe.”
“And you are safe too, Alnina. I don’t think you would have been at all happy even though you would have become a Princess!”
“Don’t let’s talk about it,” Alnina begged. “I have never been so frightened in my whole life as I was when I woke you up to tell you that the Prince intended to kill you.”
“He also stated that there was no gold left in the mountain,” the Duke answered. “I was therefore wasting my time and my energy in chasing what would turn out to be a ‘wild goose chase’.”
Alnina sat down beside him.
“But you loved your mountain,” she said, “and I am sorry that you have lost it.”
“I lost the unattainable,” the Duke sighed. “Now there is no reason for me to think of it again.”
He rose to his feet.
“I want you to come out on deck, Alnina, to see the sun set. It is much more beautiful than anything we have left behind us.”
Alnina had been afraid that he would be bitterly disappointed at losing his mountain, but she smiled happily as he pulled her to her feet.
Putting his arm round her protectively, he took her out on deck, where they walked until they were looking out over the bow of the ship and they were then out of sight of anyone who might be on the deck.
The yacht was steaming straight across the middle of the Black Sea towards the Bosporus and the sun was setting in the West throwing a golden glow over the sky.
It was very lovely and the only sound was of the engines turning and the slap and swish of the waves.
“It’s all beautiful, so beautiful,” Alnina gasped.
She felt that the Duke was waiting to hear what she thought.
“What makes it so perfect,” she carried on, “is that you are no longer in danger and you are safe, absolutely safe, because we are going back to England.”
“Does it matter so much to you?” the Duke asked.
“Of course it does!”
“You saved me again,” he said. “Now it would be impossible for me to be without you.”
Alnina looked up at him.
She did not understand what he meant.
But, when she met his eyes, she felt once again that strange, exciting feeling which she knew was love.
“You are sorry, because I have lost my mountain, which had meant so much to me?”
“Yes, of course, I am, John.”
“But I have found something else that matters so much more,” the Duke said. “Something which makes me feel I was very stupid to want a mountain when there is something else so different and very much more desirable.”
“What is – that,” Alnina asked him.
It was difficult to say the words.
It flashed through her mind that, if he was seeking something different, he might not now want her or her help as he had needed it before.
“I suppose we all,” the Duke said quietly, “follow our heart and it tells us what will make us happy.”
He paused as if he was thinking it out and then continued,
“What the heart tells us in its own way is utterly and completely desirable.”
“And you have found something like that?” Alnina asked, “even though you have lost your mountain.”
“I have found something which is a thousand times more important to me than the mountain could ever be. I exaggerated the importance of it in my life because it was different from what other men were seeking – which, of course – is the love of a woman.”
104. A Heart Finds Love Page 13
