“But she will arrive at the castle and find that you are not there.”
“So she will come back home. Of course, she will be breathing fire at both of us for deceiving her, so we will need to endure her wrath – ”
“You can endure her wrath. It was all your idea.”
“The point is that she will be here.”
“But shouldn’t we go in hot pursuit?”
“My dear girl, she has several hours start on us. We would pass each other in two trains going in opposite directions. It makes more sense for us to stay here on the station for when her train pulls in.”
“But that could be late tonight or tomorrow.”
“Then I am prepared to settle in for a long wait. I do not care how long it is so long as I find her at the end of it.”
“We’ll settle in for a wait,” Violet said. “I am coming with you.”
“But it could be hours and hours – ”
“We are in this together,” she declared firmly.
“Yes, indeed we are. Together then.”
*
It was early afternoon when Elvina reached the castle. “I have come to see the Duke,” she told Pearson. “Can you take me to him, please?”
The butler looked bewildered.
“But my Lady, I understood – that is – Kelnwich is surely close to Winwood Grange?”
“Yes, it is just down the road from my home,” she agreed, bewildered. “But what does that have to do with anything?”
“His Grace is at Kelnwich.”
“His Grace is what?”
“For the last few weeks he has been staying at the Prince Regent Hotel in Kelnwich.”
Elvina stared at him.
“Are you quite certain of that?”
“All his mail is forwarded there, my Lady.”
Elvina ignored the voice buzzing in her head and pulled herself together.
“What about the Braemar Games?” she asked.
“His Grace did not visit Scotland this year.”
“Do you happen to recall exactly when he went to Kelnwich?”
“Oh, yes, my Lady. It was a week after you left. The Duke and Lady Violet departed together. The head groom took them to the railway station and saw then onto the train to Derby.”
“They both caught the train to Derby?” Elvina asked slowly. “And from there they caught the connection to Kelnwich.”
“As to that, I could not say, my Lady. But they certainly caught the Derby train together. Lady Violet’s maid was with them too.”
“Of course she was,” Elvina murmured. “It was all so beautifully organised.”
“May I fetch your Ladyship a cup of tea?”
“Thank you. I feel in need of one. And perhaps you could arrange for me to be driven back to Arnside station, since I have sent my cab away?”
She reached Arnside just in time to miss a train. There was nothing to do but sit on the platform and wait for the next one, which gave her two hours to mull over the way she had been fooled.
It was so obvious now that they had planned it together. Violet had not run away at all.
‘He came all the way to Kelnwich with her,’ she thought, ‘and he stayed at the local hotel while she came on to my home and gave me a pathetic tale of how she had been forced to flee him.
‘And she has been in touch with him all this time, probably telling him every word I have said.’
But why?
Why?
‘And all those things she said about how he should be boiled in oil and he wasn’t worthy of me!’
Why?
She was still asking herself that question when the Derby train came in and she boarded it. By now it was getting late in the evening and it would be after midnight before the train reached Kelnwich.
She sat staring out of the windows at the darkness, trying not to admit to herself what she knew to be true.
He had come after her. He wanted her back. Too proud to plead for himself, he had engaged Violet as his ambassador. Violet was to ascertain Elvina’s state of mind and contact him if she detected any sign of softening.
It had all been a plot to win her back, because he loved her as much as she loved him, but did not know how to say so.
That was the blazing, glorious truth and her heart swelled at the realisation.
If only the train would move faster! But of course, it was too late for today. When she reached the station she would have to return home and try to be patient until the next morning.
Or perhaps he would be waiting for her at home, because Violet must have taken her letter to him.
Or perhaps –
But that was too much to hope for.
The train was slowing. She was nearly there. Suddenly her heart was racing.
She could endure the uncertainty no longer. Pushing down the window, she looked out, fixing her gaze on the platform coming closer and closer.
In the smoky gloom she could not be sure of anything. He was there. He was not there.
Then the smoke cleared and she saw him, standing on the platform, wearing a look of anxiety that matched her own – anxiety that turned to a blazing smile as soon as he saw her.
And there was Violet beside him, jumping up and down with excitement and waving.
But as the train drew to a halt Violet backed away, leaving her brother standing alone, his heart in his eyes.
He ran forward, pulling open the door and opening his arms so that Elvina fell straight into them. He lowered his head and for a long moment neither of them moved.
“Can you forgive me for being such a hidebound fool?” he asked at last in a husky voice. “I deserve to lose you for not appreciating the priceless jewel I was given, but please don’t tell me that I have lost you, because I could not bear it.”
“I could never bear to leave you again for even one second,” she told him, her eyes shining. “I love you with all my heart.”
“With all my heart,” he echoed, “and all my soul, and all my life. You are mine for eternity and I will never, never let you go. Say that you will always be mine.”
“How can I not be yours, when you went to such lengths?” she asked, laughing through her tears. “Such a wild, incredible plan! Violet had me completely fooled.”
“You see, I always knew I could be an actress,” Violet carolled triumphantly. “You didn’t suspect anything, did you?”
“Not for a moment.”
“But it was David’s idea. He planned the whole scheme.”
“You?” She stared at him.
“You see, I am learning already,” he admitted.
The guard’s whistle blew. The train began to move again.
“My bag, it’s still on the train!” Elvina cried.
“No, it isn’t.” Violet held it up. “I collected it and shut the door while you two were ‘otherwise occupied’. Now, it’s late and cold and we have a wedding to plan. So can we please go home?”
The Duke looked down into Elvina’s face and his arms tightened about her, as hers did around him.
“We are home, forever and always,” he sighed.
“We are the most fortunate souls in the whole wide world. We have at last found our way to Heaven.”
They Found their Way to Heaven Page 14
