They Touched Heaven

by Barbara Cartland

  As soon as they were seated in the plush dining room, Monsieur Henri himself came to greet them.

  “Sir Thomas. How wonderful to see you and who is this charming young lady?”

  “Henri, this is Miss Morris, a dear friend of mine.”

  “Très belle, très jolie!” exclaimed Monsieur Henri. “Enchanté, mademoiselle. You will drink champagne, of course, and I have a very special bottle on ice for you.”

  He clapped his hands and a silver bucket full of ice was brought to the table and he then opened the bottle.

  With that and a quick wink to Sir Thomas, he made a short bow and then left the table.

  “Do you like the restaurant?” asked Sir Thomas.

  “Very much, thank you.”

  “To you, my dearest!” he murmured, raising his glass with a smile.

  Temia followed suit and took a sip from her glass.

  “Is it to your taste?”

  “It’s most delicious, Sir Thomas, but can we order something to eat?” asked Temia, taking another sip. “I shall get a headache if I drink this without food.”

  He snapped his fingers and a waiter appeared. “Two steak entrecôte, please,” he ordered.

  Temia and Sir Thomas chatted away until the food arrived and then, she drank some more champagne.

  As she set it down, she noticed there was something sparkling in the bottom of her glass.

  “Oh, what can it be?” she said, picking it up and examining it.

  “I thought you would never notice, my love!” Temia dipped her finger into the liquid and pulled out a diamond ring.

  “Oh!” she cried, holding it up to the light.

  “Yes, my darling. I want you to marry me. Temia, will you? I love you so very much and want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  “So there you are!” came a sudden voice. “I have searched all over Mayfair for you!”

  Temia looked up to see the Earl standing there, gesturing to a waiter to bring another chair to the table.

  “Wentworth!”

  “I missed you at the theatre. So, I went to the Club and had a few drinks, but you not did appear.”

  “Wentworth, old boy. I am having a private dinner with Temia. In fact, I have just asked her to marry me!”

  The Earl froze in his chair. His face fell and took on a wounded expression for a fleeting moment. Temia watched while he composed himself. He sat upright and then jumped up and stormed off to the door.

  “Richard!” yelled Sir Thomas. “Temia, my darling. I am sorry. I should go after him. Will you excuse me?”

  Temia breathed a sigh of relief. As she held the sparkling ring up to the light, she twirled it around and examined the large central diamond.

  ‘It’s beautiful,’ she sighed, ‘but I cannot accept. If I needed proof of the man I love, then I have just received it. My heart left the room at the same time as the Earl.’

  When Sir Thomas eventually returned, he seemed very upset. His hair was awry and his face red.

  “I’m very sorry, Temia, but I have lost my appetite. Would you mind if we left? I have just asked Monsieur to fetch our cloaks.”

  “Not at all, Thomas, but what has happened? You look terrible!”

  “It’s Wentworth. There was an argument and he bally-well went for me.”

  Temia did not need any further explanation. She knew exactly what had transpired between the two men. She did not speak until they were in the carriage.

  She had been holding onto the ring since he had returned to their table, and now, she returned it to him.

  “I am sorry, but I cannot accept your proposal,” she whispered.

  “But why?”

  “I-I – ”

  “You are upset – I do understand, my darling. It was Wentwoth’s outburst, was it not?”

  Temia nodded her head. It was not a lie, after all.

  Outside her lodgings, the carriage came to a halt.

  “Goodnight, Thomas,” she said, kissing his cheek.

  She was relieved that he was clearly still too upset to attempt to kiss her lips again.

  He stared at Temia with such love that she felt tears rise to her eyes. She knew, however, without a shadow of doubt that she did not love him.

  *

  Temia slept late the next day – and it was fortunate that she and Sophia did not have to leave Mrs Hook’s until late afternoon. The cab came at two o’clock for their luggage and then they went back upstairs to finish clearing their room. “Where is the duster?” asked Temia. “Mrs. Hook will be cross if we don’t leave the room spick and span.”

  “I’ll go and ask her for it,” offered Sophia.

  Ten minutes later she returned with a strange look on her face and no feather duster.

  “Temia, this letter has just come for you.”

  She handed it to her and, at once, Temia saw that it bore her mother’s handwriting.

  “So soon!” she whispered.

  “She must have replied at once. Do you think she is in London for it to have arrived so swiftly?”

  Temia’s hands were shaking as she read the letter.

  “She is coming to London tomorrow! Oh, how did she find out where I was? I don’t understand! Wait – she says that Cousin Georgiana saw me on stage last night and sent her a letter that she must have received this morning. The stage doorman gave her this address.”

  “Oh, Temia! What else does she say?”

  “Papa does not know of this, but she wishes to meet me at two o’clock in Fortnum and Mason’s restaurant. Oh, Sophia! What shall I do?”

  “You must see your Mama, of course.” “But what if she brings Papa with her and they then attempt to drag me back to Northamptonshire?”

  “Do you really believe that could happen?”

  Temia sat down on the bed and sighed with despair.

  “Sophia, I confess I don’t know.”

  Just then, the heavy footsteps of Mrs. Hook could be heard coming up the stairs.

  “Mrs. Hook! She will be wanting her keys back!”

  Temia tucked the letter into the waistband of her skirt, as the carriage was ready to go to Covent Garden.

  ‘Tomorrow,’ she thought. ‘I shall decide tomorrow morning what to do for the best.’

  As she closed the door behind her, she could not help but wonder what the next few days would bring.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Their new lodgings were a tall house tucked away just off the Strand. Although the area was not as smart as Kensington, Mrs. Timms kept a clean house and was not as bad-tempered as Mrs. Hook.

  The troupe arrived in fits and starts and, as Sophia and Temia were the last to turn up, they got the attic room.

  “It’s not as nice as our old place,” remarked Sophia. “There’s barely enough room to do a pirouette! Mr. Baker wants us at the theatre at half-past two. What time has he asked for you, Temia?”

  “Ten o’clock. He wishes me to help organise the scenery. He mentioned that there might be more to do.”

  “Lord!” cried Sophia, “not another dance?”

  Just then Mrs. Timms put her head round the door.

  “Sorry to disturb you, ladies, but is one of you Miss Temia Morris?”

  “I am,” answered Temia. “What is it?”

  “This came for you earlier. A very fine seal it has too, look – ”

  Temia recognised at once it was from Sir Thomas, as she took the letter gingerly from Mrs. Timms. “Aren’t you going to open it?” Sophia asked her eagerly. “Which one is it from?”

  “Sir Thomas. I do hope he’s not angry with me for refusing his proposal.”

  “The girls all say it makes a gentleman keener if you refuse him.”

  Temia took a deep breath and broke the seal on the letter. What she found filled her with a sense of relief.

  “He says he has been forced to return to his estate to deal with an urgent matter and so he will not be seeing me for the next few evenings. He will send word when he
intends to return.”

  “And so, the way is now well and truly clear for the Earl of Wentworth!” added Sophia mischievously.

  Temia blushed as she refolded the letter. She had to admit relief that Sit Thomas was going to be absent for the next few evenings and Sophia was right – if the Earl was to make an appearance this time, would she be able to refuse any invitation he may care to offer?

  Blowing out the candle, she settled for the night.

  ‘Oh, Richard!’ she sighed to herself, hoping with every inch of her being that the Earl would come to the theatre to see her.

  *

  Temia went to The Olympic Theatre early the next day to supervise the scenery and then asked Leo Baker if she might slip away for a few hours.

  “Family business,” she explained. “You are not thinking of leaving us, I hope! That would never do – never!”

  “No, I am very happy where I am.” As soon as she had finished her duties, Temia left to walk to Fortnum’s in Piccadilly. Pushing open the pale-green doors, Temia quickly made her way up the stairs to the restaurant on the fourth floor.

  Her heart was in her mouth as she emerged from the staircase. Her Mama was standing by a podium, waiting for her. As soon as she saw her daughter, tears filled her eyes and she held out her arms to her.

  “Temia darling!” she called, flying towards her.

  They embraced for a while and then Mama said,

  “Come, there is a table waiting for us.”

  Temia sat down and took her mother’s hand in hers.

  “Mama, it is so good to see you. How is Papa?”

  “If the truth be known, he is a changed man.”

  “And Lord Alphonse, does he still trouble you?”

  “I am afraid he does, darling. More so than before, if anything. When you disappeared, he was furious! He sent out search parties for you, convinced that you had fled abroad. He had his men combing the ports for any sign of you. Had he found you – ”

  “But he did not, thank God.”

  “If he knew you were here, he would make a great deal of trouble for you. He has underestimated your ability to survive away from the bosom of your family. Going to school in Paris has made you an independent woman.

  “You are well, Temia? You look just as beautiful as ever.”

  “Very well, thank you,” she replied, “and happy!”

  “I confess I was very troubled when Georgiana said that you were working in a theatre. I had always believed that only loose women went on the stage.”

  “But, I am not on the stage. I paint the scenery and the girls’ faces. They are nothing like I had thought – they are not loose women at all!”

  “But theatricals have such lax morals, Temia, tell me, dearest, you have not – fallen, have you?”

  “Goodness, Mama! I am shocked you should think such a thing! I can assure you that my virtue is intact.”

  “I am sorry to speak frankly, but I am so worried.”

  “I am more concerned about you and Papa,” replied Temia, nibbling on a sandwich, “you said that he was a changed man. What did you mean by that?”

  Her Mama took a deep breath.

  “Lord Alphonse has taken his revenge in an awful way. He has been taking horses without paying for them and is ruining your father. We live in constant fear that he will broadcast your father’s secret to all and sundry just out of spite. Now that he knows you are out of his reach, he has become bitter and even more unpleasant than ever. All this has made your Papa terribly depressed.”

  “Oh, Mama. I am so sorry I had to leave you and Papa, but I was left with no choice. I could not marry Lord Alphonse and what is more, I have discovered that he was not in a position to offer me marriage anyway.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He is already married.”

  “Impossible! How do you know this to be true?”

  “A friend of mine. I confided in him the reason why I ran away from home and he said that he knew for a fact that Lord Alphonse has a wife already.”

  “Then, why has no one ever seen her?”

  “He has had her committed to a lunatic asylum in Middlesex.”

  “And this friend, he is certain of his information?”

  “Mama, he would not lie to me and then, something wonderful happened. Oh, Mama! I have had a message from Jasper!”

  Lady Brandon turned white and began to cry.

  “Don’t say such things, Temia. Or you will really upset me”

  “But Mama, I saw it with my own eyes! I went to a spiritualist – Mrs. Sebright – and Jasper came through! He told me that the evidence lies in Hanwell – that is where Lady Alphonse is imprisoned.”

  “I don’t believe it, why would he do such a thing?”

  “You have said yourself that he is slowly extorting money from Papa and ruining him, that would be why.”

  “But how can we prevent him? If I thought for one moment that what you say is true and that he has a wife, then we could bring in the law.”

  Temia paused, a scheme forming in her head.

  “Mama, supposing we visited the asylum and took our Solicitor with us? With a sworn affidavit to the effect that he has a wife who still lives, then perhaps he will leave the family alone!”

  Lady Brandon stirred her tea and thought.

  “If I believed for a moment that there was a way to get rid of that dreadful man – ”

  “Mama, the only way we can discover whether or not it is true is to go and see for ourselves.”

  “Surely, but running off to some lunatic asylum, Temia, it is just not done.”

  “And neither is blackmail and extortion! But that does not prevent Lord Alphonse from pursuing Papa.”

  “Then, there is only one course of action and that is to do as you suggest. I will do all in my power to stop him and so I am prepared to come with you to Hanwell.”

  “Oh, Mama! Thank you! Thank you! Will you be able to stay in London for a few days longer?”

  “I will write to your Papa and tell him that I have been taken ill with a cold. I shall go to Marianne and ask her if I may stay with her.”

  “And our Solicitor?”

  “I will make an appointment to see Mr. Burleigh first thing tomorrow.”

  A clock chimed and Temia realised she had to go.

  “Mama, I must leave you. There is still so much to do at the theatre.”

  “Where can I write to you, darling?”

  “This is the address of my lodgings but, please, don’t visit me. It’s not – as you would wish.”

  “Darling, I am so glad we have met and spoken. I have been beside myself with worry ever since you left.”

  They rose and walked downstairs to the street.

  “And I am sorry I could not tell you where I was. I believed that if you found out, you would surely send Lord Alphonse to fetch me.”

  “Last week, perhaps I would have done, but now, I am just thankful I have seen you, well and, I hope, happy.”

  “Yes, I am, Mama, but there is something else that I would discuss with you.”

  Lady Brandon stopped and turned quite pale.

  “What is it, my darling? I don’t think I could take more bad news!”

  “Not bad news, but strange news. The young lady I share my room with – she is none other than Papa’s long-lost daughter.”

  “With that woman?” “Yes, Mama. But she is nice and not at all rough.”

  “And you are certain that she is – ?”

  “My half-sister? Yes. She has shown me a letter written to her mother from Papa. I would recognise the hand anywhere.”

  “And her mother?”

  “She was an actress, as we had heard, but the rest of the rumour was not true. Sophia’s mother died without a husband and died refusing to name Sophia’s father.”

  Lady Brandon now composed herself and resumed walking along Piccadilly. She held her head high and, if she was upset at this news, she did not show it.

  “Has
she asked to meet her father?”

  “Not exactly, but she desires it, I know.”

  “We shall have to deal with this another time, at the moment my main concern is how to bring Lord Alphonse to justice.”

  At Leicester Square, Temia kissed her Mama and bade her farewell.

  “Mama, you will write to me very soon and we will visit Hanwell to find out the truth for ourselves?”

  “I promise you, we shall. Goodbye, Temia darling. Pray we will uncover something to our advantage!”

  Temia felt a lump rising in her throat as she waved goodbye to her mother. ‘Oh Lord!’ she prayed, as she walked rapidly along the Strand, ‘please let us find what we seek in Hanwell. Help bring the deceitful Lord Alphonse to justice.’

  *

  Opening night at The Olympic Theatre in Covent Garden was a tense affair. Leo Baker was in a terrible mood and shouted constantly at the girls before curtain up.

  “He’s been this way all day,” whispered Sophia, as Temia was putting the finishing touches to some scenery. “Shouted at us all the time during rehearsals. Oh, and you know who turned up looking for you this afternoon?”

  Temia turned pale.

  “Surely it was not Lord Alphonse?” “Lord Alphonse? No, the one with the brooding eyes – the Earl of Wentworth.”

  “He came here?” asked Temia, feeling a little faint.

  “Looking for you! At first he refused to believe you were not here and then said he’d return later.”

  “And Sir Thomas, was he with him?”

  “No, he was not. Fortunately!”

  “Sophia! Enough gossiping. Come to the front,” roared Leo Baker.

  Temia worked away at the scenery and tried not to think about the Earl. Her heart beat faster and she found it difficult to concentrate. ‘Whatever the reason, it must be important. I hope he has not fallen out with Sir Thomas. If they both come tonight, there will be a great deal of trouble!’

  Just before curtain up, Temia was busying herself with the last item of costume when there came a knock on the door and it was Hobson.

  “Miss Temia, the Earl of Wentworth is at the stage door demandin’ to see you. Shall I send him away? He seems awful vexed, so he does.”

  “No, I shall come out at once,” she replied sighing.

  Her heart was beating very fast as she approached the long corridor that led to the stage door. She could see his silhouette outside in the street, wearing a top hat and a cape, as was his custom.