Aphrodite's face was young and eager. Athene was calm and reflective. Hera, Goddess of marriage, was calm and a little smile played around her lips as though, after the hectic storms of passion, she had discovered the secret of true happiness.
“Ginetta is right,” Robert mused. “They are somehow like real people.”
“People that it would be so nice to meet,” Vanda agreed with a little unconscious sigh.
Robert gave her a quick look, but said nothing.
They did not dine with the family that evening, but left them alone to finish preparing for the wedding.
As they strolled back to the hotel through the little alleys and across the bridges of Venice, Vanda paused beside a shop selling pictures and sculpture. The next moment she had darted inside.
“That figurine,” she said when Robert followed her. “It's Aphrodite.”
He looked closely at the marble piece which seemed that the wind was sweeping through its hair.
“It is very beautiful,” he said. “But how can you be sure it's Aphrodite?”
“Oh, yes,” said the shopkeeper. “She is Aphrodite, the Goddess of love.”
“Then I should like to give it to Ginetta and Alberto,” Vanda said. “As a wedding gift.”
The shopkeeper named the price, which was considerable.
“Allow me to pay half,” Robert offered.
“There's no need,” Vanda protested. “I can afford it.”
“I don't doubt it. But I should like it to be a gift from both of us –” he hesitated, “if that is what you would like, too.”
He sounded unsure of himself. Vanda could never recall that happening.
“Yes,” she said quietly. “That's what I would like, too.”
They watched as the piece was wrapped up carefully.
“Is there a message to be enclosed?” the shopkeeper asked.
They chose a card and on it Vanda wrote,
For those whom Aphrodite has blessed.
She signed her name and Robert signed his beneath.
“Whom Aphrodite has blessed,” he repeated, smiling at Vanda.
“It will be delivered to the Palazzo Firese within an hour,” the man said, writing a receipt for the money. “Good day to your Excellencies.”
That night they dined in a quiet little canal-side restaurant, where the food and wine were both excellent.
“Why are you smiling?” Robert asked once.
“I was remembering how you talked to Mario, calling him 'Piero' and glaring at him. The poor man did not understand what was happening.”
“On the contrary, he understood exactly what I meant to convey. He will never even think of kissing you again!”
“Were you listening at the door?”
“Certainly not.”
“Then how did you know he wanted to kiss me?”
“My dear girl, give me credit for a little perception. I knew that while we were having lunch. I am only glad that I arrived in time to prevent him.”
Vanda said nothing.
“Or didn't I?” he added slowly.
She gave him a gentle, provocative smile.
“You are the one who knows everything, Robert. Or do I give you credit for too much intelligence?”
“You will push me too far,” he growled.
“Perhaps.”
Apart from this exchange, they said very little. Each was deep in thought and each of them understood, without words, that they were thinking the same thoughts.
But neither was quite ready to talk about their feelings as yet. The force of what had swept over them had come as a shock, and the whole world seemed different.
“We should retire early,” Robert said at last. “Tomorrow is going to be a long day.”
As they left the restaurant, he drew her hand through his arm and they meandered back to the hotel through the little streets in silent harmony.
*
For the wedding Vanda donned a summer gown of green silk organdie, embroidered with flowers and a stylish matching hat.
At ten o'clock a gondola called at the hotel, to convey them to St. Mark's Basilica, where the marriage service was to be held. In Venice it was traditional for a bride to travel to her wedding in a gondola and soon a huge convoy was gliding down the Grand Canal.
The sun poured down, glittering off the water, turning everything to light and joy. In a blaze of happiness Vanda turned to look at Robert to find him looking at her.
Soon they had reached the landing stage at St. Mark's Piazza. He assisted her out of the gondola and she felt the warm strength of his hands as he held her.
Alberto was already in his place, looking over his shoulder, although it was far too soon for the arrival of the bride.
All around her Vanda could see the huge church filling up with Italian aristocrats. This was a great Society wedding and everybody who was anybody had to be invited or they would feel insulted.
She supposed that if they had allowed her father to push them into marriage, it would have been the same, in a great cathedral in the presence of the highest Society.
But that is was not how Vanda would want it. If she married Robert she would need no grandiose setting, no huge choir nor aristocratic friends. She would require only a small country church, like the one on his estate, with their close friends to see them marry.
He would stand waiting for her, looking over his shoulder, just as Alberto. Perhaps he would be a little anxious in case, after all their squabbles, she changed her mind at the last moment.
But she would not change her mind. She would go to marry him with a heart full of glory. As she walked down the aisle, he would catch sight of her and his face would relax with relief. His eyes would shine with joy as she drew near. They would reach out to take each other's hands.
And he would make her his wife.
And then –
She drew a long breath.
Suddenly the organ burst into a triumphant peal. A ripple seemed to sweep over the congregation and Vanda awoke to the realisation that she had been lost in a dream.
A happy dream.
The happiest dream that she had ever dreamed.
Now Ginetta and her father were walking down the aisle. It was a long walk and it was only gradually that she came near enough for everyone to see how beautiful she was.
A dream bride, shimmering in white, a pearl tiara on her head, white roses in her hands and a long white lace veil flowing behind her.
But what Vanda saw most clearly was the look of blazing joy on Ginetta's face as she approached the man she adored, ready to be united with him forever.
The service began. Vanda could not follow the words, but she did not need words to understand the moment when the bride and groom exchanged rings. The looks they exchanged said, more clearly than anything else, that they had escaped the rest of the world and existed only for each other.
'That is how a bride and groom should look,' Vanda thought.
She glanced at Robert, but there was an expression on his face that she could not read. She only realised that he too was transfixed by the sight of the bridal couple.
Soon the service was over and everybody was streaming out into the sunlight and across St. Mark's Piazza. Some hired gondolas for the journey to the palazzo. Others chose to walk the short distance.
Robert and Vanda strolled along slowly, both still in a daze from what they had witnessed. Bridges and canals floated past them in a golden haze.
They found the palazzo ablaze with life and rejoicing. The Duke greeted them with open arms.
“I should not have made them wait so long,” he confided joyfully. “Any man who loves my daughter so much is the right man for her.”
Then he could not resist adding,
“But it would have been nicer if he could boast a decent title.”
The bride and groom were standing together, receiving their guests. As they approached, Ginetta seized Vanda's hands and kissed her on the cheek.
“Th
ank you both for our lovely wedding present,” she sighed. “It is so exactly right for us.”
In the next room they found the wedding gifts on display with Aphrodite in a prominent position.
“That is the best representation of Aphrodite that I have ever seen,” said a kindly voice behind them. “A perfect Goddess of love.”
They turned and found the Cardinal, smiling benignly.
“Of course, I have to pretend not to know,” he said conspiratorially.
“Well, she is a pagan Goddess,” Vanda said.
“And therefore I should disapprove?” he asked, his eyes twinkling with humour. “But I believe in anything that helps people to be true to each other. Love is so important, the most important thing in the world.”
The most important thing in the world.
Vanda had heard such words in the past, but they had never struck her so forcibly as now. She thought about them all through the wedding feast, wondering why she had never understood this obvious truth before.
Then it was time for dancing. First the bride and groom danced alone together, her gown and veil swirling out in a white mist around her. They circled the floor once while the orchestra played a yearning romantic melody.
The Duke and Duchess also began to dance together, and all the other guests joined in.
Vanda was never without a partner. Mario, the Duke himself, the bridegroom, and a string of other men who made no impression on her. She danced with them all and forgot them.
Eventually the voice for which she had been unconsciously waiting said,
“Dance with me, Vanda.”
Robert was there, holding out his arms and she moved into them gladly.
They had danced together before but this was different. Now they sensed something they had not known nor even suspected.
“You are beautiful, Vanda,” he sighed. “More beautiful than any woman here.”
She smiled.
“Are you making fun of me?”
“Why should you think so?”
“Because you have never paid me compliments before.”
“Times change,” he said seriously. “People change.”
She could think of nothing but how it felt to be close to him. She wanted him to draw her even closer, to take her into his arms and kiss her.
Looking up, she met his eyes and was swept by an overwhelming conviction that he felt the same.
Suddenly his arms tightened about her and she felt herself being danced out of the tall windows into the garden.
Now, she thought happily, they could be alone and he could kiss her.
He swirled her around and around until they slowed and stopped beneath the trees. He moved his arms so that he could gather her into them, looking closely into her face.
“Vanda,” he breathed softly. “Vanda –”
“Yes,” she murmured.
She would have added, “my love,” but a little uncertainty held her back. She wanted to hear him say it first.
“Vanda –”
There was a note in his voice that thrilled her. Her heart beat faster. He was drawing her closer, closer. At any moment his lips would touch hers.
But then she felt him grow tense and pull apart from her. A burst of laughter from somewhere in the garden had alerted them to the fact that they were not alone.
Vanda could have wept with disappointment. She wanted his kiss so badly,
“We should go in,” he said unsteadily.
“Yes – yes, we must.”
Reluctantly they walked across the lawn into the bright lights of the house, where everyone could see them and there was no further chance to be alone.
Vanda's mind was in turmoil. Now she longed to disappear from Venice, where everyone thought they were brother and sister and where they could not risk drawing closer.
If only there was some way of escaping now, this very minute.
The bride and groom were ready to leave. A boat was waiting for them at the landing stage, ready to carry them on the first stage of their journey to Greece.
A crowd gathered to wave them off. Ginetta tossed her bouquet into the air. It soared high and fell straight into Vanda's arms. A cheer went up.
Vanda buried her face into the white blooms to hide the fact that she was blushing. She had never felt so discomposed before. What would Robert think?
“And now,” the Duchess was saying as they returned to the house, “we shall be free to give our friends all of our attention.”
As she spoke she linked her arm with Robert's and gave him a significant look.
“But of course,” the Duke added. “In fact, I insist that the two of you move into the palace and stay a long time with us.”
Vanda held her breath. This was the last thing she wanted to happen, but could she be sure that Robert felt as she did? She waited, feeling as though her whole life was at stake.
And then, as though from a great distance, she heard him say wonderful, incredible words.
“You are too kind, my friends, but my sister and I cannot stay. Seeing Ginetta and Alberto has fired us with a desire to explore further. We shall leave immediately – to discover the secrets of ancient Greece.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
They departed from Venice the very next day.
“The manager of the hotel told me about a ship that cruises the Greek islands,” Robert explained to Vanda. “There were two cabins left, so I secured them for us.”
They were both delighted with the ship as soon as they walked aboard. It was luxurious with every modern comfort and it had been designed to reflect the atmosphere of Greece, even down to the names of the cabins.
“Believe it or not, my cabin is called Aphrodite!” Vanda told him as they leaned over the rail, watching the crew make ready to cast off from Venice.
“And mine is Apollo,” said Robert.
The engines were humming and at last the ship began to move, gliding out into the open sea. Vanda stood at the rail, feeling the wind whipping past her, wondering what would happen in the mysterious future into which they were heading.
After the vibrant moment of last night, when she could sense him trembling with a feeling that seemed to reflect her own, Robert had returned to his normal manner, friendly but cool and ironic.
But surely everything would be different now? They were travelling to Greece, where they would find the Gods of love, as Ginetta and Alberto had discovered.
'Of course Greece is where we were meant to come from the very beginning,' she told herself.
But then she thought,
'Yet we needed to go to France and Italy first and make the discoveries that have ultimately brought us together.'
In her childhood she had read the stories of the Greek deities and been enthralled. But as the years passed and she grew up, she had forgotten most of them. Then, meeting the lovers in Venice and hearing them pay homage to the Gods who had united them, had brought all the tales back to her, as fresh and true as in the beginning.
“Are we doing the right thing?” Robert asked beside her.
“I am sure we are,” she sighed eagerly. “I cannot wait to see the wonders of Greece.”
“Perhaps the real wonders are the sights we cannot see,” he ventured, “but which nonetheless are often the truest and purest.”
Vanda nodded, feeling a great happiness at hearing him express a thought so much in tune with her own.
There was a restaurant on the deck and they enjoyed lunch in the sun, as the ship sped onwards.
“We are heading straight for the Gulf of Corinth,” Robert explained, “without calling in anywhere else first. Tomorrow we will reach the Port of Itea, where we will stay for two days. From Itea we can travel the six miles to Delphi, the site of the oracle.”
“I wonder if it will tell us the future,” she mused.
He looked at her curiously.
“When you talk like that, it is almost as though you thought you were going to meet real people.”
&nbs
p; “Why not?” she asked. “Surely, with all the wonderful events which have happened in Greece and the fact that the deities lived there for so long, they can still be found if one seeks them.”
“I suppose you believe,” he enquired, “that the Gods never die?”
“Of course I do,” Vanda replied. “I have read so many books about them and found all the stories so fascinating. And then, seeing how Ginetta and Alberto have taken them into their lives and trusted their fate to them – how can I not believe?”
She looked so charming in her excitement that Robert could only smile.
The ship offered a small library full of books about Greece and they spent the rest of the day reading, preparing themselves for what to expect when they landed.
When she retired to bed, Vanda sat for a long time looking out of her cabin porthole at the moon shining on the dark sea, feeling at one with its mystery. It was late when she finally lay down to sleep.
The next afternoon they docked at Itea and hired a carriage which would take them to Delphi. Soon they were climbing the slope of Mount Parnassus, considered by the ancient Greeks to be the centre of the earth.
Here there was a sanctuary where the ancient Delphic priests performed a ritual, at the end of which the High Priestess, known as the Pythia, would answer the questions of those who consulted her.
Kings had come here and heeded her words, for they were considered to be the words of Apollo.
At last the carriage stopped and they stepped out into what had once been the most sacred temple of the ancient world. It stood in a huge natural amphitheatre, with steep inclines on three sides.
Vanda observed a raised stone circle, whose boundary had once been surrounded by tall columns of which only three remained.
Two of them were joined by a lintel at the top, on which were carved two words in Greek. She knew, because she had read it in a book the day before, that the words meant, 'Know Thyself.'
'And it's only since I have been travelling with Robert that I have come to know myself,' she pondered inwardly. 'How long have I loved him, and not understood?
'I understand everything now. I know that I love him, and that he is the only man I could ever love. If he does not love me in return, my life will mean nothing. Nothing at all.'
In Search of Love Page 10
