The Husband Hunters

by Barbara Cartland

  He made her very angry and yet she admitted to herself now that when he was not there a room seemed empty and a party dull.

  It was not only being beside him – there was some strange attraction she had never dared admit to herself in seeing him looking so distinguished and yet so indifferent.

  She knew now that she had been tinglingly aware of him from the moment she woke up in the morning in his house to the moment she went to bed.

  She had refused to admit it and yet when she had dressed she had taken extra pains to look her best just because she might see him.

  Again, although she kept it a secret even from her own thoughts, she had known her heart seemed to turn over in her breast and beat a little faster the moment he appeared.

  And yet she had managed to tell herself that he was everything that was despicable, a man who cared for no one but himself and she had it on Lady Evelyn’s authority that he was as selfish and ungenerous as his father.

  Rich though he was, he would not even offer anyone hospitality unless it was for his own particular amusement.

  Now she had seen with her own eyes the manner in which he cared for so many less fortunate people and she had learnt the reason for his cynicism. His air of superiority was not at all what she had supposed, but just a fear of being hurt even more than he had been already.

  Was it surprising, when he had such a fine nature hidden away, that he had despised her from the very moment they had met?

  He thought of her first as an immoral woman – then because she had somehow forced him into the position of introducing them to Society unwillingly and uncharacteristically, he must have hated her as she hated him.

  Then he despised her for the manner in which she had behaved with Lord Crowhurst and because he had seen her as she was, a snob and a social climber where her sisters were concerned.

  She could imagine how such low standards and frivolous values would disgust him and she could understand too how, while he gladly helped people who were really poor and suffering, he must have loathed her for her pretensions.

  At that moment Andrina went down into a little hell of her own, in which she faced herself and was horrified by what she found.

  ‘I wanted all the wrong things,’ she thought miserably, ‘titles, money, position. I forgot that the only thing that really matters is what the Duke has never had – love!’

  She saw herself scrabbling, clawing and fighting to make Cheryl a Duchess, when all Cheryl wanted was to be safe in Hugo’s arms.

  She saw herself doing the same with Sharon, who had been clever enough to find the Count without her assistance.

  ‘I was wrong right from the beginning,’ Andrina admitted to herself humbly. ‘I aimed for the wrong things and wanted nothing that was really worth having.’

  Every woman wanted a husband, she thought, but only with love. All the rest was of no possible consequence.

  ‘No one will ever love me,’ Andrina told herself miserably, ‘not in the way I want to be loved.’

  She realised as she thought about it that beauty could be just as transient and as insubstantial in regard to happiness as a title and a great position.

  It blinded those who looked at it to the real person that lay beneath.

  A beautiful face, without a heart and a soul that matched it, was as undesirable as marrying a title without love.

  ‘How could I have been such a fool?’ Andrina asked herself and remembered that the Duke had called her ‘foolish’ not once but many times.

  He was right, she thought, and threw herself back against the pillows to hide her face.

  “He was right and I was wrong,” she whispered, “and Oh, God – I cannot think how it has – happened – but I-I love him!”

  Chapter Seven

  The two married couples drove away amidst a shower of rice and rose petals.

  There was a cheer from the male members of the party as the carriages moved down the short drive into Curzon Street and then laughing and talking everyone began to disperse.

  It had been intended that the wedding should be very quiet and it was in fact Hugo Renton who had suggested that it should take place as quickly as possible.

  “I am in mourning,” he said, “and since there is a great deal for me to do following my father’s death, I must return to Cheshire.”

  He looked at Andrina and added,

  “But I don’t want to leave Cheryl behind.”

  Andrina had not spoken and he went on,

  “She will be worried and indecisive if she is not with me. Besides I have suffered enough, thinking of her here in London and that she might forget all about me.”

  “I understand,” Andrina said and meant it.

  She would not have been able to understand a week earlier, but now her own feelings for the Duke made her tender and compassionate towards both her sisters.

  She could realise so well what they were feeling and surprisingly it was the Duke who made everything easy.

  “You had best both be married at the same time,” he suggested. “Ivan tells me that he can obtain a short leave of absence from his Embassy and he naturally wishes to spend it on his honeymoon.

  “If either of you has a long engagement, the Season will be over and then if you wish any of your friends or relatives to be present it will be the autumn before anyone is back in London again.”

  Andrina could not help wondering whether this explanation, which sounded so logical, arose from genuine solicitude for Cheryl’s and Sharon’s happiness or if the Duke was in fact longing to be rid of them all and to have his house to himself again.

  Naturally the two couples concerned agreed fervently with everything the Duke proposed and in an incredibly short space of time the marriage was arranged and everything was planned.

  They thought at first that practically no one should be invited except their immediate relatives, but however hard they tried there always seemed to be some very viable excuse why someone extra should be included.

  First it was obvious that the Russian Ambassador and the Princess de Lieven must be present and then Hugo felt obliged to ask not only his sisters and his grandmother, who was still living, but a large number of cousins as well.

  That alone would not have swelled the congregation unduly until they started to total up the number of Broxbourne relatives and Lady Evelyn averred that they would never speak to Cheryl or Sharon if they were left out.

  And so in the end St. George’s, Hanover Square, was filled to capacity and the ballroom at Broxbourne House was once again opened for the Reception.

  There was a luncheon party, which was indeed confined to the more immediate relatives, but after everyone returned from the Church there was champagne, a buffet loaded with delicacies and two wedding cakes made by the Duke’s chef, which were nearly six feet high.

  Andrina had been thankful that Mr. Robson saw to all the innumerable details of the weddings, including the listing of the presents, and all she had to do was to buy what was necessary for Cheryl’s and Sharon’s trousseaux.

  That was enough in itself!

  As she said to Lady Evelyn over and over again,

  “Surely they cannot need so many clothes? They will be out of fashion long before they have worn them!”

  But because she loved her sisters she did not protest unduly, even though she kept worrying as to how everything would be paid for and felt extremely guilty about the debts that she was certain she was incurring in the Duke’s name.

  She hoped she would have an opportunity to talk with him about it, but the days before the wedding swept by with a thousand things for her to do.

  Cheryl and Sharon were continually asking her advice or assistance and Lady Evelyn was prepared to leave everything in her hands, so that when she went to bed at night she fell asleep almost immediately from sheer exhaustion.

  Yet it was a delight and a comfort to know that the Duke was there.

  Sometimes she had only a glimpse of him riding away from the front
door on his black stallion and sometimes he joined them for a short time before dinner when he usually seemed to have engagements that were different to their own.

  She wondered if he was bored with their company or if he was being tactful and wished to leave the young couples to their own devices.

  It was quite obvious that neither Cheryl and Hugo nor Sharon and Count Ivan needed anyone but each other.

  Andrina could not help feeling lonely and left out.

  She was so used to having her sisters clinging to her and to being the centre of their small world that it was difficult not to feel a little jealous when she found herself almost forgotten in their preoccupation with the men they loved.

  Because she was so busy, she gave little thought to her own future after Cheryl and Sharon were married.

  Sometimes it seemed to her a little strange that she had no admirers and that the men who said flattering and complimentary words at parties never seemed to make any further effort, such as calling at Broxbourne House or even sending her flowers.

  But she was too thankful not to have to cope with Lord Crowhurst for it to worry her unduly.

  She saw him occasionally in the distance, but he made no attempt to approach her and she knew that the Duke had dealt very effectively with him and he would trouble her no longer.

  Then she asked herself if she could be sure of that.

  After all, when she was no longer under the Duke’s protection, when she had returned home and was alone at the Manor House, it would be quite possible for Lord Crowhurst to force himself upon her if he still wished to do so and there would be no one she could turn to for help.

  She tried to dismiss the thought but it was there at the back of her mind and sometimes she would awake in the middle of the night and feel afraid.

  And yet she was very happy for her sisters as she followed them up the aisle.

  They walked ahead of her, one on each arm of the Duke, both looking so beautiful that it seemed to Andrina as if the whole congregation drew in a deep breath at the sight of them.

  Cheryl was wearing white. The gossamer-net gown that Andrina had bought her as a present had been ornamented with tiny bunches of orange blossom.

  The veil over her lovely face and golden hair, the bouquet of roses and lily-of-the-valley, made her the embodiment of everything one could imagine a youthful bride should be.

  Sharon in gold lamé looked like a Persian Princess. With a diamond tiara glittering on her head and a bouquet of exotic orchids, she was a picture of mystery and allure.

  And no one, Andrina decided, could look more distinguished or more handsome than the Duke.

  His hair was brushed in the windswept style that had been made fashionable by the Prince Regent. He wore a diamond decoration on his coat and his tall athletic figure moving between the two beautiful brides made a picture it would be difficult for anyone present in the Church ever to forget.

  The voices of the choir, the scent of the lilies, the beautiful words of the Marriage Service, all moved Andrina almost to tears.

  Then, as Cheryl and Sharon came down the aisle on the arm of their husbands, she felt as if besides the glittering, distinguished congregation there was a cloud of angels somewhere singing a hymn of praise.

  “I am so happy! So very very happy, Andrina!” Cheryl cried, as, having changed into her going away gown, she kissed her sister goodbye.

  “I am glad, darling,” Andrina replied. “Hugo will look after you and I shall be seeing you very soon.”

  “I expect you will be coming to the Manor,” Cheryl said. “That will be fun!”

  “Yes, it will,” Andrina agreed.

  Sharon, however, had something very different to say.

  Andrina went to her room to find her putting the last touches to her going away outfit of emerald green, which suited her better than anything she had ever worn.

  “What are you going to do, Andrina!” she asked, looking at her sister’s reflection behind her in the mirror.

  “Tidy up, I expect!” Andrina replied with a smile.

  “I mean after that,” Sharon said. “You will not be able to stay here for long. Lady Evelyn is talking of going to France. She has been asked to stay with our Ambassador in Paris and she is very excited about it.”

  “I expect I shall go home,” Andrina said.

  “I see we have been very selfish,” Sharon remarked suddenly. “Cheryl and I have been so busy getting married we have forgotten about you! As you are the oldest, you should have been married first.”

  “I expect I shall be an old maid,” Andrina smiled.

  “I am prepared to wager that that will not happen!” Sharon answered. “Hurry up and find a husband, Andrina. It is so wonderful being in love!”

  Her voice softened and her eyes were shining as she thought of Ivan. Then, as if she could not bear to be apart from him any longer, she said,

  “I must go! Thank you, Andrina, darling, for everything! I should never have met Ivan but for you and I can never be grateful enough!”

  “Take care of yourself, dearest,” Andrina said, but Sharon was already out of earshot, running down the stairs as if she was afraid that Ivan might leave without her.

  Both the girls thanked the Duke very prettily, Cheryl a little shyly, but Sharon put her arms round his neck and pulled his head down to hers.

  “Thank you!” she said, kissing his cheek. “You have been the most perfect Guardian. No one could have been kinder!”

  It gave Andrina a strange feeling in her breast to see Sharon kissing the Duke.

  Once – it seemed a long time ago now – she had thought that her sister might become the Duchess of Broxbourne, but now she knew that it would have been an agony beyond words to see the Duke, to be near him and know that he was her brother-in-law.

  ‘Better not to see him at all,’ she thought to herself, ‘than to be tortured by pangs of jealousy, which would have been shaming, but which I would have been unable to suppress.’

  Gradually the last and most reluctant of the guests left the house.

  They took with them Lady Evelyn who had promised to dine with some relatives who had come up to London for the wedding and who were leaving early the following morning.

  “You will be all right, Andrina?” she asked casually as she moved towards the front door.

  “Yes, of course,” Andrina replied.

  She could not however help feeling that everything had gone depressingly flat. Then, as she stood irresolutely wondering what she should do, she heard the Duke’s voice behind her saying,

  “I wish to speak to you, Andrina. Shall we go into the library?”

  It was the only room in the house on which the wedding had been allowed to make no impact.

  The other rooms were filled with wedding presents and a preponderance of white flowers or else littered with empty glasses and plates of food, which the servants were just beginning to remove.

  The library looked just as it always did and somehow it seemed to Andrina to bring them back to the commonplace.

  It made her realise that now the excitement was over she had to make plans for the future and be practical about herself.

  She walked across the room slowly, knowing that the Duke was gazing at her.

  She wondered if he realised that she was wearing the same pink gown she had worn the night he had raged at her in the garden after Lord Crowhurst had attempted to kiss her in the arbour.

  It had seemed a quite unnecessary expense, when she had only worn the gown once, to buy a new one. And it had been skilfully altered by Madame Bertin so that it was exactly what she needed as bridesmaid.

  She was even wearing the same wreath on her head that the Duke had told her to straighten and once again she had refused to ornament herself with any of the Broxbourne jewellery, having no wish to compete with Sharon’s glittering appearance.

  “Come and sit down,” the Duke suggested. “Would you like a glass of wine or something to eat?”

  Andrina
shook her head.

  “We seem to have eaten and drunk so much already today.”

  “I want to talk to you, Andrina!”

  “What about?” she asked nervously.

  “Yourself! I am interested to know your plans for the future.”

  “Cheryl asked me the same thing. I suppose I will go home.”

  “Home?”

  “There is no one to go with me – but our old maid Sarah will be there.”

  “And you consider that an adequate protection?”

  Andrina thought of the Earl of Crowhurst and hesitated.

  Then she put up her chin.

  “I will manage, Your Grace.”

  “I find it not very reassuring considering your experiences in the past.”

  Andrina was silent and then, anxious to change the subject, she said,

  “I wish to speak with Your Grace – on another matter.”

  “What is that?” he enquired.

  “Now that the wedding is over I have to know how much I owe you.”

  The Duke did not reply and she went on,

  “I am not so mutton-headed as not to realise that we must have spent much more than the original five hundred pounds that you obtained for the necklace. So I must insist on Your Grace telling me the truth and letting me know how deeply I stand in your debt.”

  “Most women are very content to have their bills paid for them,” the Duke remarked.

  “Then I must be different from most women of Your Grace’s acquaintance,” Andrina replied. “I wish for – no favours.”

  “Very well!”

  The Duke walked to his desk as he spoke and drew a piece of paper from one of the drawers.

  He handed it to Andrina. She expected it to be a summary of the bills from the dressmakers, which had all been sent to him.

  Instead she saw it was headed with the name Hunt and Roskell, a well known Court jeweller. Beneath was written,

  “On Your Grace’s instructions we have valued the necklace of Indian design. We would respectfully point out that while this is an interesting piece of native work and would undoubtedly be prized by collectors, it is in fact of little intrinsic value. The rubies and pearls are real, but of inferior quality and the emeralds are false. It is therefore our opinion that the necklace in a Saleroom might fetch the sum of perhaps forty or fifty pounds. We remain Your Grace’s most respectful and humble servants,