“He will still love me,” Toni said, “but he will believe that it is his duty to do what his father wants, his duty to be a stuck-up pompous Duke, his duty to spend his time hanging round the Throne.”
She spoke so positively that Latonia could almost see it happening.
Then she looked at her cousin’s lovely troubled face and asked,
“What can you do about it?”
“I know exactly what I can do,” Toni answered, “or rather, what you can do for me.”
She looked across the room at her cousin.
Then her voice seemed to ring out as she exclaimed,
“You will go to India with Uncle Kenrick!”
Chapter Two
Latonia stared at Toni for a moment before she said,
“Of course you are joking.”
“No,” Toni replied. “I am serious, and you must see that it is the only solution.”
“How – could I? It is – impossible!”
“If you think about it,” Toni interrupted, “it’s quite simple. Uncle Kenrick has not seen me since I was ten – over eight years ago.”
“But he still knows what you look like.”
“I look very like you, as you look very like me” Toni replied.
It was in fact true. The two girls were both fair, both had deep blue eyes and they were the same height.
There was, however, a difference in that while Toni had a mischievous, naughty little face, Latonia’s was far more soft and spiritual and, because she had not the sophisticated polish that London had given Toni, she was far more innocent.
There was something untouched and very young in the expression in her eyes and the softness of her lips, which, unlike her cousin’s, had never been kissed.
At the same time, Latonia realised that there was a distinct likeness between them.
“What you are suggesting,” she said aloud, “is, of course, impossible. Supposing your uncle discovered the truth? Think how furious he would be.”
“He might be angry, but at least if you were in India, or even halfway there, I should be with Ivan – and there is every chance that the old Duke will die within months or even weeks.”
Latonia did not say anything, but she had the feeling that it was wrong for Toni to wish that anyone should die, even the Duke whom as children they had both disliked because they had never been asked to parties that had been given for his son.
“If you go to India as your uncle wishes,” she said after a moment, “I am sure that as soon as Ivan feels that his father is well enough, he will leave him and follow you.”
“And supposing he does not do so?” Toni asked in a low voice.
“He loves you.”
“I know he does at the moment, but you have no idea how much pressure has always been put on him to remember his position in life, a position that the Duke has blown out of all proportion, into being more Royal than Royal.”
Latonia clasped her hands together and asked,
“Are you really – seriously asking me to take your – place and go to India with your – uncle instead of – you?”
“I am not asking you, Latonia, I am begging you on my knees to do so,” Toni said. “My whole happiness depends on my staying here with Ivan, on keeping him so much in love with me that however much his father tries on his deathbed to persuade him to marry the Princess, he will refuse.”
Latonia could not help thinking that it was just the sort of promise the Duke might extort in order to get his own way.
It would be very hard for anyone, especially somebody like the Marquis, who was an only child, to refuse a dying man’s wish.
She could understand only too well Toni’s apprehension that she might at the last moment lose the man she loved.
At the same time, every instinct in her body shrank from being deceitful in a way that she knew would have horrified her parents.
“I want to help you, Toni,” she said, “and you know that I love you, dearest, more than anyone else in the world. But if you persuade me to do anything so outrageous as to pretend to be you, I would be afraid that I should let you down.”
“Why should you?” Toni asked. “We have been so close to each other that we almost think the same and you know exactly how I would behave in almost any circumstances.”
She paused and then, with a naughty twinkle in her eye, added,
“Actually it will be very good for you. You will have to entice young men into falling madly in love with you and, as you have always been prettier than I, I am sure you will have no difficulty in that!”
Latonia, however, looked at her cousin in horror.
“How could I attempt to do such a thing?” she asked. “Besides, think what your uncle would say! The whole reason for his taking you to India is that he thinks you have behaved badly.”
“It is the kind of unpleasant punishment Uncle Kenrick would consider appropriate,” Toni remarked scornfully.
“But Mama and Papa were thrilled by India.”
Latonia stopped and gave a sudden cry.
“Oh, Toni! They will have talked about me – and supposing, from what they have said, your uncle realises at once that I am not his niece but their daughter, what then?”
“Why should he?” Toni enquired. “As far as I know, you have never been photographed.”
“No, of course not,” Latonia agreed. “It is far too new and too expensive a novelty to have reached The Manor.”
“Then you will be quite safe,” Toni said. “If your mother has described you, then she might have been describing me, except that you are ‘the good one’ and I am ‘the bad’.”
“Not bad, dearest,” Latonia said loyally, “only slightly unpredictable in what you do and say!”
Toni laughed.
“I think Uncle Kenrick will be pleasantly surprised when he meets you, or else he will think I am overawed by his disapproval.”
She put her arms round Latonia and said,
“Oh, dearest, I knew you would save me and now we have to make plans quickly because, if you are to be in London by Thursday, we have so much to do.”
Latonia still looked doubtful and Toni explained,
“First of all, the whole household have to believe that I am going to India as my uncle has commanded.”
“If they believe that you have gone away, where will you stay?” Latonia asked.
“Don’t be stupid, dearest – I am going to be you and you are going to be me, so I shall move to The Manor and the only person who will know about the deception will be old Waddy! You know she would never give me away.”
That was true, Latonia thought. When Miss Waddesdon had been their Governess, Toni had always been her favourite and it was not just because she was employed by Lady Branscombe.
She had always kept any misbehaviour on Toni’s part to herself and, if her parents were angry with her, she managed to make excuses that mitigated their wrath.
“You really intend to stay at The Manor?” Latonia asked.
“Of course!” Toni answered. “Think how thrilling it will be to meet Ivan there.”
“In the – house?”
“But naturally. I am tired of hiding myself amongst trees that drip on us when it has been raining. He can come into The Manor from the garden and no one will know he is there except Waddy, who I am quite certain will be only too willing to go to bed early.”
“Supposing the Duke finds out?” Latonia asked. “He will be shocked at the idea of your entertaining a man alone without a chaperone.”
“No one will find out,” Toni said confidently, “and it is far safer than meeting him in the woods. The other day we had a very narrow escape when one of the Duke’s woodcutters passed by.”
Latonia clasped her hands together.
“Do be careful! You know how people talk. The Duke might forbid the Marquis once and for all to see you again.”
“Ivan would not obey his father. At the same time, it would worry him and, because I love him, I don�
��t want him to be worried.”
“Of course not, darling,” Latonia agreed. “Mama always said that, if one loves someone, one wants to protect them from anything harmful or unpleasant.”
“That is why you will protect me from Uncle Kenrick!” Toni cried triumphantly.
Latonia felt she should protest more and, in fact, refuse to do what Toni wished, but because she loved her cousin she knew that she could not risk her losing the Marquis.
She was sure that Toni was right when she said that every possible pressure would be brought on the young man to marry someone whom the Duke would think a suitable wife for his only son.
And that would certainly not be the daughter of his old enemy and neighbour, Lord Branscombe!
‘I must think only of Toni’s happiness,’ Latonia thought to herself, ‘and if I can just pretend that I am she, until she and the Marquis are married, then however angry her uncle may be, it will be too late for him to interfere and spoil their happiness.’
At the same time she knew that she was frightened as she had never been frightened before, not only at acting a part for which she felt she was very badly qualified, but also at going out to India and into a world she knew nothing about.
Her father and mother had never been able to travel because there had not been enough money, just as there had not been enough money for them to entertain as frequently as they would have liked.
Whatever other reasons they may have had for going to India, it was what her father called ‘a second honeymoon’ and it was the first holiday they had been able to enjoy since their marriage.
As Lord Branscombe was paying all their expenses, it was, as her father had said jokingly, ‘an added bonus’ that they had not sought or expected.
And yet, Latonia thought miserably, if only they had stayed at home they would be alive today.
She felt the tears prick her eyes as she thought of it and then resolutely forced herself to think only about Toni.
Toni was alone in the world, just as Latonia was, and nothing could be better at this moment than for her to settle down with somebody she loved and have a husband to look after her.
Latonia knew, as no one else did, that Toni’s mischievousness and what was called her naughtiness stemmed from the stiffness and lack of love and laughter in her home.
It was impossible for anyone not to feel under restraint when they were at Branscombe Castle and, when Toni had found that the young men of the neighbourhood were attracted to her, it was exciting because they were something new.
“I don’t know what Toni would do without you, dearest,” Latonia’s mother had often said to her. “She may be rich, she may have a very impressive home, but when we leave The Castle I always feel that we are leaving behind us a very lonely little girl.”
Her mother’s words had conjured up for Latonia a picture of Toni standing small and rather unsure of herself in the Great Hall with its high ceilings and heavy dark paintings of Branscombe ancestors.
It was as if a Fairy-child had strayed there by mistake and her place was really amongst the flowers in the garden with the wind blowing through the trees in the Park.
Everything that was protective in Latonia now made her long for Toni to be happy and, if that happiness lay with the Marquis, then whatever the sacrifice on her part, she must make it for Toni’s sake.
Equally it was all a little difficult to sort out in her mind.
“You will be at The Manor, pretending to be me,” she said slowly. “But what will happen if anyone should call to see me?”
“Waddy will have to be clever and tell them that I am in bed with a cold,” Toni replied, “and besides, from all you tell me, you don’t receive many visitors.”
“That is true,” Latonia admitted. “Not since Papa and Mama died.”
“There is only one visitor I really want,” Toni said with a smile that seemed to illuminate her face. “And it will be lovely to know that Ivan and I can sit in your mother’s little sitting room and no one will disturb us.”
“Oh, Toni! Toni, I am sure it is something you should not do!” Latonia exclaimed.
“It is something I have every intention of doing,” Toni answered, “and, as I have already said, it will be good for you to see the world, even with Uncle Kenrick glowering at you. And remember, you not only look lovely but everyone will think you are a great heiress, which to many men is, I assure you, a very good introduction!”
Latonia, however, was not listening to the end of the sentence.
“If I am to look – lovely,” she said hesitatingly, “I shall need to borrow some of your clothes.”
“You are going to borrow nearly everything I possess!” Toni replied positively. “Especially all the beautiful new gowns I bought in London.”
“How – can I? What are you going to wear?”
Toni gave her a naughty smile.
“My trousseau!” she said. “I have already planned it. It is going to cost an astronomical amount of money.”
“But – supposing,” Latonia said wildly, “your uncle forbids you to marry the Marquis? He can do so, as he is your Guardian.”
“It will be too late!” Toni said blithely. “I shall be married and, by the time he comes hurrying back to England, I may even be having a baby.”
“Toni!”
Latonia’s exclamation was one of shocked horror.
Toni laughed.
“Don’t be so straitlaced, my dearest. Most people have babies after they are married and Ivan will certainly want an heir.”
“I am sure you should not be – talking or – thinking like that,” Latonia murmured.
Toni laughed again.
“I am practical while you have always had your head in the clouds. You still believe that babies are found under gooseberry bushes. It’s time you woke up to reality.”
The colour rose in Latonia’s face and then she said quickly,
“Go on planning how we can enact this absurd frightening drama so that no one will be suspicious that we have exchanged places.”
“We just have to be clever about it,” Toni said. “I shall announce to the household that I have to go to India with Uncle Kenrick. You will help me choose the clothes I shall take with me and I shall tell you in front of my lady’s maid that I have a lot of gowns I have no further use for.”
Latonia looked as if she did not understand and Toni remarked,
“Don’t be silly, Latonia. I have to have something to wear when I am staying at The Manor and I want Ivan to think I look lovely.”
“But of course,” Latonia agreed. “That is why you must not give me too many things to take away with me.”
“Both the servants at The Castle and Uncle Kenrick will expect me to travel with a huge wardrobe of gowns and accessories and I am quite certain that the people in India will want to see Uncle Kenrick’s niece wearing the latest fashions.”
“Everything seems to grow more complicated by the minute,” Latonia said unhappily.
“Leave everything to me,” Toni answered. “All you have to do is to agree to everything I suggest and then no one will be in the least suspicious that we are not who we appear to be.”
“And how do we change over?”
“I have been thinking about that and I think that the best thing would be for me to travel to London by carriage. That will mean you can come with me, ostensibly to see me off and that tiresome Mrs. Skeffington can be left behind.”
Mrs. Skeffington was the chaperone who Toni’s cousin Alice had sent with her to Branscombe Castle.
She was a middle-aged woman, the widow of an Army Officer who had been killed in Egypt and Latonia could understand all too easily why Toni found her tiresome.
Mrs. Skeffington’s only interest in life was to gossip about the people who she thought were socially important and, because she liked the sound of her own voice, she seldom listened to anything anyone else said.
She was delighted with the luxury she found at Branscombe Castle
and, because she hoped to stay on indefinitely in her present position, she toadied to Toni so obviously and so effusively that it was embarrassing.
“Wait a minute!” Toni said suddenly. “I have an idea!”
“What is it?” Latonia asked.
“You know how much Mrs. Skeffington likes being here? Well, I shall not tell her or anyone else that I am going to India.”
Latonia looked at her cousin wide-eyed and Toni went on,
“This makes everything much safer. I shall first say that Uncle Kenrick wants to see me and therefore I am going to London for a few days to be with him before he leaves. I shall ask Mrs. Skeffington to stay on and I am sure she will be only too glad to agree. Then, when we get to London, we shall post my letter to her saying I have left for India and no longer require her services.”
“Do you think that she will let you travel alone with me?”
“She will let me do anything I want,” Toni answered, “and I shall just tell her that we are going up together. When we reach London we will not go straight to Curzon Street where Uncle Kenrick will be waiting, but change places somewhere else.”
“Where?” Latonia asked.
“We will stop at an hotel for a few minutes and tell the coachman that that is where Uncle Kenrick is staying and he can go home.”
Latonia thought this over and then she said,
“I cannot see why they should be suspicious, but what happens to you?”
“I shall go back to The Manor by post chaise,” Toni said, “and I will not be frightened of going alone because, as it happens, I have often been in one by myself in order to meet Ivan without Cousin Alice being aware of it.”
“I suppose I ought to scold you for that,” Latonia said.
“Don’t waste your breath!” Toni retorted. “What we have to think about is getting you into a Hackney carriage with all your luggage and going to Curzon Street.”
“Surely your uncle will think it very strange, my arriving in such a manner?”
“That is quite easy to explain,” Toni said. “Tell him one of the horses cast a shoe as soon as you reached London and therefore, instead of waiting for a blacksmith, you had the good sense to hire a Hackney carriage so as not to keep him waiting.”
Punished with Love Page 3
