A Shooting Star

by Barbara Cartland

  As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she gave a little laugh.

  ‘As it happens,’ she determined, ‘I dislike the Earl already, just because he threatens like a dark cloud to spoil my introduction to the Beau Monde.’

  CHAPTER THREE

  Flavia had an enjoyable luncheon with her father’s friends and one of her distant cousins.

  They were interested to hear about The Priory and Flavia sensed that they were longing to be asked to stay.

  They were also curious as to which parties she had been invited to.

  She noticed her father was careful not to say that His Royal Highness was coming to dinner and so she too stayed quiet about it, but she was sure that they would not only feel envious but would then turn up somehow to meet the Prince!

  After they had left, her father remarked,

  “You were very tactful, my dear. I realised at once that I had not told you to keep your lips sealed about our Royal visitor tomorrow night.”

  “I knew you had not asked them and they would be disappointed if I mentioned it, Papa.”

  “You are a very bright girl, my dear, and you would make an excellent wife for a diplomat.”

  Flavia realised that her father was speaking without thinking and she therefore quickly responded,

  “I think that is a really fascinating idea, because I could travel with him and see the world.”

  Her father became silent and she knew he thought he had been rather tactless and it would be a mistake to go further with the subject.

  She was about to ask him to tell her more about life at Windsor Castle and instead he looked anxiously at his watch before saying,

  “You must forgive me, my dear, if I leave you with your aunt who has been so kind in buying your clothes. I have an urgent appointment at three with the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and I must not be late.”

  “Of course not, Papa, when will you be home?”

  He hesitated.

  “I hope to be back by six o’clock and we will have an early dinner. We are bound to be late tomorrow night.”

  “I am so looking forward to my party, Papa.”

  “You deserve it, my dear. You have been so good and uncomplaining about being alone in the country. I am sure most girls would have been writing me letters begging to be brought to London.”

  “You were quite right to wait until I was out of mourning, Papa. Nothing would be more depressing than trying to look pretty and be amusing when wearing black.”

  “Well, now you are free to wear any colour you want. You will look lovely in every one of them.”

  “That is a very nice compliment, Papa. I hope for your sake I will receive a great many more.”

  He dropped her at a large house in Belgrave Square where her aunt and some friends were expecting her.

  She was disappointed when he only came into the drawing room, kissed his sister-in-law and declared,

  “I am going to be late for my appointment, and you know what a stickler the Marquis of Salisbury can be for punctuality. So forgive me, Edith, and look after Flavia. I will send a carriage for her after tea.”

  With that he had gone.

  Flavia, feeling somewhat apologetic, faced her aunt and her friends. And most fortunately her Aunt Edith, the Viscountess Midstock, was a very effusive person.

  She kissed Flavia affectionately, introduced her to everyone present, making amusing remarks about each of them as she did so.

  Everyone was laughing by the time Flavia had met them all and then her aunt said,

  “I knew you were coming this afternoon and I have bought more clothes for you. I saw yesterday some very pretty gowns and I could not resist them. One is for the smartest party you will attend first.”

  It was with difficulty that Flavia prevented herself from saying that would be tomorrow night, so she replied,

  “How exciting, Aunt Edith! I am thrilled with all the clothes you have already found for me.”

  Everyone remarked that what she was wearing was delightful and it was some time before her aunt could take her upstairs to see the gowns she had purchased.

  The moment she saw the best one, Flavia knew it was the prettiest gown she had ever imagined, let alone had the chance of wearing.

  It was of course white, but the frills and the flowers that ornamented it were all edged with endless diamante, which would glitter every time she moved.

  She only just prevented herself from saying that she would wear her mother’s jewellery tomorrow night and a diamond necklace would go perfectly with the gown.

  “Thank you, thank you,” she enthused to her aunt. “You have been so kind to me and I now have a complete trousseau.”

  Aunt Edith turned and looked at Flavia.

  “That is what I am afraid of, dear child. Anyone as pretty as you is easily rushed into marriage. Not only do they not know their husband well, but they don’t know the sort of life they will be leading – it is often very different from the one they have been born into.”

  She paused and Flavia parried with a smile,

  “What you are really saying, Aunt Edith, is that I am not to be in a hurry.”

  “Exactly. As you are so pretty, you will doubtless have a dozen men wanting you to be their wife, but don’t jump at the first or for that matter the second or the third. Get to know him well and make quite certain you want to spend the rest of your life with him.”

  Flavia thought that this was very good advice and what she herself actually meant to do.

  She kissed her aunt and sighed,

  “I am very very grateful for all the beautiful clothes you have bought for me.”

  She smiled before she added,

  “I promise you, Aunt Edith, I will take your advice and think very carefully before I marry anyone.”

  “I know that you are going to be a great success, Flavia.”

  They talked together for some time and then in case it seemed rude to her aunt’s friends, they went down to the drawing room.

  Everyone was talking about the parties they had already enjoyed and the ones that would take place in the next two months.

  “I am sure your aunt has made sure you are invited by everyone who is of any significance,” one of the ladies said. “But if at any time you feel lonely in that big house and your father is very busy, do come to me and be with my daughter and sons. They will find something amusing for you to do.”

  Flavia laughed, but thought her offer was very kind and friendly.

  By the time the carriage came for her, she thought she had already made some friends in London whom she would very much like to see again.

  She had been surprised that her father had not asked her aunt to the party tomorrow night, but she understood why when her aunt insisted on driving back to Grosvenor Square with her.

  “There is one young man,” she began, “I must warn you about in case you meet him and, like most of the girls who are ‘coming out’ this year, you fall in love with him.”

  “Who can that be?” Flavia enquired.

  “I don’t suppose that you would have heard of him down in the country, but he is the Earl of Haugton. He is, I suppose, the most popular young gentleman of this Season or any other Season for that matter.”

  She spoke rather scathingly and Flavia quizzed her,

  “Do tell me about him, Aunt Edith.”

  “He is very good-looking. In fact women, to my mind, make fools of themselves because they think he is so handsome. But he is of Social consequence because he is an Earl and extraordinarily rich.”

  “Do the girls really fall in love with him?”

  “Unfortunately yes, not only the young girls, but, of course, you should know nothing about that sort of gossip. What I am really saying in simple language is you are not to fall in love with him.”

  “I think that most unlikely – but why not?”

  She saw her aunt was hesitating for the right words and then she continued,

  “He is used to wom
en almost swooning because he is so handsome, so he is, not unnaturally, conceited. At the same time he pays little attention to debutantes. Whenever I have observed him at a ball, he is dancing with married women, who look up at him with an expression that should infuriate their husbands!”

  Flavia laughed because she could not help it.

  “You make the Earl sound very extraordinary, Aunt Edith.”

  “I suppose in a way he is extraordinary,” her aunt admitted grudgingly. “Equally I don’t want you to waste your time running after a man, as the other girls are doing, who has no intention of marrying. In fact, he told me so himself.”

  “What did you say to him, Aunt Edith?”

  “I told him he was very wise, but one day he would fall in love and then everything would be different.”

  “Did he believe you?”

  “No, of course not. He is quite content with people fawning over him and making a fuss of him. In fact some of the women behave in a manner that shocks me.”

  “Then he must be very very good-looking?”

  “He is, and, as I said, he is also very rich and has a distinguished title. I can easily understand the silly little debutantes thinking that he will propose to them and they will queen it in his magnificent houses.”

  Aunt Edith hesitated and then carried on,

  “If you get the chance, by all means go to Haugton House in Park Lane to look at the furniture, the pictures, the china and the library, but not at the owner!”

  Flavia laughed.

  “You make it sound so funny, Aunt Edith, that now I am quite curious about this man.”

  “Of course you are. That is why I am warning you that he will pay very little attention to you.”

  “Why should he, Aunt Edith?”

  “He is much too clever to be caught by ambitious mothers and too sensible to think that a young girl would keep him happy as his wife.”

  “Well, I promise to be careful not to lose my heart.”

  “Perhaps I have been wrong in making you curious about him, but he is a danger. I have had two girls crying on my shoulder, saying how much they loved him. They thought because he had paid them a polite compliment or two that he loved them. These silly creatures soon learnt better, but I have no wish to see you crying for Vincent Haugton.”

  “I promise you I will not do that. Forewarned is forearmed and you are quite right, as I am from the country and very ignorant about London, to warn me of any such dangers.”

  “There are plenty of them, Flavia. So don’t forget, my dearest, that since your father is a rich man and you are his only child, you will undoubtedly have a large dowry when you marry.”

  She saw Flavia looked surprised and added,

  “What I am warning you about now is the fortune-hunters. They always appear at this time of year and there were two marriages I attended recently and knew that, even before the ring was on the bride’s finger, that the marriage would be a disaster.”

  “You mean the man married her for her money?”

  “That is putting it bluntly and accurately. I often feel depressed when I think of those poor girls who give their hearts to men who are completely unworthy of them.”

  “You did not warn them?” enquired Flavia.

  Aunt Edith shook her head.

  “There is nothing more stupid or blind than a girl in love. She sees a man not as he is, but as she wants him to be. The disillusionment comes later when they are married and then there is no escape.”

  Her aunt spoke so solemnly that Flavia wanted to laugh, but she felt it would be rude.

  She knew her aunt was very fond of her, because she had loved her mother so much and she was therefore trying to mother her.

  Flavia fully realised that she was genuinely worried about her and, almost as if she was reading her thoughts, Aunt Edith remarked,

  “You might think I am making a fuss, dear child, but I assure you I am speaking because I want you to be as happy as your father and mother were and as I was with my beloved husband until he died.”

  “Of course I want that. You are quite right to warn me where I might make mistakes. As you must be aware, since Mama died I have lived alone almost all the time at The Priory. Papa is always in London or Windsor Castle and few local people bothered about me. So I only had the horses and the dogs to talk to.”

  “I ought to have come and stayed with you more often, but I too had many obligations in London and it was difficult to get away.”

  “I am not reproaching you, Aunt Edith. I am only grateful for all you are telling me now.”

  “My advice is quite simple, Flavia. Enjoy yourself, but don’t take any man too seriously, not until you know him well. Hesitate a dozen times before you say ‘yes’.”

  “I will promise you, Aunt Edith, but you seem sure I will have a great number of proposals. I am not greedy and will be quite content with just one or two!”

  “I don’t mind predicting that you will have a great many more. I just want you to be careful of the men who try to sweep you off your feet and up the aisle before you have really considered what sort of life you will lead once the honeymoon is over.”

  “I have already promised you I will not do anything in haste, Aunt Edith, and I am so grateful for the warning, especially about the Earl of Haugton.”

  “It’s ridiculous the way women run after him and I think they make complete fools of themselves and some of them should be old enough to know better!”

  “It must be great fun for him,” remarked Flavia.

  “Unfortunately,” her aunt said sharply, “the Earl of Haugton has everything, but everything he could possibly need. I am told that the Queen herself is devoted to him.”

  Flavia knew this already and she also thought, after all she had just heard about the Earl of Haugton, he would undoubtedly be a disappointment when she did meet him.

  And that would frustrate her Papa.

  Her father was afraid of him and dozens of women were apparently in love with him!

  He sounded like the hero in a cheap novel or one of the Gods from Olympus and not much in between!

  The whole situation was ridiculous.

  Equally she realised that he was a danger, although not in the way her aunt meant.

  Both her father and Lord Carlsby were planning to ensnare him – and she was to be the sacrificial victim.

  ‘I have to be astute about this,’ she told herself.

  When the carriage returned to Grosvenor Square, Aunt Edith came in for a moment.

  “This house has never been the same since your dear mother died, Flavia, but I have always thought it one of the most attractive and charming houses in London.”

  “That is what I hope to make it for Papa,” Flavia replied, “as long as I am here with him.”

  “Quite right, my dearest, and do persuade him to be with you and not spend so much time at Windsor Castle.”

  “That is exactly what I want too, Aunt Edith, but it will not be easy.”

  “I can understand, your father enjoys his influence, which I assure you is very real. I have always heard that the Queen is not only fond of him but relies on him to help and guide her in the present difficult situation.”

  “You mean as regards the Russians,” said Flavia.

  Her aunt nodded.

  “I think the real danger is now over, but there are others and while the Empire grows bigger and bigger, more and more problems arise. So you will have to look after your father and not let him do too much.”

  Flavia spread out her hands.

  “The difficulty has always been to persuade Papa to do anything he does not want to do. Even Mama found that.”

  “I know, my dear, but you are the one person who can convince him not to over-exert himself or to care too much about the goings-on at Windsor Castle. It makes him neglect his home and those of us who love him.”

  She spoke sincerely and Flavia sensed that she was really worried about him and thought that her aunt would worry much
more if she knew what he was planning, and how she was to be sacrificed so that the most handsome man in London should lose his influence over the Queen.

  ‘The whole thing is ridiculous’ she thought again and then she said aloud,

  “I will try to remember everything you have told me, Aunt Edith. And I would be so grateful if you would warn me from time to time not only about Papa, but about anyone I meet who may not be completely desirable.”

  “Of course I will, dear child. What I have been saying to you is simply not to lose your head too quickly, and especially not to the Earl of Haugton.”

  “I will get it firmly in my mind,” promised Flavia.

  Her aunt kissed her and then she drove away.

  *

  Alone, Flavia started to explore the house to see if there were many alterations.

  There was a new piano, which was more up-to-date than the one they had had before and there were two new pictures she had not seen.

  Otherwise, except for the sitting room, things had not been moved or altered since she was last here.

  She looked at the time and thought that her father would not be coming back just yet and she knew that there would be tea waiting for him in the study.

  It was a room she had always sat in with her father when they were alone.

  His writing desk was still there and on it she could see a table plan that had been worked out by his secretary for dinner tomorrow night and she reckoned that most of the guests who had been invited had already accepted.

  When she looked for her own name, she felt that she would find it beside the Earl of Haugton.

  They were seated near the top of the table.

  Her father had Mrs. Langtry on one side of him and beside her was the Prince of Wales.

  On his other side was the Duchess of Manchester and Flavia had read all about her in the newspapers and had seen pictures of her in The Lady’s Magazine.

  The Duchess was a great beauty and Flavia thought it was clever of her father to have the two most beautiful women in London on either side of him.

  On the Earl’s other side was a woman with a title whose husband was also a guest.

  Although Flavia was not certain if she had read about her, she guessed that she would not be particularly young, beautiful or amusing.