The White Witch
Page 8
“There will be nothing like that.” the Marquis affirmed, “and now as Miss Romilly and I are very hungry we would like you to bring us some food as quickly as possible. And some of your home brewed cider to drink.”
The tears were still running down her cheeks as the proprietor’s wife disappeared into the kitchen.
The Marquis drew Flora outside.
There was a long wooden seat with a table in front of it from which they could see the whole of the green with the duck-pond at the end of it.
“You have made two people very happy,” Flora said quietly.
“How could anyone guess that one man could cause so much trouble and distress?” the Marquis asked.
“I know it is difficult for you to understand, but it was terrible for Papa and me to watch all this happening and know that there was only so little we could do to help those who were around us.”
“I suppose what has occurred here has happened in a dozen or so other places,” the Marquis said angrily.
“I think you will find some are worse and some are better, but now that everything has changed they will think of you as a saviour and a hero and not as a greedy monster, or rather a dragon gobbling them all up!”
“Now you are frightening me,” the Marquis said, “and I am afraid that I shall not be able to go abroad again without fearing that this sort of chaos will happen once more in my absence.”
“You will just have to be more careful who you leave in charge,” Flora suggested.
She gave a little sigh before she added,
“I suppose there are greedy men to be found everywhere in the world and of course it all comes back to what St. Paul said, ‘love of money is the root of all evil’.”
“But life can be very uncomfortable without money,” the Marquis remarked dryly.
There was a short silence before Flora enquired,
“Do you ever wish that you were an ordinary man?”
The Marquis looked at her in surprise.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I say. You are a Marquis, you are rich, you own a great deal of property, possess the best horses and people are of course very respectful to you.”
“Some are even exceptionally pleasant.”
“Yes, but how would you manage if you had none of these advantages and were just a man finding the world an adventure rather than a bed of roses?”
It was a question that the Marquis had never been asked before, nor for that matter had he really thought about it.
“I suppose,” he said slowly, “I should strive to better myself, in fact to become what I am now.”
Flora gave a little laugh.
“Then you are very lucky, most people would want much more than that.”
“Much more? What do you mean by that?”
“I think there are many people who want to touch the stars and are not content with just the humdrum material things of life. No matter how comfortable they are, they still yearn for something more.”
“And what stars do you wish to touch?” the Marquis asked her quizzically.
“I think really that I just want to help people who cannot help themselves. The children to start with and those who grow up but are still childlike and incapable of coping with the world as it is.”
“That sounds a commendable aim,” the Marquis observed. “Equally as I have told you already, you should be thinking of getting married, having a family and bringing them up to be good citizens.”
“I am quite prepared to do all that when the time comes,” Flora answered. “But I shall still want more. It is not my heart and my body that is hungry but my brain.”
The Marquis knew exactly what she was saying. In a way it was what he had always wanted for himself.
It was something more than just living in the world as it is and that need was what he had sought in his travels.
When he had explored the Pyramids in Egypt, the Himalayas in Nepal and Delphi in Greece, he had felt they had secrets to tell him.
Flora was watching the expression in his eyes and suddenly she exclaimed,
“You do understand! How extraordinary! I never thought you would!”
“Why should you think that I was so stupid, or perhaps the word should be unimaginative.”
Flora put her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands.
“I think perhaps I was still hating you as I did when you were abroad. People came to see Papa and me because they were desperate and had no idea where they could go for help.”
“And you helped them.”
“As best we could, but we are not rich like you. What the majority of them really needed was money as well as sympathy and understanding.”
“You can hardly do that for the whole world.”
“Of course not,” Flora agreed, “but we can at least try. That is why Papa’s books are important because he makes people think.”
“I suppose I have been very remiss in not asking what he is writing about at the moment. I remember reading one of his books a long time ago and being most impressed with it.”
“What Papa is writing now is his theory on the influence of religion on civilisation, going back to the very beginning when men consulted witch doctors because there was no one else.”
The Marquis thought that inevitably they were moving back to magic, which was a subject he did not wish to discuss with Flora in case she should read his thoughts.
He was therefore relieved when their lunch was brought to the table.
They had already been sipping an excellent home-brewed cider, but now the well-cooked meal the proprietor’s wife had brought them was even more delicious because they were both so hungry.
The Marquis certainly ate everything that was on offer and when they had finished he announced,
“I have enjoyed this luncheon more than any meal I have eaten since I returned home.”
Even as he said it, because it was true, he sensed that once again Locadi was nearby.
He could feel her almost as if she was standing beside him and when he looked across the green, he could see her eyes.
He pushed his plate away from him abruptly,
“I think we should be on our way, I have no wish to be too late returning home.”
The tone of his voice was very different to the way he had been speaking previously.
Flora looked at him in surprise and as he rose from the table and walked without speaking to where they had stabled their horses, she realised that something was wrong.
She wondered at first if it was something that she had said or done, but her instinct told her it was much worse.
She could not imagine what was troubling the Marquis, but undoubtedly it was very real and she wanted to help.
He was so very different from what she had expected.
She had observed from the way he talked to the farmers they met that he was exactly the right Master they should have.
She knew now that she could trust him. In fact all the unkind things she had thought about him in his absence were unjustified. He was exactly what the owner of the castle should be, she told herself.
She was aware that his kindness and understanding was something that came from his heart. It was not merely appropriate to the situation, which after all was none of his making.
‘What is wrong now?’ Flora asked herself. ‘What can be troubling him?’
A man who was employed in the Inn brought their horses round to the front and the Marquis paid for their luncheon.
From the profuse thanks of the proprietor, it was obvious that he had been very generous.
When they rode off Flora was leading the way to another farm that was about two miles distance, while the Marquis remained silent.
She glanced at him once or twice and when he did still not speak she finally asked him,
“What is wrong? Is it anything I have said or done?”
“No, of course not.” the Marquis answered quickly.
He did not answer for a moment because he did not wish to lie, before replying,
“It is nothing that you can deal with. It is a battle I need to fight myself.”
“Let me help you.”
The Marquis shook his head.
“I do not want to talk about it,” he said. “Now tell me about the farmer we are now about to visit.”
Flora did as she was told.
Then after they had visited him and one more farmer, they turned for home.
The Marquis left each farm with the farmer thanking him profusely.
He promised them that he would help with new buildings and provide them with new stock or whatever was needed in the fields.
As they rode towards the castle, Flora said,
“I am afraid it has been a very expensive day for you. I have lost count of how much you have promised to give away.”
“The money is of no consequence. What is so appalling is that they should all have suffered almost to the point of despair just through the greed of one crooked man.”
“Everything will be different now,” Flora said, “and I think perhaps when you look back you will find this has also been a turning point in your life.”
“Why should you say that?” the Marquis asked sharply.
“You admit that you had no intention of coming here when you returned from abroad. Yet somehow and for some reason I do not know, you were guided back because you were needed here at this particular moment.”
The Marquis thought it was not a question of guidance. It was more likely running away from something he could not control and of which, to be honest, he was becoming even more afraid.
“Whatever it was and if it still exists,” Flora said in her soft voice, “you will find it easier to control the situation because of what you have achieved here.”
“You mean that my people are now with me rather than against me?”
“Yes, of course. All of us when we are in trouble, need the love and support of those who believe in us and who can make us capable of great deeds.”
The Marquis glanced at her and smiled. “You make it sound too easy,” he said. “Life is much more difficult than that and having climbed one mountain, one always finds there is another much higher just ahead.”
“It may be hard, but you can still reach the top,” Flora responded with a voice of conviction which was rather moving.
“Can you be sure of that?” the Marquis asked.
“I am surer now than I have ever been before. I do not know what has been upsetting you, but I can feel that it is something dark and menacing which is trying to envelop you.”
The Marquis found he was holding his breath.
“But you are strong enough,” Flora resumed, “and brave enough to win, however difficult it may seem.”
She spoke very quietly.
The horses, as if they understood, gave no trouble and were moving slowly.
The Marquis was astounded.
He could not imagine how she could have any idea of what he was feeling or that he was afraid.
Yet she spoke as if he had asked for her advice and that she was giving him the right answer.
“I only hope that what you have told me will come true,” he said quietly.
Then because he was afraid she might discover more than she knew already, he urged his horse ahead.
Both horses moved into a gallop.
A quarter of an hour later the castle was in sight.
The Marquis’s mind was in a turmoil and he knew that he wanted to ask Flora for her help. Yet his common sense questioned what help could she possibly give him.
A few herbs growing in her garden would not have any effect on Locadi.
He had no wish to endure another restless night thinking of her, dreaming of her and waking only to think of her again.
He knew she was willing him with all her strength. She was pulling at him to make him return to London to be with her.
If he did so he was quite certain that by fair means or by black magic she would force him into marrying her.
‘She must be demented to think that such a scheme is possible,’ the Marquis told himself angrily.
At the same time he knew it was true. He was being haunted by a woman with whom he should never have become involved. Yet having been, he was now finding it almost impossible to escape her.
‘What can I do? What the Devil can I do?’ he asked as they rode on.
There was no answer and once again he was afraid that Flora would divine what he was thinking.
“It has been a most interesting and educational day,” he managed to say in a cheerful tone.
“It has been a very productive time,” Flora corrected him. “All the people you have spoken to have now been encouraged to do their best to bring their farm, the land and their animals back to the perfection you expect. I am quite certain that they will not fail you.”
“You credit me with much greater powers than I aspire to possess,” the Marquis said with a smile.
“I want you to touch the stars.”
“Do you touch them?” he enquired.
“I try,” she answered, “and just sometimes I succeed. I am always aware that they are there whenever I look up.”
The Marquis thought she was the most unusual and original young woman he had ever met. In fact he could not remember any woman ever talking to him in such a manner.
And not, as they all did, trying to flirt with him.
Flora of course, as he knew, had hated and despised him before he returned. It was obviously difficult for her to change overnight and think of him as a handsome and attractive young man.
He accepted that.
Yet he found it hard to believe that any woman with whom he spent any length of time was more concerned with his behaviour to other people than to herself.
Not once during the day had Flora made any attempt to make him look at her as being an attractive woman.
He had the feeling that if he paid her the kind of compliments he paid Locadi, she would have been, if not shocked, at least a little uncomfortable.
He was sure now after all that she had said, she would be very disappointed if he failed her.
It was then that he worked out in his mind that she was thinking of him entirely as the owner of the castle and a great estate.
She expected him to behave, if not like one of the Gods, at least as a human and kindly potentate, looking after his people.
It was a position no woman had ever put him into before. While he found it intriguing, he was not certain that it was exactly a compliment.
In fact Flora wanted much from him that he could not give.
He felt he had to climb a mountain before she would ever be satisfied that he was doing everything that was required of him.
It was very different from what Locadi required. Once again as she came into his mind he felt himself shrinking from her nearness. He could see her eyes like those of the charm he had thrown into the river.
Once again she was hypnotising him into doing what she wanted.
‘I have to be rid of her, I have to,’ the Marquis thought frantically.
Because he felt somewhat desperate, he turned to Flora as if for protection.
“What have we to do when we reach the castle?” he asked her.
“We have a few more plans to make for the party,” Flora replied, “and as the weather is so fine I think it would be a good idea to hold it on Saturday.”
“Very well,” the Marquis agreed, “if that is what you want.”
“It is your party and it must be what you want,” Flora answered.
The Marquis did not reply and she said,
“Please try to enjoy it. If you enjoy it, everyone else will too.”
“I can hardly believe that I am suddenly so important to the people who have been abusing me and wishing I was dead.”
“Already th
ey have learnt that it was not your fault that Mr. Potter behaved in such an appalling manner. Now after all they have been through they want someone to love and look up to. But as I am sure you know, to receive love one has to give love.”
“That is something I have never even considered,” the Marquis admitted.
“Well, it is true. Because I love the children, they come to me with their rights and their wrongs, their happiness’s and their unhappiness’s.”
She smiled at him before she continued,
“If you love your people, they will follow you because you are not only helping them, but inspiring them to do better.”
The Marquis thought he had never participated in a more extraordinary conversation with any young woman.
By now they had reached the castle. They rode out of the fields and into the drive.
Now he could see the new stable-boys running round to the front of the house to wait for their horses.
“Thank you, Miss Flora,” he said as they crossed the bridge over the lake. “It has been a very interesting day. I feel rather as if the school mistress has settled me down to a mathematical problem to which there is no easy solution.”
Flora smiled.
“I am sorry. If I have been lecturing you, please forgive me. It is only because I know exactly what your people want and how much you can give them.”
“You are quite certain that I can?”
“Quite certain,” she answered.
The Marquis drew his horse to a standstill. He dismounted and then walked to Flora to lift her down.
She was very light and he felt she almost flew from the saddle to the ground without his help.
“Thank you,” she said. “But you must be tired and perhaps I should go straight home.”
“I know my grandmother would be very upset if she did not see you today. Also I think we have both earned a good cup of tea.”
“I would certainly enjoy that,” Flora agreed.
They walked up the steps and through the front door and as they entered the hall, Bowles announced,
“There is a lady to see you, my Lord.”
The Marquis stood very still.
“A lady?” he questioned.
“Yes, my Lord. She arrived from London about an hour ago and said she thought you’d be expecting her.”