The Tree of Love

by Barbara Cartland

  From what she had heard there were far too many women weeping over losing a man to another woman.

  Yet the Captain was different.

  He hated women because some woman must have betrayed him and it had made him bitter, cynical and, as far as she was concerned, frightening – simply because he had the power to throw her out just because she was a woman.

  Yet by the grace of God and the kindness of the Duke of Wellington she had been able to stay.

  So far she had not been made to wonder every other minute where she must go next.

  But, of course, when the Captain was well and back on his feet, she would have to again ask the Duke to help her and even as she thought about it, she began to pray that it would not happen too soon.

  She desperately wanted to stay where she was now.

  For the moment it seemed as if the sun was shining and everything was as she wanted it to be and all because a little dog called Pluck had made the Captain speak to her.

  Not disagreeably because she was a woman, but as if she was an equal.

  As she thought about it, she felt it was not just Pluck who had made things so different – it was also her music.

  ‘He could understand all that I was trying to say to him,’ she told herself again and again wondrously.

  She found it extraordinary and at the same time the sun still seemed to be shining.

  The menacing shadows had moved away.

  *

  The next two days made Shenda feel happy, as she had not been since her father died.

  In the early morning when she had gone nervously to dress the Captain’s shoulder, she feared he might have relapsed into gloomy silence.

  To her joy he talked to her about the books she had brought to him and he found to his surprise that she knew a great deal about art and artists.

  They had a slight argument, the Captain preferring one Master to another who pleased Shenda more.

  They had a duel of words about it and yet he had to admit that she had argued plausibly why she considered her choice a finer artist than his.

  As she was finishing the bandaging of his shoulder, she saw that he had already taken his Maidenhair drink.

  He had then continued to talk to her about art until the sun was high in the sky and Pluck wanted to go for a walk into the garden.

  “I must take him out, Captain. He is very good and always asks by standing patiently at the door.”

  “He has been well-trained and I just cannot imagine anyone wanting to be rid of such an attractive dog.”

  “We are indeed lucky to have found Pluck. I will come back as soon as I can.”

  She did not wait for him to reply, but took Pluck to the garden and then hurried back looking forward excitedly to continuing her conversation with the Captain.

  She found that he was not in bed, but sitting in the window.

  “You are up!” she exclaimed.

  “I thinks it’s too soon,” Higgins muttered as he was tidying the bed, “but when the Captain makes up his mind to do a thing, there be no stoppin’ ’im.”

  “I am feeling so much better,” he sighed as Shenda walked towards him.

  “I want to be certain,” he continued, “that my legs are still there and I am perfectly comfortable here and, of course, enjoying the fresh air.”

  “I told you the magic that Maidenhair leaves would weave and I hope that the Duke calls today and sees you sitting up. He will be so pleased!”

  “I daresay we can carry on our discussion without him and I want that book on the Louvre we were looking at last night.”

  Shenda fetched it off the pile that Higgins had now arranged tidily on one of the bedside tables.

  “Please find the illustration of the Venus in Rome that we were talking about last night and we will compare it with this illustration of the Venus de Milo in the Louvre. You will have to admit that you were wrong in thinking the one in Rome is superior to this – ”

  They were then back arguing again.

  She thought that this was far better for him as until now he had lain silent, hating the injuries he had received both physically and emotionally.

  As if he read her thoughts, he remarked,

  “It is only a question of days now, not weeks, before I am up and about and perhaps able to ride again as I am so longing to do.”

  “You can ride in the Bois de Boulogne, which I am told is fashionable again as it was before the war. There are many elegant ladies in smart carriages driving up and down to be admired by everyone there.”

  “That is something you will not be able to do, Miss Linbury, as you have to look after me.”

  “And what am I expected to do while you are riding with so many people admiring you and your horses, as they admire the ladies?” Shenda enquired jokingly.

  “I will jump that fence when I come to it!”

  Shenda laughed and then asked a little tentatively,

  “Are you really thinking of joining the Duke again in the Army of Occupation, Captain?”

  As she asked the question, she saw the expression on his face and wished she had not posed the question.

  There was silence for a moment before he replied,

  “I have not yet made up my mind. Now let’s take a look at one of the other books and see if there is a picture to compare with the one in this book.”

  He turned over the pages and exclaimed,

  “Look at that horse! Is there any other artist who can draw a horse as well as Michelangelo?”

  “I think the horses painted by Stubbs are as good, if not better,” Shenda commented rather provocatively.

  Then they were arguing again.

  Arguing until Shenda threw up her hands.

  “All right, Captain, you win, but it’s not really fair, because you have actually viewed many more pictures than I have and I am thus at a disadvantage.”

  “In other words you now capitulate, Miss Linbury, which is exactly as you should do!”

  “Because I am a woman?” she blurted out without thinking.

  She knew as she said the words that she had made a mistake.

  Suddenly there was a cloud in his eyes and then he retorted rather crossly,

  “I think the answer is that I am older, wiser and more experienced than you!”

  CHAPTER SIX

  Two days later Ivan felt strong enough to venture into the garden.

  Pluck was close at his heels and jumped for joy just because he was there.

  “It’s no use thinking that he is my dog any longer,” Shenda remarked rather wistfully.

  “I think at present we can share him,” he replied.

  They walked to find a seat under the trees and Ivan sat down on a bench.

  “This is a very beautiful garden,” he sighed.

  “And that surprises you. Why? Because it’s in a City?”

  “Yes, and also because, as the Vicomte is not here, I rather expected him to economise on extra servants like gardeners. As the Scots would say, ‘the French are awful canny about their money’!”

  Shenda laughed and then in a more serious tone she reflected,

  “We do all need to be, as the war has made so many people who were rich poor and the poor are even worse off than they were previously.”

  “I know – and when I return home, there is so much I shall have to see to.”

  He did not say any more, but Shenda was curious as to what his home in England was like.

  He spoke as if he owned a large estate, but as she knew he disliked answering questions, she was very careful not to ask them.

  They talked instead about artists who had excelled at painting flowers and here they had different favourites too, so the duel started once more.

  Shenda, however, was very anxious that her patient should not do too much, so when he rose to walk to the end of the garden to look at the mews, she advised,

  “I think it’s time to go back to the house, Captain.”

  “If you are putting me to b
ed, I am not going,” he asserted stubbornly.

  “I just don’t want you to overtire yourself the first day out, but I thought tomorrow we might drive along the bank of the Seine. I want to show you where I found Pluck and see more of the river.”

  There was silence and Shenda thought that perhaps she was wrong in suggesting an excursion. She should have left it to him to decide what he wanted to do.

  As he still did not speak, she added quickly,

  “Of course, if you would rather go alone or wish to visit someone, I will wait at the house for your return.”

  To her surprise he smiled.

  “I was not trying to exclude you from tomorrow’s entertainment, I was merely wondering if there might be something more enjoyable – to listen to music at the Opera House or, as you have mentioned, a visit to the Louvre.”

  “I am sure that both activities would be too much for you, Captain. Although it is rather like refusing a slice of birthday cake to a child, as your nurse, I feel I must say you are doing too much too soon.”

  “If I am, it’s what I intend to do! So I will tell you later what my plans are for tomorrow.”

  “Now you have put me in my place,” she responded daringly, “for wanting you to suppress your own orders.”

  “You can always tell me, as you most surely will, with your music. I know the reproachful notes when you play them, as well as those that ring out when you think you have won a contest and defeated me!”

  Shenda held up her hands in protest.

  “I have never done such a thing, Captain, at least I have never meant to and if I have, you are making it sound much worse than it is!”

  Ivan chuckled.

  “Because I want to hear you play and not because I am feeling tired, I am now going back to the house. I will go to bed, but if I hear you sounding too triumphant on the piano, I will get up again immediately!”

  “I am certain that Higgins by hook or by crook will not allow you to do that.”

  They were both laughing as they walked towards the house.

  He went straight to his bedroom, climbing the stairs rather slowly, as if he was actually more tired than he was prepared to admit.

  Shenda then returned to the library to look for more books that she reckoned would interest him.

  There were several by artists she knew they would argue about and she did find their arguments really exciting.

  She was always delighted when she could make a point about an artist and then he strongly disagreed and to keep the argument going she deliberately took an opposite point of view.

  She had just put a pile of books on the table to carry upstairs, when Higgins appeared.

  “There be a gentleman ’ere, miss, who says he be a good friend of that Vicomte and that he always stays ’ere when he comes to Paris.”

  “Does he want to stay here now, Higgins?”

  “He insists on it and it’s not for I to agree or refuse, so I says that I’d speak to you.”

  “Then I will see him.”

  Shenda put down the books and walked to Higgins.

  “He says he be the Comte de Solyne, but I always thinks that most of them over ’ere has a title and it don’t mean the same as ’avin’ one in England!”

  Shenda smiled, but she did not disagree with him.

  Equally she felt rather worried as to whether it was correct for them to have the Vicomte’s friends staying in the house, which had been let on the Duke’s instructions to the Captain.

  The visitor was in the small salon by the front door.

  When Shenda entered, she found a smartly dressed gentleman who she thought was getting on for thirty-five.

  He rose and Higgins introduced them.

  “This ’ere, monsieur, be Miss Linbury who’s been lookin’ after Captain Worth for whom His Grace the Duke of Wellington’s rented this ’ouse while he recovers from ’is wounds.”

  “I hope you have been successful, mademoiselle,” the Comte spoke up, “and as I explained to this man, I have always stayed here when I visit Paris and I know my friend the Vicomte would be distressed if you turned me away.”

  “How long are you thinking of staying, monsieur?” Shenda asked him.

  “I expect to be here only one night,” the Comte said loftily. “It may be a little longer if I find a good number of my friends have now returned to Paris.”

  “Then I am sure under those circumstances we can make you comfortable, monsieur.”

  The Comte thanked her and she ran upstairs to tell the Captain what had happened.

  He was in bed and as usual Pluck was lying on the bed in front of him.

  “What has happened?” he asked as she came into the room. “Higgins had just finished getting me into bed when a footman came to say we had a visitor downstairs.”

  “I have been talking to him,” Shenda replied. “He is the Comte de Solyne and is a friend of the Vicomte who owns this house. He says he always stays here when he is in Paris.”

  “Well, there is no reason why, as I am paying the rent, he can foist himself on us now – ”

  “It might be for just one night only and I thought it seemed rather rude and unnecessary to make him go to a hotel when there are half a dozen bedrooms empty on this floor alone.”

  He laughed.

  “So you are to be generous at my expense?”

  “If he does not stay for dinner, it will not cost you anything, except for clean sheets on the bed.”

  “I can see you are prepared to argue with me, Miss Linbury. And if you insist on doing so, I prefer to have an argument in music!”

  Shenda smiled at him.

  “I have come to the conclusion that not only do you listen to me better when I am playing, but that you find me more articulate on the keyboard than I am with words!”

  She went through the communicating door of the boudoir as she spoke and had disappeared before he could think of a reply.

  She sat down at the piano.

  She told him how glad she was that he had been able to visit the garden for the first time and how she knew that he appreciated the flowers and the trees.

  She played for nearly an hour and when she went downstairs for tea in the small salon, there was no sign of the Comte.

  After tea she played once again to the Captain and then she inspected his shoulder.

  It no longer needed bandaging, but she insisted on rubbing a little cream onto it.

  As she did so, she commented,

  “Apart from the scar it really is as good as new and you are very very fortunate that, as far as we can ascertain, the shot that wounded you did not break any bones.”

  “It still feels a little stiff,” he murmured. “But it no longer hurts me.”

  “What is important, Captain, is that you are not too tired after going out and walking in the garden.”

  “I can honestly say to you that I am no more tired than I have been any other evening.”

  “Then you must say thank you to the Maidenhair tree, and I am sure that you will be sensible enough to go on taking it every day, even when you are feeling well.”

  “I most certainly will,” he readily agreed, “and when I return home, I am going to plant a Maidenhair tree in my own garden.”

  “I hope you will be able to find one. Don’t forget that my father had to go all the way to China to find ours. He always said the tree was reputed to be over two million years old.”

  “At that rate it will not be too difficult to find one to last me out!”

  Then they were both laughing and as Shenda turned towards the door, he added,

  “Come and see me after dinner. I found a picture in one of the books you brought me just now that I would like to discuss with you.”

  “I will look forward to that, but I have a suspicion that when I do come up, I will find you asleep.”

  “Are you prepared to bet on it?”

  “No, I am not,” replied Shenda. “Because if I do, you will be so determined to win you will
deliberately keep yourself awake! As you have had your first exercise today, you really must rest.”

  “I will merely take an extra glass of the Maidenhair concoction, and if I do, there is no doubt I will be awake all night and ready to go dancing!”

  “I am not going to listen to you, Captain. You are being too cock-a-hoop and don’t forget, ‘pride comes before a fall’.”

  “Then I will cap that by saying, ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained’!”

  “I must get ready for dinner, Captain, and I don’t expect Higgins will be long with yours.”

  She went into the boudoir closing the door behind her, wondering whether in perhaps a day or so the Captain might come downstairs for dinner.

  They could have dinner together in the small sale-à-manger where she had eaten ever since she arrived.

  Because it was something she had done all her life, she changed for dinner, even though she would eat alone and retire to bed afterwards.

  But now she would be going in to say goodnight to the Captain after her dinner and he would undoubtedly be awake.

  She therefore chose the dress she would wear rather more carefully than she had on other evenings.

  It was a very simple gown, but it was one her father had liked.

  She knew the pale blue of it matched her eyes and made her skin seem all the more translucent.

  She arranged her hair in the way her father always appreciated – not austere, as it had been when she was trying to look like a nurse.

  As she opened the bedroom door, she saw Higgins coming up the stairs with the Captain’s dinner on a tray.

  She stood aside so he could pass and as he reached her, he stopped.

  “That Comte who’s stayin’ ’ere, miss, told us only ’alf an hour ago he’d be in for dinner. As the chef feels he must give ’im two more courses than he usually gives you, it won’t be ready for another ten minutes or so.”

  Shenda felt surprised as she had never expected to dine with the Comte – in fact she had almost forgotten he was staying in the house.

  When she walked downstairs to the small salon, he was standing in front of the mantelpiece.

  He was dressed in his evening clothes and looked very smart.

  As she walked in, she felt that he was appraising her with expectant eyes.