She responded with her whole heart. She was still confused about Hugh. She knew there was something going on in his head that she did not comprehend. But now his lips were on hers.
Feelings mattered. Hearts mattered. Her heart was all his and at this very moment she could believe that his heart was all hers.
She pressed closer to him, seeking to tell him within the limits of modesty that she loved him in every possible way – heart, soul and body.
When he drew back she could feel that he was trembling. Even his voice shook as he said,
“We must return – to the boat quickly. It is not proper – for me to keep you out here alone.”
“Not proper?” she whispered.
“Highly improper.”
She knew what he meant. At this moment she too felt improper. And, what was more shocking, she was loving it.
Hugh drew her hand through his arm again and they continued their walk down to the harbour, strolling side by side, in step, looking very proper.
Martina wondered what passers-by would think if they knew how her emotions were raging behind her sedate exterior.
But all the passers-by were in love as well. And nobody gave them a glance.
*
They spent the next day exploring the Principality, returning in the afternoon to prepare for the evening.
They dined at the Hotel de Paris.
Martina was in a state of excitement. She could not discern where this sudden yearning to gamble had come from, but she was looking forward intensely to the coming evening.
She knew she looked at her best in a gown of deep pink set off by pearls. Harriet also wore pearls but with a white gown. Now and then she turned her head close to Robin’s, whispering secrets, her eyes shining.
“I trust you have brought plenty of money with you?” Hugh said to Martina, smiling at her excitement.
“I have all my money with me,” she declared.
“Well, for Heaven’s sake be discreet about it, at least while you still have it.”
“I shall keep it and when we go home I shall have doubled it. Trebled it!”
“Where is the sensible girl I used to know?”
“She grew weary of being sensible,” she riposted at once. “You have been deceived by me all this while. Beware!”
He laughed.
“I am content to take my chances.”
They toasted each other in champagne and set off to the casino in high spirits.
From the Hotel de Paris it was a short walk across the gardens to the elaborately decorated casino with its two towers and fluttering flags. As they climbed up the broad steps to the triple entrance, liveried doormen bowed and ushered them inside.
The famous casino was just as Martina had hoped, as lavishly gilded as a theatre with huge glittering chandeliers hanging low over the gaming tables.
Already the crowd had built up. Lavishly dressed ladies in silks, satins and gorgeous jewels were escorted by gentlemen in white tie and tails.
Some of them wandered from table to table, watching the others play with idle interest. Others sat at tables, regarding the spin of the wheel with hard intense eyes.
The wheel stopped, the croupier called the number and someone would smile broadly, while the others looked as though their hearts had sunk.
Robin was talking to Harriet in a low voice, telling her all about the various forms of gambling.
“In which he is an expert,” Hugh murmured in Martina’s ear.
“I expect you are an expert too,” she muttered back.
“I have played a game or two in my time,” he replied, realising too late where she was leading him.
“Good, then you can tell me what to do.”
“That depends what you want to play. They seem to cater for all tastes here.”
“Let’s start with the roulette wheel,” she suggested.
“Well, I don’t need to tell you how that works. You put your money on and you lose it. In an hour you won’t have a penny left and you will then have to marry me for my money!”
“Or I will win millions of francs,” she challenged.
“In that case, I will marry you for your money.”
“Oh, no! If I make millions I will want a Duke at least.”
He grinned.
“Miss Lawson, you are incorrigible. Come along, let’s buy you some chips.”
Armed with a small fortune in chips she took her seat at a table with a roulette wheel, watched the play for a moment and then made her first stake.
At first it seemed as though Hugh might be right.
She lost and lost again.
Glancing up, expecting to see severity in his face, she found only a wry humour.
Perhaps, she thought, he really was content to see her lose all her money and be forced to marry him.
But then she reconsidered. What there was between them was too beautiful for that.
Next she began to win.
She staked on black thirteen and the ball fell into the slot. She staked on red twenty and the ball fell into the slot.
Excitement gripped her. The room faded. Her companions faded, all except one. There was only herself, Hugh and the roulette table.
When she won she staked everything on the next spin. And the next.
“That’s enough,” Hugh whispered. “You have now won quite as much money as I would demand for a dowry.”
“Oh, hush!” she told him. “Just one more. That’s all I want.”
By now the news had spread around the room and people were crowding in from the other tables.
Everyone stared as Martina piled all her chips onto black fifteen.
The wheel spun. The ball danced and fell.
Black fifteen.
A cheer went up around the table for her success gave all the gamblers heart.
The croupier pushed a mountain of chips towards her.
“That’s it,” Hugh declared.
“Yes, I do think so,” she agreed.
Her crazy mood had vanished as quickly as it had begun.
Hugh came with her as she cashed in her chips.
“Now let’s leave before I have a nervous collapse,” he said.
They made a triumphant procession out of the casino. Several people tried to touch Martina to see if her luck would rub off.
An open carriage was waiting outside to take them away. Hugh handed Martina in, but kept tight hold of her when they were all seated.
“I am afraid you will fly away,” he explained.
“I think I might,” she agreed. “I feel as light as air.”
“Martina, how could you take such a risk?” Harriet asked in awe.
“I loved it,” she said. “I suppose I am naturally reckless.”
“The sooner we leave Monte Carlo, the better,” Hugh announced.
“Oh, but I want to come back tomorrow,” Martina pleaded.
“Definitely not. You could never have another evening like this. You would lose it all.”
“Who cares?” she asked magnificently.
Standing up in the carriage she threw her arms up to the sky and cried,
“I won. I won!”
“So much for being devoted to Reason,” Hugh commented, firmly making her sit down. “A babe in arms would be more reasonable than you at this moment.”
She answered him with a mischievous smile. She was quite content to leave his arm firmly around her.
He did not remove it until they were safely aboard the boat.
“I have a good mind to tell the Captain to leave at first light,” he declared.
“Don’t do that,” Robin piped up quickly. “We haven’t explored the neighbourhood yet. I thought we might take the train to Nice.”
“Very well, we will stay just a little longer, but we are not going back to the casino.”
“Anyone would think you didn’t trust me,” Martina teased.
“And they would be right.” He placed his hands on her shoulder. “Goodnight,
my dear. Enjoy your victory, but don’t think of trying to repeat it.”
“No, I have a much better victory in mind,” she said, giving him a significant look. “Goodnight.”
She took Harriet’s hand and they walked away together. The two men watched until they were out of sight.
“I think I’ll turn in as well,” Hugh said. “Tonight’s excitement has worn me out.”
*
Robin nodded and made his way to his cabin. But once inside he did not prepare for bed, but paced about restlessly. The evening’s events had left him exhilarated. The sight of a big win, even if not his own, had been a joyous experience. Now his blood was on fire. Surely now he too must be lucky?
He knew the casino would still be open and there was time for him to put in a couple of hours at the tables. He considered inviting Hugh to go with him, but decided against. Hugh would only disapprove.
He slipped out of his cabin and climbed quietly up on deck. He could see Hugh standing by the rail, but luckily he was gazing out to sea. Robin managed to slip down the gangway unobserved.
It took him only a few moments to hail a passing cab and travel the short distance to the casino. As he had hoped it was still open, the lights blazing merrily out onto the street.
Robin almost danced inside and strode straight to one of the tables.
For a while luck teased him.
First he lost and then he won. Then he lost heavily. Staking all on one throw of the dice he managed to win it all back again. Now he had neither gained nor lost and he felt dispirited.
He rose from the table and walked glumly around trying to decide what to do next,
“Brompton! I say, Brompton, old fellow!”
Robin looked up in answer to the voice that had called him and his face brightened.
“Parker!” he yelled cheerfully. “By all that’s amazing! Fancy meeting you here!”
The two old school friends pummelled each other vigorously about the shoulders, uttering cries of satisfaction at their unexpected meeting.
In fact they were far from being as close as their greeting might have suggested. True they had shared a classroom, but the Honourable Jimmy Parker would not normally have been Robin’s chosen companion in adulthood.
He was well-intentioned, even kindly, but he possessed a loud voice and a vulgar mind that always led him to put the crudest interpretation on anyone’s behaviour.
He was rich enough to care for no man’s opinion and no woman’s either. He was generous with money, always ready to treat the whole party, but too willing to believe that money explained everything.
Tonight though, Robin was in the mood to feel that a couple of hours of Jimmy’s convivial company was just what he needed.
“Let’s find a place where we can crack open a bottle and have a good talk,” Jimmy suggested.
“You sound as though you have cracked a few bottles already,” Robin observed mildly.
The Honourable Jimmy roared with laughter at this brilliant witticism.
They made their way to the saloon, ordered a bottle of port and sat back to enjoy it.
“By Jove, this is marvellous!” said Jimmy. “Everyone was wondering what became of you when you just vanished. Of course we all knew why.”
“Not a word about that,” Robin put in hastily.
“All right. No names. But the lady wasted no time grieving over you. I hear she has a Duke in her sights now.”
“I wish her the very best of luck”.
“So do I! Mind you, I wish the Duke even better luck, hey, hey, hey, hey!”
He finished with a hyena laugh that made the people nearby flinch.
“They were taking bets in the clubs about where you had gone,” he carried on. “You weren’t in any of your usual haunts. You had vanished right off the face of the earth!”
“I imagine you might have guessed where. Who do I always go to when I need help?”
“Sir Hugh Faversham,” Jimmy responded. “So we thought – until we learned that he was on his honeymoon.”
Robin set down his glass sharply.
“What?”
“My dear fellow, he would hardly take you along when he wanted to be alone with his bride. Or do I mean brides?”
He gave a bellow of laughter at his own wit, while Robin stared at him with an uncomfortable feeling that the hairs were standing up on the back of his neck.
“What the devil are you talking about, Jimmy?”
“I am talking about Sir Hugh and this very strange marriage – or marriages – he seems to have contracted. But since you left the country at about the same time, I suppose you might not know.”
Robin signalled a passing waiter and ordered a decanter of whisky. He was beginning to feel badly in need of it.
When the whisky arrived he poured one for Jimmy and a large one for himself, which he drained quickly.
“Now,” he began, “tell me everything.”
CHAPTER NINE
Fortified by whisky and the eager interest of his audience, Jimmy settled in for a comfortable gossip.
“Well, the first anyone knew about all this was an announcement in The Times. ‘The marriage is announced between Sir Hugh Faversham and Miss Martina Lawson. The nuptial celebrations were quiet and had been held quickly in view of Sir Hugh’s urgent need to travel abroad’.”
Robin relaxed slightly as his worst fears were allayed. But he was puzzled by the story. Hugh and Martina had made no mention of a marriage, neither were they behaving like a bridal couple.
“Anyway, that’s the least of it,” Jimmy continued. “Sir Hugh’s secretary has been telling some strange stories about a double wedding.”
“What?” Robin asked sharply. “You mean there was another couple?”
“Not another couple, my dear fellow. Another bride. Two brides, one groom, if you get my meaning.”
Robin merely stared at him. He was beginning to feel sick.
“The secretary was not supposed to talk about it, of course, but apparently he got very drunk and said a good deal than he should have done. There were apparently two ladies at the wedding.”
“There’s nothing strange in that,” Robin commented in a voice that sounded odd to his own ears. “Most brides are accompanied by an attendant.”
“Yes, but how many bridal attendants wear a white veil identical to the bride’s?”
“What – do you mean?”
“I tell you, neither of their faces could be seen. The secretary swears that they took it in turns to make the responses and by the time they were finished nobody knew which one he’d married. Could be both for all I know, hey, hey, hey, hey!”
“That’s a damned unfunny joke,” Robin growled hoarsely.
“But it’s no joke. It is fact. Plain as I am sitting here. What’s more the announcement in The Times said that the bride and groom had left for the Continent on their honeymoon, accompanied by Miss Harriet Shepton.”
He waited for his friend’s reply, but Robin could only regard him with a haunted expression on his face.
“Isn’t that the most incredible tale you’ve ever heard?” Jimmy demanded. “Sir Hugh’s a wily old dog if you ask me. He couldn’t make up his mind between the two ladies, so he’s contrived to marry them both!”
Robin hailed the waiter who, in obedience to his command, brought another decanter of whisky. He poured himself a large glass and tossed it back.
A memory was sniffing round the edges of his consciousness daring him to allow it to enter.
On their first night out at sea, he had been telling Hugh about his flight and remarking that but for his friend he would have been married half-a-dozen times by now.
Then he had checked himself, saying that it wasn’t possible to be married to more than one woman at a time.
Hugh had made a small sound, half a grunt, half a choke of laughter.
Robin had barely noticed it at the time, but he remembered it ominously now and the hasty way that Hugh had changed the subjec
t.
It meant nothing he tried to reassure himself. But that odd reaction lingered in his mind, making him feel cold all over.
He made a valiant effort to speak normally, even humorously.
“You ought to be careful, Jimmy. A fellow could find himself in trouble spreading stories like this.”
“But it’s all true, I swear it. The secretary was present at the wedding and afterwards Sir Hugh gave him a letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury, or someone like that, apologising for the mistake and offering a large donation to the Church to have it made all right and tight.
“Just imagine that! Fancy being able to arrange for a second wife.”
“I think,” Robin said, speaking with difficulty, “that your humour is most ill-judged. To speak of two ladies in such a – such a – ”
“Oh, really, old fellow! It’s the best tale of the century. I only wish I knew some more about what really went on, because I’ll wager it’s a deal more scandalous than anyone knows. But I was on the verge of leaving the country myself, so I had to be off.”
Robin took another gulp of whisky, thinking that if Jimmy did not shut up soon he would do something desperate.
“You know, they must have planned it very carefully beforehand,” Jimmy was reflecting.
“I am quite sure,” Robin replied in a choking voice, “that it was a simple mistake – ”
“What, with them both turning up in identical veils in that convenient fashion? And then vanishing immediately afterwards?
“The odd thing is that everyone knows Hugh’s been sweet on Miss Lawson for ages. Mind you, the girls are like sisters. The rumour is that Miss Shepton’s ghastly stepfather wanted to marry her off to some manufacturer.
“That was probably what made her do it. Faced with a choice of marrying the factory owner, or joining a sweet little ménage a trois, she chose the ménage. You cannot blame Hugh. If a fellow can get two for the price of one, why not, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey?”
He ended with violent honks of laughter that made his listener flinch.
“And Miss Lawson?” Robin asked in an icy voice. “Was she supposed to make no objection to having a third party in her marriage?”
“I have told you, those girls are thick as thieves.”
Journey to Happiness Page 11
