Rivals for Love (10 page)

“I think that is rather frightening.”

“I have often thought so myself,” agreed the Duke.

“And so I try, when the Russians are near me, to make my mind completely blank.”

“Is that what you do when you are in disguise?”

She felt as she asked the question it was something she should not have said.

“In Russia it will not only be a question of when we are acting a part, but when we are talking to each other and there are others present. Or just being ourselves and forgetting that we are deceiving the people watching us.”

“I do understand what you are saying,” answered Elva, “and I promise I will be very very careful.”

They drove on in silence.

Elva knew instinctively that the Duke was wishing he was alone and did not have to take her with him.

‘My best plan,' she pondered, ‘is to make myself invisible or at least keep out of sight.'

It was only a short drive to Parliament Square and there in the Thames, just beside the Houses of Parliament, Elva had her first glimpse of the
Sea Horse.

It was a very much larger yacht than she expected.

The early morning sun was shining on its sails and glittering on the brass work of the railings and the deck.

The
Sea Horse
looked almost like an enchanted vision from a bygone age.

The horses slowly drew to a standstill, the door of the carriage was opened and Elva stepped out.

She looked up at the sails fluttering in the breeze and the shiny paint on the ship.

“It is just so beautiful!” she exclaimed. “The most glorious ship I have ever seen.”

“I am glad you appreciate it, Elva. The
Sea Horse
has carried me across many oceans. She has just been in dry dock for repair and repainting and I agree with you she looks very smart indeed.”

They were piped aboard.

The Captain proffered his sincere congratulations to the Duke and the good wishes of every member of the crew.

“Do not forget, Captain Barnard,” pointed out the Duke, “that because of my wife's recent bereavement our marriage must be kept completely secret.”

“I have not forgotten your instructions, my Lord, and every man on board has been sworn to secrecy.”

“Good. Now please put to sea at once, Captain, and the quicker we sail away from prying eyes the better.”

The Captain saluted and gave the order to cast off.

The Duke now took Elva on a tour of his yacht and it was even more fascinating than she had expected.

Below decks there was a large Master cabin where the Duke normally slept, but now it was decorated with flowers and he told Elva that it was for her use.

“But I cannot turn you out of your own cabin – ” she began to protest.

Then without the Duke having to remind her, she remembered they were supposed to be sharing the Master cabin and blushed.

“I am – sorry,” she murmured. “I – forgot.”

“Which is something you should not do again,” the Duke scolded her sternly.

He then showed her the yacht's four other elegantly furnished cabins that were decorated in different colours – pink, blue, green and yellow.

“That was such a clever idea!” cried Elva, hoping the Duke was not still angry with her.

“I thought it was rather unusual,” the Duke said in a lofty tone, “but so far these cabins have not been used very much as I prefer going to sea alone.”

Elva thought he was making her even more aware than she was already that she was an encumbrance to him. She continued to admire everything he showed her.

There was one large and comfortable Saloon where they would take their meals, but what delighted her most was to see that there were two large bookcases packed with books.

“This is just what I was hoping you would have aboard,” she sighed.

“I did not forget that Cousin Violet said you were a great reader,” answered the Duke. “There are three books on Russia that I hope you will find interesting.”

“Oh, how kind of you to be so thoughtful! I found one volume on Russia in Uncle Edward's library, which I pushed into my luggage when no one was looking.”

“Mind you remember to replace it when you return!”

“Of course I will do so, if we ever do return!”

The Duke laughed.

“I do not think our adventure will be as bad as that. It is not a question of life or death, but more to do with my reputation – and of course yours.”

Elva noticed a short pause before he remembered to add
her
reputation, but she merely commented,

“We have been sent off with so much goodwill and with so many people believing we will be successful that I think we would be very very stupid if we fail.”

“I agree with you, Elva, and with no reservations.”

She then took a quick glance over the rest of the ship below decks, where the twenty seamen who manned the ship slept and ate.

It was all very clean and tidy and Elva thought it was typical of the Duke that he would look after the men who all served him so well. He not only made them comfortable with exceptionally good quarters, but also pleased their eyes as well as their bodies.

‘I think,' she told herself when they went back on deck, ‘that he is exceedingly kind as well as being astute.'

At the same time she recognised that she was still rather frightened of him.

She soon learnt as the day passed that the Duke had a habit of detaching himself from the person he was with.

It meant she was at any moment non-existent and he was almost in another world.

She could not explain it to herself and yet she felt that he had now just left her behind and disappeared off adventuring on his own without even moving away from her side.

On Aunt Violet's advice Elva tried very hard not to make any demands on the Duke nor to stay with him if he seemed to want to be alone.

Once they were out in the North Sea the weather became rather rough and the Duke suggested that she rest below decks.

He was expecting her, Elva knew, to be seasick, but she was delighted to find that she was a good sailor.

She found herself to be more excited and delighted by the rising waves than upset by them.

*

They moved at a good speed for the first two days of their voyage as the wind was with them, although when it did drop a little the waves were still breaking over the bow.

Now they could not travel as quickly as the Duke wished.

However rough it was, Elva was delighted that she did not miss a single meal.

Of course the Duke had engaged an excellent chef, who was, of course, French and the
cuisine
was delicious despite the roughness of the sea.

During the first meal Elva thought that the Duke was somewhat reserved and determined not to answer any of her questions, so wisely she did not ask any.

Because she considered it tactful, she retired to bed very early, taking with her one of the books on Russia.

She did not feel sleepy until long after midnight and she did not think that the Duke was aware of what she was doing.

Later she guessed he was told by his valet who was acting as her lady's maid and he was much more efficient, she decided, than any of the servants at home.

His name was Danton and when she quizzed the Duke about him he told her that Danton had been with him ever since he had left Cambridge.

“He travels everywhere with me, looks after me and at times saves my life. I could not be without him.”

“I thought it would have been something like that,” remarked Elva. “He is so kind and so helpful to me, but I do not think he is entirely English.”

“No, he has both French and Egyptian blood in his veins, which makes it easy for him to pick up languages wherever we travel. I usually find that by the end of a journey, Danton has become my interpreter!”

“You are so very lucky to have found someone like him.”

“I do know it,” agreed the Duke, “and I must be honest with you and admit that Danton is the only person besides your aunt and the Prime Minister who knows the truth about us.”

Elva had already guessed instinctively that Danton would be better informed than anyone else.

She appreciated that he was indeed very special and that he could be useful to her as well as to the Duke.

By the time of their seventh day at sea Danton was, she concluded, completely indispensable.

He was even helping her with her Russian which she was now trying hard to improve.

“I can understand a certain amount of Russian,” he said, “so you can talk away, Your Grace, and I'll tell you when you're wrong.”

He did so as he was preparing her bath or helping her dress by doing up the gowns and she found him to be a tremendous help.

Sometimes she would puzzle over a Russian word she had discovered in one of the books and Danton always knew what it meant, even though he could not pronounce it properly.

They had now moved into calmer waters and were enjoying an exceedingly good dinner when the Duke said,

“I must congratulate and thank you, Elva, for the way you behaved during that unpleasant stormy weather.”

“It did not worry me at all.”

“It would have worried any other woman I might have brought aboard, I can assure you. Not only would she have been seasick, but she would have complained all the time until I was tired of hearing her.”

Elva laughed.

“I was told that you never take a woman aboard the
Sea Horse
if you can possibly help it.”

“I suppose Danton told you that,” smiled the Duke. “No woman looks her best when she is being seasick!”

Elva laughed again.

“Then you are sensible enough to leave them ashore and set off on your own.”

“That is indeed true and it is why I must thank you for being so very tactful. I realise now, when you retire to your cabin every afternoon, it is not because you need to lie down, but because you do not wish to intrude on my space.”

“I really do not want you to find me a bore, Cousin Varin, I have been so fortunate in finding that Danton can answer most of the questions I might have bombarded you with.”

“Danton always comes to my rescue, but now you have been so good I am waiting to answer anything you may wish to ask me.”

“Which perversely means,” giggled Elva, “that for the moment I cannot think of anything I want to ask you!”

“You are really one of the most remarkable women alive!” exclaimed the Duke. “I have never met a woman yet who did not want to know something I did not want to tell her or to be given something she did not already possess.”

“I am sure that what has happened in your life is that you have been pressurised by Society women like the ones I met when I was with my Cousin Muriel. It was not only the
debutantes
that I found boring but the famous London beauties as well.”

The Duke looked surprised.

“Why were you so bored with them, Elva?”

“Because when they were not showing themselves off in front of the gentlemen they were just endlessly catty about each other and concerned only with their looks.”

“That is a very sweeping statement, Elva.”

“You only see them at their very best. They look at you with glowing eyes and you think how much they are admiring
you
when what they are actually doing is making sure you admire
them
.”

The Duke chortled.

“That is certainly very scathing and, if you talked to the famous beauties like that, I cannot believe they felt much affection for you.”

“I only hope they disliked me as much as I disliked them,” stated Elva. “And I am never,
never
going back into that Social world again!”

The Duke looked surprised.

“But you will be certainly forced to sooner or later. Eventually you will be required to marry a suitable young gentleman and, if he is someone your father approves of, he will undoubtedly be from what you so scathingly call the ‘Social world'.”

“As you know, I have no intention of marrying anyone,” responded Elva firmly. “Least of all one of those smarmy men who spend all their time pursuing brainless women just because they are pretty to look at!”

“I think that is all that most men ask of a woman,” came back the Duke deliberately to be argumentative.

“If that is all he asks, then he must be half-witted himself and obviously a crashing bore!”

The Duke threw back his head as he laughed.

“You certainly do hold very strong feelings on the subject and, as it is something I have often felt myself, I find I can only agree with you.”

He paused before he added in a different tone,

“But you do realise my dear pretty little cousin that sooner or later you will need a man to look after you and of course you will want children.”

Elva was silent for a moment.

“That is just a point you could not miss making because it is so obvious,” she said. “Eventually I suppose I will bear children, preferably a large number of sons who will ride as well as – as – my father does.”

“You very nearly said as well as
you
do,” the Duke interposed.

“All right, I am not ashamed of riding well and my children shall learn to ride as soon as they can walk.”

“You will need to have a husband first to produce them!”

Elva sighed.

“That of course is the one snag. All the men I have met so far are so dim-witted that I would either run away before my honeymoon was over or find some subtle way of disposing of them!”

“All I can say,” said the Duke after a moment's silence, “is that you frighten me and I am only hoping that you will not push me overboard!”

“Now you are being really silly. You know quite well that you are very intelligent and I find everything you say so interesting when I can persuade you to talk to me.”

“I suppose I should accept that as one of the best compliments I have ever received,” responded the Duke sarcastically.