Rivals for Love (7 page)

“I did say my wife, William. We shall be on our honeymoon and I cannot believe that a Russian Empress, extraordinary and insatiable though she may be, would try to separate a bridegroom from his bride the moment they are married.”

“It is a brilliant idea of yours, Varin. But what woman could you ever trust not to tell the story when she returned home? It undoubtedly could cause a grave and serious diplomatic incident between us and Russia.”

The Duke now smiled as if he was delighted to be perplexing his friend.

“I know someone who will pretend to be my wife,” he said, “and who I assure you will never breathe a word of anything because it could ruin her reputation.”

“Who can this paragon of virtue be?” enquired the Prime Minister.

“Actually she is a cousin of mine, the daughter of the Earl of Chartham, who of course you know.”

“He made such an excellent speech in the House of Lords a month or so ago, but I did not realise he had a daughter.”

“That is not surprising as she is eighteen and has only just made her debut into Society.”

“And you would actually trust her to play the part of your wife,” the Prime Minister asked in an incredulous tone, “knowing that if she broke her silence, it would hurt you badly? And if she did so the only reparation you could make would be to offer her marriage?”

“I thought that was just what you were thinking, William, but actually Elva – that is her name – is having a row with her father because she has no intention of becoming married, as most
debutantes
are expected to do, by the end of the Season.”

“Then she must be one in a million,” chuckled the Prime Minister. “I thought every
debutante's
dream was to become a Duchess.”

“Elva is an exception,” responded the Duke. “Like me, she wishes to remain single and as I have said to you before, ‘he who travels fastest travels alone'.”

“It depends where you are travelling to,” the Prime Minister came back quickly. “In this case apparently you cannot travel at all to Russia alone.”

The Duke laughed before settling himself more comfortably into his chair.

“Well, that is my proposition, William. You will cover up my pretence of being a married man, and if I appear married in St. Petersburg it is very unlikely that anyone in England will become aware of it.”

“That I grant you is true,” replied the Prime Minister hesitantly.

“Otherwise, according to Violet it will be quite impossible for me to travel to Russia unless I wear a mask!”

“I should think that would be most uncomfortable, Varin. Even a false moustache and spectacles would look strange!”

“That is definitely something I will refuse to try,” smiled the Duke. “Although I grant you that we are taking a small risk, I can honestly see no reason why we should not get away with it.”

“I would not agree with you unless I was desperate to find out what Prince Potemkin has in his mind,” said the Prime Minister. “If you can bring me back anything that would clear the air just a little I should be overwhelmingly grateful.”

“Then I suppose as an old friend and a patriot I must do my best.”

“I swear to you, Varin, that nothing you have told me here in this office will be repeated outside. What we will now have to do is notify the Ambassador that you are arriving in your yacht and leave it up to him to organise suitable accommodation for you.”

“Which
must
be comfortable,” asserted the Duke.

“I promise you that I will insist on it, Varin. When are you thinking of leaving?”

“If possible the day after tomorrow as the less I hang around in London the better.”

“I do understand, Varin, that you will find certain goodbyes of the ‘do not forget me after I have left' variety somewhat uncomfortable.”

“If you are referring to the lady whom you spoke about the other day, – the curtain has already fallen!”

The Prime Minister threw up his hands.

“I knew it would! Is it possible for you, Varin, not to be bored so very easily? I only hope the vessel which carries you to Russia will be swift!”

“As it is my own yacht, I can indeed assure you that there is nothing swifter on the sea at the moment.”

“Give me a chance so the sloop that I shall send to St. Petersburg ahead of you arrives first,” said the Prime Minister. “In fact I will send it off immediately with one of my most trustworthy officials aboard.”

“I am beginning to suspect, William, that you are making sure I don't change my mind!”

The Prime Minister smiled.

“It did pass through my mind, I must admit, and I can only hope that your pretend wife will not bore you to such an extent that you return home almost before you reach Russian soil!”

“I will try to stay at least twenty-four hours,” the Duke replied sardonically.

He was now teasing the Prime Minister, who threw up his hands in mock despair.

“Nothing surprises me. But one thing I do know, Varin, is that you have never failed me yet. You have always found for me the information I require, and usually a great deal more than I ever anticipated.”

“I do so hope that epitaph will be written on my tombstone,” chortled the Duke. “At the moment I have an anxiety to live and to see something of Russia as well!”

“I can only hope that you will not be disappointed, my dear Varin, when the time comes.”

The Duke rose to his feet.

“Now for Heaven's sake, William, do not allow anyone to gain the slightest suspicion of our plans. As I shall be travelling on my own yacht, I shall instruct the Captain, who will of course inform the crew, that my recent marriage must remain a secret because my bride is in mourning, and should be wearing black and taking part in no festivities for at least a year.”

The Prime Minister nodded his head.

“That is certainly a good point and sounds reasonable.”

“My crew have all been with me for a long time,” continued the Duke, “and I can trust them not to talk either in Russia or when they return to England.”

“I wish I could say the same of all the functionaries who work for me,” the Prime Minister humbly admitted. “Somehow sooner or later there is always a leak and usually we don't have the slightest idea where it has come from.”

“That does indeed sound dismal, William, but as you well know, everyone is saying you are as good a Prime Minister as your father and no man could ask for more.”

“Thank you so much for the compliment Varin. It is something I pray is true and all I can say is that I do my best.”

“Which is very much better than anyone else's.”

The Duke held out his hand.

“Wish me luck, William, and I will do everything I can to uncover everything you desire to know.”

“I am more grateful than I can possibly put into words, my old friend. When you first told me of what you were warned might happen in St. Petersburg, I reckoned despairingly you would throw in your hand.”

“I think I would have, if it had not been for my cousin Elva. I know most young women would consider this escapade an excellent means of forcing me up the aisle, but she has no intention of marrying anyone, so we have that sentiment, if nothing else, in common.”

“One day you will really fall in love,” the Prime Minister told him, “and then I shall have much pleasure in dancing at your wedding!”

“If you are not too decrepit by that time to stand on your feet!” retorted the Duke.

The Prime Minister laughed heartily and together they walked towards the door.

“God Bless you, Varin. Take very good care of yourself and thank you once again.”

“Thank me when I return with the goods and until then let us hope there is not an Ice Palace waiting for me!”

“Heaven forbid!”

The Duke departed and the Prime Minister rang the bell on his table.

When it was answered he gave quick and precise orders that the fastest sloop in the Royal Navy was to depart immediately for St. Petersburg to transport a letter which he was now writing to the British Ambassador.

*

The moment the Duke returned to his residence he gave orders for his yacht, of which he was inordinately proud, to be anchored late the next evening at the jetty just below the House of Lords.

On his frequent travels around the world he had found the accommodation on most ships to be extremely uncomfortable with the food even worse.

Because he had travelled so extensively he knew exactly what he required and so some years ago he had ordered for himself a schooner with two masts and fore and aft rigged sails.

Although it was expensive, the schooner, which he had named the
Sea Horse
, was an undoubted success.

He had engaged the best master of rigging to give him advice.

As in most two-masted schooners the main mast was higher and carried more sail than the foremast and this assured him of reaching high speeds whenever he required it.

He made sure that below deck, inside his Saloon, the upholstery, furnishings and decoration were as attractive as possible. This ensured that every voyage he took was a delight.

He had always been interested in ships ever since he had been a small boy, joining the Cork Harbour Water Club as well as the Cumberland Fleet when he was quite young. These organisations were mostly concerned with racing and were supported by every seafaring nation.

The Duke had decided some time ago that when he had a little more time to himself he would try to form a Club of his own to attract the very best sailing ships in the world to compete for very high honours.

For the moment he was feeling very thankful that he was not forced to travel to St. Petersburg overland. It would have taken a great deal of time and would have been most disagreeable.

Now that the war between Russia and Sweden was over he could sail across the North Sea, round Denmark into the Baltic and reach St. Petersburg in just two or three weeks.

It was to be a voyage that would be comfortable and therefore most enjoyable.

The Duke was always happy when he was at sea.

‘When this tiresome mission is over,' he decided, ‘I will sail down the African coast or perhaps explore the Aegean Sea, where I could even gain some idea of what the Russians have in mind for Constantinople.'

He could certainly believe that they were still scheming to capture the great City on the Bosphorus; nothing would surprise him where Russia was concerned.

As he reached his house in Park Lane, he only wished that he did not have to take the girl with him. Or go through all the paraphernalia of pretending she was his wife.

He would much rather have gone to St. Petersburg alone, but after heeding his cousin Violet's dire warning, he would have to make the best of a bad job.

‘It may not be all that tedious,' he mused as he walked through his impressive front door, ‘but it will be boring.'

*

Elva on the other hand was in a feverish state of wild excitement.

She could scarcely believe that her subtle scheme of travelling with the Duke as his wife had actually been accepted.

Not only by the Duke himself but also by her aunt.

In her wildest dreams she had never thought that her desire to travel would be fulfilled in such a strange way.

Now there was very little time to think.

Lady Violet already had sent for her clothes from her cousin Muriel and then she pointed out that Elva must take some more sophisticated dresses, which would make her look older and more like a married woman.

“What you will certainly need more than anything else, my dear Elva, is plenty of jewellery as the Russians will expect a Duchess to be covered in it!”

“I would never have believed it. Mama had some beautiful jewellery, but Papa has it locked away, some of it in London and some in the country and I don't have the keys.”

“I think this is something that your Cousin Varin should be able to produce for you.”

Lady Violet sat down and wrote a note to the Duke and had it sent round to his house by one of the footmen.

“He will understand,” she said when the note had gone, “that as a representative of the British aristocracy he must not appear to be mean, especially when he has just been married.”

Elva was not paying attention.

“One piece of jewellery I do have,” she said, “is Mama's wedding ring. I have always kept it with me and sometimes I put it on my finger just to feel near to her.”

“You must wear it all the time you are travelling, my dear, and I feel sure it will protect you.”

“I am certain it will and I don't wish to miss any of the Palaces it will be possible to visit in such a short space of time.”

“I have been told that St. Petersburg is very large and most impressive,” said Lady Violet. “I expect you know the story of how the City was founded.”

“No, tell me, Aunt Violet. My governesses never told me anything exciting in my history lessons and I cannot remember it in any book I have read.”

“On May 16th, 1703,” she began, “the Czar Peter, standing on a small island on the north bank of the River Neva cut two pieces of turf and placed them crosswise.”

“Why did he do that?”

“According to legend,” her aunt replied, “he had a casket containing the remains of St. Andrew buried in the ground which was then blessed and sprinkled with Holy Water.”

“And what happened next?”

“The Czar's original idea was not to create a new Capital, as what he really needed was a fortress against the Swedes who had defeated him at Narva in 1700 because the Russian ships were still in the Neva.

“The City was founded under the Swedish guns and later survived in spite of them. Work began on the fortress and Czar Peter gave orders to build a dockyard. The construction of the fortress and the town became a masterpiece, but no one knows how many people perished to produce it.”