A Dangerous Disguise (16 page)

The Duke smiled and held out his hand.

"Good evening, Captain," he said. "I am sorry to bother you but on the instructions of Her Majesty the Queen, I have come here to take away a young woman who has been brought aboard by mistake."

"By mistake!" the Captain exclaimed pronouncing the words rather strangely.

At the same time, the Duke was sure he understood what they meant.

"You have been told, or rather Prince Paskevich was told, that the young lady you have aboard is the Princess Ola. That is not true!"

"Not true!" the Captain repeated.

The Duke could see that he was astonished, also a little bewildered.

"She is Scottish," the Duke said, "and as her father was important to Her Majesty, it was a bad mistake to bring her aboard. You could be arrested."

A look of alarm passed over the Captain's face.

"Arrested?" he said slowly.

"Arrested and locked up in the Tower of London," the Duke said emphatically. "You would stay there for ever, and never be heard of again."

He relied on the Captain not knowing that this was impossible. The ploy seemed to be working, for the other man now clearly understood that something was very wrong.

"On Her Majesty's instructions," the Duke continued, "I have come to take the lady away."

The Captain nodded and beckoned the Duke to follow him.

The Duke said to the officers,

"Wait here! But be ready to leave the moment I return."

They nodded without speaking and he followed the Captain below, praying that he had come to the right place.

It seemed to the Duke that the Captain moved rather slowly down to the deck below.

He recognised, when he followed him, that they were now passing the cabins in which, if the ship was carrying anyone of importance, this was where they would sleep.

As they walked further down the passage he realised they were going towards the master cabin.

It was then for a moment he was afraid he was making a mistake.

Surely if the Prince were travelling in this ship he would sleep in the master cabin and the prisoner whatever else they might call her, would be in one of the less important cabins in this corridor?

Unless, he thought, the Prince was planning to join her in the big cabin. The Duke's blood ran cold at the thought of such a threat to his darling.

As the Captain put the key in the lock and opened it, the Duke held his breath.

Ola had been standing by the porthole. As the door opened she turned round. Before the Captain could enter, the Duke moved quickly past him.

When Ola saw him she gave a cry of joy and ran across the room throwing herself against him.

"You've come! You've come!" she said. "I prayed and prayed that you would."

The Duke put his arms round her and held her close against him.

"I have come to take you back," he said quietly, "and there is no need for you to be frightened any more."

Ola gave a sob and hid her face against his shoulder.

Then the Duke said,

"Come at once. We want to get out of this mess before the Prince comes back."

With an effort Ola raised her head from his shoulder. At the same time her eyes were shining as she looked up at him.

"You came for me – " she whispered. "I was afraid you might not understand what was happening."

"I understood," the Duke replied. "But we will talk about it when you are safely in my carriage which is waiting for you."

He turned to the Captain.

"I am sorry, Captain, to have disturbed you, but His Excellency will doubtless be bringing the real Princess aboard when he leaves Her Majesty with whom, at the moment, he is watching the fireworks."

Now the Captain seemed to understand what was happening, and scowled in an unexpected display of stubbornness.

"Niet!" he said, barring their way.

But instantly there was a click and a pistol appeared close to his head. The Major was standing there, smiling.

"I know you said to stay up there, old boy," he told the Duke, "but it was devilish dull. I thought it might be more fun down here."

The Captain, eyes bulging with alarm, stepped back and away from the door, leaving room for Ola and the Duke to walk past. The Major came behind them, walking backwards, keeping his pistol trained on the Captain until they were up the stairs.

Jack Estey was there, keeping his gleaming pistol in full view of the crew members who had begun to gather. Major Anthony joined him and the two stood there defiantly while the Duke hurried Ola ashore.

"Thank you, lads," said the Duke fervently.

"You mean that's it?" Jack asked in disgust. "I don't call that a fight."

"I couldn't have done it without you."

The two soldiers grinned and hopped up onto the box with the driver, leaving the Duke and Ola to get into the carriage together.

As they moved away, Ola gave a cry and threw herself against the Duke.

"You saved me," she whispered. "I longed for you, but I didn't dare to hope that you would find me."

Now the tears were running down her cheeks but they were tears of happiness. The Duke put his arms round her and his lips found hers.

As he kissed her, she knew this was what she had prayed for. She felt as if she not only gave him her heart but her soul.

"I love you, my darling, I love you," he said. "Thank God I got there in time."

Then he could no longer speak because he was kissing her again and again.

"I'll never let you go now," he said. "You're mine, whether you like it or not."

"But I do like it," she said. "Oh John, my darling, I thought I would never see you again."

"Do you think I would have let that happen? Don't you know that I would have searched for you to the ends of the earth, even if it took the whole of my life.

"I love you, and I am going to marry you as soon as possible, in case you disappear again. I have never been so frightened in my whole life. If they had managed to get away with you, to Russia – " he shuddered.

Then he was kissing her again.

Kissing her so passionately that Ola wanted to cry from sheer happiness.

"Can we go away somewhere and shut the world out?" she asked him.

"I would like nothing more, my darling, but I'm afraid we must go back and see Her Majesty. She was very concerned about you. And I have unfinished business with Prince Victor Paskevich"

"Who is he?"

"The Russian who sent his men to abduct you. Don't worry, you'll be safe with me, but he has to know that his plot has failed."

"How did you know where to come?"

"Luckily my two spies saw them take you. Joan chased the carriage on a bicycle that she seems to have 'borrowed' from a policeman. She got far enough to tell me your direction."

"I must thank them both. I realise now that I had the clue all the time. The people I saw in the crowd were men. It didn't worry me because I thought you sent them, but they must have been watching me to make sure what I looked like."

"You mean that you never saw Mildred and Joan?"

"I bumped into them outside the hotel, but I didn't know who they were until you told me tonight. Then I realised something was wrong. I was going to tell you when you came back from the Queen."

The Duke groaned.

"I'll never take my eyes off you again."

When they reached Buckingham Palace, Anthony and Jack rejoined them, the three men walking so that nobody could get near Ola. Together they approached Her Majesty's dais.

Prince Victor was still there, but now he was with the Queen, pouring out an unstoppable stream of words. Strangely, for one who had declared herself bored by this man, Queen Victoria made no attempt to silence him. The few remarks she offered seemed designed to keep him talking, and the Duke realised that his Sovereign and godmother was exerting herself to assist him.

He was sure of it a few moments later when the Prince said,

"I fear I grow tedious. I will leave Your Majesty now."

"Stay where you are," the Queen demanded imperiously. "I am intrigued by your conversation and wish to hear more. You haven't yet told me about Ivan the Terrible."

"But Your Majesty, I have told you all about Ivan the Terrible."

"I forget. Start again."

Trapped, he looked about him, unable to depart in defiance of the royal command, yet eager to be off to the Thames, to take his prize down the river and out to sea, where a Russian warship was waiting.

Just a little longer, he promised himself.

Then his eyes fell on Ola.

He knew it was her, for his agents who had been watching her for days had pointed her out to him when he arrived earlier that evening.

But he couldn't believe his eyes.

He blinked.

Then he swallowed as he realised what this meant.

The Queen had followed his gaze and seen the Duke and Ola standing there. Her face lit up with a smile that was relief as much as pleasure.

"My dear children, there you are! How naughty of you to vanish like that! You've missed such a fascinating talk by Prince Victor Paskevich. Come and meet him."

He was the last man in the world that Ola wanted to meet, but by now she had recovered her nerve enough to look him in the eye and enjoy his dismay.

"Such a pleasure to meet you, Prince," she murmured. "I always felt sure that our paths would cross one day, and now they have. What a pity that our acquaintance couldn't have been longer. Not a pity for me, of course. But a great pity for you."

He understood her. He gobbled like a turkey cock.

The Duke clapped him on the back with dreadful heartiness.

"I'm sure Her Majesty will release you now, old chap, won't you ma'am?"

"Of course. But only with the greatest reluctance," Queen Victoria said, amused.

Her little eyes twinkled. She was enjoying herself.

"So why don't you get off to your ship on the Thames?" the Duke went on. "The Captain wants to have a word with you. And when you get home, empty handed, I dare say the Czar would like a word with you, too."

Prince Victor's face was ghastly. He began to stammer.

"England – a lovely country – I have often thought – I might – settle here – "

"Goodbye, Prince Victor," said Queen Victoria implacably.

He tottered away.

Smiling, the Queen turned to Ola, who dropped a deep curtsey.

"No, come here, my dear," she said, holding out her arms.

When she had hugged Ola soundly, she said to the Duke,

"Well done, John."

"And thank you, ma'am, for your invaluable assistance in keeping him here," he said, grinning. "It was a noble effort."

"I'm glad you appreciate it. I don't know when I've suffered so much."

"Ivan the Terrible?"

"And the flooding of the Volga," she said with a shudder. "Never mind. I hope never to see him again. Now listen, I have some excellent news. I expect you've heard the rumours from Oltenitza."

"That the royal family has been rescued, ma'am?"

"Yes. It's definite. A group of English soldiers, travelling incognito, did most of the business, but they were helped by the people, who rose against the Russian troops. The whole family is safe, including the Princesses Flaviola and Helola."

"Then it's over?" Ola asked eagerly.

"Yes, my dear. Soon everyone will know that the family is free, and I think you should vanish at once."

"She's going to," said the Duke. "If I may have your permission to leave, ma'am, I would like to take her to Camborne Park, where she will stay until our wedding." "So I should hope."

"We shall marry quietly, in the little chapel there, and be away from London for some time."

"To give people a chance to forget they saw her in another incarnation," the Queen agreed. "Very wise. Well, I would have liked to attend your wedding in Westminster Abbey, which is where you ought to be married. But I can see that will not be possible.

"When you return to London I shall give a reception for you, and when people see that I accept the Duchess of Camborne, they will forget any passing resemblance to a Princess who is no longer here."

The Duke kissed her hand.

"Dear godmother," he said, "you are too good to me."

"Give me a kiss," the Queen said. "You too, Ola, my dear. And may God bless you both, and make you as happy as I was with dear Albert, but for much, much longer."

*

They stopped at the hotel to collect Greta and the luggage. It was past midnight but nobody wanted to linger. Before dawn broke they were on their way out of London, headed for Hampshire, and Camborne Park.

At first Greta's presence inhibited them, but gradually she nodded off in the corner, and they were able to pretend they were alone.

The Duke took her into his arms and kissed Ola until it was difficult for either of them to breathe.

"You grow lovelier every time I look at you," he whispered. "I'm convinced now that you're not human but someone supernatural, or perhaps an angel who has come from heaven to make me happy."

"All I want to do," she said in a small voice, "is to make you happy, because I'm only happy when I'm with you."

"And I'm only happy when we are together," the Duke replied. "There's no woman in the whole world who is as important to me as you are. If I were offered all the Queens and all the angels, I should not find any of them as wonderful as you."

"I'm just an ordinary girl. Not even a Princess."

"You are Ola. You are my love. There is nothing more wonderful than that."

They kissed again and then she snuggled contentedly against him.

"I'm longing for you to see my home," he said. "I think you'll love it, and the little chapel where we'll marry. The priest will receive you with open arms, because he's always been afraid I would end up marrying someone who loved me only because I was a Duke and not because I was a man."

"You know I love you as a man," Ola answered. "I would love you if you were a crossing-sweeper. I think we've been looking for each other for a long time, although we haven't known it."

"I knew it as soon as I saw you," he replied.

There was silence for a few miles and then she asked,