A Flight To Heaven (8 page)

“No! Of course not – I have just come – to ride,” Chiara replied with difficulty, as her teeth were beginning to chatter with the cold.

“In a silk dress? With your hair flying loose like an angel in a painting? And all alone? I think you are fooling with me. You are a Heavenly being just fallen to earth.”

And then he shook his head.

“But no, you must be mortal after all – for you are shivering. Here!”

He pulled off his ragged coat and held it out to her and she was astonished to see that he wore an elegant grey morning coat and beautifully cut trousers underneath it.

“Please, I insist!” he said and tossed the coat up to her so that it fell around her shoulders.

“But – who
are
you?” she asked. “I cannot take your coat if I don’t know who to return it to and you will be cold without it.”

“It’s not my coat,” he replied, “and, just for today, I am nobody, lost in a strange land.”

He threw back his head and laughed again.

“Go, quickly!” he shouted. “Back to your home in the sky!”

He clapped his hands so that Erebus was startled and shied away from him.

Chiara clutched the ragged coat around her with one hand and clung to the reins with the other.

Erebus was turning for home now and the stranger was leaving, running with long loping strides as he headed for the dunes at the top of the beach.

“Thank you!” she called, but he did not turn back.

Chiara’s heart now leapt with excitement as Erebus cantered swiftly back over the beach.

She could not get the dark-haired stranger’s face out of her mind.

His high cheekbones and the fierce glow of his dark eyes seemed strangely familiar and yet she was certain that she had never met him before.

And the sound of his voice!

When she remembered his curious accent and the odd things he had said to her, her whole body rang with a sensation she had never felt before, as if she was a silver bell giving out a sweet high note.

The sun had fallen below the horizon and the sky was turning purple as they left the beach.

Chiara knew they might not get back to Rensham Hall before dark, but Erebus would have no trouble finding the way even though there was no moon.

The little pony kept a steady trot along the narrow country roads and Chiara slackened the reins and let him make his own pace.

She was very glad of the stranger’s dusty old coat, as, now that the sun had set, the air was turning very cold.

Suddenly, Erebus’s ears flicked back, as if he had heard something and he jumped forward, quickening his pace.

Chiara strained to catch the sound that had startled him and her heart quickened because she could hear men’s voices shouting and a distant clatter of hooves on the road.

Riders were galloping along the road behind her.

“Go on, go on, as fast as you can,” she whispered, leaning low over Erebus’s white mane. “I don’t want them to see me out riding in the dusk in my silk dress and this funny old coat.”

But the little pony was tired from his long gallop on the beach and, although he tried valiantly to keep ahead, the noise of the shouting grew steadily nearer.

“Hello there! Lady Chiara? Where are you?”

A chill ran through Chiara’s limbs, as she heard her name being called out. It was Mervyn Hunter’s voice and it was he who was on her trail.

“We must take a short cut!” she cried.

She pulled the reins, turning Erebus’s head so that he had to leap up the steep bank that bordered the road.

Now they were in the fields and ahead of them in the gloomy twilight, a bright light winked and Chiara knew that this must be coming from a window at Rensham Hall.

“We’re almost there!” she called and dug her heels into the pony’s sides.

He stumbled forward across the deep furrows of the ploughed field, pushing on as fast as he could, as the faint scent of home was drifting towards them and he wanted to be safely there as much as his Mistress.

For a moment Chiara thought she had outwitted her pursuers, but then a great shout went up from the road.

“I see her! Look, her white horse, over there in the field!”

Then the thud of hooves came crashing over the muddy ground and Mervyn Hunter’s thoroughbred raced up alongside Erebus.

“Whoa, there! Stop I say!” he shouted out and he reached down from his saddle and caught the reins out of Chiara’s hands, tugging on them so hard that Erebus was dragged off balance and he staggered and fell to his knees.

Chiara was flung over his head and hit the ground so hard that all the breath was knocked from her body.

“I say. Is she all right?” Lord Darley cantered up, leaping down from the saddle to kneel beside Chiara.

“That brute threw her!” Mervyn Hunter exclaimed, throwing the reins at Erebus’s head. “Get away! Be off with you!”

Erebus limped away across the furrows.

Chiara wanted to call out to him to come back and that he had done nothing wrong, but she was struggling to breath and could not speak.

“My poor sweetheart!” Mervyn Hunter leant down from the saddle. “Can you lift her up to me, Lord Darley?”

Chiara felt herself being lifted high in the air and then Mervyn Hunter’s strong arms went round her, holding her in front of him as his tall horse bounded across the fields towards Rensham Hall.

Night was finally falling as they clattered under the echoing archway that led into the stable yard.

Lady Fairfax was standing in the yard, surrounded by servants carrying lanterns.

“Oh, my darling!” she cried out, her face pale in the flickering light. “Thank God they have found you!”

Chiara had recovered her breath, but his arms still held her in a vice-like grip, perched in front of him on his tall horse.

“Mama, I am so sorry. I did not mean to be out for so long. I intended just to ride around the Park – ”

Jonah now came up to them leading Erebus, who had found his way back across the fields to the stable yard.

“Ah, ha, there is the culprit!” Mervyn Hunter said, holding Chiara so tightly that she felt the vibration of his deep voice against her.

“What happened?” Jonah’s face was puzzled. “The little pony always brings you safely home.”

Chiara was about to explain that Erebus had been doing exactly that, until Mervyn Hunter made him fall, but she was interrupted.

“God knows what might have happened if we had not been there!” he snapped. “The beast was completely out of control.”

Lady Fairfax gave a little cry of horror and pressed her hands to her face in horror.

“My poor sweet daughter!” she muttered.

Lord Darley jumped down from his horse and came over.

“Lady Fairfax, please – don’t be distressed. See – all is well. She has not been hurt.”

He then took Chiara’s hands and helped her to jump down from Mervyn Hunter’s horse.

“Mama, I am really quite all right,” she began, but Lady Fairfax was looking at her with alarm.

“What is this horrid thing?” she asked, touching the tattered coat Chiara was wearing.

“A gentleman gave me his coat, Mama.”

“A
gentleman
?” Lady Fairfax shook her head in disbelief. “But this is just a dirty old rag!”

Chiara was about to explain about her encounter with the dark-haired man in the elegant morning suit, when Mervyn Hunter spoke again.

“Perhaps Lady Chiara has been paying a visit to the raggle-taggle gypsies!” he sneered, “she certainly managed to give us the slip for quite some time. Was by chance this ‘gentleman’ of the Romany people?”

“I – don’t think so – ” Chiara hesitated.

She could not place the dark-haired man’s foreign accent she had liked so much, but she was quite certain that no Romany would have worn an immaculate morning suit.

“Promise me, my darling, that you will never go off like that again.”

Lady Fairfax had overcome her repugnance for the dirty old coat and was taking Chiara in her arms to hug her.

“Not much chance of that,” Mervyn Hunter piped up, watching as Jonah led Erebus to his stable. “The brute that threw her is quite lame.”

“Oh, no!” Chiara cried. “My poor Erebus! It really was not his fault. If you had not pulled the reins so hard, and frightened him – ”

“Chiara!” Lady Fairfax spoke up sharply. “You are being exceedingly ungrateful. These two gentlemen have been riding around the countryside in search of you and have stopped at nothing to make sure that you came safely home – and you have said not one word of thanks.”

“Oh, there is no need!” Lord Darley exclaimed. “I am just so glad she is safe. And it was no trouble, really, we would have done anything to find you, Chiara.”

Mervyn Hunter leapt down from the saddle.

“We searched high and low,” he declared, “and the moment of finding you, Lady Chiara, was the sweetest of my life.”

He took her hand and raised it to his lips, bowing as he did so.

Lady Fairfax was frowning at Chiara, reproving her for her bad manners and she knew that she must say some words of thanks.

“I am most – grateful,” she managed. “It was very kind of you to make – such efforts on my behalf.”

Then she could not help adding,

“But I am used to taking long rides round Rensham Hall and, although it was late and I had gone further than I meant to, I was perfectly safe.”

Mervyn Hunter shook his head and reached out and fingered the sleeve of the old coat.

“Perhaps you are not the best judge of that, Lady Chiara,” he said. “It’s not wise for a young lady to ride off on her own and speak to any old stranger she meets.”

Then he gave a little laugh.

“Hopefully the occasion will never arise – but if you do see this ‘gentleman’ again – you might advise him to visit to my tailor, as he is in dire need of a new coat!”

Chiara felt a rush of anger, but she gave a polite nod to Mervyn Hunter and turned her back on him, ready to walk back to Rensham Hall.

But he had not finished.

“Surely, Lady Chiara, this filthy old garment would best be left with your young groom until you are ready to visit the gypsy camp again!”

He called out to Jonah, who was feeding Erebus.

“Come here, boy!”

Chiara’s face now grew hot. How dare he speak to Jonah like that and now he was lifting the coat from her shoulders and thrusting it at the groom like an old sack.

She wanted to take it back and keep it in her room to remind her of the dark-haired man on the beach, who had looked at her so mysteriously.

Her maid could have brushed all the dirt away, so that if ever she saw him again, she could give it back to him in a clean and respectable condition, more in keeping with his elegant grey suit.

But Jonah was taking the coat away to the harness room.

Lord Darley was whispering something to Lady Fairfax, who was nodding and looking pleased.

Mervyn Hunter took Chiara’s hand and lifted it to his lips.

“It will not be long before we meet again,” he said. “And I do hope that you will stay safely at home till then.”

“Goodbye, Mr. Hunter.”

Chiara took a step back.

“Every moment spent in your delightful company is pure pleasure,” he continued in a low voice, as he released her hand.

At last Chiara was free to run across the stable yard, the evening air chill on her face and escape to the privacy of her bedroom.

*

“My dear Count Dimitrov!” the King’s bearded face was alight with amusement. “What an adventurer you are! I did not take you for a bicyclist, I must say!”

Arkady sipped the glass of whisky he was enjoying before going into dinner. He had only just had time to change into his evening clothes, as it had taken him a good while to find his way back to Sandringham from the coast.

“The bicycle is a remarkable invention,” he said. “Much faster and more efficient than a horse, if one sticks to the road.”

The King laughed.

“I am only sorry that you had to resort to borrowing from one of the under-gardeners! If you could only have waited a little, we should have arranged for a brand new machine to be bought for you.”

Arkady could not help smiling.

“Ah, sir – but I think the Fates wished otherwise!”

“Whatever do you mean, Count,” the Queen looked at him in surprise. “You are sounding very mysterious – very Russian, in fact!”

“I chanced upon an angel today,” he replied, “and I think if I had gone exploring at some other time, I would have missed that meeting.”

“Now you are telling us a Russian Fairy tale!” the Queen responded with a regal smile.

“Not at all, ma’am. A wild and beautiful angel on a winged white horse flew down from the sky and spoke to me. An angel dressed in blue with long flowing hair – ”

“Well, I have never heard of any celestial beings visiting Norfolk before,” the Queen sighed. “Perhaps you were a little light-headed from all the exercise?”

Arkady bowed politely.

“That was certainly the case,” he said.

The King smiled.

“There is always a logical explanation,” he said. “even for the most remarkable occurrences, but then Count Dimitrov, we must take care to keep you entertained while you stay with us. We cannot run the risk of losing you to another ethereal visitation, when there are so many pretty girls among our neighbouring families. We must give a ball for you, Count.”

Arkady was pretty sure that he heard the Queen give a little sigh of pleasure and certainly her face seemed to glow in the candlelight.

“A very good idea,” she said. “I always welcome any opportunity to bring guests to our ballroom for a little music and dancing.”

The King and Queen were both quite portly now and well past middle age. But Arkady had a sudden vision of them in their younger years, enthusiastically partnering each other in waltzes and polkas.

Their kindness to him was undoubted, although he could not help thinking, that he would rather spend another five minutes in the company of the lovely blue-eyed angel with the wild dark hair he had met by the sea than a long night of dancing with the local beauties.

His reverie was interrupted by the entrance of the butler to announce that dinner was served.