A Princess Prays (10 page)

“But it does, I
know
it does,” cried Attila. “Father Jozsef found it and my father found it with my mother.”

The stranger smiled.

“That is why you are so beautiful. I have always believed that if two people who are very much in love have a child, it is beautiful because their hearts and their souls made it so.”

Attila stared at him.

“How can you possibly say that? It is something I have often thought, but I have never put it into words.”

“Now I think of it, it is something I have never said before,” admitted the stranger. “But because you saved my life you realise you are now responsible for me! You must be aware that is one of the oldest legends in existence.”

Attila chuckled.

“It is a rather frightening one, but I have read that is what some people believe.”

“Well, I believe it and thus I am at your service and of course you have taken on a very big responsibility!”

He was joking and yet Attila felt there was some truth behind what he was saying.

“Now you are making me feel apprehensive, but at the same time I am very glad I was able to save you.”

“With an unbelievable brilliance! No other woman would have thought so quickly or found the right answer to such a dangerous situation?”

“Would those men really have killed you?”

“It was because I found out what they were trying to do that I ran away,” answered the stranger.

“Unless it upsets you, I am of course very curious to know what happened.”

“Then I will tell you. The man who came to look at me is my cousin. He wants me dead so that he can inherit what I possess and take my place in the family.”

“And he is prepared to kill you to do so?” asked Attila, thinking it was incredible.

“He thought out a very clever plot. I have this new horse of which I am very proud. He told me he had found a jump on my land which he thought would make a perfect challenge in the race we usually arrange every year. It is an occasion which has been handed down for generations.”

“So you took your horse to the jump.”

“I went riding with the other men you saw just now who are all friends of my cousin. I had a look at the jumps and my cousin had improved them considerably since last year. He had raised them and he had also constructed some new jumps which I had not seen previously.”

Attila was listening wide-eyed.

More food was provided by Lamos while they were talking, but Attila was so interested that she ate it without really tasting what she was putting into her mouth.

“I took my horse, which is called Zeus, over two of the jumps and then, as if I was being prompted by someone unseen, I rode to look at the last jump before I took Zeus over it.”

“And what did you see?” enquired Attila.

“As I was looking at the jump, I realised that one of my cousin's friends was on the other side of it and the way he was holding something under his arm made me feel suspicious.”

“And what was he holding?”

“I suspected, and I was right, that what he intended to do was to shoot at my horse when we took the jump. He would fall down bringing me with him and if I was not dead after I had fallen, I would certainly have been suffocated before I was taken back to the house.”

“I cannot believe it!” exclaimed Attila breathlessly.

“I found it hard to believe myself, but I realised the only thing I could do was to run away.”

He drew in his breath as if he was remembering how frightened he had been as he resumed his story.

“Before they realised what had happened I galloped as fast as I could away from the jumps and into the woods. When I heard them following me, I knew that if they caught me, I would not go home alive.”

“I have never heard of anything so horrible, so beastly and so cruel,” cried Attila.

“When men are greedy – they will stop at nothing,” the stranger told her philosophically.

“But if you go back, will he not try again?”

“My cousin may try, but now I am so alerted to his devilry, I am certain that when I do return, he will realise that it would be a mistake for us ever to meet again.”

“You cannot be too sure that he will feel like that.”

“I will make certain, but now I am forewarned and thanks to you I am still alive.”

“I am frightened by what you have just experienced,” murmured Attila. “And if he does try again, he might be successful.”

“Then, as I am now your responsibility,” he smiled, “you will have to protect me.”

He was speaking lightly.

But his blue eyes gave Attila a most strange feeling in her breasts that she had never known before.

She only knew, although it seemed incredible, that she wanted to protect this man.

Even though she did not even know his name!

CHAPTER FIVE

Attila awoke because she heard the man next to her moving about.

She guessed that Kilkos was bringing him some hot water for shaving as he had always done for Father Jozsef.

Now she thought it all over the terror of last night seemed so unbelievable it was as if it just could not have happened.

Could it really be possible those men would have killed the man who had come to her for help?

It did not seem credible and yet the way he spoke had been so sincere she could not doubt it.

She dressed quickly, thinking it would be a good idea if they moved on well away from the woods where so much danger lurked.

She walked to the place where they had eaten the night before and two minutes later the stranger joined her.

He was wearing Father Jozsef's cassock over his riding clothes, which Attila could now see were very smart.

As she looked at him in the daylight, she realised he was extremely handsome.

He sat down beside her.

“Good morning, my protecting angel,” he began. “I am hoping I can at least eat my breakfast before we start being frightened again!”

“I was indeed terrified last night,” sighed Attila.

“And so was I,” replied the stranger.

Lamos had cooked appetising eggs and bacon for breakfast and there was toast and honey as well excellent hot coffee with fresh cream.

The sun was shining and the world around them was so beautiful and serene.

Attila felt happy and for the moment unafraid.

They were drinking coffee when the stranger said,

“I think that now is the time for us to introduce ourselves. My name is Gesa.”

It was an unusual name, but Attila recognised that it was Hungarian and she thought perhaps, because he rode so well, he came from that country.

“I am now waiting to hear your name,” he added, as Attila had apparently forgotten to answer him.

She had already made up her mind during the night that it would be a mistake for her to tell him her name was Attila.

He would know she came from Valdina by the way she spoke.

Her mother had always called her ‘Lala' as it was what she had called herself when she was a small child.

She therefore replied,

“My name is Lala and I am delighted to meet you, Gesa.”

“I should rise up and bow, but instead please allow me to kiss your hand.”

He bent forward and picked up her hand.

He raised it to his lips, which briefly touched her skin.

Attila felt the same strange quiver run through her body as last night.

Because once again she felt shy, she said quickly,

“I think we should move off as quickly as possible. Those horrible men might come back and continue looking for you.”

“You are right, Lala, and I therefore intend to travel inside your carriage until we are far away from here.”

He gave a laugh before he added,

“It has indeed been altered in a very clever way to make an apartment for two people.”

“I thought that myself and it was very fortunate that Father Jozsef's cassock was there when you needed it.”

“I have sent a prayer up to him in Heaven and I also sent one to you.”

“Let us hope we are as lucky today as yesterday.”

She rose as she spoke and they carried their plates, cups and saucers back to Lamos.

It was then as Attila saw Kilkos saddling her horse that she had an idea.

“If the men who are looking for you see your horse, they will undoubtedly recognise it, even if you are riding in a cassock.”

Gesa stared at her.

“You are right! Of course you are right! But what can I do about it?”

“What I suggest,” Attila began slowly as if she was thinking it out, “is that I will ride your horse and Kilkos will ride mine. He will lead the third horse, which was Father Jozsef's, and that is the one your enemies will be looking at.”

“You are very astute, Lala, I should have thought of that myself.”

Kilkos, who had been listening, picked up the saddle which belonged to Gesa and hid it away.

Then as Gesa disappeared into the carriage, Attila mounted his horse.

She realised it was an exceptional stallion and one of the finest horses she had ever ridden.

She hoped that her father would have a chance of seeing it, but then she remembered that Gesa did not know who she was.

Before they arrived in Valdina she would have to explain to him that she was going to the Palace.

Then she thought this idea might end in trouble and perhaps it would be best to say goodbye when they reached the outskirts of Valdina.

She settled herself in the saddle and picked up her reins. As she did so she became aware that Lamos was standing on the top of the driving seat, looking ahead.

He could obviously see very much further than she could on the ground.

As they waited Attila asked,

“Can you see anything? Is there any sign of those men?”

“I thought, although I might have been mistaken,” replied Lamos, “that I saw one slip into the wood about a mile further on.”

“Then we must be extremely careful. It would be wise for me not to ride too far ahead of you.”

She spoke quietly, but at the same time her heart was beating fast and she was feeling afraid.

Would those dastardly men watching out for Gesa actually pull him out of the carriage?

Would they kill him without giving him a chance to defend himself?

Or would they just carry him away to the woods and she would never hear of him again?

These troublesome thoughts all passed through her mind like streaks of lightning, but she recognised there was nothing she could do about it.

If they turned round and went back, they would still have to undertake the journey tomorrow.

It would not be possible to take the carriage through the thick grassland or to approach Valdina from any other direction.

‘I shall have to pray really hard that Father Jozsef will protect us,' Attila told herself.

Lamos was in his seat and was moving the horses forward. Having had a restful night and plenty to eat, they were only too eager to move quickly.

Zeus wanted to gallop and Attila had to hold him in to prevent him rushing off long before the rest of the party.

It seemed to take a long time before the two horses pulling the carriage had passed the wood where Lamos thought he had seen one of the assailants.

Attila realised that she must not stare, and yet she kept glancing upwards as she rode past the trees.

She expected to see behind each one the men who had pursued Gesa last night.

After they had travelled for nearly a mile, she became aware that there was a horseman hidden behind the next trees they were about to pass.

She pulled in Zeus, patting the horse to calm him.

They were more or less riding in a group as they reached the danger point, and she realised that the man in the trees would only have a rapid glimpse of her.

She hoped he would not be interested in the horse she rode and that his eyes would go straight to where, half-hidden by the carriage, Kilkos was riding Attila's horse.

They travelled on further without any interruption and Attila knew that their subterfuge had been successful.

Nevertheless her heart was beating so tumultuously that she was finding it difficult to breathe.

Only when they had quickened their pace and were half a mile away from the danger point did she sigh with relief.

Now she could breathe more steadily and her heart was no longer turning somersaults.

It would have been foolhardy to stop, so they carried on for nearly an hour before they found a place where there were no trees and nowhere anyone could hide except on the mountains themselves.

Lamos drew in his horses and Attila turned round and rode back to the carriage.

“Why are you stopping?” she asked.

“I think that the gentleman has had enough rough and tumble inside the carriage and if he wants to get out he is safe enough just here. We could see anyone approaching when they were over a mile away.”

Attila agreed with him and Gesa must have heard what Lamos was saying as he opened the carriage door and stepped out.

“I feel as if I have been swimming in a rough sea,” he said. “But thank you all the same, I am very grateful.”

“You will be all right now, sir,” said Lamos. “But we better move on as we've still got a long way to go.”

“I know and I am looking forward to riding Zeus.”

He looked at Attila as he spoke and she laughed,

“I was a little afraid you would want to have him back. He is a magnificent horse, I am not surprised you are very proud of him.”

“I think actually,” said Gesa, as he helped her down from the saddle, “I would have minded Zeus having to die last night more than dying myself.”

“You are not to talk about it, Gesa. It all still scares me and the sooner we reach home and safety, the better.”

Gesa was busy undoing the girths of the side saddle on Zeus's back and as he lifted it off, Attila asked him,

“I had not thought of it before, but will it be safe for you to go home?”