An Unexpected Love (3 page)

“You are surely not attracted to him?”

Ravina gazed into the dying embers of the fire and absentmindedly rubbed the place on her dress where his blood had stained it.

“No, certainly not. Undoubtedly he is a clever man, rich and powerful, but he has not shown any interest in me in that way.”

“And if he did?”

Ravina laughed softly then shuddered as she recalled the industrialist's hot hands and the collar of his shirt digging into that pink fleshy neck.

“Oh, no, Nanny. I could never marry him. I know lots of girls in Society marry for a name or to join two great families together, but I want to fall in love with the man I marry.

“I want to experience all the passion and drama and desire that I have read about in books such as
Jane Eyre
and
Wuthering Heights
.”

“Tosh and nonsense,” Nanny Johnson said with a little smile. “Off to bed with you now or you will become so ugly from lack of sleep that no one will ever want to marry you and you will end up an old maid.”

*

But later that night, as Ravina lay in bed, staring out of her window at the starry sky, she knew that her words to Nanny Johnson had been the truth.

It would be stupid for her not to recognise the fact that as the only child of the Earl of Ashley, she would be a prize catch for lots of men.

Her father was a powerful man in politics. Exactly what he did at the Foreign Office, Ravina was not sure, but she did know that people came from all over the world to their house to seek his advice and help.

Anyone who married his daughter would have an exceptional chance of preferment.

Ravina had learned from the age of sixteen that proposals of marriage were never hard to come by. But she had never been tempted to say yes.

She had always asked herself the same question,

“Would I be happy with him? Would I be content to belong to no one but him? To do what
he
wants rather than what I want and to concentrate on his way of life, instead of the freedom I have at the moment to do exactly what excites me and not ask any man if that is what he wants to do too.”

With her eyes closed and a soft pillow beneath her head, she told herself that life was so exciting and very interesting as it was.

For the moment at any rate she had no wish for anything different.

“Perhaps one day I will find it impossible not to be so much in love that when a man asks me to marry him I can only say ‘
yes, yes, yes
' and throw myself into his arms,” she told herself.

She smiled in the dark.

‘That is just what I want,' she said almost aloud, ‘and perhaps one day I will be very happy, wildly and gloriously happy, because I will want nothing but the man I love and the man who loves me.'

This was the promise she had made herself, that she would never marry except when she felt a deep devoted love for a good man. A love that was returned in every way.

Which, she thought as she turned over at last on her cool snowy pillows to fall asleep, was probably much more than the bride of that odious dark-eyed stranger in the rose garden would ever know!

Ravina was very late for breakfast the next morning. She sped down the shining wooden staircase into the hall of Ashley House, the skirts of her pink silk morning dress rustling as she hurried.

Her parents were already seated at the table in the breakfast room, her father busy reading
The Times
and her mother opening her letters.

Ravina leant over and kissed her father on the forehead, smiling at the usual gruff “good morning, child, you are late.”

Lord Ashley was a tall, thin, distinguished man in his late forties. Like his father and his grandfather before him, he held a high position in the Foreign Office.

Ravina had grown up with political discussions with high-ranking foreign officials taking place around her.

She had often escaped from her nanny and governesses to hide under her father's big desk in the library.

She had played happily with her dolls and toys whilst talk of trouble in the Balkans, revolutions and wars were discussed over her head.

As she grew older and was included officially at dinners and luncheons, she had met several foreign heads of state and Prime Ministers.

She had learnt how vitally important her father's work was for European peace. He was adept at defusing potentially explosive situations and Ravina recognised that only his skill at diplomacy had prevented a number of nasty situations from deteriorating into war.

Her geography lessons had always been easy for her because her parents had travelled all over Europe and she had often accompanied them, much to Nanny Johnson's annoyance.

Nanny had very firm views about the place a young lady should take in Society.

Lady Ashley was small and slender and Ravina was already taller than her. But she had the same honey-gold hair as her daughter and her delicate appearance was at odds with her ability to cope with all the demands made of her as the wife of a senior diplomat.

This morning she was dressed in deepest lilac, her wide sleeves narrowing to tight cuffs that emphasised the whiteness of her elegant hands and the gleaming diamonds and amethysts that adorned them.

She shook her head in mock resignation as Ravina kissed her cheek and slid into her chair, ignoring her father's scowl.

Being late for a meal was something Lord Ashley hated. He said it was impolite to the cook to eat the food half cold.

One of the footmen poured Ravina a cup of coffee and she helped herself to bread and honey.

“So, darling, did you enjoy yourself last night at the ball?” her mother asked. “You were very late arriving home.”

“Not too late really, Mama. And yes, I had a very nice time. Giles was there, of course. And lots of the usual people.”

“And I suppose Giles proposed again,” her mother smiled. Like Ravina, she was sure that the young man was not even slightly in love with her daughter. His heart would not even be dented by her constant refusals.

Ravina frowned, remembering the dark-haired, sarcastic man in the rose garden.

But she was not going to tell her parents about him. Her reaction to Giles had not been correct and she knew that her mother would not be pleased.

‘Poor Giles. Perhaps,' Ravina thought, ‘I should have said yes and settled down to be a good wife and the mother of several delightful children. Giles enjoys travelling as I do. And when he inherits the castle, he will have a splendid life. Would that have been such a bad life to share? A girl could do far worse.'

Then it was almost as if someone was asking her,

‘So why do you always say no, instead of yes?'

And she knew that the answer was that Giles would never touch her heart. And there must be so much more to marriage than pleasant convenience–surely?

She jumped slightly as her father folded away his newspaper and glanced across the table at his daughter with his piercing gaze.

“Did you by any chance meet a Mr. Robert Dunster at the ball last night, Ravina?”

“Mr. Dunster? Why yes, Papa, I did. I danced with him twice and he offered to bring me a cold lemonade in the garden when I was very hot.”

“I see. And was he – polite?” Lord Ashley seemed to find his coffee cup extremely interesting.

Ravina felt bewildered by his question.

“Certainly, Papa. Why, do people speak badly of his manners? He certainly gave me no cause to be upset.”

She caught her parents exchanging glances and her puzzlement grew. Her father seemed worried, as if he had something on his mind.

“No, no, I am sure his behaviour would be impeccable. Indeed, I have heard nothing that could be held against him, except that he is a hard–headed business man. But he does have a reputation for asking questions to gain information.

“I would have been unhappy if you had been upset and if he had been pestering you in any way – asking where your mother and I were, for example. Why we were not attending the ball. That type of thing.”

“Well, he did ask me if you were at home or travelling abroad. But only in a very polite general way. We discussed nothing of importance, Papa. I have met him before, but this is the first time I have danced with him. Do you wish me to avoid him in future?”

“No, certainly not,” her father replied.

“Ravina, dear,” her mother now broke in, “your father and I have something to tell you. We are going abroad for a few weeks.”

Ravina pushed back her chair.

This was news indeed.

“Abroad? When? And am I to accompany you,Mama?”

“We leave tomorrow and no, you will not be coming with us this time, darling. It is strictly a business trip and you might well be bored.”

Lady Ashley looked fondly at her beautiful daughter.

‘But we are concerned about you staying here on your own so we intend to shut up this house for the duration of our absence. We feel you will be far happier in the country at Curbishley Hall.'

Ravina nodded, her mind racing.

“Well, I will certainly be sad to miss some of the London parties, but you know I love the countryside and I have been pining for my horses while I have been here in London.”

“And Cousin Dulcie will be there as chaperone and company for you. I am sure that Nanny Johnson will travel down to Dorset too, but Dulcie is family after all and much closer to your own age.”

Ravina screwed up her nose. She liked Dulcie Allen, but at twenty-eight, the older girl was a confirmed spinster and disapproved of her young cousin acting in any way she felt forward or improper.

Dulcie's father had been a distant cousin of Lord Ashley, but when he died it was discovered that he was heavily in debt.

Dulcie was an only child – her mother had died when she was born and overnight she had lost her father, her home and her genteel way of life.

Lord Ashley had heard of her plight and invited her to come and live at Curbishley Hall. She was to be the housekeeper, look after the house when the family was in London and be a companion to Ravina when she visited Dorset.

Dulcie had been only too happy to accept.

‘Oh well,' Ravina thought, ‘I can get round Dulcie easily enough. She hates horses, so she will not be accompanying me out riding. I can still have plenty of fun.'

“Are you quite sure you will be happy in the country by yourself?” her mother asked, a worried look marring her lovely face. “We could send you to Ireland to my parents, if you would prefer.”

Ravina laughed and spread more honey on her toast.

‘I love Ireland, but I love Dorset best. I will be quite happy, Mama. I shall ride and visit friends, shop in Rosbourne and I will even try and help Dulcie in the garden – if she will let me. Last time I dug up all her lettuces thinking they were weeds!”

Lady Ashley looked at her daughter and could not help thinking how unbelievably pretty she was. With her dark gold hair, bright blue eyes and creamy pink skin, she was the picture of a young English rose.

At the same time, she knew that in many ways her daughter was different from other girls of the same age.

She sighed and thought,

“She has inherited her father's stubborn nature but, as yet, there is no sign of his diplomatic abilities. I wonder exactly what type of man will be prepared to marry a girl who will not agree with everything he says and will want to go her own way in the world.”

She was not surprised that although Ravina had been ‘out' for a year, there had not been any exceptional love interest, which she might have been delighted about for her daughter's sake.

“The whole trouble with Ravina,” she had said to her husband, “is that she is too attractive. She is also very intelligent and I think that until she learns to hide that fact, men will be scared of marrying her.”

“Rubbish, my dear. If that is the case, then the man who does make her his wife will be very special indeed, which is just as it should be.

“I would not have her wed anyone less than a man who admires and loves her for herself alone and not be influenced by the fact that she is my daughter and heir to our estate.”

But now, as Lady Ashley watched her husband and daughter discussing which horses in his stables at Curbishley Hall needed to be exercised and for how long, she knew that she was still worried.

This was not a good time to be leaving Ravina on her own, but there was no choice. That was the problem that duty brought with it. Sometimes you were forced to make sacrifices for the sake of the country that affected your nearest and dearest.

*

The next morning dawned bright and still, a perfect day to start a foreign trip, Ravina thought.

All was hustle and bustle in the house as the trunks and cases, hat boxes and travelling bags were assembled in the hall and carried out to the carriage.

“Please do not stay away too long, dearest Mama,” Ravina implored, trying to hug her mother but finding it difficult as her small personage was hidden beneath a large pink hat covered in feathers.

“I will miss you both, but at least I will have lots of new stories to hear when you get back.”

Lord Ashley appeared, pulling on his gloves.

“Take great care of yourself, Ravina,” he said, his voice serious. “And try not to get into any mischief. Rely on Dulcie's good sense to guide you if you are in any doubt. And if trouble comes calling, show it the door.”

Ravina laughed and kissed him affectionately.

“I will do my best, Papa,” she promised, “but odd things do happen to me as you very well know. But if they do, I shall rely on you coming to my rescue when you return.”

She watched enviously as her mother's maid and her father's valet were driven away in the small carriage and next the larger coach appeared from the mews, her parents climbed in and Ravina stood waving goodbye until it was lost to view.

The slim golden-haired girl stood for a while on the front steps, admiring the sweep of the crescent where Ashley House was situated