Love in the Highlands (12 page)

At this moment he looked capable of dealing with anything. He had an air of lofty grandeur that suited his rank.

He was looking away, regarding the scenery, so that she could see his profile, the slightly hooked nose emphasising the power of his face.

Then he turned to smile at her, and suddenly the world was different. There was unexpected charm in that smile, and for a moment this was the man she had met that night on the boat, when they had entered the world of music together, and found each other.

Then the carriage was slowing down, coming to a halt at Balmoral Castle. Footmen were coming forward to let down the steps and open the doors.

The inside of Balmoral came as a shock. Queen Victoria loved everything Scottish, including the tartans. So there was tartan everywhere in the castle, tartan drapes, tartan furniture coverings, mile after mile of tartan carpet.

Even more astonishing were the 'No Smoking' signs that appeared everywhere. Queen Victoria hated smoking and made it as hard as possible for smokers within her palaces.

Then they were at the entrance to the grand reception room. Lavina and her father were to enter first, with the Marquis behind them.

The Chamberlain cried,

"Lord Ringwood, Lady Lavina Ringwood and Lord Elswick."

She looked down the long carpet at the tiny figure of the Queen at the far end. She was a short woman, but to Lavina she seemed monumental, towering over the whole world, threatening her with a dire fate.

Then she felt a hand reaching for hers, grasping it in a firm, reassuring hold. It was the Marquis, reminding her that he had promised to protect her, no matter what.

She squeezed his hand in return, telling him that she trusted him. Then she stepped forward and began the journey, getting closer to Queen Victoria, and also closer to another figure standing beside her.

It was a man of just under medium height. He had jet black, oily-looking hair and a huge moustache to match. But what really caught Lavina's appalled attention was thick, fat lips, small piggy eyes and an expression of leering self-satisfaction.

This was Prince Stanislaus of Kadradtz, the man that Her Majesty was determined she should marry, no matter what the consequences. She might break her heart or be driven to despair, but by hook or by crook that determined little woman would force her into this hellish marriage.

Lord Ringwood bowed to his sovereign, and Lavina dropped a low, sweeping curtsey.

The Queen remained silent for a long moment, while her face registered cool disdain. When she spoke, her voice was stern.

"How nice to see you, Lord Ringwood – at last! We were very disappointed that you did not see fit to obey our earlier summons on
a matter of national importance
."

The way the Queen said the last words froze Lavina's blood. It told her that Her Majesty was not going to give up without a fight.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty," Lord Ringwood said. "I meant no disrespect, but I was beside myself with joy, celebrating the engagement of my daughter to the Marquis of Elswick, and I'm afraid I got into a muddle."

At the mention of the engagement the Queen's face stiffened, but all she said was,

"It is no matter. Fortunately we are in time to retrieve the situation."

"Good evening, Your Majesty."

The voice was Lord Elswick's, and it was a breach of protocol for him to address the Queen before she had taken notice of him. Lavina saw courtiers stiffen all around them, astonished and outraged at his daring.

But the Marquis knew the game the Queen was playing, and was not going to let her get away with it. Having forced himself to her attention he looked her directly in the eye.

She did not meet his gaze, but directed Lavina and her Papa to the little man standing beside her.

"Price Stanislaus, allow me to present
two members of
my family
, the Earl of Ringwood, and his daughter, Lady Lavina Ringwood, of whom you have heard me speak."

There was no mistaking her meaning, or the significant glance the Prince gave to Lavina. His eyes were narrowed in calculation, and yet he seemed to look her over in a moment. A dead smile appeared on his lips.

Lavina shuddered.

As she curtsied in front of him she tried to keep her head up higher than she would normally have done. Her dress was low cut, as was normal with evening gowns, and she was sure this slug-like creature would peer more closely at her
décolletage
than was decent.

As she rose the Prince smiled at her.

"Charming," he said in a heavy accent. "Delightful. You are just as I was led to expect."

Lavina kept her face a determined blank.

"There is surely no reason for Your Royal Highness to have expected anything from me."

He smiled. A cat, contemplating a pot of cream might have smiled like that.

"There is every reason, and I shall take the greatest delight in explaining it to you."

If only, she thought, Papa could help her, but the Queen had detained him in conversation. She was smiling, giving every appearance of friendliness, but Lavina suspected this was a ruse to leave her with Prince Stanislaus.

But there were several other people waiting to be announced, and even the Queen could not hold up the line any longer.

Lord Ringwood moved on to Stanislaus, and greeted him with such an angry glare that Lavina was startled. She had not known that her gentle father was capable of such ferocity.

Stanislaus seemed unperturbed.

"Lord Ringwood, I must congratulate you on your charming daughter. You may consider me an expert. In Kadradtz we know how to appreciate a beautiful woman."

Lord Ringwood's bosom swelled at this vulgar reference to his daughter. As always where his darling was concerned, he rose to new heights.

"Your Royal Highness does my daughter, and myself, too much honour," he said, bowing low.

Stanislaus opened his mouth to speak but the Earl continued,

"I know I speak for Lady Lavina as well as myself when I say that we are deeply honoured at the opportunity of meeting a man whose name rings around the world."

Stanislaus tried again.

"We have heard much of the glories of Kadradtz," Lord Ringwood persisted, raising his voice slightly. "And to meet Your Royal Highness on this occasion only adds to the joy that my family was already feeling on celebrating the betrothal of my daughter, Lavina, to Lord Elswick, whom, as you can see, is here with us."

He stopped because he had run out of breath.

Lavina turned a glance of pure admiration on her father.

Stanislaus' smile had died, replaced by a look of pure malevolence, and his eyes were dead. Quite dead.

"Quite so," he said in a voice like an arctic wind. "Quite so."

Abruptly he turned his head to greet the next guest, but since this was the Marquis he was very little better off.

"Your Royal Highness," the Marquis said.

He gave the smallest bow possible. Then he raised his head and looked the Prince straight in the eye.

All at once Lavina had a terrible sensation. It was as though an earthquake had rocked the hall, shaking the building to its foundations with a terrible roar. Fire blazed, thunder raged, and the air was jagged with hatred.

Then it was over and she was back in the great hall of Balmoral. Everything was just as before, but the impression of what had happened was so powerful that for a moment she was dizzy.

"Papa," she gasped.

He turned quickly, but Lord Elswick was faster, putting an arm firmly about Lavina's waist and drawing her away from the Prince's orbit.

The line moved on, taking them with it. Mercifully it was impossible for the Prince to follow.

"What happened to you, my dear?" the Earl asked.

"I don't know, Papa. I felt such things – as though there was hatred all around me, and somebody had murder in his heart."

"I expect a lot of people would like to murder that man," her father said wisely.

"You were wonderful, Papa."

"You handled him admirably," the Marquis agreed. "What you sensed in the air was probably him wanting to murder you for not letting him get a word in edgeways."

For the first time Lavina noticed that Lord Elswick was rather pale, and although his words were genial there was a strange nervous tension in his voice.

As he drew her arm protectively through his she was aware that he was trembling. She tried to look into his face to divine the cause, but he looked straight ahead and refused to meet her gaze.

Her relief at escaping Prince Stanislaus was short-lived. As the receiving line reached an end Prince Stanislaus came in search of her.

"I have greatly looked forward to escorting you in to supper," he said, taking her hand. "We have much to talk about."

The Marquis made a movement as if to force him to release Lavina's hand, but she stopped him with a brief shake of her head, and a smile.

She did not want to sit next to Stanislaus, but she told herself that she was no baby to make a fuss. What harm could he do her at a public dinner?

So she allowed Stanislaus to lead her away to the long, elegant supper table, where she was to sit next to him.

She was acutely conscious that all eyes were on her. Everybody here knew what the Queen wanted, and knew, also, how determined she could be in pursuit of her own way.

Lavina supposed that another woman might be honoured at the distinguishing attention from a Prince. He devoted himself to her, hanging on her every word as though his life depended on it.

But she could not feel honoured. Even if this man had not threatened all she held dear, he would have been horrible to her. His flattery was not quite right. It was a performance, and he lacked the skill to make it appear real, so that everything was a travesty.

But what was worse than anything was the fact that, at this distance, her worst fears were confirmed.

Prince Stanislaus did not wash.

He tried to smother the odour of stale sweat with a cologne, but the two intermingled to make a smell that was even worse.

He chattered ceaselessly about his country, while Lavina tried to stay out of range of his foul breath.

He told her how delighted she would be with Kadradtz, how she would admire the palace, how the people would love her, and she would love them.

"And the Russians massed on your border?" she enquired sweetly. "Shall I be expected to love them too?"

He was also stupid, for he laughed merrily.

"What Russians? Where do you hear such stories? There are no Russians on the border."

Unfortunately for him there was a lull in the talk at that moment, so that his voice carried all along the table.

The lull turned to shocked silence. All eyes turned from Stanislaus to the Queen, who was looking daggers at her guest of honour.

Lavina took advantage of the silence to say sweetly,

"I am delighted to hear Your Royal Highness say so. I shall know now that we do not need to feel any concern for you."

Stanislaus' eyes became glassy and he realised that he had made a
faux pas.

The silence seemed to stretch on, with nobody quite knowing how to end it.

The Queen spoke.

"Prince Stanislaus made a most witty observation the other day – "

She repeated the 'witty observation', a dire piece of drivel which fell among the company like a piece of lead. Nonetheless, everyone roared with laughter.

In the relief, Lavina met her father's eye, and saw him wink at her. Then her searching eyes found the Marquis. He was regarding her with a curious little smile, and shook his head as if to say, "Well done!"

So far, so good, Lavina thought. Surely she could get through the rest of the evening?

But worse was to come. As soon as supper was over the Queen announced 'an impromptu dance'. Footmen then made a great play of rolling back carpets, and a pianist sat down at the piano.

"She does this sometimes at Windsor," the Earl groaned. "We're all supposed to think how wonderful and spontaneous it is, and everybody hates it."

"And it's so artificial," Lavina protested. "'Impromptu' indeed!"

"You're not going to escape lightly, I'm afraid," the Earl sighed.

"Well, at least it will give me the chance to make myself plain to Her Majesty," Lavina seethed.

So when the Queen summoned her to sit beside her on the dais, Lavina marched up to her seat, her face set and determined.

"You know why I have sent for you," declared the Queen.

"Yes, ma'am, I do. You wish me to marry Prince Stanislaus, but I regret I am unable to oblige, being already betrothed."

"Nonsense!" The single word dropped from the Queen's lips like a drop of ice.

"You will do your duty," she declared.

"But what duty?" Lavina asked. "You yourself heard Prince Stanislaus say that he no longer feared the Russians."

Queen Victoria made a noise of contempt.

"The man is a fool," she declared.

"Then how can you want me to marry him?"

"Because it has nothing to do with the matter. Were he ten times a fool, which – between ourselves, I sometimes think he is – your duty would still be plain."

"I intend to do my duty," Lavina returned, "my duty to Lord Elswick, my promised husband."

The Queen's eyes flashed fire. She was not used to being defied.

"We all have to make sacrifices," she said. "I have had to make many sacrifices in my life."

"But you married the man you loved," Lavina pointed out.

For a moment the Queen's face softened.

"That is true," she murmured. "I was more fortunate than you."

"No ma'am," Lavina said firmly. "I intend to be just as fortunate."

For a moment the anger faded from the Queen's face.

"You love him?" she asked. "Lord Elswick? Tell me the truth."

For a moment Lavina hesitated, then she told the truth.

"Yes ma'am. I love him."

"As a wife loves the man at whose side she wishes to pass her life?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Have you any idea of the closeness of marriage?"

Lavina blushed.

"Yes, ma'am."