Carolyn gave a cry of sheer happiness.
As she moved towards him, his arms went round her.
He held her very close, looking down into her eyes.
Now it seemed as if they held the stars in their hands.
“I worship you,” he said a little hoarsely.
He held her even tighter and then he kissed her.
He was very gentle, knowing that it was the first time that she had ever been kissed.
To Carolyn it was as if the Heavens opened.
He took her into a world of beauty and love, of which she had always dreamt that one day she would find.
As he raised his head, she stammered,
“I – love you – but I did not know – I did until now.”
Then Timothy was kissing her once again and there was only the moon, the stars and him.
*
At two o’clock the guests started to leave.
It was then that Amalita realised that she had not seen Carolyn for a long time.
It was, however, difficult in such a big crowd to keep track of anyone.
She had been very grateful as the evening progressed to realise that Lady Hermione had not been invited.
It was the Marquis’s party and the Earl, who had not seen Lady Hermione for two days, had no idea that she was expecting him to take her to it.
Early on in the evening when he had finished dancing with Amalita a servant approached him.
‘There be a lady at the door, my Lord,” he said, “and she wants to speak to you urgently.”
For a moment the Earl wondered who it could be.
However thinking it a mistake to ask questions of the servant, he went from the ballroom into the hall.
The front door was open and he could see a carriage outside.
It still did not strike him as to who it was until he went down the steps.
Then he recognised the Livery of the footman at the carriage door.
He opened it and the Earl looked inside.
Lady Hermione was elaborately gowned and wearing a diamond tiara in her dark hair.
“I have come to your party, darling David,” she said, “but I am waiting for you to escort me inside.”
“I am afraid that is impossible,” the Earl replied.
“But why? What do you mean?” she demanded.
“In the first place I am not giving the party,” the Earl explained to her carefully, “and, as you know, my father is giving it to introduce Carolyn to her father’s friends.”
“And the Marquis, of course, does not want me here,” Lady Hermione said bitterly. “But it is your house too and I do not like to think that I am barred from anything, my dearest, that belongs to you.”
Because the Earl thought that the footman could hear what they were saying, he climbed into the carriage.
He then sat down beside Lady Hermione and closed the door.
“Now, listen, Hermione,” he began.
She flung herself against him, her hand going up to touch his cheek caressingly.
“Oh, darling, darling,” she murmured, “I have missed you! How can you stay away from me? I waited for you all last night.”
“We are concerned at the moment with tonight,” the Earl replied, “and, as you are well aware, my father does not approve of you. I am sorry, Hermione, but you would not be a welcome guest at the party he is giving for a very young girl.”
“I suppose you realise,” she said spitefully, “that he is expecting you to marry that unfledged chick who has just come out of the egg! Can you just really imagine anything more boring?”
“As I have told you before,” the Earl said quietly, “I intend to marry no one until I am obliged to have an heir and I assure you, I will never, in any circumstances, marry someone of whom my father disapproves.”
Lady Hermione took her hand away from his face.
“How can you be so cruel,” she asked, “so unkind? You know we would be very happy together.”
“Not if it hurt my father,” the Earl stipulated firmly.
He reached out towards the door handle.
“I just cannot leave the party, Hermione. We will talk about this another time.”
As he finished speaking, he pushed the door open and jumped out of the carriage.
She waited for him to turn back and say ‘goodnight’.
Instead he walked up the steps and went in through the front door.
For one moment she considered running after him and forcing herself upon the party.
Then she remembered if there was one thing that the Earl disliked, it was a scene.
It would be a great mistake to have one in front of the Marquis and the Earl’s friends who did not approve of her.
The footman dutifully waited at the carriage door for his instructions.
In a voice that sounded harsh even to herself, she told him where to take her. It was to a house where she knew that there was a riotous and drunken party in full swing
The women present would not be of the same social standing as herself, but what did it matter?
*
The Earl was absolutely furious as he walked back to the ballroom.
Only Hermione, he thought, would have had the sheer audacity to come to a party that she had not been invited to.
He wondered how he could make her realise once and for all that their affair was at an end.
It was nothing unusual for him to find that his interest in a woman had waned abruptly.
Now he knew that Hermione had been a mistake from the very beginning.
He not only had no wish to see her again, but would make every effort to avoid coming in contact with her.
It was then, as he entered the ballroom, that he saw Amalita coming in from the garden.
She was silhouetted for a minute against the darkness.
The light of the moon and the many Chinese lanterns glittered on the jewels in her hair.
It made her seem as if she had just stepped down from the sky.
She looked, in fact, so lovely that the Earl could not remember when he had ever seen a woman look quite so entrancing.
At the same time she had an aura of spirituality.
It made her seem not human but part of some other world.
He walked towards her.
As he reached her, he knew that she was different in every way from any woman he had ever known before.
*
The hands of the grandfather clock in the hall were pointing to three o’clock as the last guests said ‘goodbye’.
They thanked the Marquis most effusively for such a delightful evening.
“I am glad they have enjoyed themselves,” he said to Amalita.
“How could they have done anything else?” Amalita asked.
“It was the most successful party you have ever given. Papa!” the Earl said. “I do fully congratulate you on your organisation and the fact that you invited exactly the sort of people that Carolyn should meet.”
“And many of them remembered Sir Frederick,” the Marquis said. “How could anybody forget him?”
He looked at Amalita and she smiled.
At the same time she was glancing around the empty ballroom and wondering to herself whatever could have happened to Carolyn.
She thought it remiss of her sister not to be there and she should have said ‘goodnight’ to all the people who had talked to her about her father.
Amalita was about to remark on her sister’s absence.
Then she saw Carolyn and Timothy coming down the lit path from the far end of the garden.
They were walking hand-in-hand and Amalita thought that it was slightly indiscreet.
To her surprise they continued to hold hands as they reached the Marquis.
“Ah, there you are,” the Marquis exclaimed. “There were quite a number of people waiting to say ‘goodnight’ to you.”
“I am sorry,” Carolyn said, “but I was with Timothy.”
The Marquis then look
ed at his nephew, but before he could say anything, Carolyn said,
“Thank you, thank you for a wonderful party that I shall always remember – because it – gave Timothy and me the most – important moment – of our lives.”
She looked up at Timothy as she spoke.
Then, as it suddenly began to dawn on Amalita what had happened, Timothy said,
“I want you to congratulate me, Uncle. Carolyn has promised to marry me!”
“Marry you?” the Marquis repeated.
It was obvious that such an idea had never entered his head.
Then Carolyn bent forward and kissed his cheek.
“Please give us your – blessing,” she begged. “We are so very – very – happy.”
The Marquis accepted the situation with what Amalita thought was an inborn dignity.
“So you are to be married!” he said. “Well, that is certainly a surprise. But, of course, I wish you both every happiness.”
“We shall be very happy,” Timothy said, “and we are going to go round the world so that Carolyn can help me with my pictures and the book that I told you I wanted to write.”
“You told me,” the Marquis answered, “but I did not take you seriously. Now I am sure that Carolyn will see that you finish it.”
“She will contribute to it,” Timothy said firmly, “and because it is to be a book about beauty, it will, of course, be dedicated to her.”
As he spoke, he looked at Carolyn.
There was such a look of love in his eyes that Amalita felt the tears come into hers.
She had been standing aside and now Carolyn flung her arms round her sister’s neck.
“Say you are pleased,” she begged, “I know you like Timothy and – he is the most – adorable person in the – whole world!”
“Of course I am pleased,” Amalita smiled.
She kissed Carolyn before she turned a little shyly to the Earl.
As if he understood why she felt embarrassed, he said,
“I think that Timothy is very wise to marry anyone so lovely before she is spoilt by too many compliments and is swept away from him by somebody else.”
His eyes were twinkling as he spoke and Timothy held out his hand.
“Thank you, David,” he said, “I knew that you would understand.”
“It only remains for you to tell me what you want for a wedding present,” the Earl replied, “and, of course, Papa will give the Reception here, which means another party as good as the one we have just enjoyed.”
Carolyn gave a little whoop of joy.
“Will you do – that?” she asked the Marquis. “We could not ask many people to our house in Worcestershire – and besides, I want you to give me away.”
“I shall be very honoured to do so,” the Marquis said as he smiled, “and now, children, I think we should all go to bed. The servants will want to lock up and I personally am exhausted.”
“We are all tired,” the Earl agreed, “and we can talk it over tomorrow morning, including Carolyn and Timothy’s forthcoming Wedding.”
“Well, come along, come along,” the Marquis said.
As they went up the, stairs, Amalita wondered if the Marquis was disappointed.
But she could not help thinking that Carolyn would be so much happier with Timothy than she would ever have been with the Earl.
For one thing they were nearer to each other’s ages.
Also she was certain that Timothy was a lovable and quiet person who would never earn the sort of reputation that the Earl had.
He would eventually become Lord Lambton.
In the meantime they could enjoy themselves without restrictions.
Later on they would have to fulfil the demands of the position that Timothy would inherit.
She felt sure as she reached her bedroom that both her father and mother would have approved of the marriage.
The Marquis might have had other ideas, but he had not been thinking of Carolyn’s happiness.
He was intent only on getting his son away from the clutches of Lady Hermione.
‘I have to think of Carolyn,’ Amalita told herself, ‘and I must take care that nothing spoils her happiness.’
She gave a little sigh.
‘Although the Social world may not agree with me, I never felt for a moment that Carolyn would be a suitable wife for the Earl.’
The mere thought of her sister coming in contact with a woman like Lady Hermione made her shudder.
She indeed knew that Carolyn was far too young and inexperienced to deal in any way with a woman like her.
To Amalita she personified everything in the world that was wicked.
Timothy kissed Carolyn’s hand lightly and then bade her ‘goodnight’.
As he did so in a whisper that no one else could hear, he told her again that he loved her.
He was staying the night in his uncle’s house because his father and mother lived outside London at Wimbledon and it was too late to go so far.
As he went off to his own bedroom, Carolyn kissed her sister and said,
“I will tell you all about it tomorrow, but if we are to obey the Marquis, we must all go to bed.”
“I agree that is sensible,” Amalita said. “Goodnight, my dearest, and God bless you.”
“He has blessed me already.” Carolyn smiled. “How could anything be more wonderful than being married to Timothy?”
She kissed her sister again and ran across the corridor to her own room.
Amalita opened the door to her room.
Only then did she realise that the Earl, who had been behind them, had reached the top of the stairs.
She gave him one quick glance before she attempted to escape into her own room.
But before she could do so, he had reached her.
“Are you disappointed?” he asked.
She did not pretend to misunderstand him.
“It was your father’s idea, not mine,” she answered.
“I know,” he said, “but I suspect that, like all women, you were thinking how important socially Carolyn would be.”
He spoke somewhat provocatively.
“On the contrary,” Amalita answered, “I want Carolyn to be as happy as her father and mother were.”
She paused for a moment before she added,
“They wanted only to be together and that, believe it or not, is what I want for Carolyn.”
“And what you would want for yourself too?” the Earl questioned in a grave voice.
“Of course I do,” Amalita replied, “and so do you and so does anyone who has any sense. There is no value you can put on love, except that we all pray that one day it will be ours.”
She spoke in a low and fervent little voice.
Then she felt that she had said too much.
She slipped through the door and shut it in the Earl’s face.
Standing just inside her bedroom, she heard him walk away and then wondered if she had been rather rude.
But she told herself that at least she had spoken the truth.
How could he imagine, unless he was a fool, that the emotions he felt for somebody like Lady Hermione were love?
‘When he watches Carolyn and Timothy together, he will realise what he is missing,’ she mused.
She undressed quickly and climbed into bed.
As she did so, she found herself thinking not of the ball or of Carolyn but of the Earl.
However foolish he might be in wasting his time with Lady Hermione, he was undoubtedly the most handsome man she had ever seen.
He had stood out in the ballroom and she had found herself looking at him and not listening to what her partner was saying.
She thought that he was as good a host as his father and he had made very sure that everyone was enjoying the party.
He had left no one unattended.
She had noticed during the evening how he had talked to the older guests that the Marquis had invited, some of whom were his relatives.
; They were mostly too old and slow to dance, but had sat watching and, of course, chatting away to each other.
The Earl had made a point of going up to them and whatever it was he had said to them obviously made them happy.
‘There is a kindly streak in him,’ Amalita admitted to herself, ‘which I am sure that many men do not have.’
Then she asked herself who, if Carolyn was no longer available, the Marquis would choose as a suitable wife for his son.
She was wondering what the answer would be as she fell asleep.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Amalita awoke late the next morning.
She was having her breakfast when Carolyn came into the room.
“You are awake, Amalita,” she said, “and is it not a wonderful, wonderful – day!”
“I am sure you must think so,” Amalita replied.
Carolyn sat down on the edge of the bed.
“Timothy is taking me to meet his mother and father,” she said. “They arrived back home from France only late last night, which was why they were not at the party.”
“I am really sure,” Amalita replied, “that they will be very thrilled that their son is marrying someone quite so charming.”
“I hope so – I hope that is what they – will think,” Carolyn said. “And you will not mind, darling, if we stay on for dinner? Timothy has so much to show me of his pictures that it will be a considerable bore to have to come back too quickly.”
Amalita knew that Lord and Lady Lambton lived in Wimbledon.
She had already heard from the Marquis that his sister suffered from asthma in the winter and doctors thought the country air outside the City was better for her.
“I look forward to meeting her,” Amalita had said.
“She is attractive and so like my mother,” the Marquis replied. “She married when she was very young and was never as close to her parents as David is to me.”
He spoke with a note of pride in his voice, which was always there when he spoke of his son.
Amalita had thought it touching and she said now to Carolyn,
“I must explain to your future father and mother-in-law that, although you and Timothy made up your minds in great haste, you really do love each other.”
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