There was silence.
Alnina felt as if a cold hand gripped her heart.
It told her that the Duke was looking elsewhere.
She had lost him for ever.
“What I am trying to say,” the Duke went on very quietly, “is that, while I have lost the mountain, I have found something so wonderful that I cannot believe that I would ever be lucky enough to obtain it.”
“And what – is it,” Alnina managed to say.
The Duke smiled.
“Surely, my darling Alnina, you must have realised by this time that it is – you.”
She looked up at him in sheer astonishment.
Then, as she saw the vivid expression in his eyes, she knew that was what she had wanted all along and what she had sought.
“I love you, Alnina,” the Duke said slowly. “I love you and I know there is nothing else in my world of any consequence except you!”
“Is – that really – true?” Alnina whispered.
He did not answer, but merely drew her closer to him.
Then his lips were on hers.
As he kissed her, she knew that this was what she had longed for and prayed for.
But she had no idea that it could ever be hers.
The Duke kissed her and went on kissing her for a long time.
Then he raised his head.
He asked in a voice which sounded strange, even to himself.
“How can you do this to me? How can you make me feel as I have never felt before? It is, I know, the love that has always eluded me.”
“I love you,” Alnina whispered. “I have loved you for a long time, but I did not know at first it was love.”
“I will teach you about love, my darling. Now I know that, while you can teach me many things, I too can teach you things that are so wonderful we cannot put them into words.”
Then he was kissing her again.
Kissing her until she felt as if the whole world was turning round and round and they were alone on some enchanted mountain.
It was where there was no danger, only love and more love.
*
A long time later the Duke drew Alnina back into the Saloon.
Dinner was waiting for them.
And afterwards Alnina could never remember what she had eaten and drunk.
She had only known that her heart was singing.
She felt as if they were both flying in the sky, high above the earth and that nothing could touch them.
Only when the meal was over and the servants had withdrawn did the Duke say,
“Now, my precious, I am going to tell you what my plans are and then you must tell me if they will make you happy.”
“As long as I am with you, John, I am so happy I feel it cannot be true,” Alnina replied.
The Duke took her hand in his.
“Tomorrow,” he said, “we are going to stop over at Constantinople and be married.”
“Married,” Alnina whispered.
“I have no intention of waiting until I return home. In fact I cannot wait any longer than tomorrow.”
He paused for a moment before he went on,
“There is a little Church just outside Constantinople that I visited many years ago, because it was so old and had a long and fascinating history.”
Alnina was listening intently.
“It is a Christian Church,” he continued, “and we can be married there. Then, my precious, my darling, I can teach you all about love.”
He pulled Alnina close to him and kissed her.
She knew that this was what she had hoped for and wanted, although she had been unable to put it into words.
*
They were married the next afternoon at one of the most attractive little Churches Alnina had ever seen.
When the Priest saw the Duke, he remembered him and greeted him with enthusiasm.
“I remember you well, Mr. Ford,” he said, “and the nice gentleman you had with you when you came here five years ago.”
“I am so glad that you remember me, Father,” the Duke replied. “I have always thought when you blessed me before I left that I would come back. And that is what I have done!”
The old Priest smiled at Alnina as he went on,
“I have come back with someone I want to marry and we are asking you if you would be kind enough to join us together for the rest of our lives.”
The Priest beamed.
“That is what people always say when I marry them and you two will be blissfully happy together until you reach Heaven.”
They then went into the small Church which, as the Duke had said, was very old. It had been restored to its original state only half a century ago.
They waited while the Priest changed into some very beautiful vestments and lit the candles on the altar.
Then, with only one young Server present besides themselves, they stood together in front of the altar.
The Priest read the Marriage Service with a deep sincerity which was very moving.
When the Duke and Alnina knelt to be blessed, she knew that his blessing would make sure that they never lost each other or their love.
*
Later that evening the yacht anchored in a quiet bay.
The Captain and all the crew drank the bride and groom’s health and gave them their good wishes.
While they were on land, Albert had moved the Duke out of the Master cabin. It was where he had slept alone on their voyage out from England.
Now Alnina was in possession of it.
She was very touched to find that, before they had left the yacht to be married, the Duke had sent one of the Stewards ashore.
He was told to buy every flower that was available and they now decorated the cabin.
Alnina took off the pretty gown she had worn for dinner and then put on the nightgown that Albert had left out for her and slipped into bed.
The scent of all the flowers made the cabin more attractive than anywhere she had ever slept before.
She felt, in fact, as if she was a Fairy Queen in a Fairy world, where there was nothing dangerous or cruel – only love.
Then, as the door opened and the Duke entered, she knew that this was part of their Fairy tale.
Nothing could be more wonderful or more ecstatic.
He walked towards her.
Then he stood looking down at her.
She thought there was a softness in his eyes that she had never seen before.
“Just how can I be so lucky,” he asked, “as to have found you?”
“I have been asking myself the same question,” Alnina replied. “I think it was Fate that we should come together and Fate that it all started so incredibly with a wedding dress.”
“And today you have been married without one, but now you are my wife, my darling, and I will never, never lose you.”
He climbed into bed and took her into his arms.
For a while they were both silent.
It was almost as if the wonder and glory of it was impossible to put into words.
Then very gently the Duke began to kiss her.
First her forehead, then her small nose, her cheeks, and her lips were ready for his.
For a moment he just looked down at her before he sighed,
“You are perfect, perfect in every way and I love and worship you. I will never, my darling one, want for anything as long as I have you.”
Then his lips were on hers.
He was kissing her, at first tenderly, then more demandingly, more passionately.
She felt as if the feeling, which had crept up in her heart before, was now part of them both.
It filled the room, the lovely flowers and the whole wonder and beauty of the world outside.
This was love.
The real love which comes from God and is a part of God.
Love has given them a special Heaven of their own which would be theirs for all Eternity and beyond.
Where to buy other titles in this series
The Barbara Cartland Pink collection is available for download at the following online bookshops :-
www.barnesandnoble.com - epub format for the Nook eReader
www.whsmith.co.uk - epub format for the Smiths/Kobo eReader
www.firstyfish.com - epub format
ebookstore.sony.com - epub format for Sony eReaders
www.amazon.co.uk - For UK Kindle users
www.amazon.com - For international Kindle users
itunes.apple.com - for Apple iOS users
www.barbaracartland.com - Printed paperbacks
104. A Heart Finds Love Page 14