“I carried with me the book I took away last night without realising I was doing so.”
“At the same time,” the Duke said, “the Princess might have discovered you and been suspicious. For Heaven’s sake, Solita, this is not a game.”
“I know that,” Solita replied, “but, please listen.”
She told the Duke exactly what she had overheard and saw his expression turn from interest to incredulity and then to anger.
As Solita finished, he exclaimed,
“I can hardly believe that you are not reading some wildly imaginative drama!”
“You believe me?” Solita asked.
“Of course I believe you, Solita, but I had no idea that at my age and with my experience I could be so easily deceived!”
There was a bitterness in the way he spoke that made her say hastily,
“The Princess is obviously very experienced and, as she is so beautiful, of course men want to believe her.”
“It makes me furious!” the Duke said savagely, “and I will never trust any woman again.”
“And – Prince Ivan is not – her brother,” Solita next told him in a low voice a little shyly.
The Duke was silent for a moment and then he said,
“Now you have to help me, Solita, and there is no time to brief you in what I intend to do.”
She looked at him apprehensively and he went on,
“Whatever occurs, we are leaving. Behave naturally, as you would do if there was nothing sinister behind what I do or say.”
Solita’s eyes widened, but she did not interrupt, as the Duke continued,
“In front of your maid don’t say anything she might remember later as being strange.”
“I understand.”
The Duke smiled at her.
“I know I can rely on you and thank you, Solita, for taking a risk which I would never have allowed, had I been aware of it.”
He put out his hand towards her as he spoke and taking it Solita said,
“Be careful, for – you too – must not take any risks.”
“I promise you I will be careful. Now go into the drawing room, make yourself pleasant and talk excitedly about what we are going to do tomorrow.”
There were a thousand questions Solita wanted to ask him.
Yet she knew it was imperative that as few people as possible should be aware that they had been alone together.
She therefore hurried back to the hall.
She saw to her relief that there was nobody there to observe where she came from except for the footmen on duty.
She went into the drawing room to find that half the house party were already downstairs talking and drinking champagne.
As she crossed the room, Willy came towards her to say,
“You look as though you have had a good rest and are ready to enjoy the festivities that will take place tonight.”
“What are they?” Solita asked.
“Our host is being very secretive about it,” Willy replied. “But I will tell you one thing you will enjoy and that is that we are to dance to what I think is one of the best bands in London.”
“How exciting!” Solita exclaimed.
She thought as she spoke that there seemed rather few people for there to be a ball.
As if Willy followed her thoughts, he said,
“There are a number of neighbours coming here after dinner, so you will not be short of partners.”
“I hope you are right,” Solita smiled, “because I am fond of dancing.”
“I insist that you give me the first dance,” Willy offered, “otherwise I know I will not get a look in!”
She laughed and they moved towards the fireplace.
The Princess had not yet appeared.
When she did, Solita knew that treacherous and wicked though she was, it would be difficult for any woman to look more beautiful.
She was wearing a crimson gown, very bejewelled, which made her appear as if she was dressed in flames.
Every time she moved the embroidery on the gown glittered dazzlingly. So did the huge ruby necklace and a tiara of the same gems which rested on her dark hair.
‘Even though I hate her,’ Solita said to herself, ‘I have to admit she looks magnificent!’
The Duke arrived a little later full of apologies.
“Forgive me,” he said first to the Princess, “but I had some urgent letters to write so that they can be taken to London early tomorrow morning.”
“I missed you,” the Princess murmured in a low voice that only he could hear.
Then he was talking to his other guests until unexpectedly he started to sneeze.
He sneezed half a dozen times and not only blew his nose, but wiped his eyes as if they were running.
Solita looked at him apprehensively, but he began talking quite animatedly again until dinner was announced.
He offered his arm to the Princess and they led the way while Solita was taken in by Willy.
Just as they reached the dining room, the Duke had another bout of sneezing.
Solita noticed that the Princess moved a little distance from him as if she was afraid he was contagious.
“I do apologise,” the Duke said in a thick voice as he took his seat. “I suppose I must have caught a cold this morning when I went riding before breakfast.”
“It sounds to me rather like a recurrence of your old complaint,” Willy remarked.
“Nonsense!” the Duke said sharply. “I am sure it is nothing of the sort!”
The food at dinner was delicious, but Solita found it hard to concentrate on anything but the Duke.
The Princess was enticing him with her eyes, her lips and with every movement of her body.
It was, Solita thought, such a clever performance that she found it hard to believe that she was really in love with Prince Ivan.
The Prince was fortunately at the other end of the table. He was flirting with the beautiful Lady Dudley, Solita noticed, and it was clear from the expression on her face and the smile in her eyes that she was enjoying herself.
‘No one could act more convincingly than they do!’ Solita thought.
As course followed course, the Duke did not seem to eat very much and once or twice he blew his nose.
He was, Solita thought, rather quieter than usual and seemed to be listening to the Princess rather than talking.
Then after dessert had been served and the servants withdrew, he suddenly had another sneezing fit.
This one was certainly worse than the last.
He sneezed and sneezed until it was impossible for anyone at the table to go on talking.
They all stopped and stared at him until he put out his hand as if to find support and rose unsteadily to his feet.
As he did so Willy jumped up from the table and hurried to his side.
The Duke was still sneezing as he clung to Willy, who put his arm around him.
Then, as if he knew it was what the Duke wanted, he led him towards the dining room door.
He had almost reached it when Solita realised that the Duke was actually collapsing and it was difficult for Willy to hold him up.
She ran to the Duke’s other side to support his left arm and they moved out of the dining room.
Then, as somebody closed the door behind them, Solita could hear the voices of the guests as they all started to chatter at once.
Slowly Willy and Solita escorted the Duke down the passage into the hall.
As they started to climb the stairs, the Duke put his arm on Solita’s shoulders so that he could use her as a crutch. It seemed a long way up the stairs and along the corridor that led to the Duke’s room.
The butler, who had followed them, kept asking anxiously if there was anything he could do to help.
Only as Willy opened the door of the Duke’s room did he say,
“Fetch Higgins!”
“Very good, sir,” the butler replied and hurried away.
As they entered the Duke’s
bedroom, he suddenly stood upright and said,
“Thank you! I thought I gave an impeccable performance!”
“Dammit all!” Willy exploded. “Do you mean to say I have been wasting my muscles dragging you all this way for a joke?”
The Duke glanced towards the door.
“This is no joke, Willy, and I need your help!”
The way he spoke made an alert look come into Willy’s eyes.
“What is happening?”
“Solita has discovered that the Princess is working for Tcherevin,” the Duke replied in a low voice.
Willy stared at him.
“By God! And you had no idea of it?”
“Not until Solita overheard her talking in Russian to Prince Ivan who, incidentally, is her lover and not her brother.”
Willy glanced at Solita as if he found it hard to believe that she spoke Russian, but the Duke continued,
“As the Princess is determined to either hypnotise or drug me into marriage I have to get away.”
“Marriage!” Willy exclaimed.
“Listen,” the Duke said, “you have to convince the house party that I am suffering from a complaint I have had before. Some strange disease I caught when I was in the East.”
“What happens then?”
“I will tell you the next step when you come to see me after all the guests who are coming in to dance have left.”
“I will do my best,” Willy agreed.
The Duke smiled.
“We have been in tight spots before, Willy, but this is one of the most unpleasant, and I rather suspect, the most dangerous!”
Willy nodded and Solita realised that if the Duke had been involved in The Great Game, so had Willy.
“Now, do exactly as I say,” the Duke continued. “You must both go back to the party and say how worried you are about me, but you are certain I shall be all right by tomorrow.”
Solita gave a little cry.
“How can I leave you? Supposing the Princess – ?”
“I will be all right,” the Duke interrupted quietly. “Higgins will be with me and I will be guarded.”
As he spoke, the door opened and his valet came in.
He was a thin wiry man who had obviously been a soldier and there was something alert about him, which made him different from any ordinary servant.
“It worked, Higgins!” the Duke exclaimed, “but the pepper you gave me has made my nose raw!”
“It’s very effective, Your Grace,” Higgins said in a satisfied tone.
“I was just reassuring Miss Gresham and Captain Denham that you will be guarding me tonight so that no one can enter unawares.”
“That’s right, Your Grace. You can be sure of that!”
“Higgins is also packing my things and yours, Willy.”
“And when are we leaving?” Willy asked.
He spoke in a conversational tone as if there was nothing dramatic or unexpected about what was happening.
“There is a train at six-thirty tomorrow morning.”
“You are not leaving me behind?” Solita intervened in a frightened tone.
“No, of course not,” the Duke replied, “but you will have to pack for yourself because nobody in the house must be aware of what we are doing until we have actually left.”
Solita felt her heart leap.
All she wanted was to be with the Duke and not be left behind with the Princess and Prince Ivan.
“Now go back to the party, both of you,” the Duke ordered.
“You come and see me later, Willy, and Solita, Higgins will call for you at six o’clock.”
“I will be ready,” Solita replied.
“For God’s sake, take care of yourself,” Willy said to the Duke.
Now there was a note in his voice that told Solita he was aware of how dangerous the Russians could be.
“Leave everythin’ to me, Captain,” Higgins said. “I’ll see His Grace comes to no ’arm from them ‘Ruskies’. There’s not one of them I’d trust further than I could throw ’em!”
“You are right there!” Willy smiled.
As he spoke, he put out his hand to Solita and, taking hers, he said,
“Come on, we have to face the music and make no mistakes.”
They walked towards the door together, but she looked back at the Duke.
“I shall be praying,” she said softly, “that you will be all right.”
“Your prayers are very important,” the Duke replied unexpectedly.
Willy pulled her through the door and shut it behind him.
“Sometime,” he said in a low voice, “I want you to explain to me a great many things, including how you can speak Russian.”
Solita smiled because he was obviously so surprised and he went on,
“We are worried about the Duke, but feel he will be all right by morning.”
“I understand.”
“They are like vipers and as poisonous as cobras!” Willy said bitterly.
*
Downstairs, the ladies had moved into the drawing room while the gentlemen were still enjoying their port.
As Solita joined the ladies, the Princess asked,
“What is happening? Where is our dear and generous host?”
“I am afraid he is not very well,” Solita answered in a little girl voice, “but his valet is with him and I think he will be quite all right in the morning.”
“That is good news!” several ladies muttered.
Solita, however, was aware that the Princess was annoyed, although she did not say anything.
When the gentlemen joined them, she called Willy to her side.
“What are you doing about Hugo?” she enquired. “Surely you should send for the doctor?”
“I think he will be all right,” Willy replied blithely. “The local ‘sawbones’ would have no idea how to treat these very unpleasant attacks, which are a recurrence of some fever he caught in Malaya or some such outlandish place!”
“Will he have it for long?” the Princess asked.
Solita knew, although it seemed quite an obvious question that it was a vital one to the Princess.
“Good Heavens, no!” he replied, “and Hugo has the strength of a horse and once these sneezing fits are over he will be himself again.”
“That makes me very happy,” the Princess smiled benignly.
Willy leant towards her and said,
“But he will not be able to join us tonight and I know that he would want you to act as hostess.”
Solita saw a light come into the Princess’s eyes and knew that nothing could have pleased her more.
She was only too willing to establish her position at The Castle.
As the other guests arrived she greeted them, directing everybody into the ballroom where the band was already playing.
She started off the dancing herself with the most distinguished guest present.
Solita danced with Willy.
She knew it would be a great mistake to talk of anything that might be overheard or worse still, the Russians might be capable of lip reading.
She had heard so many things about them.
She knew she dare not risk making them suspicious by even, as the Duke had said, the flicker of an eyelid.
She tried to make everyone aware that she was excited at being able to dance and how much she was enjoying herself.
She felt a little wistfully that she would really have been enjoying it a great deal more if the Duke had been present. Also if there was not a dark shadow hanging over their heads.
It was one o’clock before the guests who had come to The Castle from neighbouring houses began to leave.
It was a quarter-to-two before Solita could go up to bed with the Countess of Dudley and the other ladies who were staying in the house.
As she reached the top of the stairs, she heard the Princess behind her say to Willy,
“I must just go and say good night to our dear Duke. I would not wish him to feel he was
being neglected.”
“I feel sure none of us will be allowed to do that,” Willy replied.
“Why not?” the Princess enquired.
“Because, when Hugo is ill, his valet, who has been with him for years, is more belligerent than a bulldog.”
He smiled as he went on,
“In fact that is a rather good description. I know that Higgins will watch over him all night in case he has another attack.”
“Do you mean he will be in the same room?” the Princess asked curiously.
“I expect so or else in the dressing room, with the door open,” Willy replied. “Higgins is like an old nanny who enjoys it when the children are at their mercy!”
He laughed as if he had made a joke, but Solita was sure that the Princess was looking angry.
She delayed going to her room until she had seen the Princess go into hers and shut the door.
Then she went into her bedroom and started to pack.
*
Solita found it was impossible to sleep.
She had finished packing her trunk which, being small, had fortunately been left in a cupboard opening off her room.
She pulled back the curtain and lay down on her bed, waiting for the first light of dawn.
When it came she dressed herself in the pretty travelling gown in which she had arrived at The Castle.
She put over it a long cape which she had found extremely useful in keeping out the cold when she had crossed the Channel.
She could hardly dare to hope that, as the Duke had said, they were going to India.
But she had to be prepared for anything.
At five minutes to six there was a very gentle tap on her door, and Higgins looked in.
“You’re ready, miss?” Higgins asked in a whisper.
Solita nodded, knowing it would be a mistake to talk more than was necessary.
Higgins picked up her trunk and carried it out of the room and Solita followed him.
As she reached the staircase, she saw at the bottom of it the Duke wrapped in blankets, was being carried down the stairs by two footmen with Willy supervising them.
They moved out through the front door and down the long flight of stone steps.
There was a closed carriage waiting for them.
The Duke was placed carefully on the back seat and Solita and Willy occupied the narrow one facing it.
Solita had seen that there was a brake behind the carriage which contained their luggage, so she knew Higgins would follow them to the station.
Solita and the Spies Page 10