When I am gone, she is to inherit one-fifth of my estate, the remainder of which will go to my nephews in France.
Andrew, my dear friend, I must insist that until then you say nothing about this matter to her, nor to any other person – apart from Victoria, of course. Actually, it was she who reminded me not long ago that society in general, and gentlemen in particular, have a distorted perception of a woman who is known to have wealth. Worthless fortune-hunters are likely to come flocking for her hand, and pride can turn away a worthy candidate who has no fortune of his own. That is why I beg you to disclose nothing of this inheritance to the world at large, nor to Annabelle herself, until she reaches the age of twenty-one. Allow your beautiful daughter to grow up being loved for herself alone.
The letter went on to express her deep affection for both himself and Victoria, and her fond wishes for their future together. After signing it with a flourish, the begum sealed it in an envelope and took it to the bedroom where Andrew’s travelling clothes had been laid out, ready for him change into when he and Victoria returned from the wedding. She slipped her letter into a pocket of his brown jacket.
All along the route to the cantonment, heads turned to stare at the sight of the magnificently dressed Sikh driving an open carriage carrying a veiled lady as it clopped past hamlets and farms scattered around the lake. It travelled through the crowded lanes of the old town, and around the corner where the ancient augury had seen Victoria’s future in his hot oil. There was no sign of the old man there today.
Soon they were heading up the hill towards the neat gardens and bungalows of the British cantonment with its steepled church looking as if it had been plucked straight from a village in Kent.
Nigel was waiting for her on the church porch and, as he handed her down the carriage step, she was surprised to hear the notes of the organ coming from within.
‘Yes, I know that you chose to have a very simple wedding, but Kitty decided that we couldn’t let you walk down the aisle on this special day without music to accompany you. So come along now, take my arm. Andrew and the rector are waiting in there for you. Ready?’
‘Yes, I am. Very, very ready, thank you Nigel. But, afterwards, I need to find a brief moment to speak with you privately about a letter that I must ask you to write to my lawyer.’
Kitty had decided also that the church should be filled with flowers, though apart from Sir Ian and Lady Phillips, along with their daughter, Lucy, the only other people in there were a few of Andrew’s friends from the regiment.
The notes of the organ swelled as Victoria and Nigel entered. Andrew was waiting with the vicar at the end of the aisle, looking tall and striking in his full dress uniform, and facing her with an expression of longing that struck up an anthem of joy on her heartstrings. The light slanting in through the stained glass windows touched the gleaming brass ornaments and the massed blooms filling the church, creating a dream-like atmosphere.
But, as she walked slowly down the aisle with Nigel and came to stand beside the man at the altar, she knew that this was no dream. Andrew Wyndham was very real, and with all her heart she made her vows to love, honour and obey this man. His hand was a little unsteady as he slipped a simple gold band on to her finger, and when the rector declared them to be husband and wife, he lifted the veil and touched his lips to hers in a kiss that held a thousand promises.
Her happiness soared. She was loved. She was no longer alone. She and Andrew had become one, and tonight she would sleep in his arms, knowing that she would always be safe and cherished. Her heart overflowed with love and she held his arm tightly as they walked from the church to the accompaniment of the organ.
Kitty had also arranged for a photographer to record the day, and when Victoria and Andrew stepped from the church, he was waiting for them. He positioned them to stand side by side while they smiled into his camera lens and were dazzled time and again by his flash.
‘There!’ Kitty said. ‘Now we’ll have pictures of your wedding for Nigel to send to your sisters. Everyone will want to see what a distinguished husband you’ve brought into the family.’
With the photographs taken, Andrew kissed her again and they sat closely side by side in the carriage with their legs pressed tightly against each other’s for the short drive to Nigel’s house. When he put a hand on her thigh, she could feel the heat of his palm through the silk.
‘Vicky, I want to say so much more than simply thank you, but I can never find the right words when I need them.’ Her hand touched his and their fingers interlocked. ‘I do love you, Mrs Wyndham, and I’ll never cease to be amazed at your astonishing ability to love a man like me.’
‘Actually, I find it rather easy, sir. I like the tone of your voice, I like the scent of you, and especially the shape of your mouth on those occasions when you decide to smile.’ She turned her head with an unspoken invitation to kiss her again. He was quick to oblige, and she felt a twinge of disappointment when the horse pulled up at Nigel’s house and there was no opportunity to exchange more than one more fleeting embrace.
Duleep was waiting at the door, bowing low and grinning widely. Kitty ushered the guests into the dining room where an elegant little reception was waiting with sandwiches, pastries and jellies, set out on the dining room table, as well as a magnificently decorated three-tiered cake that the cook had copied from one of the new Pelham-memsahib’s books.
Lady Phillips and Kitty each presented the newlyweds with a gift. Her ladyship’s box contained a dozen silver dessert spoons. ‘I feel that one can never have enough spoons,’ she said, and Victoria agreed.
Kitty and Nigel’s gift was a set of three Mogul miniatures painted on ivory – which Victoria knew that Nigel himself must have chosen. They weren’t at all Kitty’s taste. ‘Thank you, both,’ she said. ‘We’ll treasure these.’
When the toasts had been made and the cake had been cut, Victoria noticed Andrew glance several times at the hands of the long-case clock. She gave him a nod of understanding and began to push her chair back from the table.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, Andrew and I have a long journey ahead of us today, so please forgive us for leaving you so soon. But first, Nigel, I wonder if you and I could have a moment alone? Something arrived from London just as I was to leave this morning and I didn’t have time to reply to it myself.’
He held her chair as she stood. ‘Perhaps, Kitty, m’love, while Vicky and I go into my study, our guests might like to be taken upstairs to see some of the changes we’ve made up there.’
Once alone with Nigel in his study, Victoria handed him the lawyer’s letter. ‘As I mentioned, this reached me this morning, and I’d be most grateful if you’d reply to Mr Bartley-Symes on my behalf. I simply want to make absolutely sure that there can be no confusion about where all the profits from Peter’s ship are to be sent. Please tell him that I will require no part of it to come to me from now on. Everything is to go straight into the Fortitude Foundation.’
‘Yes, very well, Vicky. I’ll write to him and clarify the matter this evening.’ He pursed his lips and looked at her thoughtfully. ‘Of course, I applaud the worthy cause you’re sponsoring, though I can’t help wondering if you might be a little rash in refusing to accept even a small percentage of profit from the ship’s future trading ventures.’
She shook her head firmly. ‘I have a husband who will provide for me now.’
‘Very well, and you know that I couldn’t be happier for you both, my dear.’ He folded the letter and put it to one side. ‘Forgive me, Vicky, but do you mind telling me just how much have you given to set up this foundation?’
‘Sufficient.’
‘Sufficient for what?’
‘Sufficient to buy a building and modify it for our requirements; sufficient to engage suitable staff to train the girls; sufficient to buy the equipment needed to run the establishment; sufficient to provide good food – and medicines if they’re needed – and I’d also like the foundation to have a fund that could he
lp some girls establish themselves in their own little business, when they’re ready.’
‘Good Lord! Vicky you must have laid out a fortune!’
She tapped her finger on the latest statement of profits. ‘Well, – with this added, I think that there will now be close to twenty-two thousand in the trust.’
Nigel gaped at her. ‘You have donated twenty-two thousand pounds? No! Oh, my! Does Andrew know about this?’
‘No! And please don’t mention it – to anyone. Ever. Peter – the late Captain Peter Latham – will be known as the Foundation’s benefactor, which is perfectly right and proper. Andrew will understand it when I explain the scheme.’
It hadn’t taken long for Andrew’s interest to wane as Kitty led them through the upstairs rooms to admire the woven French silk fringes edging every curtain, chair and table-cover throughout. Sir Ian and Lady Phillips, on the other hand, were engrossed with it all, and continued to follow Kitty from room to room.
Andrew was impatient to be on the way to Mardan. He excused himself and walked downstairs. The door to Nigel’s study stood ajar and, when he reached the bottom step, it was impossible for him not to hear the voices coming from within, and to catch the gist of their conversation.
For a moment, Victoria’s words held him rooted to the spot. He couldn’t believe he’d just heard her saying that in one stroke she’d given away more money than he himself had earned in his whole career! Of course, she’d mentioned to him once that she’d not been left penniless when her husband died, but he’d assumed that she’d been referring to a few hundred pounds.
Anger slammed him in the solar-plexus; his chest heaved. A girl with that kind of money could have bought any man. Why in God’s name had she insisted on marriage to Andrew Wyndham? She’d even been able to look straight into his eyes and lie to him about her situation – admittedly a lie of omission – but as they were to exchange marriage vows, why couldn’t she have told him frankly about her fortune? He ground his teeth. Had she no trust at all in him?
His fists clenched and he was almost overwhelmed by the need to smash them into something – anything. God! Twenty-two thousand pounds! Would he have married her if she’d been open with him about her wealth? Like hell he would. Never! So what the devil was he going to do about it now?
Twenty-two thousand bloody pounds! Tightening his jaw, he strode to the front porch and called for the begum’s carriage to be brought to the steps.
What excuse could he find to send the new Mrs Wyndham straight back to England? Back to a privileged life with her wealthy family. Back to—? Damn! Now what the devil was he going to do about Annabelle?
The Sikh’s colourful feathers fluttered on his turban and he was grinning as he pulled up and sprang from the driver’s seat to open the vehicle’s door.
As he waited for his bride to emerge from the house, Andrew’s white-hot anger drove him beyond reason and his mind raced as he tried to convince himself that he had no need to produce a wife to raise a daughter on his own in Mardan. He could simply arrive out there with Annabelle and her ayah, and lie to the regiment that his wife had been called back to England. For a few years. Indefinitely. After all, he had a marriage certificate now to confirm that his wife, Annabelle’s mother, was as English….
So what answer could he concoct when people asked why Annabelle’s mother had not taken her child home to England with her?
Victoria came out of the house with the others, laughing, looking radiantly happy. There was much hand-shaking and affectionate kissing as the party escorted the bride to the carriage. Then another flurry of good-byes were exchanged, and handfuls of rose petals were strewn over the newlyweds before the horse clopped out through the gates.
Victoria gave a long sigh of contentment and sat back against the seat. ‘Wasn’t that just the loveliest wedding? And our signatures are there in the parish register for the whole world to come and see. I’m sure that Emily will write to Mama and Papa and tell them that I’ve become a respectable woman at last, thanks to you!’
Andrew made no answer, though he wondered what his new bride would say if she could to read his mind at this moment.
‘It won’t take me long at all to change into my travelling outfit when we get back and say farewell to the begum. I won’t keep you waiting. I think Annabelle has been dressed and ready since dawn. And the clothes that you had sent over this morning are all laid out waiting for you.’
Andrew remained silent while he attacked the rose petals that had landed on him as they left Nigel’s house. When the last one had been banished from his shoulders and trouser legs, he sat mutely, and as far away from Victoria as possible, with his fingers tightly laced together on his lap.
‘Annabelle looks so sweet in her new little riding boots. I think she’ll be asking for a pony of her own soon. And I’ve had big straw hats made for us both.’
When her chatter brought no response from him, she clamped her lips. Obviously, he had a great deal on his mind at this time. The long journey ahead of them, the new responsibilities waiting in Mardan.
From the corner of her eye, she slanted a glance at the man who would sleep close beside her tonight. It had been years since she’d felt as happy as she did today. And when she remembered his kiss on the steps of the church less than two hours ago, a small glow began to warm the core of her being. She was impatient to feel the touch of his hands on her skin – her breasts, her stomach, her thighs. Her toes curled inside her shoes as she anticipated the taste of his tongue invading her mouth, and of her legs parting as he stretched his body full length over hers. Would they be able to leave the door of the tent open tonight and watch the mountain stars blazing above them?
He ignored her sigh and she was left to wonder what thoughts were chasing each other behind the frown on his forehead.
When they came closer to the lake’s edge, she saw that the pack horses had gone on their way, and the riding horses were waiting to be saddled near the coach house. Nearby, two mountain guides had arrived and stood waiting for them with another pack animal to carry the remainder of their luggage.
The Sikh continued to drive around the shore until they reached the begum’s landing stage where her shikara would be waiting to collect them. He looked around at Andrew with a frown: There was no sign of the craft, either beside the houseboat, or coming for them across the lake.
As soon as the carriage came to halt, Andrew sprang to the ground, took two steps, then spun on his heel and looked up, frowning hard at his new wife.
‘Victoria, are you ready to admit that this marriage has been one hell of a mistake for us both? It’s perfectly clear to me that you have no real wish to spend the rest of your life in some isolated place out there on frontier with me. And I know damn well that I can never be the sort of husband you expect. You’ll soon come to regret the whole thing. For God’s sake, just accept the fact that it would be better for us both if you went straight back to England. Or stay in Srinagar. I really don’t care – one way or the other.’
His words sent her reeling with disbelief; her head seemed full of moths that were fluttering away with her sanity. Was she in Kashmir or some madhouse? She stood up in the carriage and looked down squarely into his face.
‘What in heaven’s name are you talking about? Only a short time ago we stood in church and you gave a solemn vow to love and cherish me, Andrew Wyndham. Till death us do part, actually.’ Her voice quaked and her mind raced to pinpoint the source of his outburst. It escaped her.
‘I’m your wife now, may I remind you? I do love you, I will honour you, and I’ll even do my very best to obey you.’ Hurt and anger balled in her throat and brought her close to tears. ‘I have no intention of going back to England without you – either now or in the future. I’m coming with you – to the ends of the world, if necessary. And I do advise you to discover a little more about the woman you married today before discarding her so rashly.’
The Sikh, looked from one to the other, distraught. He ha
d no understanding of the English words being hurled to and fro, any more than he could guess what had ignited this sudden conflict between the pair. And where was the begum’s shikara?
‘Victoria, if you—’
The sound of two pistol shots coming from the houseboat instantly silenced him. The Sikh reached for his weapon, then stood floundering. The begum had instructed him not to carry his gun to the wedding today.
Victoria remained standing in the carriage while Andrew, with the Sikh at his heels, ran down the steps to the water’s edge and called to the begum whom they could now see standing on the top deck, waving a pistol. She raised her arm and let off another shot into the air while several agitated servants milled around her.
The houseboat was too far out on the lake for even raised voices to be heard distinctly, but the begum’s high-pitched screams lanced the distance and they were able to catch a few intelligible words. Annabelle … gone. Shikara … sunk.
Victoria’s heart plunged. Her breath caught. The unthinkable had happened: the child had been kidnapped!
Andrew and the Sikh rushed back up to the top step of the landing and stood looking about them wildly, but there was nobody in sight. Andrew barked an order to the Sikh and they ran off in opposite directions along the bank. Victoria remained standing in the carriage, and this slightly higher position gave her a wider view over their surroundings. She looked around desperately, unclear of exactly who or what she was searching for.
Suddenly, a movement caught her eye and she glimpsed a stooped man darting furtively from under one willow tree and into the next. He was more than 200 yards away and within the blink of an eye he vanished again into the green branches.
Was she right in thinking that he appeared to have been carrying something over his shoulder?
Echoes of a Promise Page 21