She had no idea that when the King came down to dinner, he thought that she looked like a glorious flower.
She was wearing a white gown, because it seemed appropriate for a bride.
Although he did not say so, the King was comparing her with the bowl of lilies that was on a table by one of the windows.
Valona had hoped that they would dine alone, but there were three aides-de-camp and two of the Ladies-in Waiting she was supposed to have selected last night.
At that time, she had felt too shy to pick them out and had merely asked the Lord Chamberlain’s opinion.
Because she was so young, he had chosen two of the younger Ladies-in-Waiting.
However, Valona thought they were either very dull or afraid to speak their mind.
Anyway, the King did most of the talking.
He was giving orders to the aides-de-camps about the arrangements to be made for the following week.
“What I wish to do,” Valona heard him say, “is to present my wife to the people. Therefore I want to call a meeting tomorrow morning in the Square at which I intend to tell them exactly what the Queen and I are planning for the future – also to find out if it is possible to recruit a large number of men into the Army.”
The aides-de-camp looked startled.
“Does Your Majesty intend to do so immediately?” one asked.
“I would have preferred it yesterday, but I want it tomorrow and I leave you to see to it that every Officer is informed that he has to be on duty in the Square tomorrow at noon.”
It was obviously something the aides-de-camp were not expecting and Valona thought that the expressions on their faces were quite funny.
She did not say anything and yet when she looked at the King, she saw his eyes were twinkling.
‘He wants to keep them wondering what he will do next,’ she thought. ‘And I am sure it will be very good for them!’
She was quite certain they had all taken everything very lazily when the old King was ill and there was no one to give them orders.
‘Now they will all be woken up and whilst some of them will not like it, the younger ones will thrive on it.’
It was still quite early when dinner was finished and the King announced that he and the Queen would retire.
The Ladies-in-Waiting curtsied whilst the aides-decamp bowed.
As they went upstairs, Valona saw in the hall below them a number of soldiers with an Officer in charge.
“They will be guarding us tonight,” explained the King.
Valona gave a little shiver.
“I do hope we shall not need it!”
“You are not to be afraid, Valona. I have arranged for there to be soldiers all round the outside of the Palace with senior Officers and that means there will be no chance of their being lax or careless about it.”
It was something that Valona was glad to hear.
As they reached the door of her bedroom, the King opened it for her.
“Undress and get into bed, then I will come and say goodnight to you, because I have something to say to you.”
Valona thought it seemed a strange request.
However, she did not answer, she merely went into her room, where a maid was waiting to help her undress.
She put on her prettiest nightgown and climbed into the large bed with its golden canopy of cupids and angels.
There were soft muslin curtains hanging on either side and her pillows were edged with lace that she guessed had been made by the seamstresses of Larissa.
She wondered what the King had to say to her.
It was their wedding night.
There had been so much to do and so much to think about that she had therefore not really considered the fact that they were now husband and wife.
Valona was very innocent.
Her mother had no idea that there was the slightest possibility of her being married whilst she was engaged as Lady-in-Waiting to Lady Rose.
She had in consequence not discussed the intimacy of marriage with Valona, nor had she explained to her what she might expect from the man who loved her.
Valona had left England in such a rush and it was only now that she wondered if the King would kiss her.
What, she now asked herself, would it be like to be kissed?
Living in Hampton Court she had never met with any young men – only charming elderly gentlemen such as Sir Mortimer.
She did not know what a young man might think of her and, it was only after she had observed Lady Rose with the Marquis, that she realised how much they loved each other.
It made her think that some day there might be the same light in her own eyes when she looked at a man she loved and the man would look back at her as the Marquis had gazed at Lady Rose.
She had been able to sense the vibrations of their love surging out towards each other and she felt it must be very wonderful for them now at last to be together.
The Marquis could now kiss Lady Rose and tell her how much she meant to him and she supposed vaguely in the back of her mind that there was something more than that to marriage.
But she did not know what it was.
Where she was concerned, she thought it doubtful as they had known each other for such a short time, that the King would want to kiss her.
She wondered if it would be like the kiss of Apollo.
Would the light from their love fly up into the air?
Would those near them feel the wonder and beauty of their love pulsating around them?
The maid had left two candles alight by her bed.
When the King came in through the communicating door, he seemed very large. He was wearing a long dark robe which touched the floor.
He seemed almost a little frightening as he walked towards Valona.
He reached the bed and stood looking at her.
There was a long silence and then he sighed,
“I suppose you know how exquisitely beautiful you are? Also so clever that I am finding it hard to believe that you are true.”
“That is a very kind compliment to pay to me,” she murmured shyly.
“There are so many nice things I want to say to you, Valona, but there is no need for us to be in a hurry.”
He sat down on the side of the bed facing her.
“I don’t know of anyone, who would have behaved so bravely and brilliantly as you have done today. It must have been a most extraordinary experience for you when you did not expect it to happen.”
“I never dreamt for a moment it could happen to me when I left London,” Valona whispered.
“I know, Valona, and although you never expected to be married, you agreed willingly to sacrifice yourself to save my country. Therefore I am determined to make you as happy as it is possible for any woman to be.”
Valona’s eyes opened a little wider and she looked at him not quite understanding.
“What I am trying to say is that I have no intention of rushing things. I think, unless I am very mistaken, that we could very easily fall in love with each other. But I do think first we have to find out a great deal more about one another than we know now.”
She still did not speak and after a moment the King continued,
“I am only playing with words. What I really want, because you are so beautiful and exactly the right person I need in my life just now, is that you should love me.”
Still there was silence.
“I know, if I am honest with myself, Valona, that I love you already. From the moment I saw you, I knew you were Aphrodite herself come down from Mount Olympus!”
Valona drew in her breath.
Then she muttered in a voice he could hardly hear,
“We stopped at Delos on our way because I asked the Duke to do so. When I saw you, I thought for a moment you were Apollo.”
The King smiled at her.
“That is what I want to be in your eyes. Therefore my beautiful Goddess, I am not going to kiss you although it is something I just long to do. Tomo
rrow we will start to find out what is in each other’s heart and in that way I hope it will not be very long before we can find love.”
Valona looked up at him with shining eyes.
“That is what I prayed to Apollo to give me. The Love which shines in his Light.”
“That is exactly what we will find together.”
He reached forward, took Valona’s hand in his and raised it to his lips.
As they touched her skin, she felt a strange quiver surge through her.
It was very different from anything she had known before.
Then, as the King released her hand and rose to his feet, she breathed,
“Thank you very much, Ajax, for being so kind and understanding.”
“I hope it is something I shall always be,” the King replied. “Good night, my beautiful Valona, and I hope you will dream of me.”
He turned and walked to the communicating door and as he reached it, he looked back.
“Just in case you feel afraid, I will leave this door slightly open. If you call out, I will come to you at once.”
Before Valona could answer he had disappeared.
For a moment the only sensation she could feel was a strange throbbing in her heart.
She did not understand what it was or meant.
Then she sensed that despite what the King had told her – there was danger tonight.
The Russians might attack the Palace in a last effort to save themselves from being forced to leave the country.
Very quietly, so that King Ajax would not hear her, she slipped out of bed and tiptoed to her dressing table.
She had kept the revolver Sir Mortimer had given her in a little velvet bag and packed it in with her jewellery.
It was there now in one of the drawers, lying beneath the necklace and tiara that belonged to Lady Rose.
She took the revolver out of the bag, loaded it and going back to the bed she placed it on a small side table.
She planned that tomorrow morning she would hide it before the maid called her.
At least it was there and loaded in case the Russians appeared unexpectedly and then she laughed at herself for being so fearful.
There were the soldiers downstairs and according to the King all round the Palace.
‘I will put it away first thing in the morning,’ she told herself.
Then she blew out the three candles and lying back against the pillows she turned over in her mind everything that King Ajax had said to her.
He wanted them to love each other and it was what she wanted too.
She was now becoming convinced that the Light of Apollo was indeed hovering over them and it would bring them the love they both desired.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Valona awoke believing that Apollo was calling for her.
For a moment she thought she was back in the battleship and then as she opened her eyes, she remembered that she was in a bedroom in the Palace.
She was married!
The bright moonlight was streaming into the room through the sides of the curtains and she realised that it was still the middle of the night.
She wondered what had woken her.
Then suddenly she heard a movement in the room next door.
It was very faint and yet for some unknown reason it made her afraid.
Almost as if someone was telling her, she became acutely aware that there was danger.
Fear began to streak through her body and then she paused and thought that she must be mistaken.
At the same time she felt that she must find out if anything untoward was happening.
She slipped out of bed.
And as she did so, she picked up her revolver from the side table.
It was easy to find her way across the room to the communicating door – it was ajar as the King had left it.
Then as Valona opened it a little, she felt her whole body stiffen in horror.
Inside the King’s room she could see the moonlight was streaming in through an open window from which the curtains had been pulled back.
There were two men standing beside the King’s bed and he was sitting up between them.
Valona realised in horror that they were winding a rope around him and he was gagged.
Without stopping to think, she realised instinctively what she had to do, so she raised her revolver and shot the man with his back to her in the neck.
As the sound rang out he fell forward onto the bed and then he slipped to the floor.
The other man looked up and tried to reach for his revolver.
Valona shot him in his left arm.
The two men were now no longer holding the rope they had been winding round the King’s body.
As he felt it loosen, the King threw it away from him and pulled the gag from his mouth.
The man who Valona had shot in the arm was still on the floor and he was now groping for his gun in his belt.
King Ajax freed himself from the rope and sprang out of bed.
In a few strides he was at Valona’s side and took her revolver from her.
Just as the man on the floor raised his gun, the King shot him through the heart.
As he did so, the bedroom door burst open and the Captain of the soldiers downstairs rushed in followed by a number of his men.
Before the Captain could speak, the King shouted,
“Russians are on the roof. Catch them before they escape and leave two men here to guard the window.”
The Captain and his men turned without a word and Valona could hear them running down the passage.
As two soldiers remained behind at the window, the King put his arm round Valona’s shoulder.
He pulled her gently into her own bedroom closing the door behind them.
“Have they – hurt you?” Valona asked tremulously.
It was difficult for her to speak and her voice was little above a whisper.
“You have saved my life,” replied the King. “And it was incredibly brave of you.”
“Just how could they have come into your bedroom without anyone seeing them?” gasped Valona.
“They came down from the roof and they intended to remove me that way once I was tied up.”
Because it was all so horrifying, Valona hid her face against his shoulder.
The King found that her whole body was trembling, so he picked her up in his arms and carried her to her bed.
He set her down gently and she held onto him as if she was afraid to lose him.
“Are you quite sure you are safe, Ajax?” she asked again.
“I am safe, entirely thanks to you, Valona.”
Then his lips were on hers.
It was a gentle kiss, but it gave Valona a feeling she had never known before.
It flashed through her mind that it was the Light of Apollo.
Because her lips were soft, tender and innocent, the King’s kisses became more possessive.
He too could feel a wonder he had never known in his whole life.
When he raised his head, he asked in a deep voice,
“How can you be so wonderful and different to what anyone would expect from someone so young?”
“Are you really sure you are safe, Ajax? Suppose the Russians on the roof came to find you again.”
“I cannot believe our men will let them escape, but if they do, you will just have to protect me again as you did just now!”
He felt a little shiver surge through Valona and he said to her soothingly,
“It’s all over. I don’t want you to be so frightened and I intend to make sure this will never happen again.”
“How can you be sure?”
“We are now going to protect ourselves much more effectively and you will help me to be rid of the Russians for ever.”
“I am so frightened,” whispered Valona, “very very frightened.”
The King kissed her again.
He made it impossible for her to think of anything but the wonder of their kisses.
When he set her free, she would have fallen back against the pillows if she had not held on to him.
As she did so, there was a knock on the door and it made her start.
Fear came back in her voice as she enquired,
“Who is it?”
“I think it will be a report of what has happened on the roof.”
The King would have moved away from her, but Valona held onto him.
“Don’t leave me! Please don’t leave me now!” she begged.
“I have no intention of leaving you, Valona. Light the candles and I must find out what has happened.”
He walked to the door and before he opened it, he asked,
“Who is it?”
“Captain Ruphia, Your Majesty,” came the reply.
The King then opened the door and the Captain was standing outside alone.
“I thought Your Majesty would want to know,” he said, “that we have killed all the Russians who were on the roof. I think they must have climbed up from the kitchen side of the Palace, which is not so well guarded.”
The King’s lips tightened for a moment and then he ordered,
“Inform the men guarding the outside of the Palace what has happened. Next go and wake the Commander-in Chief. Report the situation and say on my instructions that he is to rouse every Officer and soldier available.”
He paused for a moment before continuing,
“He is also to arrange with the Lord Chamberlain and the Prime Minister to issue a decree in my name saying that, because I have been attacked personally by Russians, every Russian is to leave Larissa within the next two days. Anyone who does not do so will be arrested or shot.”
The Captain, who had been listening intently, drew in his breath.
“Do we have sufficient soldiers, Your Majesty, to carry out such an order?”
“Tell the Commander-in-Chief that he is to ask for every man who can use a gun to form an Auxiliary Force to assist the Army. I will discuss it with him first thing in the morning.”
The Captain drew himself to attention and saluted.
“I will carry out Your Majesty’s orders at once.”
“Once you have told the Commander-in-Chief what I require, I think it would be helpful, Captain, if you wake the Lord Chamberlain and tell him what has happened here tonight and also the Prime Minister.”
Love and Apollo Page 12