“Who is the mother of the little child the Queen is holding?” he enquired.
A woman stepped out from the others towards him.
“Have you Christened your son yet?” he asked her.
“No, Your Majesty,” she stuttered, stumbling over the words as she was so embarrassed at speaking to him.
“Then I suggest,” said the King, “you give him my name and I hope he will grow up to join my Army.”
“You’ll just have to wait a long time for that, Your Majesty,” the woman answered.
Those listening laughed.
“What I suggest,” the King continued, “is that the next girl baby to be born in Zante is called after the Queen. I feel the two children will be very lucky to us all.”
Valona could see how thrilled the women were at his idea and they were stunned at being able to talk to the King and Queen. It was something they had never dreamed of being able to do in the past.
When finally the Royal couple rode away, there was no need for the Cavalry Officers to guard them.
If anyone had attempted to attack them, he would have been killed immediately by the crowd.
When they returned to the Palace, the King turned to Valona,
“You were wonderful, my darling. What you have achieved today by talking to the women and children will never be forgotten.”
“As I am convinced that the Auxiliary Force will never forget you, Ajax.”
“They will certainly want their sons to be soldiers as soon as they are old enough. I am determined that I will never allow a Russian to set foot again in Larissa.”
“You are reminding me again about last night and that still scares me,” sighed Valona.
“I will see that you are always safe, my precious.”
“I am not worrying about myself. If I lost you now, I would only want to die.”
They were now walking towards the stairs.
King Ajax suddenly turned and opened the door of a nearby sitting room to find that it was empty.
He went in, pulled Valona after him and closed the door.
“Why are we going in here?” she asked him.
“Because I want to kiss you, my darling, and I have wanted to for the whole afternoon and now I cannot wait any longer!”
He put his arms around her and gently took off her hat.
Then he was kissing her demandingly, passionately until they were both breathless.
“I love you, Valona and I want to be with you every second of the day.”
“There is always tonight,” added Valona very softly.
“And thank Heaven for that! Now I think about it, we should both have a quiet lie down before dinner.”
Valona smiled at him.
“I am sure you have a mass of letters to sign, Ajax, and perhaps a number of supplicants to interview.”
“They will have to wait until tomorrow.”
He kissed her once again and then he whispered,
“Go upstairs and get into bed, my darling. Nothing and no one will prevent me from joining you in about ten minutes.”
Valona gave a little cry.
“I will need longer than that to make myself look beautiful!”
“You are lovely, exquisite and ethereal just as you are and that is why I want to worship you with my soul, my mind and my body.”
He opened the door and Valona saw outside that there were several equerries and her Ladies-in-Waiting lingering in the corridor wondering what was happening.
Yet they were obviously too nervous to intrude in case the King did not wish any interruption.
Valona just smiled at them and hurried towards the stairs.
“I am going to rest,” she told them, “and I do not wish to be disturbed until I ring.”
She saw the surprise in a dozen eyes and carried on up to her bedroom.
Valona knew that the King would be with her in ten minutes – he had said that nothing and no one would stop him. She did not ring for her lady’s maid, but undressed and then she lay on the beautiful golden canopied bed.
Sunshine was streaming in through open windows and there was the sound of birds twittering outside.
She thought it was impossible for her to be happier than she was at this very wonderful moment.
She felt certain that she had been right in believing that it was Apollo himself who was showing them the way.
They had found the real love that would be theirs for ever.
In a few moments the communicating door opened and King Ajax came into the room.
Valona felt as if he had brought the Light of Apollo with him.
It was shining all around him and filling the room with the sheer wonder of its brilliance.
As he came towards her, she held out her arms.
“I love you, I love you,” she murmured fervently.
She knew it was the only way she could express the wonder and glory in her heart.
The King’s arms went around her.
His lips sought hers.
Valona knew that she was giving him her heart, her soul and her body.
The Light of Love enveloped them both and it would remain with them for eternity and beyond.
As the King made Valona his, they were at one with the Gods for always and for ever.
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
Love and Apollo Page 14