160 Love Finds the Duke at Last

by Barbara Cartland

There was nothing that Devinia could say or do but listen, but every nerve in her body told her that this could never happen to her.

  She would much rather die than be degraded into attempting such a performance.

  “Tomorrow I will tell you more,” the Teacher said. “But now it is time for us to have what you call ‘dinner’. Then, as you travelled a long way to come here, you go to bed and sleep peacefully. Tomorrow His Highness may send for you or he may wait for another day. If he too tired, he sleep alone. We wait for our instructions.”

  It was with difficulty that Devinia prevented herself from saying she had no intention of taking any instructions.

  Then, as she was taken to the dining room, she was wondering desperately how she could die and how it was possible to kill herself without all these women preventing her from doing so.

  After dinner had finished, Devinia said that she was tired and wished to go to bed.

  Only when she was in her own room, which was small but at least comfortable, did she put her hands over her eyes and asked herself despairingly how she could kill herself rather than follow the instructions of the woman who had talked to her.

  ‘Please God, let me die!’ she prayed.

  Then, as if she could not help herself, she called out fervently again and again for the Duke.

  ‘Ivan! Ivan!’ she pleaded. ‘Hear me. You said you could read what I was thinking, but I want you, I want you! Only you can save me now. Otherwise I must die and I do not really want to die. I want to live and to be with you. Oh, Ivan, hear me.’

  Her tears prevented her from praying anymore.

  As she lay in the darkness, she felt that there was no future for her.

  Only death could ever save her from the horror and misery that was waiting for her.

  *

  As it happened, the Duke’s yacht was only a little way behind the ship carrying Devinia.

  As they moved into Port, he saw it a little way from where they were dropping anchor.

  Without waiting for protocol or going, as he might have done, to the British Embassy, the Duke went straight to The Palace and demanded to see the Sultan.

  The Equerry who attended to him was impressed by his title and he was also aware that the Duke had called on the Sultan on previous occasions.

  “His Highness will be back late tonight,” he said, “and I know he will be delighted to hear that Your Grace is in Istanbul. In the summer he has breakfast very early at seven o’clock and usually deals with his post afterwards.”

  “Very well,” the Duke said, “I will call just before eight o’clock.”

  “As you might know, this is the Summer Palace,” the Equerry went on, “and he spends a great deal of time here.”

  “Very wise. I will be sleeping on my yacht tonight and will, as you suggest, call on His Highness tomorrow.”

  “That will be fine. I expect Your Grace knows, His Highness always says, as he finishes his business, ‘now I can enjoy myself,’ and it is what we try to do for him.”

  “That is very sensible,” the Duke agreed.

  He longed to ask him if Devinia was here and if she was being properly looked after.

  But he knew that it would be a mistake for anyone to think of them as being together.

  So he must wait until tomorrow before it would be possible to say anything to her or to ask if he could see her.

  As he drove back to the Port, the Duke was almost praying that he would act cleverly and not, on any account, make a mistake that might harm Devinia.

  ‘I have to save her,’ he said to himself.

  It was what he repeated over and over again later in his cabin before he fell into a troubled asleep.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  The Duke arrived at The Palace at a quarter to eight and learnt from the Equerry in charge that the Sultan had just finished his breakfast and was going into the garden.

  “His Highness would never miss a chance of being amongst his flowers,” the Equerry said conversationally.

  The Duke smiled.

  He remembered only too well the Sultan’s passion for flowers and he had in the past often teased him about it.

  They had become friends at one of the numerous Conferences which were always taking place in Europe.

  Actually it was held in Istanbul and he had attended as he had been asked by the British Ambassador to go to help as he not only spoke several languages but had made friends with people from many countries during his travels.

  “You have been such a help with some of the more difficult representatives,” the Ambassador told him.

  The Duke had made a grimace.

  “That is all that you really want me for,” he replied, “and I find them as difficult as you do!”

  “Yes,” the Ambassador agreed. “But you can speak their language and you have visited their countries. Quite frankly I cannot do without you.”

  As the Duke had always been great friends with the Ambassador, he knew that he was not exaggerating when he said how difficult the world’s Rulers could be.

  He had indeed attended not one but quite a number of meetings with various countries and each of them fought for what they believed was their rights.

  At the same time the Duke enjoyed himself simply because he did know a great deal about the less significant countries concerned.

  He thought it only fair that they should have their chance of expressing their thoughts and feelings as well as the bigger and more powerful countries.

  Because he enjoyed visiting Istanbul he had a large knowledge of its history and he had enjoyed meeting the new Sultan and learning of the improvements he meant to make in the country that he now ruled over.

  They had in fact become friends and on his journey from England the Duke had thought over and over again that the only hope of him saving Devinia was the fact that he knew the Sultan personally.

  Had it been any other country he was quite certain if she had been carried off in such a blatant manner with the permission of one of her relations, it would have been extremely difficult to ask for her to be given back.

  He might have come up against a blank wall where they protested firmly that what he was saying was untrue and there was no question of him saving her.

  All the same he realised that it was an exceedingly difficult situation as he was certain that Penelope would have used her father’s name to give them permission to kidnap Devinia.

  What was more she was, as he knew only too well, exactly the fair blue-eyed golden-haired beauty who every man in Istanbul would admire and wish to possess.

  The Equerry brought the Duke a cold drink while he was waiting and he told him about the improvements that the Sultan had already made in Istanbul.

  “We are getting larger every year,” he said. “More people come to buy products from us and His Highness is very pleased that there are so many English visitors.”

  “I am glad to hear that,” the Duke replied. “I am delighted to be here in Istanbul as I have always thought it to be one of the most attractive countries I have visited.”

  The Equerry smiled and then he said,

  “I will go and see if His Highness is in the garden and tell him that you are here, Your Grace, I am sure that he will be very pleased to hear of it.”

  He left the room closing the door behind him.

  As if he could not keep still, the Duke rose from his chair and walked to the window.

  He could not see the trees in the garden because he was concentrating with all his heart and soul on winning the battle that he was well aware lay ahead of him.

  ‘I have to be clever and I have to be sensible,’ he told himself, ‘and I must not in any way to incur his anger.’

  Then, as he heard he Equerry return, for a moment he did not turn round, he only drew in his breath.

  In his heart he said the same prayer as he had said all the way as he sailed down the Mediterranean.

  He knew that, once a woman had passed into the keeping of the Sultan,
it was almost impossible for her to leave or be taken back into her family.

  “If you would please come this way, Your Grace,” the Equerry was saying. “I told His Highness you are here and he is delighted to welcome you.”

  The Duke turned and walked behind the Equerry, who took him to the door that led into the garden.

  He threw open the door and there was no reason for the Equerry to take him any further as the Duke had seen on his last visit where the Sultan would be sitting

  It should have been a tent, but it was more like an elaborate and canopied bed.

  Now, as he had expected, the Sultan was lying back against his silk cushions.

  He was wearing so little clothing that it was quite obvious what was expected later on.

  As the Duke appeared, the Sultan lifted both his arms and exclaimed,

  “Your Grace! I did not expect to see you here.”

  “I came to see you, Your Highness.”

  There was a chair at the Sultan’s side and the Duke sat down in it saying as he did so,

  “I must apologise for my unexpected visit, but it is of great importance to me. I am extremely grateful to Your Highness for seeing me at such short notice.”

  “Of course I want to see you,” the Sultan replied. “I have often thought about you and how we used to laugh at that last meeting. You made that stupid and idiotic man from France look more of a fool than he was already!”

  The Duke chuckled.

  “That was true enough. Of course, you won, as I remember, exactly what you wanted at the time and I heard from your Equerry that things are going extremely well in Istanbul at the moment.”

  “We are now making good money,” the Sultan said waving his hands, “and who could ask for more?”

  “Who indeed?” the Duke questioned, “they must be very proud of you. As I recall when you took over, things were very bad and people were leaving the City because they could not afford to stay in it.”

  “Now they are coming back,” the Sultan said, “and we have had many visitors including some from England.”

  There was a pause and then the Duke said,

  “It is about someone who has been brought to you from England that I wish to talk to you about. She did not intend to come and visit you, but there is every likelihood that I would have brought her here later on.”

  The Sultan looked at him in surprise.

  “What are you talking about?” he enquired.

  “I am talking about a young girl who your people were asked to kidnap and bring to you against her will and against mine.”

  The Sultan stared at him.

  “Of course I know who you are talking about,” he said, “but I had no idea that it concerned you in any way.”

  The Duke smiled.

  “It concerns me for the simple reason, and I know you will understand, we are engaged to be married and I intend to make her my wife.”

  The Sultan glared at the Duke and replied,

  “This cannot be true! I cannot believe what you are saying to me. It must be a joke which I do not find funny.”

  “Nor do I,” the Duke answered. “The situation is quite simple. You know, as we both discussed it on my last visit, that I had no intention of marrying. I intended to be getting on for forty before I gave up my freedom and then only because I needed an heir.”

  “Yes, yes,” the Sultan replied. “I do remember you saying that. We both agreed that the bonds of matrimony could be very tiresome.”

  He paused before he went on,

  “I remember relating to you that my predecessor suffered terribly from an older woman who he took as his Consort and he bitterly regretted her doing so.”

  “I have not forgotten,” the Duke replied. “That is why, when I learnt of the terrible and ghastly trick that has been played on me, I have come to you for justice and understanding.”

  The Sultan waved his hands.

  “I don’t understand. Tell me what happened.”

  “You remember buying your private yacht from a man who specialises in providing them in Great Britain,” the Duke began, “and in fact I think I told you to ask for his help when you wanted English furnishings and engines that would move faster than any other private yacht in this part of the world.”

  “Yes, yes, I remember,” the Sultan answered rather impatiently.

  “Unfortunately,” the Duke went on, “the maker you employed has a beautiful daughter, who was much admired and applauded when she became a debutante last year. In consequence she became very sure of herself and decided that she would marry a title.”

  The Sultan laughed.

  “So her eyes rested on you, Your Grace, and she wanted to be your wife.”

  “Exactly!” he replied. “But as you know only too well because you and I discussed it, I had no wish to marry and I decided, and I think you said the same, we would both wait until we were older and wiser.”

  He smiled as he added,

  “Our age, if nothing else, would prevent us from being bullied by our wives!”

  The Sultan laughed again.

  “Of course, we said that. I remember only too well that I was being hotly pursued by a woman I found most unattractive.”

  “I might say the same. I had no wish to marry that particular lady, but then by chance I met a young unspoilt girl who was being very badly treated.”

  “So, you broke your resolution,” the Sultan said.

  “I thought you would guess it,” the Duke laughed. “She is young, unspoilt and not in the least demanding.”

  He sighed.

  “So I gave her an engagement ring and thought that I was at last marrying a woman who would not want to order me around or be more interested in my title than in me.”

  “What happened then?” the Sultan asked as if he was eager to know the whole story.

  “The woman who wanted to have her own way and that included me,” the Duke went on, “asked your men to kidnap my beautiful fiancée and carry her away, which she least expected, so that she could become a member of your harem.”

  The Sultan stared at him.

  “Is this true?” he demanded. “Is it possible that this girl you are engaged to has been kidnapped by my men?”

  “She is here in your Palace,” the Duke confirmed, “but I have been told as you have been away that you have not yet seen her.”

  The Sultan did not reply and he carried on,

  “But I must beg you, as a friend and a man who understands these difficulties where women are concerned, to let me have her back.”

  The Sultan put his hand up to his forehead.

  “It all seems to me impossible. How would they dare to kidnap an English girl and bring her here without causing a great deal of trouble? Are you quite sure that she was not anxious to join me?”

  “She did not know what was happening,” the Duke replied. “She was enticed from her bed because a dog was whining in apparent pain beneath her window.”

  He paused for a moment before he continued,

  “She is very fond of all animals as you know most English women are and she went down in her nightgown to see what was happening.”

  “And what did she find?” the Sultan asked.

  “Before she could speak and before she could even find the dog,” the Duke told him, “she was covered with blankets until it was almost impossible for her to breathe. She was carried away by four men to a carriage which was waiting just around the corner from my Castle.”

  The Sultan was listening but he did not interrupt.

  “She did not know why it was happening nor was she able to speak until she found herself aboard your ship. So I have followed her as swiftly as I could because she is to be my wife.”

  The Sultan did not reply and the Duke went on,

  “If it is learnt by the Diplomatic Service, or indeed the Government, that she has been kidnapped then it might lead to difficult relations between our two countries. That is a situation I know, my friend, is what you and I
would wish to avoid.”

  “I still cannot believe that my people would be so stupid as to steal your fiancée,” the Sultan asserted.

  He spoke in French because at their last meeting there had been many French Officers and they had often conversed with them in their own language.

  “I think,” the Duke said quietly, “that your people believed that the order came direct from the man who built your ship. Therefore they did not query it.”

  He hesitated slightly before he added,

  “Equally it was a dangerous thing to do and I think, if you will forgive me saying so, it would be wise if you told them that in the future they must not kidnap English women however much they are paid to do so, unless they have instructions from you or an Officer on your behalf.”

  “You are right, of course, you are right!” the Sultan agreed. “But now she is in my harem, what can I do about it?”

  This was what the Duke had expected and he said,

  “But I can only beg you to give her back to me. I thought it would make it easier for you to bargain with me if, when you return my future wife, I gave you something which everyone in the East, who is important like yourself, would really like.”

  As he spoke he drew the necklace of opals out of his pocket.

  “This was made by my great-great-grandfather who found the stones in China. He then had them made into a necklace with, as you can see, diamonds and pearls.”

  The Sultan was looking at it with great interest and the Duke went on,

  “The diamonds are particularly fine and if you wear anything so magnificent at the next meeting to be held in the East, you will be the envy of every Potentate.”

  As he spoke, he slipped the necklace over his own head and it fell, as he intended, firmly onto his shoulders.

  At the end of it there was a large circle of jewels surrounding an extremely large opal in the centre.

  Having put it on, the Duke stood up.

  The Sultan gave a gasp at the way it made him look so charismatic and he knew that the wearer would be the envy of everyone who looked at him.

  “As I have already told you,” the Duke said, “this was made by my ancestor two centuries ago. But those who followed him were always too shy to wear it.”