Sally Wentworth - King of the Castle

by King of the Castle

  'This is my sitting-room,' Frau von Reistoven told her. 'Would you like to rest before lunch or would you prefer a stroll round the grounds?'

  Lee opted for the grounds, which turned out to be Frau von Reistoven's particular interest and of which she was justly proud, although Lee found the number of different gardens round the Schloss somewhat bewildering in their variety…

  'Good heavens, I had no idea that gardening could be so complex,' she said admiringly as they came upon a water garden fashioned from one of the streams that flowed down from the heights above.

  Frau von Reistoven laughed. 'I'm afraid I spend too much time on it, but it has been my favourite hobby since I was a child. Max indulges me but he prefers to cultivate the timber forests, farms and vineyards.'

  'Vineyards? You have those, too? I haven't seen any round here.'

  'No, the vines do not grow in this area, but we have several in the Lander of Lower Austria for example, in the Wachau region, which is quite near Vienna. It is beautiful there. Perhaps you may see it before you go.'

  They had circled the castle and now came to a terrace with the very modern addition of a kidney-shaped swimming pool. Frau von Reistoven smiled at Lee's surprised face and said, 'This is Max's toy. He likes to keep fit and swims before breakfast every morning. Please use it whenever you wish.'

  Lee thanked her warmly, making a mental note to swim only in the afternoon or evening so as not to clash with the king of the castle!

  Later that evening the maid, Trudi, a village girl of about her own age, directed Lee along the corridor leading to the great hall and told her that the drawing- room door led off of it. Not quite knowing just how grand dinner in a Schloss was likely to be, Lee had chosen a dull red, full-skirted dress that enriched her dark colouring to perfection, its deep-cut neckline displaying a provocative hint of her firm young breasts. The corridor turned a corner and she found herself on the threshold of the great hall and, in this instance, the adjective was inadequate. It was a vast room, two storeys high and roofed with enormous dark beams. A gallery ran round three sides of the upper storey and from this descended a flight of exquisitely carved stone stairs dimly lit by wall sconces. Along one wall was a row of suits of armour, the light reflecting on the polished surfaces of helmet and breastplate, giving the armoured shapes an illusion of life and movement. Collections of swords, pikes and other weapons were arranged in intricate patterns on the panelled walls above, with here and there the tattered remnants of a once-proud battle banner hanging forlornly in the still air. A huge stone fireplace dominated one comer of the room and here again was displayed the von Reistoven armorial bearings.

  The fire was now unlit, for the night was warm, but Lee could imagine how the room would come alive when the hearth was filled with flaming logs. It was a room that seemed to be waiting; waiting again to hear the blowing of war trumpets, to feel the tramp of the knights in their mail and armour as they took up the great battleaxes and two-handed swords and prepared once more to fight.

  Lee half shut her eyes and spun gently round, the red dress leaping into shafts of flame as it flared round her. She was lost in the pictures of the past that the hall had evoked; of knights galloping down the lists for the glory of championship, of lovers hastening to their ladies' bowers. She noticed the gallery for the first time and wondered idly if the troubadour, Blondel, had played there on his search for King Richard the Lion- heart. Then she stood still abruptly. A man who was much larger than any figment of her imagination, more vital and definitely more real than any wraith, stood at the corner of the gallery silently watching her. Lee looked up at him, her heart-shaped face framed in clouds of smoky-black hair.

  Max came slowly down the stairs towards her dressed in an immaculate black evening suit, the stark whiteness of his shirt deepening his tan and the cut of the jacket revealing the full breadth of his muscular shoulders. He came and stood before her, in his eyes a look —perhaps a little of amusement, but also something more—yes, definitely something more. Very formally, he bowed and raised Lee's hand to his lips. His touch was light, yet warm and strong. His eyes were blue as the sky as they looked deep into hers and Lee again experienced that breathless, choking feeling that made her hand start to shake in his.

  'WillkOmmen. Welcome to my home, Lee,' he said softly. Turning to indicate the gallery where he had stood to watch her, he said, 'Our positions should have been reversed, shouldn't they? It was Juliet who should have stood on the balcony.'

  Smiling rather tremulously, Lee managed to say, 'I admit I was day-dreaming. This magnificent room raises a host of pictures. It's the very quintessence of Romance with a capital R, isn't it?'

  'To a stranger it must be so, but I have lived here most of my life and I suppose I've become blase about it. I must try to see it through your eyes,' he said indulgently, rather as if he were speaking to a silly, romantic teenager.

  He led her to an archway concealed under the stairs and opened the door into a brilliantly lit and richly furnished drawing-room. There were several people already in the room, but Frau von Reistoven came quickly forward to greet her warmly and to hold her arm while she introduced her to the other guests. Nearly everyone spoke English, one of the men having lived in England for some time, so Lee was quite pleased to find herself placed next to him at dinner.

  The meal was a formal one of several courses, but Lee hardly noticed what was served and merely toyed with the food on her plate. She talked and laughed with the people near her, but her eyes kept straying up the long, candlelit table to where Max sat at its head, courteously turning to some remark of the lady on his right, or listening to some long story from the woman on his left; very much the host, very much at ease. It was even more difficult, now, in these surroundings, to visualise him as the man who had been so cruel to her great-uncle.

  Once she had turned away from his end of the table to answer a question about London from her neighbour, when she felt that she was being watched. Quickly she turned and found Max looking at her intently. Lee raised her eyes to his and for a moment their glances locked, but then Frau von Reistoven rose and it was time for the ladies to withdraw in the old- fashioned tradition that was still maintained in the Schloss Reistoven.

  The rest of the evening passed in a whirl and was over all too quickly. When the others had left Max excused himself and his mother walked Lee to her room and said goodnight, but Lee had never felt less like sleep in all her life. She took out her writing pad and tried to finish her letter to Richard but found writing difficult with her sprained wrist, and anyway, she just couldn't concentrate. Slowly she put down her pen and finally admitted to herself what her emotions had known all along; that she was beginning to be physically attracted to Max! That she was fully aware of him as a man. But she was going to marry Richard, wasn't she? She had no right to feel like that about another man, to want him to touch her, to like to be near him, especially one as ruthless and callous as Max von Reistoven. Looking back, she realised that she had been attracted to him from the first and that was why she had so turned against him when she had found out about him. If she hadn't liked him so much it wouldn't have been so hard to take.

  So what if she was—infatuated with him? It was a purely physical thing, and completely one-sided at that. Mentally she knew him for what he was and there was no danger of her feelings taking over, of her making a fool of herself by letting him know how she felt. Not that he was likely to be interested even if she did, she thought with cruel irony, for Max had treated her with contemptuous disdain ever since she had started to fight him. Although, once or twice, there had been that curious light in his eyes. He was probably laughing at what a gullible fool I was, Lee told herself angrily. She would just have to leave the Schloss as soon as she could; to get away from Max and go back home to Richard. Moodily she stood up and crossed to look at herself in the mirror. Her face was pale, her eyes dark and troubled. How could she honestly go back to Richard, marry him,' live with him as his wife, when all the t
ime her body ached for someone else's touch?

  Pushing open the window, she looked out past the Blue and white chevron-patterned shutters, across the rising hills to where the moon lit the snow-covered peaks. Why had she never felt like this about Richard, who was so easy to get along with and who always looked at her with admiration and paid her compliments, instead of calling her a fool and getting angrier with her every time he saw her? She sighed and looked down on to the terrace. The moon was reflected on the still waters of the swimming pool; it looked cool and inviting, suddenly Lee longed to plunge into its depths and tire herself out by sheer physical exertion. Well, Frau von Reistoven had said use it any time, hadn't she?

  It took hardly a moment to change into her swim- suit and wrap but rather longer to find her way to the terrace. Quickly she slipped off the blue towelling robe and tucked her hair into her bathing cap. She unwrapped the crepe bandage and then went to the side to dive cleanly into the water. She swam across the pool under the surface, then came up to do several lengths in a fast, steady crawl until turning to float easily on her back, looking at the castle as the turrets and towers were outlined against the moonlight.

  The pungent aroma of cigar-smoke drifted across her nostrils and Lee turned and swam to the steps, knowing who was there before she hauled herself out. Max was reclining comfortably in a lounger, smoking a long Havana cigar. Lee pulled off her cap and shook her hair free before walking slowly towards him. He rose and held her robe ready for her to slip into. He smelt of tobacco and woody after-shave, and very, very masculine.

  'Do you always swim at midnight?' He placed the robe round her and—and did his hands linger on her shoulders for just a moment?

  'I couldn't sleep.'

  He pulled another lounger forward for her. 'Cigarette?'

  Lee took one from the case he offered and for a moment she saw his face clearly in the flare of the lighter flame. Then she looked quickly away; if she could see him then he could also see her.

  'You swim well. How's the wrist?'

  'Tons better, thank you. The doctor said I need only keep the bandage on for about a week, but I can use it quite well already.'

  'You'd better let me put it back on for you.' He took the bandage and carefully wrapped it round her wrist. When he had finished he didn't let go of her hand straightaway but continued to hold it as though satisfying himself that it was on correctly.

  Lee couldn't trust herself to look at him. 'Thank you,' she said as calmly as she could. 'I shall be able to go back to the chalet tomorrow.'

  Immediately he let go of her hand and sat back in his chair. 'I meant to talk to you about that. I took it on myself to contact the builder who was working on the chalet. He went back there this morning but found that part of the chimney stack was dangerously loose and it won't be safe to continue work on the roof until it has been repaired, and it definitely won't be safe for you to go on living there.'

  Lee sat bolt upright and stared at him. 'The chimney was perfectly all right before!' Her eyes glittered angrily as she stood and faced him. 'I wondered why you were so darn anxious to get me out of the chalet. What have you done to it?'

  Max looked up at her coldly. 'Just what is that remark supposed to mean?'

  Refusing to be intimidated, Lee swept on angrily, 'Do you think I don't know why you wanted me out of the way? You brought me here just so that you could get to the chalet while my back was turned! I wouldn't put it past you to…'

  As angry as she now, Max too got to his feet. 'You little fool! If I'd wanted to do anything to the chalet I could have done it while you were staying at the hotel. But why should I want to damage something that is rightfully mine? How do you know that the chimney, was all right before today? Are you sure the builder examined it?'

  'Of course.' Lee wasn't sure, but she wasn't going to let him know that.

  Max stared at her, breathing hard. 'Lee, if I had wanted the Alpenrose estate that badly I could have taken it back years ago. As it was, your uncle chose to take it to the law-courts so I couldn't touch it, or I would have kept it in good repair myself. Do you think I like to see the place in such a state? A house that has been in my family for generations?' His jaw tightened. 'And believe it or not, I don't play underhand tricks behind people's backs, especially when they happen to be guests in my home!' he finished on a savage note. For a moment he continued to glare at her, then abruptly stubbed out his half-finished cigar before turning to stride away.

  He had taken only a few steps, however, before Lee said hurriedly, 'Max.' He stopped and turned round to face her. Slowly now, she went on, "Th-that was extremely rude of me. I'm sorry.' She found that she couldn't look at him and instead quite unnecessarily retied the belt of her wrap.

  Max didn't answer immediately, but then stirred and walked back to stand close in front of her. Still she didn't look up, so he put a long finger under her chin, tilting her head so that she had to look at him as he regarded her somewhat Ruefully. 'We do seem to have the unfortunate effect of striking sparks off one another, don't we? It must be something in our make-up.'

  Lee gave a ghost of a smile. 'Perhaps it's because we're both as stubborn as mule's.'

  'Have I been such a tyrant, little one?' he asked gently.

  Stupidly Lee felt tears pricking at the back of her eyes at his tone and she could only shake her head, unable to reply, angry wit|i herself because a gentle word from him could have this effect on her.

  'Suppose we make a pact,' Max suggested. 'While you're staying at the Schloss we'll call a truce to our— private war. An armed truce, if you like,' he added as he saw the swift spark of suspicion in her eyes. 'But neither of us will do anything about the Alpenrose while you're my guest.' He smiled, a slightly crooked smile. 'It might be a good idea if we didn't even talk about it. But if you should change your mind I'd like you to remember that my offer still stands, plus the cost of the repairs already carried out, of course.'

  Watching carefully for his reaction, Lee said, 'And if I still refuse to sell to you?'

  He shrugged. 'Let's not worry about that at the moment.'

  'Will you try and get it back from me in the law- courts?'

  'I never took it to court; it was your great-uncle who did that. I thought you would have taken the trouble to find that out for yourself,' he said with a sharp note in his voice. 'And I hardly think you're in a financial position to contemplate fighting me in court, Lee.'

  'No? Aren't you forgetting that my boy-friend is a barrister? I can fight you in any court you like and it won't cost me a penny.'

  Max stood very still for a second, then his expression became quite unreadable as he said sarcastically, 'Ah, yes, your unofficial fiancé. How convenient. So, we have reached a stalemate. Do we call a truce or not?'

  Unhappily Lee saw that they had ended up at one another's throats yet again and realised that his solution was the only sensible one while they were living under the same roof. 'All right,' she agreed reluctantly. 'But only for the time being.'

  He looked amused. 'Somehow I don't think you'll ever win the Nobel Peace Prize, but it will do for a start.' Deliberately he changed the subject. 'Has my mother shown you round the Schloss yet?' And when Lee shook her head, he added, 'Then I expect she will want to do that tomorrow morning, but perhaps you would like to come out with me after lunch. There are one or two calls I have to make that might interest you.'

  Lee hesitated for only a second. 'Thank you, I think I should like that.'

  Frau von Reistoven took Lee on the promised tour of the Schloss the next morning, and although her hostess answered all her eager questions in detail, Lee couldn't help but notice that she didn't have as much interest and enthusiasm for the castle as she had for the gardens. Lee had all the awe of the British for anything craftsman-made and many of the beautiful antiques had been formed by skilful and caring hands as long ago as the fifteenth century. Reverently she ran her hands over a carved chair, black with age, but with every detail still as delicate and vibr
ant as when it was made so very long ago.

  'But come, you have not yet seen the chapel and the apartments upstairs,' her hostess told her as she lingered yet again.

  Soon Lee was bewildered by the number of rooms and wasn't entirely sorry when it was time for lunch; such an abundance of magnificence was too much for one morning. Max didn't join them but sent a message that he would meet Lee later. She found him waiting for her in the courtyard with the Mercedes. Rudi came running out to them, Prinz as usual barking at his heels.

  'You cannot take the dog,' Max told him sternly, and Rudi immediately burst into an impassioned argument with him in German that ended with the child going sulkily back into the castle.

  'Can't he come?' Lee pleaded, seeing his bowed shoulders and unhappy little face.

  'No. He has to learn that he can't take Prinz everywhere.' Max was completely unmoved.

  He took her on what was more or less a tour of the von Reistoven estate, visiting two farms where he discussed business with his tenants while Lee was shown round by the farmers' wives, although their conversation was somewhat hampered by their not being able to speak each other's language.

  'I do wish I spoke German,' Lee remarked as they drove away. 'I'm sure I missed a great deal by not being able to talk to them.'

  'Even if you had spoken German you wouldn't have been able to understand them,' Max informed her, threading the way through a maze of twisting lanes. 'As a rule the highland people speak only their own Austrian dialect and this varies from state to state throughout the country, often from village to village, much as in Britain the dialect changes from north to south.'