A Steeplechase For Love

by Barbara Cartland

She paused before she added,

  “To tell the truth I am just longing to see the rest of the horses. The ones in the stables at the moment are truly magnificent.”

  “If I was you, I should go whilst they are having luncheon or dinner,” Mr. Martin suggested.

  She climbed up the backstairs and along a corridor to the room occupied by Lady Basset.

  She could see that the housemaids had cleaned and tidied the room perfectly and she could not find fault.

  Helsa wondered if there was anything she ought to do to the gown that Lady Basset had worn last night. She had hung it up in the wardrobe and found there was not a crease in the material and it was actually too over-trimmed for any part of it to need ironing.

  Helsa had always heard that Frederick Worth put more trimmings on his gowns than any other couturier had ever done and she thought now it was a distinct blessing for the poor overworked lady’s maid!

  She was closing the door of the wardrobe when she heard a noise behind her.

  Turning round she saw a man coming through the door that led into the master bedroom.

  For a moment she just stared at him.

  Then she realised from the way he was dressed that he must be a valet.

  “Can I help you?” she asked.

  “I was just going to ask you – ” he replied.

  He spoke well, but with just a slight inflection in his voice that told Helsa he was indeed a valet.

  She walked nearer to him.

  “What can I do for you?” “I expect you’re the lady’s maid to the Mistress of the house. I was hoping to find a key to this door.”

  As he spoke he glanced at the communicating door.

  As Helsa followed his eyes, she saw that there was a lock on the door, but no key.

  “I do suppose,” she responded, “there must be a key for it somewhere, but actually I have never seen it locked and it may have been lost.”

  She remembered a time when her grandmother had been ill and she had been sitting beside her bed when her grandfather had come through that door which led directly into his own room.

  “I thought I heard your voice, Helsa,” he had said, “and I am glad you have come to see your grandmother. She is finding it rather lonely now she is tied to her bed.”

  “I have brought her some herbs,” she remembered replying. “You have lots in your own garden, but Mama thinks these would heal Grandmama quicker than yours.”

  Her grandfather had laughed.

  “I know your mother thinks that,” he said, “and the whole village believes trustingly in everything she gives them. At least they will do your grandmother no harm.”

  “They will certainly not hurt her,” she had replied.

  Her grandfather had then patted her shoulder as he reached the bed.

  “You are a good girl to try and help anyone who is ill, as your mother does. It is something you must keep on doing when you grow older.”

  “I promise you I will do so,” she had smiled at him.

  Then he had gone back the way he had come.

  Whilst Helsa had been looking back into the past, she realised that the valet was looking closer at the lock – as if there was a way of making it work without a key.

  Then he said with a sigh, “There must be lots of keys in this house. Where can I find some to try in the lock?”

  “You must ask Mr. Martin,” Helsa answered him. “I am sure he will have a collection somewhere.”

  “I’ll do that,” the valet replied, “and if you ask me these connecting doors are a nuisance and people should be made to use the proper door to a bedroom with a key in it.”

  He spoke almost angrily and then Helsa countered,

  “I cannot think why you are worrying. I am sure, as her Ladyship sleeps here, no one will think of entering His Grace’s room except through the door in the passage.”

  The valet looked at her and then he smiled,

  “You’re so young, and I’d suppose they keep you innocent in these outlandish parts. But you take my advice and if you’re put in a bedroom that has a door like this, you keep it locked.”

  “But why? I don’t understand.” Helsa looked perplexed.

  The valet gazed at her.

  “Well, I’ll tell you something else. When there’s a handsome man like the one I has to look after, it’s always wise for him to lock his door at night.”

  “Do you mean people might slip into his bedroom and steal his possessions?” asked Helsa.

  The valet laughed again.

  “They’re more likely to steal him!” he guffawed. “I’ll tell you another thing. I has to keep the women from running after him as if they were a swarm of bees.”

  Helsa looked at him wide-eyed.

  “You learn a lot about people if you valets them as I does or sews up their dresses as you do, and if you ask me, you’re too pretty and too young for the job.”

  “I don’t understand,” persisted Helsa. “I am quite certain that no one would go into His Grace’s bedroom in the night without knocking on the door. Then, of course, he could refuse to let them in.”

  The Valet stared at her as if to make certain that she really did not understand what he was implying.

  Then he continued,

  “It’s a mistake for you to know too much. But just take my warning. If you’re sleeping in a room which has not got a key to the door, you’ll have to bar it, so no one’ll get in and surprise you when you’re asleep.”

  “I should be very frightened if anyone came into my bedroom when I was asleep,” said Helsa. “If you think that might happen to your Master, I will go down now to ask Mr. Martin if he has a key for the door. But I honestly think it is quite unnecessary.”

  She thought the valet looked at her in a strange way as if he thought she must be pretending to be so naïve.

  She could not imagine why on earth Lady Basset should want to enter the Duke’s room – unless she wished to give him something to help him sleep or if she thought something had been forgotten – perhaps like biscuits by the bed or extra candles.

  Almost as if he knew what she was thinking, the valet was watching her and then he remarked,

  “You’re far too pretty for this sort of job. Is there nothing else you could do, like teaching children at school or sewing clothes at home for your mother?”

  “My mother is dead and I am only being a lady’s maid at present because it was so difficult for Mr. Martin to find so many servants in this part of the County.”

  The valet nodded as if he understood.

  “Well, I don’t know where you’re sleeping but you shut your door tonight and lock it. Then if anyone tries to come and say goodnight to you, he’ll not be able to get in.”

  Helsa laughed as she could not help it.

  “There is no one likely to do that, and certainly not where I am sleeping, but thank you for trying to protect me from feeling frightened.”

  “I think, now I’ve talked to you, it’s more likely you’d be shocked,” said the valet. “But I can promise you I have to guard His Grace and if you don’t find me a key, I’ll have to find something heavy to put against this door.”

  “I will go and talk to Mr. Martin right away.” Helsa hurried down the stairs, thinking as she went that the valet was being very fussy.

  She could not imagine why he should suspect Lady Basset of wanting to go into the Duke’s bedroom after they had all retired to bed.

  Mr. Martin was not in his Office and Helsa guessed he might have gone to the stables to see if everything had been properly prepared for the new horses.

  So she then walked out of the back door and was heading for the stables along a narrow path bordered with clumps of rhododendrons, when she saw a tall handsome man wearing riding clothes walking towards her.

  She came to a standstill.

  As he reached her, he said,

  “I think I have taken a wrong turning. I was trying to find the way back to the front door.”

  “This w
ay only leads to the kitchen,” replied Helsa, “and if you go back a little way and turn left, the path will lead you to the front of the house.”

  She suddenly realised that she was speaking to the Duke – the man she had watched last night from over the banisters.

  For a moment he did not turn away, but asked her,

  “Are you staying in the house? I did not meet you at dinner last night.”

  “No, I am lady’s maid to Lady Basset.” “Lady’s maid!” the Duke repeated in astonishment. “But you do not seem – ”

  He stopped as if he thought that what he was about to say might seem rude, so instead he enquired,

  “Do you belong to this part of the world?”

  He was thinking as he asked her the question that he had never seen anyone quite so lovely and he certainly did not expect the beautiful girl facing him to be a servant.

  “Yes, I live near here, and I only came in to oblige, because the household is very short-handed.”

  “I thought there must be an explanation for it,” the Duke remarked. “What is your name?”

  This took her by surprise.

  Without thinking she replied, “Helsa”. Then added quickly, “but everyone calls me Mary.”

  “I much prefer Helsa,” the Duke mused. “I think, if I am right, the name has some special meaning.”

  Helsa smiled at him.

  “It actually means, ‘given by God’, and that is why my father and mother chose it for me after I was born.”

  “It is a lovely name and so why do you spoil it by using another one?”

  Helsa thought quickly.

  “Most people do find it difficult to pronounce and even more difficult to spell, so Mary is easier when I am working like this.”

  “I can well understand that,” the Duke said a little doubtfully. “Now, unless you are going back to the house, can you show me where I went wrong?”

  “If you will come this way, Your Grace.” She moved so that he could walk beside her.

  And then he asked her,

  “Where are you going? To your home?”

  “No, I was going to the stables. I saw your horse this morning and I think he is absolutely superb. He is one of the finest stallions I have ever seen.”

  “That is just what I think myself, but the other one I was riding this morning will be almost as good when he is properly broken in.”

  “Do you do it yourself, Your Grace?” “I do it when I can, and it is what I enjoy. Besides I think a horse always has a special attachment to the person who breaks him in.”

  “That is what my father has always said. I do feel myself that if you possess that certain affinity with your horse, he is far easier to control than if you are a stranger to him.”

  “Of course you are right,” the Duke agreed.

  By this time they had reached the yard where the Duke had taken the wrong turning and Helsa stood still.

  “You go down that path,” she told him, pointing the way to the front of the house.

  “Thank you. I am most grateful, Helsa, and I hope I will meet you again.”

  It suddenly struck her that she should not have met him in the first place and it would be a mistake for him to talk about it.

  “Please,” she asked him quickly, “don’t tell anyone you have seen me or that we have had this conversation.”

  The Duke looked surprised.

  “Why ever not?” “Because there are reasons as to why I should not be here and certainly not talking to one of the guests.”

  He did not answer and Helsa looked up at him and persisted,

  “Please, please, forget this has happened.”

  “I will not forget it, but, since you have asked me, I will not speak of it to anyone.”

  Helsa smiled at him.

  “Thank you so much, Your Grace, and don’t forget that is a promise.”

  “I will not forget – ” He walked away and Helsa turned and went back into The Hall.

  She had suddenly thought it was very stupid of her to have even considered going to the stables so late in the morning, as those who had been riding would obviously be returning for luncheon.

  ‘I must remember to keep my place,’ she scolded herself. ‘Otherwise if Papa hears about it, he will be angry and it would be even worse for us if Lady Basset refused to pay the rent.’

  So she therefore retraced her steps to Mr. Martin’s Office, sat down and waited.

  She had been there five minutes when he entered.

  “Hello Miss – M-Mary,” he began+ stammering over his words. “I hope that all is well in the house.”

  “All is well on the domestic front, but you must tell me more about the steeplechase.”

  “I was told that Lady Basset had arranged it before she left London and a steeplechase expert had already been engaged to organise it for her and the horses were on their way.”

  “Do you mean she brought all the horses especially for her guests?” Helsa asked him.

  “From what I gather, but when she asked the Duke to stay, he said he would bring his own horses with him. It was this that put the idea into her head that there should be a steeplechase.”

  “It is all quite bewildering!” exclaimed Helsa. “But equally it must be wonderful to have so much money that you can arrange a huge event at a moment’s notice without giving a thought to the expense, or to the extra people you will have to employ to carry it out.”

  Mr. Martin laughed.

  “I thought that myself – and naturally I will charge extra for the stabling of so many extra horses. They have mostly come with their grooms, but I am quite certain that we will require more help in the stables.”

  “That is exactly what I want to hear, Mr. Martin.” She suddenly remembered why she had come to see Mr. Martin in the first place.

  “His Grace’s valet has just asked me for the key of the communicating door between his own room and Lady Basset’s.”

  “The key! I should have thought that it was the last thing they wanted!”

  Then, as if he had spoken without thinking and felt embarrassed, he said rapidly,

  “But if that is what His Grace requires, I must find the key for him. There is a box of keys here that belong to a great number of rooms in this house, but I have no idea which. If you will take it to him, it will certainly keep him busy finding the right one.”

  He went over to one of the shelves in the room and produced a box heavy with keys.

  Helsa looked at them and laughed.

  “If he is going to try all these, it is going to take him a long time. As I said to him, I cannot imagine anyone will want to use that door when they can reach the Duke quite easily from the corridor.”

  Mr. Martin was about to say something, but then he pursed his lips together.

  “I will take the box up to the valet,” said Helsa. “I will tell him if there is nothing in it that fits, he had better ask you if another lock can be fitted on the door.”

  She was silent for a moment before she added,

  “And if it makes a mess, it will undoubtedly annoy her Ladyship.”

  “I agree it may annoy her, but it may also annoy her even more – if the valet does find the key he is seeking.”

  “I cannot imagine why,” Helsa replied. “She cannot possibly want to go into the master bedroom except to see that it is tidy and the Duke has everything he desires. She can do that through the door on the corridor.”

  “Yes, of course she can,” he agreed hastily. “Just give the valet the box of keys and tell him to return what he does not need to me here in this Office.”

  Mr. Martin appeared to be in a hurry and Helsa felt that he had work to do and perhaps she was preventing him from doing it.

  “I will take it up to the man at once,” she offered.

  She had already reached the door when Mr. Martin remarked,

  “I should not tell her Ladyship that the Duke’s valet requires the key for the communicating door.”

  “Wh
y ever not?” Helsa enquired.

  “Because I think it would annoy her considerably. Therefore please just do as I say and that is another matter we should all keep our mouths shut about.”

  “I cannot think why, but if you think so, I will do as you suggest, Mr. Martin.”

  Mr. Martin did not reply, so Helsa went out of the Office closing the door behind her.

  She had no idea that after she had gone Mr. Martin wiped his forehead with his hand, wondering distractedly what the next obstacle would be.

  Upstairs she entered Lady Basset’s room.

  She next decided to open the communicating door to see if the Duke’s valet was in the master bedroom.

  There was no sound of voices, so she thought that the Duke was not present – he would be with Lady Basset in the drawing room drinking champagne before luncheon.

  Very gently just in case there was someone in the room, she pushed open the door.

  To her astonishment she found that she was unable to open it although it was not locked and then she realised that something heavy had been placed against the door on the other side.

  ‘I cannot think why he is making such a fuss about this door,’ she told herself again.

  Going into the passage she knocked lightly on the door that led into the master bedroom.

  There was no reply, so she pushed the door open and was not surprised to find the door was unlocked.

  She put the box of keys inside the room and then went back to Lady Basset’s room.

  She noticed at once a strong scent of her Ladyship’s best perfume. She had smelt it when she had dressed her last night and this morning Lady Basset had used the scent spray before she put on her gown.

  ‘I am sure that the gentlemen downstairs will find it very attractive,’ she reflected.

  Then she wondered what the Duke had felt.

  Because he was so tall and handsome she was quite certain there would be a great many women running after him and making themselves beautiful just for him.

  Then suddenly, and she thought she must have been very silly not to have thought of it before, it occurred to her that perhaps Lady Basset was running after the Duke!

  That was the reason why his valet wished to lock the communicating door between their rooms.

  ‘Why did I not think of that?’ Helsa asked herself.