A Steeplechase For Love

by Barbara Cartland

  “I am sure he is delighted you should ride him!” “He is wonderful and we reached here in double quick time.” Helsa pointed to the other side of the wood,

  “Go down there for about a mile and you will meet no one, because they are all out on the course watching the steeplechase. Then you can go straight back to The Hall.”

  “Where will you be going?” the Duke asked her.

  “I will take Samson back through the wood where we met yesterday and merely say I was exercising him. No one will think it strange, even though I am not dressed for riding.”

  The Duke was reflecting that despite Helsa’s full skirt, she managed to mount Samson most gracefully and she looked exquisitely lovely on the great horse.

  “I think I can hear people in the distance. Hurry now, Your Grace, until you are behind rather than in front of them. Then you will be safe.”

  “I will do so, Helsa, although I still think this is part of a dream and not really taking place.”

  “That is what I felt myself when I overheard what they intended to do. I was only frightened you would not listen to me.”

  “I think that I will always listen to you, Helsa, and thank you so much for protecting me.”

  He smiled at her as he rode off.

  Samson wanted to follow, but she held him back.

  Helsa waited until she heard the other competitors riding through Monk Wood.

  Then slowly, in the opposite direction to the way the Duke had gone, she rode back towards The Hall.

  She rode through the wood she loved so much, but did not stop.

  She reached the stables just as the winner of the steeplechase was riding at top speed towards the winning post.

  It had taken her some time as she had not hurried and she was praying in her heart that the Duke had done exactly as she had told him.

  No one would believe that he would pull out of the steeplechase when he so far ahead unless he had thought it seriously damaging to his precious stallion.

  As she rode into the yard, one of the grooms came out to meet her.

  “I thinks per’aps Samson ’ad escaped, Miss Helsa, when no one be ’ere,” the man was complaining.

  “I took him for a ride because he looked so lonely,” she replied. “Have you heard who won the steeplechase?”

  “I can tell you, Miss Helsa, who ain’t won it and that be ’is Grace. ’E comes in ’ere a short time ago and says that fine stallion of ’is ’as sprained ’is leg. ’E told ’is groom to take ’im back to ’is own stables at once. Then ’e orders ’is chaise and drives orf!”

  Helsa gave a deep sigh of relief.

  The Duke had obeyed her and gone away just as she had advised him to do and he had not waited to say goodbye to Lady Basset.

  She would doubtless be furious that he had decided not to finish the race and so avoided being captured by her gang of ruffians.

  And therefore all her Ladyship’s dastardly plotting and scheming had come to nothing.

  Now massive cheers and shouts were coming from the direction of the paddock.

  Helsa then knew that by now someone had won the steeplechase and the house party would be coming back to The Hall, but it would, however, still take them some time because there were prizes to be given out first.

  She supposed Lady Basset would have deputised Watson to do the honours for her.

  ‘I had better go into the house,’ she thought, ‘and make sure that everything is alright. Then I will wait for Lady Basset’s fury when she finds out that the Duke has gone back to London.’

  *

  It then suddenly struck Helsa that she herself would never see him again and the mere thought brought tears to her eyes.

  It had been so exciting meeting the Duke –

  To talk to him in her very special magical wood.

  To know that almost in spite of himself he believed her when she had told him that he was in great danger.

  He had moved even quicker than she had expected and she could well understand that he had no wish to see Lady Basset.

  Or, in fact, to have anything to do with the party which might have proved so disastrous for him personally.

  Having patted Samson, Helsa then walked slowly towards The Hall.

  There were still cheers and clapping of hands to be heard in the paddock and that meant the last competitors were passing the winning post.

  Even if they did not win they were to be given a small souvenir with which to remember the steeplechase.

  It was her grandfather who had introduced the idea and in his day there had been a steeplechase at The Hall every year and the villagers still talked about it.

  Helsa knew it was unlikely that Lady Basset would stay in The Hall for long and so she went straight upstairs to the nursery.

  There had been no sign of Robinson in the hall and she wondered if he had been there when the Duke returned and had assisted him in leaving as quickly as he could.

  It would not have taken very long to have made the chaise ready and it was unlikely that the Duke would have changed from his red coat.

  He would therefore have merely had to collect his valet and his luggage and Helsa could not help thinking that his valet might be used to receiving unexpected orders and so would not have taken long to pack.

  In fact the Duke might have been intending in any case to leave immediately after the steeplechase. She had a feeling when she had seen him disappear last night into the garden that he was thinking ‘enough is enough’ and might have decided then to return to London as soon as he possibly could.

  ‘So I will never see him again,’ Helsa sighed to herself.

  She took the last step up the narrow stairs that led to the nursery and as she opened the nursery door, she gave a little cry of astonishment.

  Sitting by the window was none other than Mary Emerson.

  “Mary!” exclaimed Helsa. “You are back already!”

  “Yes, I am back,” answered Mary. “Grandmama was buried this morning and I thought the sooner I came here to help you the better.”

  “Dear Mary! I have indeed managed reasonably well without you, but I am so delighted to see you again.”

  “I thought you would be, Helsa. Now you can go back to the Vicarage and look after your dear father, which I know has been worrying you. But I could not come any sooner.”

  “No, of course not. I am very sorry to hear about your grandmother, Mary.”

  “It was a merciful death, as it happened. She was very old and had been in pain for a long time. The doctor could really do nothing for her.”

  Then, as if Mary wished to change the subject, she remarked,

  “I can see you have been busy today. I thought the steeplechase was to be held on Saturday.”

  “Yes, it was, but it had to be postponed until today and I wish you had been able to see the outstanding horses that took part in it.”

  “Do you know who won?” enquired Mary.

  “No, not yet. I have just come from the stables, but they were still cheering in the paddock, so obviously they have not finished giving away the prizes.”

  “You must tell me who is in the party,” said Mary, “and if Lady Basset is very difficult to look after.”

  “Actually she is not as difficult as one might have expected, but I would be very grateful, dear Mary, if you could take over from me now. She had been plotting and planning the steeplechase and a great many other things, so I really have no wish to cope with her at the moment.”

  Mary smiled.

  “Then I will do it for you. I am extremely grateful that you are not angry with me for having to let you down at the very last moment, Helsa.”

  “It has been a great help to Papa that Lady Basset rented The Hall and I hope we have made some money out of it. But I have a feeling that now the steeplechase is over she will rapidly return to London.”

  “I expect she finds the country rather dull and it’s not surprising. With her money she could be going round the world and that is
something I would surely like to do myself one day.”

  Helsa smiled at her.

  “So would I, Mary, but now you are here I will go home to see Papa. I promise you to come back later today or tomorrow and see what is happening.” Helsa had gone into the night nursery to pack the few clothes she had brought with her. She had taken her case from the wardrobe and now she was filling it.

  “I suppose her Ladyship is in the master bedroom,” Mary asked her casually.

  “No, she is in the room next door.” “Then who is in there?” Mary wanted to know.

  “The Duke of Mervinston. I suppose you are aware that Dukes are always given the best of everything just because they are Dukes!”

  Mary laughed.

  “That is nice for them, but a bit disappointing for everyone else. Did you meet him?”

  “Yes, I did – ”

  Helsa was putting one of her gowns carefully into the case and she tried to speak as if her meeting with the Duke had been of no consequence.

  “Well, you were obviously not impressed,” Mary added. “I had hoped at least one of the party would be attractive and someone we could then talk about afterwards even if they were not interested in us.”

  “How could you expect them to be interested when we are pretending to be servants?” Helsa pointed out.

  Mary shrugged her shoulders.

  “I have always believed that social standing would not be important if one met the right man – ”

  There was silence for a moment.

  Then Helsa commented,

  “Yes, of course, that is the right way to put it. If one met the right man, it would not matter.”

  “Well, there is always tomorrow,” Mary remarked cheerfully. “Quite frankly it is about time both you and I found young men to admire us even in this dismal part of the world where nothing seems to happen.”

  “Except a steeplechase – ” murmured Helsa.

  She then closed the case knowing that she had put in everything she had brought.

  “It is angelic of you to come so quickly, Mary, and now I must go home and see if Papa is well.”

  “Of course, Helsa, please don’t worry. I will cope with everything here. It will cheer me up after seeing my relations and having to attend the funeral.”

  Helsa kissed her.

  “I am more grateful than I can possibly say, Mary.”

  Carrying her case she walked out of the nursery and down the stairs.

  As she reached the first floor, she heard the riders coming in through the front door, laughing and talking and they had obviously enjoyed themselves thoroughly.

  Helsa then turned towards one of the side doors and slipped out of the house into the garden.

  She walked along behind the rhododendrons until she reached the orchard and from there she found her way into the Park.

  She had seen no one and no one had seen her.

  She walked on, finding that her suitcase was not too heavy but a bother to carry.

  Helsa could not help but think that she was going back to the old routine of no one to see or talk to except her father, who, when he came home late in the evening, was often too tired to even discuss anything with her.

  It had been a great adventure meeting the Duke, but she was resigned that she would never see him again.

  She had at least saved him from the wicked plotting and scheming of Lady Basset.

  But just as her Ladyship had lost him, she had lost him too.

  Helsa walked on doggedly towards the Vicarage for once taking no notice of the stags or the beauty of the Park.

  Quite suddenly she knew that she loved the Duke with all her heart and soul.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Helsa reached the door in the wall that led into the Vicarage garden.

  She walked through it, being careful not to bang her case against the sides and closed the door behind her.

  The garden was full of delightful blooms and they did not seem to have suffered at all from her neglect these last few days when she had been at The Hall.

  She walked across the lawn and putting down her case she went straight into the stables.

  She thought if her father was back home his horse would be there, but the stalls were empty and quite clearly Golden Arrow was in the field and her father still away.

  There was no sign of George the groom anywhere and she guessed he would have been watching the climax of the steeplechase.

  She retraced her steps to the front of the Vicarage and picked up her case.

  The front door was open because, as they were so loved in the village, both she and her father knew that no one would ever burgle them.

  Instead of climbing up the stairs as she ordinarily would have done to unpack, Helsa went towards the study.

  She somehow wanted to wait there for her father to return and to feel that, when he was with her, life would soon be back to normal.

  There would be no need for her to go on thinking about the Duke and remembering his handsome face.

  She realised it would be very difficult, now that she was aware of her true feelings for him, to think of anything else.

  But she told herself that this chapter of her life had closed and she must turn for consolation to her books that had meant so much to her these past years.

  She opened the study door and walked in.

  As she did so she looked towards the bookshelves that lined the wall behind her father’s desk.

  There was a sudden movement from the fireplace as she passed it.

  She turned round and was frozen into immobility.

  Rising from the chair where he had been sitting and reading a newspaper was the Duke.

  For a second she thought he must be an illusion and that she was imagining he was there.

  Then, as he threw the newspaper onto the floor, she stammered,

  “It is you – but I thought – you had gone – ”

  She tripped over the words because it was almost impossible to speak.

  The Duke smiled at her.

  “Did you really think that after you have saved me from a fate worse than death, I would leave without saying goodbye and thank you?”

  “But – your horses had gone from the stables – ” “They were waiting for me a little further up the road.” “But – how did you know – who I was?” “It was not difficult to ask where a very beautiful young girl called Helsa lived and who was the owner of a horse called Golden Arrow!”

  “So – you came – here,” Helsa murmured.

  “I came to find you, Helsa, and I knew you would come here sooner or later.”

  He moved closer to her as he spoke.

  And now he stood looking down at her.

  “How could you, looking as lovely as you do,” he asked almost as if he was talking to himself, “be so clever and brave to save me from an awful fate I cannot really bear to think about?”

  “You must forget it, Your Grace, and that will be easy when you go back to London – and are with your own friends – ?”

  Then she suddenly gave a little cry.

  “You don’t think – that Lady Basset will try to trap you – again?”

  “She may do, but it is not very likely, unless you save me again.”

  “How could I possibly save you – when you are in London? And it would be even more dangerous if you stay here.”

  “I know that,” said the Duke, “but I have a solution to my problem.”

  “What is it?” Helsa implored him, “and will it keep you – really safe?”

  “It will keep me really safe, but before I talk about that, I want to thank you for being so courageous in saving me. And, what I reckon was even more difficult, to make me believe you when you told me exactly what was going to happen.”

  “I was so frightened you would think I was lying or had been misled, Your Grace. In fact I prayed and prayed all the time I was waiting for you – that you would believe me.”

  “I did believe you, Helsa, and I knew f
or certain when I rode back to the paddock and saw Watson’s look of astonishment on his face that you had told me the truth.”

  “He was in on the plot too? – and that was why he arranged for us to have the steeplechase today instead of on Saturday.”

  “So that it gave Lady Basset more time to be with me,” the Duke added quietly.

  “Exactly!” Helsa agreed, “but I think they had had some difficulty in finding a real Priest to marry you.”

  There was a pause and then the Duke muttered,

  “I was wise enough to believe you, Helsa, and now I must try to thank you properly for saving me. I feel that words are impossible and there is only one way to do it.”

  He put his arms round Helsa as he spoke and drew her close to him.

  Almost before she could breathe in or realise what was happening his lips were on hers.

  He kissed her very gently.

  Then, as he felt a tremor run through her, his arms held her closer.

  His kisses became more demanding.

  To Helsa it was an ecstasy she had never known.

  A wonder beyond any words and beyond all reason and thought.

  She had always imagined in her dreams that when a man she loved kissed her it would be wonderful.

  But this was like flying to Heaven and dancing with the stars.

  The Duke felt that it was the kiss of real love that had always eluded him and he had begun to believe that it only ever existed in novels.

  He recognised as he kissed Helsa again and went on kissing her his feelings for her were completely different from anything he had experienced in his life before.

  It was not just the fiery desire that would flare up so quickly and would then die as rapidly as it had risen.

  It was a sensation so perfect and so exquisite that it could only have come from Heaven.

  As the Duke kissed Helsa, the wonder she felt was almost too much to be borne.

  She gave a little murmur and hid her face against his neck and he could feel the beating of her heart against his.

  Her whole body trembled with the ecstasy she was feeling and which he felt too.

  For a moment they were silent.