“I can see that you have thought of everything and that reminds me very much of your father, Victor. He had a head for detail which was better than anyone else’s I have ever met.”
The Vicar then left the room and closed the door.
The Duke had risen to his feet and now he put out his hand to draw Helsa to hers.
“I don’t believe that this is real.” she whispered. “It cannot be true – and I know I am going to wake up soon.”
“If you do, it will be in my arms, and I will be able to assure you that everything I have promised will come true and a great deal more as well – ”
“It is so wonderful that I feel you are an archangel come down from Heaven, Victor, to save us from the mess and misery we have been in and which we felt would only grow worse and worse every year.”
“Now it is going to be better and better, my darling Helsa, and your father will, I know, enjoy every moment of creating a brand new Racecourse and most important of all making The Hall blossom again.”
“How can you say such wonderful things to me,” Helsa enthused, “and how can I have been so lucky as to have found you?”
The Duke smiled.
“I think as it happens, my precious, I found you. I thought when I saw you walking towards the stables, you were the most beautiful and exquisite creature I had ever dreamt about and that it was impossible for her to exist.”
“Do you really think – we will be happy?” The Duke put his arms around her and drew her close to him.
“I know when I hold you like this,” he breathed, “that you are everything any man could want and a great deal more besides. But, my darling, I am going to answer your question in the only practical way – ”
As he finished speaking his lips found hers.
Once again he was kissing her as he had before.
Kissing her until they were both once again swept into an ecstasy that was not of this world.
He kissed her and went on kissing her until they both recognised that they were not two people but one.
Their thoughts, their feelings and their love were a miracle which had come down from Heaven to unite them.
“I love you, my darling,” the Duke murmured.
It was difficult for Helsa to speak, but she knew as she moved closer and ever closer to him that she had found perfection.
It was what every man and every woman seeks, but only a few are privileged to find.
It was a perfection in which two people think the same, are the same and are part of each other.
Theirs was a love that would not diminish with the years but increase.
It was a love so incredibly perfect and so much a part of Heaven itself that Helsa believed they would never lose each other in this life nor in the thousands of lives yet to come.
They would love, work and think together.
And in their own way bring as much happiness and comfort to others as well as to themselves.
There was so much for them to do and so much that needed doing.
Every moment they were together would be one of divine happiness.
“I love you, Victor,” Helsa mumbled when at last she could speak.
Her voice seemed to come from a depth within her she had not fathomed before.
“I love and adore you, my angel,” the Duke replied. “We have found each other and now nothing can hurt or destroy what we have together. How could I have been so lucky?”
“That is just what I was asking about you,” Helsa smiled.
“It has been a steeplechase of our very own – ”
“A steeplechase for love!”
“And we have both won!” “We have both won, my darling Victor, and no one in the future can ever overcome us.”
Helsa wanted to tell him that she would protect and look after him for the rest of their lives, but there was no need for words.
The Duke was kissing her wildly, passionately and fervently.
She felt they were already flying above the earth and touching the glory of the sun.
It was theirs and the world beyond the world was theirs too.
The World of Love where they were together and would remain together for the rest of time.
No man or woman could ask for more.
It was only as the Duke kissed her again that Helsa was able from the depths of her soul to pray,
‘Thank You, God, thank You.’
She had saved him and he was hers.
Just as God had brought them both together, so He would look after them and protect them for all Eternity.
* * *
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
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
A STEEPLECHASE FOR LOVE
THE BARBARA CARTLAND PINK COLLECTION
Titles in this series
THE LATE DAME BARBARA CARTLAND
CHAPTER ONE 1867
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
Where to buy other titles in this series
A Steeplechase For Love Page 14