“You make me extremely envious, ma’am. Perhaps I should pay a visit to Russia to find out if there are any more glorious unattached beauties who look like you!”
“I am sure there are hundreds, David, and the next time you come to visit us, I will have one or two for your approval!”
“If you are talking of marriage, then I can tell you it is a forbidden subject. I have been nagged by my family for years and I have now definitely said I will not listen to one more dreary conversation that starts and ends with my marriage.”
“I can understand what you are feeling. But don’t worry, I am sure you will find someone you love, just as George found me and you will live happily ever after too.”
“I only hope so, ma’am.” At the same time he was thinking to himself it was something that might never happen to him.
They walked back into the Palace.
As they did so, an equerry came to tell them that the King had had to go into the City.
There was a conference that he had forgotten to attend earlier in the day and they had sent a message to say it was vital that he should be there if only for a short time.
“I was assured that His Majesty would be back in time to change for dinner,” the equerry told the Queen.
“And I must leave too,” the Duke came in. “What has happened to Princess Thalia?”
“I think she went with His Majesty,” the equerry replied. “They were together in the tearoom when I told His Majesty about the message from the City. She must have left while I was coming to find Your Grace.”
Then he added to the Queen apologetically,
“I had no idea that Your Majesty would be in the greenhouse. I looked first in the music room.”
“I was admiring Her Majesty’s flowers,” the Duke said. “They are certainly a fantastic collection of orchids. In fact, the best I have ever seen.”
“I am very glad you are saying that,” the Queen replied. “George always says I am a snob because I want to grow only the most exotic and rare flowers. But I find them so exciting because one sees them so seldom.”
“That is the right way to think, ma’am. Will you please look after the Princess Thalia and prevent her from destroying herself? I am very worried in case, after I have gone, she is forced to marry a man who is too old for her and she will then pay a visit to the Parthenon again – ”
“Leave it to me, David. I promise you she will not marry anyone she does not love. I can assure you that George will deal very firmly with people like her uncle if they try to make trouble.”
“I am sorry not to say goodbye to her, but tell her I hope she will keep her promise.”
“I will pass on your message,” the Queen agreed.
He climbed into the carriage and, after he had done so, the statue was placed in the boot where it could not be seen.
Now it was in a large packing case and, as the Duke knew, wrapped in blankets.
It would have seemed strange for it to be lying beside him in the front of the carriage or even facing him with its back to the horses.
But it was impossible that anyone should suspect that it was a present to Queen Victoria in gratitude for the statue she had sent to Greece.
When they reached the yacht, the Duke gave orders that the statue should be carried into the cabin next to his.
It was where he had locked up the statue of Apollo and actually he thought it was rather a good idea that there would now be a substitute in this particular cabin.
Otherwise some of the crew might well have been curious as to why the cabin had been locked when there was nothing in it.
As soon as the Duke came aboard, The Mermaid began to move.
Then he wondered if Princess Thalia would be safe in the hands of the King and Queen.
But the Queen was so kind and so understanding that the Duke was sure that she would look after the girl and Their Majesties would help her somehow to evade a marriage to the appalling Russian.
‘As she is so beautiful,’ the Duke thought, ‘she is bound to attract many other suitors. If she can avoid being whisked away to Russia, a Prince Charming will appear for her sooner or later.’
He thought that if it seemed safe to do so he might stop for a few hours on his return journey just to see if she was safe.
Then he told himself it was not really his problem.
Although she was uniquely ethereal, in fact one of the most enchanting young women he had ever seen, he would be very stupid to become too involved.
The troubles of a young Greek girl could never be of any particular concern in his life.
‘I have enough troubles of my own as it is,’ he told himself ruefully.
He was thinking of Lady Evelyn and all the other beautiful females who would be waiting for his return to London.
The Mermaid began to move out to sea.
The Duke told himself the only subject he now had to concentrate on was depositing the statue of Apollo safely into its hiding place on Delos.
And then his mission would be at an end.
He would thus be free to go either to some other fascinating place he had not visited before or to return home.
‘I know home is where I ought to go,’ he thought. ‘At the same time Europe and the East are very alluring!’
CHAPTER SIX
They steamed ahead slowly.
By the time they were nearing the Cyclades Islands the sun was sinking steadily into the dark blue sea.
The stars were beginning to come out overhead.
It was then that the Duke sent for Captain Holt.
He was a middle-aged man who had served him extremely well for the last five years and before that he had been in charge of a friend’s yacht.
When the Captain came into the Saloon where the Duke was sitting, he saluted him smartly and ventured,
“You wanted to see me, Your Grace.”
“Please sit down, Captain Holt. I have something important to talk to you about.”
The Captain obeyed him, looking rather surprised.
The Duke had been thinking over exactly what he would say and so he started by asking,
“Are all your crew English, Captain?”
“I did have on board, if Your Grace remembers, one Frenchman, but he left last year. He wanted to work in his own country and I took on an Englishman in his place and on the whole I think it was a change for the better.”
“I am sure it was. I am asking you this, Captain, because I need your help in making sure that no one talks about what we have to do tonight.”
“Tonight?” the Captain questioned in astonishment.
“Tonight, when it is dark,” the Duke replied, “we are stopping near the Island of Delos.”
“I thought we’d have moved on a little further than that, Your Grace.” “I want to anchor at least half a mile from Delos, opposite a point where they are building a new Temple to the God Apollo.”
“I think I know exactly where Your Grace means.” “I have something special to leave at the Temple and I want you to help Jenkins and me to deliver it.”
The Captain nodded and then waited for the Duke to continue.
“It is absolutely essential, because it is so valuable that no one should find out it is there until, as if by accident it is discovered, and then erected in the Temple.”
He thought this was a reasonable explanation and he knew it was when the Captain replied,
“I can see, Your Grace, as there’s been such a lot of thieving in the past that you don’t want it to happen again.”
“I thought that you would understand, Captain, and, of course, when one employs people to work on anything as large as a Temple, one cannot be responsible for them all, as His Majesty the King has just pointed out to me.”
The Captain was quick-witted and he volunteered,
“What you are saying, Your Grace, is that we’re to put something ashore which should not be spoken about until it is actually in its rightful place in the Temple.”
“I am very certain Your Grace can trust them all,” the Captain countered almost indignantly.
“But we must take no risks, Captain. I am planning that you and I and Jenkins will take what we have aboard and place it in a spot known only to His Majesty.”
He paused to make sure the Captain was following him.
“So we can then carry on with our voyage without worrying that thieves will manage to steal the object we have left behind on the island.”
“I fully appreciate, Your Grace, that it would be a disaster. My lips are sealed and there’s no reason why anyone should find out if I take you out in a small rowboat in the middle of the night.”
“That is exactly what I thought,” the Duke replied. “As what we will be taking with us is quite heavy, it would be impossible for Jenkins and me to manage it alone.”
“You know I’m always at Your Grace’s service.” “Very well, Captain. Anchor, as I have told you opposite the building site. I suggest that if your crew go to their quarters soon after supper, they will be oblivious by midnight of anything we are doing.”
“I can assure Your Grace of that.”
“I am very grateful for your help, Captain, and I am sure you have guessed that what is locked in the cabin next to mine is the object Jenkins and I will be taking ashore.”
The Captain rose and the Duke suggested,
“I believe it is the birthday of His Majesty the King of Greece about now. I think it would be helpful if the crew drink his health over dinner tonight. You will find I brought, when I was last with you, a variety of drinks that are locked up in the galley cellar.”
“Your Grace’s very generous and extremely wise. I’ll take what I deem to be the best for them and I myself will drink His Majesty’s health in a glass of Scotch.”
“I thought you might say so,” the Duke smiled. “I am sure the whisky is far better than any local brew.”
They both laughed.
When the Captain had left him, the Duke thought with satisfaction that it was all going as well as possible.
He enjoyed a delicious dinner by himself.
But he rather regretted there was no one he could talk to about his plan for taking the statue of Apollo ashore.
He knew it would be a grave mistake to leave any packing in the cave and it was essential that they should be very careful not to leave any evidence of their entry.
The waves would take away their footprints and there must be no reason for anyone who found the statue not to think it might have been there for hundreds of years.
*
It was nearly half-past eleven when the Duke and Jenkins unlocked the cabin next door and went inside.
The Duke thought it would be a mistake to take more than one candle as he did not want any light to show through the portholes. The statue of Apollo in its large box, which had originally contained the ornamental screen he had given to Queen Victoria, was standing in the centre of the cabin.
It did not take long for the Duke and Jenkins to untie the case and they quickly pulled off the blankets the Duke had taken from Windsor Castle.
And then they undid the covers that had been there for a hundred years or more.
When the Duke finally saw the statue of Apollo, he realised how exquisitely it was carved.
It was undoubtedly one of the finest statues of the God that had ever been sculptured.
He had seen enough stone carvings in his life to be reasonably knowledgeable about them and he recognised at once that this had been made by a Master hand.
The sculptor must have felt, as any Greek would, that the figure he was creating would receive the worship of everyone who saw it.
It seemed to him extraordinary that Queen Victoria had never looked at this beautiful piece of work and it had remained unnoticed and forgotten in Windsor Castle for all these years.
Perhaps because both the Duke and Jenkins were somewhat awed by the incredible beauty of the statue, they both worked in complete silence.
Then the Duke looked at his watch and realised that the Captain would be waiting for them.
He picked up the statue by its shoulders and then Jenkins lifted its legs.
As they left the cabin, Jenkins pushed the door to behind them and managed with one hand to turn the key in the lock.
Without speaking and as slowly as they could, they went up on deck.
The Captain was waiting for them.
He hurried ahead and climbed down into the small rowboat that was rocking gently at the side of the yacht.
He held up his hands to grasp the legs of the statue.
When the Duke had been unpacking it, he noticed that one leg was damaged as he had been informed and he thought the damage was so slight that it could easily be restored by an experienced sculptor.
He had to lean down over the side of the yacht to lower the statue for the others to take it from him.
When the Duke clambered down into the rowboat, the statue lay in the stern and the Captain started to row towards the island.
Fortunately, the moon was not full, but it gave just enough light with the help of the stars for them to see their way.
The Duke could only hope that at this time of night there would be no one on a passing ship or standing on the shore observing them.
It did not take long for the Captain to row them to the island and he ran the boat ashore in the small bay.
The Duke was feeling certain that they were now in the place the King had told them to find.
None of them said a word as the Duke and Jenkins stepped ashore.
They very carefully lifted the statue from the boat and laid it on the dry beach.
Then the Duke went ahead with Jenkins and found, as he had hoped, the entrance to the cave.
It was rather smaller than he expected and then he thought that this was a good thing, as it would more likely remain unnoticed.
There was in fact no reason for anyone to come to this particular part of the island, and he remembered that visiting ships anchored at the other side, where the walking was easier and anyway there was no shelter from the waves in this part of the island if it was rough.
The Duke had brought with him the lantern that he always kept in his cabin. He had used it in the past when he had sometimes gone ashore alone at night.
Now, without speaking to Jenkins, he lit the lantern and then, moving a little further into the cave, he lifted the lantern high and saw exactly all that the King had told him he would find.
On either side of the cave, which did not go in very far, there were a number of large rocks.
They did not quite reach the roof of the cave, but left just enough space, he thought, to hold the statue of Apollo invisible to a casual explorer.
Jenkins was watching him and, when the Duke put down his lantern, he knew exactly what to do without any instructions. Together they went back, lifted the statue very very carefully and carried it into the cave.
They placed it gently on top of the rough rocks and there was then no more than six inches between the statue of Apollo and the roof of the cave.
The Duke was thankful to find that the rocks were dry and so there was no likelihood of the sea flooding in and sweeping the precious statue away.
As he laid Apollo gently down, now back at last on his own land, the Duke experienced a strange feeling.
Something he had never felt before.
He could not explain it.
Yet he seemed conscious of the living presence of the God himself.
What he had carried in was no more than a statue of stone and yet in some miraculous way it had become alive just as Apollo himself was alive – that was the reason his people still worshipped him over so many centuries.
Jenkins had already walked out of the cave to join the Captain by the rowbo
at.
But the Duke remained.
His hand was still on the statue, as if he felt there was something he should still do for it.
For a moment, the whole air seemed to be full of life itself.
The Duke then felt supremely aware of the other Guardian islands, the Cyclades, wheeling round this one small inscrutable island.
There seemed to be a mysterious quiver coming from the statue itself and he seemed to hear the beating of silver wings in the air.
How long he stood there with his hand resting on the statue, he later had no idea.
He just knew that for the moment he was no longer himself.
He was caught up in the mystery and wonder that had made Apollo live for ever in the hearts of those who worshipped him.
As the Duke now realised, Apollo was still alive on his own island and nothing could ever drive him from it.
The Duke could only have stood in the cave for no more than a few minutes.
But to him it felt as if it had been a hundred years.
Finally, he forced himself to pick up his lantern that had mysteriously gone out, perhaps eclipsed by the lights that shimmered in the air above Apollo.
The Duke now felt as if he had passed through an immense experience and would never be quite the same man again.
Slowly he touched the statue for the last time.
Then he moved out of the cave into the moonlight and just for a second he longed to send the Captain and Jenkins away.
They had pushed the rowboat out into the water and were waiting patiently for him to come aboard.
He wanted to stay on the island.
He wanted to be close to Apollo.
He wanted to understand all that the God had to tell him.
He wanted to feel again that strange mystic thrill.
It was given, he knew, only to those who believed in the Gods and worshipped them.
But, if he was seen on the island, he knew people would talk and perhaps it would be guessed later that he had contributed something unique to the Temple.
He forced himself to step into the rowboat.
Then the Captain, who had been standing in the sea, scrambled aboard and picked up the oars.
It only took him a short time to row them back to The Mermaid.
Love and the Gods Page 10