They had been mortified at having caused such a nasty accident. To them and to them alone, the full details behind the incident were explained.
The rest of the world was allowed to think that Sir Christopher had permitted Sir Peter to take the reins of his pair for a drive prior to making an offer for them and that Valeria had merely been an innocent passenger.
It had been a wonderful release to be able to tell the truth and the Waverleys had sworn to keep the story secret.
*
Later Valeria’s spirits were not helped by a friend reading out to her an item from a newspaper one day that announced Lord Waterford, recovered from a mysterious illness, had retired to Waterford Castle, his country home.
“I expect,” remarked her friend, “that you will soon be receiving an invitation to visit him again.”
She tried to dampen any expectations, but her heart plummeted at the news.
She had so hoped that Lord Waterford would, at the least, have sent her a note wishing her a rapid recovery, as there had been a report in another edition of the newspaper of her accident in Richmond Park.
Suddenly Valeria realised with horrid finality that the Waterfords, seeing Sir Peter’s name in the report would have assumed that she was his willing companion. Susan already believed she was enamoured of him.
Despairingly she wondered if she should write to Lord Waterford and tell him the truth.
Then she decided he would not believe her.
However, several days later, her Papa, opening the mail at breakfast, read a letter and glanced across at Valeria with a broad smile.
“Cheer up, my darling, I have splendid news. Lord Waterford has invited us both to The Castle for a stay.”
Valeria was thunderstruck.
“No! It cannot be! What reason does he give?”
“Aha, so you do believe me. He says that you will want to see how splendid The Castle looks these days and he wants to thank you for all your work and inspiration.”
Her heart, which had risen briefly, dropped again. This was the polite gesture of a gentleman.
Nothing suggested the eager lover.
“Shall we accept?” her Papa asked gently.
Despite her decision to put Lord Waterford and her love for him behind her, Valeria could not help saying,
“Yes, Papa, we should go.”
*
The first sight of The Castle almost reduced Valeria to tears.
This was where she had fallen so deeply in love.
This was the place she had invested so much time in, so much emotion and so much commitment.
“I say,” her Papa commented. “What a place!”
“The restoration work has proceeded apace,” said Lord Waterford’s Steward.
He had met them at the station explaining that Lord Waterford was still not quite recovered from his accident and awaited them at The Castle.
As they drew nearer, Valeria gasped.
The Steward smiled.
“It looks wonderful, does it not, the moat?”
When she had left, the moat had the appearance of a broad ditch filled with rubbish. Now it had all been cleared out and grass was growing within its graceful lines.
Waiting beside The Castle’s heavy door was Lord Waterford.
He walked forward to open the carriage door, pre-empting the groom.
Valeria hungrily studied him closely, as he helped her down.
His hair was cut short to match the regrowth around his scar. His face was thinner and looked careworn.
Was it her imagination or did it light up at the sight of her?
No, she told herself, he was just smiling politely.
In The Castle Susan kissed Valeria and appeared as friendly as she had ever been.
The reception rooms had been restored exactly as Valeria had designed. They looked magnificent and her Papa said so enthusiastically.
Valeria expressed her amazement at the speed with which the work had been carried out.
Lord Waterford smiled.
“I offered a large bonus to the building firm.”
Dinner was taken early.
Valeria was so grateful that her Papa was one of the party. Susan was unaccustomedly quiet but Lord Waterford was courteous and exchanged a flow of anecdotes with Sir Christopher about horses and breeding.
He hardly looked at Valeria, however, and she grew more and more silent as the dinner progressed.
At the end of dinner Susan announced that she and Valeria would not be leaving the gentlemen to their port.
“I wish to show Sir Christopher the stables before the light disappears,” she explained with a charming smile. “Will you come with me, sir, my brother feels it would be too much for him just yet?”
She held out her hand and he appeared happy to go with her.
Lord Waterford rose.
“I would be very grateful if you would accompany me onto The Castle ramparts,” he invited Valeria. “There is something I would like to show you.”
More than willing but mystified as to what it could possibly be, she followed him up the stone spiral staircase, worrying that the climb would take too much out of him.
He seemed not at all out of breath when they finally emerged onto the battlement walk.
He smiled at Valeria and took her over to where they could look down into the moat.
“I want you to imagine how it will look next year, when deer will be grazing there,” he commented, watching her closely.
Valeria drew a quick breath.
“Why,” she murmured, “I was going to suggest just that same idea to you.”
It was why she had walked all the way round The Castle the time that Sir Peter had drawn her into the woods. She flushed as she remembered the incident and her fatal response.
Lord Waterford looked surprised.
“But you did suggest it,” he countered. “As soon as I returned here, I remembered you telling me your idea and it sounded so good, I immediately set the work of clearing the moat in progress.”
Valeria opened her mouth to say that she had been saving up this idea to suggest it to him after the Jubilee Celebrations, when she had hoped she would be invited to return to The Castle.
Then she realised what must have happened.
“You did hear me!” she exclaimed.
“Of course, I heard everything you have ever said to me,” replied Lord Waterford, looking perplexed.
“No, I mean when you were unconscious. Doctor Marshall urged me to talk to you. I spoke of many things about the restoration. Most of them we had discussed, but this were some things I had not mentioned before.”
Lord Waterford took her hand.
“I have not thanked you yet for all your care of me whilst I was lying in a coma. George told me exactly how much time you spent at my side. He is a big fan of yours.”
Valeria blushed.
“You have very loyal servants, my Lord.”
Lord Waterford looked down.
“Tell me,” he said without raising his gaze. “What were you doing in Green Park that night? Susan believed you expected to meet Sir Peter, although now she is less certain and is apologetic about the way she spoke to you.”
Then he raised his eyes and Valeria felt a flood of emotion rush through her, as though some dam had broken.
“My Lord, I had no wish to meet Sir Peter. I admit I once admired his – his energy.”
It was the only word she could think of to explain the effect the dreadful man had had on her.
Lord Waterford closed his eyes briefly.
“But then I understood what a very unpleasant and dastardly character he was,” she added.
He looked intently at her.
“So I realised after my old friends, the Waverleys, visited here the other day. When they found out how closely involved you and I were, they explained all that had happened in Richmond Park and how you were injured.”
He picked up her hand gently.
“I was m
ortified not to have been told the facts and not to have been able to express my wishes for your speedy recovery. And after all you did for me – ”
His voice faltered and stopped.
Valeria was unable to say anything.
She scanned his face, trying in the dying light to interpret his expression.
Electricity seemed to be travelling from his hand into hers, spreading throughout her body and making her limbs tremble.
“So why were you in the Park that night?” Lord Waterford repeated, his gaze never leaving her face.
Once again Valeria blushed deeply.
“I was afraid you were meeting someone else.”
He looked startled.
“Someone else?”
“You had seemed very attracted to, well, I will not mention the name – but she was at a number of the parties we – attended – ”
Valeria stammered to a halt.
He laughed in amazement.
“I can only imagine that you saw me talking and dancing with Frances Mere. She is extremely pretty, but my only interest in her is as a childhood friend.”
Valeria realised that, once again, she had jumped to a wrong conclusion over Lord Waterford.
He raised her hands and gently kissed her fingers.
“If you were that interested in where my affections lay, dare I now hope that your feelings towards me have changed since I first admitted my love for you?
“I am very different now, Valeria. Then I was a romantic fool, but you have shown me what true love is.”
Valeria looked at him with unaccustomed shyness, her heart beating so fast she thought it might explode.
“Do you mean that – you still love me?”
“Of course. How could you ever doubt it?”
“You – you seemed so removed from me when we arrived in London.”
“I was so in love with you that I could hardly trust myself to be near you without taking you in my arms – like this.”
Valeria sank into Lord Waterford’s embrace with a sweet familiarity that astonished her.
It seemed so natural and yet so wonderful.
As his arms clasped her, his lips met hers and the sweetness increased until she believed she had been carried up to Heaven.
Nothing she had felt whilst being kissed by Sir Peter compared with this exquisite sensation.
“Oh!” she exclaimed when at last he raised his head from hers and gazed into her eyes with such adoration she could hardly believe what she was seeing.
“Oh – kiss me again.”
He laughed, drew her even closer to his breast and kissed her even more passionately.
“I never want to stop,” he murmured at last, lifting his head. “I have found Paradise.”
“Yes, my dearest Charles, I feel that way too. Your kisses are flying me to the moon and beyond.”
“And you will not mind if I continue to rescue poor souls and put them in that house on the estate you once asked me about? I cannot believe I was afraid you would think me silly if I told you of my intentions.”
Valeria laughed softly.
“I am looking forward to meeting with Alf and Bob again and all the others you have found.”
“When I was told you had organised with Hawkins for them to come down here, I was sure I could risk asking you again to be my wife –
“I love and adore you, Valeria, and will throughout Eternity and I know you will love me too for just as long.”
Valeria smiled and laid her head on his chest.
As his arms closed gently around her again, she knew that despite everything she had found the happiness she had always sought.
It was here at The Castle with the man she loved and adored and would never leave.
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
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