But she recovered and then forced herself to press on lashed by rain towards the small clump of trees, which she could just make out against the sky.
When she was there, she began to call his name.
“Ian! Ian!”
There was no reply and she began to be afraid that he had already hurried away, making her efforts useless.
“Ian!”
The wind threw her voice back at her.
“Ian – please – can you hear me?”
“Selina – what the devil are you doing here?”
To her overwhelming relief she could make out his voice coming from within the trees. She pushed forward and saw him emerging from some bushes.
“Selina! What possessed you to come here?”
“I came to fetch you. You cannot stay out in this.”
“But I must – ”
“I will not take no for your answer,” she cried out desperately. “You cannot stay out here and catch cold.”
He stood undecided, rain pouring onto his head and down his face.
At last he muttered,
“It’s very sweet of you, but I don’t really think – ”
She stamped her foot in the mud.
“If you won’t think of yourself, think of me,” she shouted over the wind. “If anything happens to you, what would I do?”
“I suppose you are right.”
“I am not going back without you. We’ll just have to be very careful.”
“In that case,” he urged her gratefully, “let’s hurry.”
The heavy rain had turned the ground to quagmire, and they had to cling together to stop themselves sliding about as they made their way back to the inn.
As they approached, Selina knew a moment’s fear, lest anyone had found the door unlocked and locked it behind her.
But their luck held and in a few moments they were upstairs in the room without anybody having seen them.
At first they just clung together, shivering.
“Bless you!” he murmured at last. “I don’t know what I would have done without you. I was not expecting a storm.”
“Put some dry clothes on,” she ordered him briskly. “Where can I find something?”
“That case,” he pointed. “I have a dressing gown.”
For the moment her self-consciousness had waned, replaced by a strong desire to look after him. She found a dressing gown with a thick white towel embroidered with the Castleton monogram. She handed it to him and he put it over his head, rubbing vigorously.
She found another towel for herself.
She had not put on her wig to go outside and now her long hair was streaming with water. She threw aside her coat and dried herself as best she could.
“Selina, I – ”
She turned to find the Marquis staring at her with a thunderstruck look on his face.
In that moment she became aware that without her coat there was nothing to disguise the immodest way the breeches clung to her and outlined her figure. She blushed and lowered the towel so that it partially covered her.
But then she noticed something about him that took her mind off herself.
He had removed his coat and was standing in his shirt and breeches, both of them soaking. As she watched. he reached for his dressing gown and started to pull it on.
“No,” she called out firmly.
He looked startled.
“Perhaps it’s time I started acting as your valet after all. A good valet would insist that you did not put on your dressing gown until you replaced your wet clothes with dry ones.”
“But my dear, how can I?”
“The same way I can. We could both catch chills if we don’t change completely.”
“You are right. Your generous action in rescuing me would be wasted if left incomplete. Half measures will not do.”
“We shall just have to be strong-minded about it.”
“I agree.”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
She hoped he could not see her blushing. And yet, it did not seem very terrible when he was so kind.
Turning her back on him and moving very fast, she managed to climb back into her nightdress and pull out a shawl from her bag.
When she looked round, he too had removed all of his wet clothes and was wearing the brocade dressing gown over what appeared to be a nightshirt.
“I do hope my bare feet don’t offend you,” he said apologetically.
“No, you must make sure to dry them properly too. My Mama always said that damp feet are dangerous.”
He smiled and suddenly it did not seem alarming, but rather cosy and domestic.
She gave a sudden chuckle.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I was thinking what a pickle we would have been in if I had been travelling as a woman.”
“My goodness, yes!”
“I think we were brilliant to have had the idea.”
“We were brilliant?”
“Yes, to think of me being a boy.”
“That was your idea, Selina.”
“Surely, it was yours, too? When we talked, were you not just about to suggest the same deception?”
He gave her a strange smile.
“No, my idea was quite different.”
“Better than this?”
She thought his smile grew a little wistful, although she could not imagine why.
“Much better – ” he muttered gently.
“What was it? Do tell me?”
But he shook his head.
“It doesn’t matter for now. I thought – well, I was mistaken.”
“But Ian – ”
“Is all of this enough of an adventure for you?” he interrupted her, speaking lightly but determinedly.
“Enough to last for ever,” she replied. “After this, I won’t complain if the rest of my life is extremely dull.”
“You say that now, but you’re very young. You’ve time to change your mind and seek new excitement.”
“I’ve already had much more excitement than most women ever know in their lifetime.”
“But then you were born for it, Selina. Adventure is your natural atmosphere. You cope with the unexpected so well. Nothing can throw you off your stride. You dealt with the Duke, you solved Martha’s problem and you came to my rescue in the storm. I cannot imagine anything that you could not face with aplomb.”
‘Except what I am beginning to feel for you,’ she mused. ‘I don’t think I can cope with that very well.’
“Is something now the matter?” he asked, seeing a faraway look on her face. “Did I say anything wrong?”
“No, you are being very kind, much too kind. I am not really like that at all.”
“I don’t think you realise what you are truly like. Most of us don’t until something extraordinary happens and then our real self emerges and next we discover we’re quite different from what we thought.”
“Yes,” she murmured. “Something extraordinary happens and then nothing is ever the same again.”
“Perhaps we should try to sleep now.”
He climbed into the other bed and pulled the covers up around his shoulders.
Selina turned out the lamp and slid down into her bed, listening to the sound of his breathing.
She lay quiet and still, feeling sure that she would not sleep a wink.
Her mind was full of his words.
He had said that adventure was her natural life and it seemed at this very moment that nothing could be more wonderful than to travel on with him forever seeking new horizons.
But he would probably find it dull, she thought. He was naturally a grave and serious man and although he had said that he enjoyed laughing in her company, she did not place too much reliance on his assertion.
To him this was probably like a holiday before he returned to the serious business of caring for his people.
And helping him would be nice too, she mused.
If only her stepfa
ther did not appear and try to drag her back. The thought was even more terrible now that she had met the Marquis.
Surely he would defend her?
But her stepfather was very brutal and determined. How could anyone protect her from him – ?
He seemed to be chasing her down a long corridor. She ran as fast as possible, but it was of no use. He was gaining on her.
She screamed for the Marquis to save her, but she knew he could not hear. He had abandoned her and she would never see him again. Then she screamed again – in misery and desolation.
“Selina – Selina – ”
“Let me go,” she cried, fighting the hands that held her. “Let me go, I won’t go back – ”
“Selina, it’s me, Ian.” The Marquis gave her a little shake. “Wake up.”
With a gasp she awoke to find herself sitting up in bed. He was there with her, holding her arms gently and looking anxiously into her face.
“My dear girl, you were having a nightmare.”
“I thought he had found me,” she whispered, “and I was running and running away from my stepfather and it was no use because I can never get away from him – ”
“Yes, you will,” he soothed. “Trust me. I won’t let him take you back.”
“You couldn’t stop him,” she wept.
“Yes, I could. Selina, I promise you that I will do anything necessary, anything at all, to save you from him. Do you believe me?”
She nodded her head, trying to look as though his words gave her confidence, but she could not quite manage it and something in her woebegone face made him take her swiftly in his arms, cradling her head on his shoulder.
He held her tightly against him, rocking her back and forth as if she was a child, murmuring softly.
“It’s all right, it’s all right. I’ll take care of you. Nobody can take you while I am here with you.”
It was such bliss to be held in his arms, feeling so completely safe and cared for. If only she could stay like this forever.
For a short moment she allowed herself to forget everything else and cling onto him, tightening her arms and closing her eyes.
She supposed that what they were now doing would appear scandalous, but she only sensed that this was where she really belonged – with a man who made her feel that the world was a good place.
She trusted him.
She increasingly loved him.
But she dreaded being a burden to him.
“I am all right, truly,” she said in a wobbly voice. “You must think – I’m a real crybaby.”
“No, I think you are very brave. You’ve kept your courage up through difficulties that would have destroyed a lesser woman.”
“But everything you said about me is wrong,” she sniffed, “ – about adventure being my element, and – and facing troubles with aplomb. I’m just a fraud.”
“I forbid you to talk like that,” the Marquis insisted firmly. “I wouldn’t allow anyone else to criticise you and I will not allow you to do so either.”
She gave a watery chuckle.
“That’s better, Selina, do you think you can now go back to sleep?”
“Yes, I’m sure I can. Thank you, Ian. I’m sorry to be such a nuisance.”
“You’re not a nuisance. I’m glad if you let me care for you a little.”
She lay down and fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. Her last conscious thought was that he was still holding her hand.
*
She awoke to find that it was now morning and the Marquis, fully dressed, was sitting on the edge of her bed.
“I am going downstairs now, Selina. Hurry up and join me and then we’ll be away from here.”
He left the room without waiting for her reply. His manner had been coolly friendly, containing no hint of the brief intimacy they had shared the night before.
It might never have happened.
After the storm the sun shone brilliantly. A hurried breakfast and they were on the road again, bowling along merrily, knowing that their destination was just a few short miles away.
“I feel rather guilty,” confessed Selina.
“Why should you?”
“I keep thinking of that poor girl, Felicity. Here we are escaping, but she still has to cope with her father.”
“Yes, I feel bad about her, too,” he admitted. “I would like to help her, if I could. In fact, I may be doing the best thing for her by vanishing. Her father can hardly bully her into marrying me if I am not around.”
“I can already smell sea breezes, Ian. How much further to Portsmouth?”
“About three miles. Then with luck we’ll find the yacht all ready to cast off. We’ll hurry aboard and head for far shores.”
As he spoke, he increased his speed and in no time at all it seemed they could see Portsmouth ahead of them.
Half an hour later they had reached the town.
Because the Marquis had been there several times before, he drove with no difficulty through crowded streets until he reached the road that led down to the harbour.
Selina looked about her, delighted and relieved.
As they neared the sea the road climbed a little until they could look down to where ships were anchored.
Selina drew in her breath at the beauty of the sight.
The Marquis slowed the horses so he could study the ships and see whether his yacht was where he expected it to be.
“There she is,” he exclaimed. “I knew my Captain would not let us down. Absolutely splendid! We can now begin to feel easy.”
But from behind them came a sudden cry of alarm.
“My Lord! My Lord!”
The Marquis turned to where Lovall was driving the wagon.
“What is it, Lovall?”
“Danger, my Lord. Look down there, to your left.”
The Marquis looked down to a large building near the water with a flight of shallow steps outside the main entrance.
On the top step stood two men.
Selina and he froze at the same moment as they recognised the Duke of Wendover and John Gardner.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Selina was too astonished and horrified to speak.
The Marquis instinctively urged the horses on and they galloped along the high road overlooking the port.
They sped on until they were concealed by the fence that cut off the port from the road. Then the Marquis drew in the horses, calling to Lovall as he did so.
“Well done! Thank God you warned us. I never for one moment expected we would find anyone here.”
“They obviously worked out exactly what we were – going to do,” Selina sighed in a trembling voice.
“The difficulty now is how to reach The Mermaid without being seen.”
Lovall got out of the wagon. Going to the fence, he pulled a loose board aside so he could see directly into the harbour below them.
There were only a few ships in port. The Marquis’s yacht was anchored by itself some distance from the ticket office where their ambushers were standing like sentinels.
Without a word the Marquis handed over the reins to Selina. Then he climbed out of the curricle and went towards Lovall, who had by now enlarged the hole in the fence.
After looking through, he said, in an urgent voice,
“Listen, Lovall. You must make your way slowly and carefully to The Mermaid. Inform the Captain to bring the yacht as near as possible to where we are now and be ready to cast off the moment we are on board.”
“Very good, my Lord.”
Without further ado he forced his way through the hole in the fence and hurried off to the port. They saw him begin to run towards The Mermaid.
Frowning, the Marquis went back to the curricle.
“However could they know we were here?” asked Selina.
“I suppose it was obvious that, if I had run away, I would go to my yacht and you would come with me.”
“But how on earth did the Duke get in touch with my stepfather?�
�
“Perhaps his servants gossiped with mine. And, after we told him who you were, he might have sought out Gardner on purpose. Then they joined forces.”
“I thought we had been so clever,” sighed Selina.
“We shall have to be even cleverer from now on. “Otherwise we shall lose everything.”
“Oh, please, no, that must not happen.”
“I don’t intend to let it happen. Somehow we have to board the yacht without being seen.”
“But it’s impossible. It is still some distance away from us. How can we walk all that way unnoticed?”
“It’s lucky you are in male clothes. They are not expecting that. We’ll know more when Lovall returns.”
After a few minutes Lovall climbed back through the fence. Three men, who, evident from their garb were sailors, accompanied him.
“We came to help, my Lord,” said one. “The more hands the better.”
“Good fellow!” he exclaimed, recognising them from his yacht. “Lovall, what did the Captain say?”
“He’s movin’ The Mermaid as near as he can, my Lord. Then I’ve found a way you can go on board without anyone seein’ you. On the other side of this ’ere fence there’s a lot of planks of wood. They’re obviously waitin’ for some workmen to arrive and carry them down to a ship. The Captain says the best way to hide is to shield yourself behind the planks.”
The Marquis gave a sigh of relief.
“Then that’s what I’ll do.”
“My Lord,” Lovall then added, “the Captain also told me that the other yacht you see over there belongs to the Duke of Wendover, who arrived late last night.”
The Marquis thought that this made matters even worse. Plainly the Duke was not going to give up easily.
But he did not mention this to Selina, not wanting to add to her worries. Instead he smiled and suggested,
“Selina, I have an idea for you. I’ll explain it in a moment. Lovall, an important job for you. Change clothes with me quickly. Luckily we are about the same size.”
In a couple of moments he had pulled on Lovall’s plain clothes and the driver was luxuriously attired in the Marquis’s long greatcoat and elegant hat.
“You’ll do from a distance,” grinned the Marquis with satisfaction. “Get up into the curricle and drive down past the ticket office. Go close to them so that they can see the Castleton arms on the side, but keep your collar up to hide your face. They must think it’s me.”
The Triumph of Love Page 10