The Triumph of Love

by Barbara Cartland

  She wanted love.

  As they were walking along the narrow corridor, she suddenly stopped. They were standing outside one of the best cabins that he had shown her yesterday.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “There are no other passengers, are there?”

  “Of course not.”

  “I thought I heard a sound from behind that door.”

  “There shouldn’t be anyone in there – ”

  But then the sound came again, a kind of scuffling.

  Frowning, he opened the door and they walked in.

  The cabin was empty.

  And yet –

  Selina sat on the bed and bounced up and down on it. From underneath came a faint shriek.

  She slid off and they bent down onto the floor.

  The Marquis reached his arm under the bed. There was the sound of scuffling again, a muffled squeal, and he drew back, bringing something with him.

  Something dusty and tousled that stared up at him – with a mixture of defiance and pleading.

  The Marquis dropped his hands, aghast.

  “Felicity!” he cried.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Before their appalled eyes Lady Felicity Wendover brushed her clothes and looked at the Marquis sheepishly.

  Then at Selina.

  And then back at the Marquis.

  Selina, looking at her closely in that split second, realised that, when the Marquis had described this girl as pretty, he had grossly understated the matter.

  Lady Felicity was undoubtedly one of the loveliest young girls that Selina had ever seen. This was no mere pretty girl, but a great, great beauty. Her violet eyes were huge and her mouth had a soft petulant droop calculated to make any man’s head reel.

  Her figure was voluptuous noted Selina with envy. Felicity could never have passed as a boy!

  The Marquis could have married this real beauty.

  And he did not want to.

  He did not want to?

  Suddenly that was very hard to believe.

  Was he really running away from such a gorgeous creature? Would they now fall into each other’s arms?

  She held her breath.

  “Hallo Ian,” muttered Felicity. “Surprise!”

  The Marquis did not look as though this surprise overwhelmed him with joy.

  “Felicity, for pity’s sake, what are you doing here?”

  “I came because you were so caring,” the girl told him anxiously. “I’ll never forget how kind you were to me that evening. No one would even bother to listen to me, but you said you would help me. Don’t you remember?”

  “Of course I do, but – ”

  “And I had such a terrible quarrel with Papa. He said terrible things, and I said terrible things, and then he said more terrible things, and then I – ”

  “Yes, yes, you both said terrible things,” added the Marquis hastily. “I understand that part.”

  “Do you? Do you really? I’m so glad because then you’ll appreciate why I was forced to resort to desperate measures.”

  Her voice had a lisping, childlike quality that affected Selina like something squeaking across glass, but to the male ear it might sound alluring and provocative.

  “What desperate measures?” asked the Marquis.

  “You ask me that?” she cried passionately.

  “Yes, I did ask you,” he said, sounding anything but passionate.

  “Isn’t it obvious? I’ve run away!”

  The Marquis covered his eyes.

  Selina was beginning to feel better. He showed no signs of being distracted by love – distracted by irritation, more likely, she reckoned.

  “How did you manage it?” he asked. “Didn’t your father notice you were missing?”

  “He’d already begun his journey with this horrible, vulgar man. He said you were pretending to be engaged to this man’s daughter – or was it his stepdaughter? Well, it doesn’t really matter, does it, because – ?”

  “No, it doesn’t matter,” said the Marquis hurriedly.

  “Anyway, this vulgar man – ”

  “My stepfather,” volunteered Selina with a chuckle. “I’m Lady Selina Napier. How do you do.”

  “And how do you do?” Felicity responded politely. “Oh, but it’s all right then, isn’t it? I mean, if you’re going to marry Ian, I don’t have to marry him.”

  “No,” said Selina quickly. “That’s just a story Ian cooked up for your father. We’re not really engaged.”

  ‘And never will be,’ she thought, remembering the hasty way he had ended their kisses, the embarrassment on his face and his desperation to avoid her.

  “Oh dear,” groaned Felicity. “That is such a pity. Are you sure you two couldn’t get married? It would make everything so much easier.”

  Selina did not know whether to laugh or cry at this. Felicity’s self-centeredness was so monumental that it had a humorous quality. You really could not be annoyed with someone so childlike.

  Meeting the Marquis’s eyes, she saw that he was thinking the same. It was disconcerting that their mental communication was so perfect at the very moment she was despairing of winning his love.

  “Let’s not go into that now,” she said hastily. “You were saying about your father and my stepfather.”

  “Oh yes, it was stepfather, wasn’t it? Of course it was, now I remember because he said his wife had been an Earl’s daughter and thus his stepdaughter too was an Earl’s daughter, so he, that is Papa, needn’t think he was talking to a nobody, because he was related to two Earls through marriage and Papa said stuff and nonsense, only he put it more rudely than that, but I cannot repeat his exact words because I am a lady and the other man said – ”

  “Felicity,” grated the Marquis through gritted teeth, “if you don’t get to the point, I shall toss you overboard!”

  Definitely not a lover, mused Selina.

  “But I am coming to the point. It’s difficult when you keep interrupting.”

  Seeing his fulminating eyes, she continued quickly,

  “I heard them talking about how they were going to chase after you and that you’d probably go to Portsmouth because you had a yacht there.

  “So I waited until they’d left and then I left too, to catch the mail coach. It’s very fast, so I managed to reach Portsmouth before them. Then I just asked people until I found which ship was yours and I stowed away.”

  “But how the devil did you get on board?” growled the Marquis.

  “There were men carrying supplies on board in big boxes. I managed to get into the warehouse and emptied one of the boxes. Then I got in. It was a tight squeeze, but not for long.”

  “And nobody noticed?” he demanded.

  “Yes, one of your crewmen saw me, but I gave him a coin, so that was all right.”

  “Don’t tell me who it was, I’d rather not know. So, you stowed away. Why?”

  “Why – to throw myself on your mercy, of course.”

  “Felicity, I’m warning you, try to make sense.”

  “I need your help,” she cried piteously. “You said you would help me. Didn’t you mean it?”

  “Of course I did, but in a general sense, but I didn’t mean – oh, Heavens! What a mess!”

  Without a warning Felicity burst into violent sobs. She sat down on the bed, her face buried in her hands and wept noisily.

  For all his beautiful manners, the Marquis was no better at dealing with this kind of situation than any other man.

  “Felicity,” he stammered, “please – I do beg you.”

  “I don’t know who to turn to,” she sobbed. “I’m desperate and now you won’t help me. Oh, what shall I dooo?”

  The last word came out as a prolonged wail, which had the desired effect of pushing the Marquis into sitting down beside her and make frantic efforts to comfort her.

  “Now, come along, my dear girl. I’ll help you, of course I will, but do be quiet.”

  “You will help me find Pierre,
you really will?”

  “Certainly – anything.”

  Felicity promptly threw her arms around his neck and sobbed even louder.

  “Oh, thank you, thank you!”

  Selina observed this fine performance with cynical interest. Clearly Felicity had brought the art of getting her own way to the point of genius.

  “But where would you expect to find Pierre?”

  “In Le Havre,” Felicity spluttered. “He is waiting for me there until the fifteenth of this month. If I’m not there by then, he will know that all hope is gone.”

  “What will he do when all hope is gone?” Selina wanted to know.

  “Join the French Navy,” replied Felicity tragically. “There’s a Recruiting Office in Le Havre. But we will get there in time, won’t we?”

  “I shouldn’t think so,” said the Marquis, alarmed.

  “But of course we will. It must be hours since we left Portsmouth and Le Havre is the nearest French port. Pierre chose it because his parents live there and he knew I would have to come through Portsmouth.”

  “But we are not going to Le Havre. We are headed for Gibraltar. We have just crossed the Bay of Biscay.”

  Felicity gave a shriek and burst into sobs again.

  This was now as much as the Marquis could stand. Indicating that Selina should sit on Felicity’s other side, he pushed the howling girl towards her and made for the door.

  “Try to shut her up before she rouses the crew – ”

  “But where are you going?”

  “I’m going to tell the Captain to turn back. We are going to have to reach Le Havre by the fifteenth or die in the attempt!”

  “But suppose we encounter the Duke’s boat? What will you do?”

  “Sink it.”

  When he had departed, Selina found that she and Felicity were soon on better terms than might have been expected. Without a man to appreciate her performance, Felicity abandoned it with comical promptness and began to talk like a moderately sensible female.

  “Will he really get me back to Pierre in time?” she asked Selina.

  “I am sure he’ll strain every nerve.”

  In a few minutes they felt the boat slow and begin a wide turn.

  The Marquis then returned, bearing food.

  “You must be feeling hungry,” he said to Felicity. “Have you been under the bed all this time?”

  She nodded.

  “I got underneath when the yacht began to toss so violently. It felt safer. Are we now turning back?”

  “Yes. Luckily the storm has blown itself out, so the way back should be easier than the crossing. And we are going closer to the shore, because your father is following us, so that way we will avoid him.”

  Selina half expected Felicity to become upset at the knowledge that her father was in pursuit, but she showed no reaction. Evidently now that a man had taken charge, she considered everything settled.

  The Marquis spoke quietly to Selina,

  “A word with you, if you would be so kind.”

  They left Felicity munching happily and moved out onto the deck. Now that the storm had abated the morning air was pleasant.

  “In one sense this makes things more difficult,” he reflected, leaning on the rail and looking out to sea. “But in another sense it might be the perfect answer.”

  “You are going to help reunite her with Pierre?”

  “I cannot see any other choice. If she is desperate enough to do this, then her wishes should be respected.”

  “And she did it all on her own?” mused Selina. “I thought I was daring, but I had you to help me.”

  “She’s certainly displayed more spirit than I would have credited her with,” he agreed. “And I’m not going to thwart her. We’ll do our best to find Pierre and help them marry. Then let Wendover do his worst.”

  “And what will you do when we’re safe from him?” Selina enquired.

  She thought he hesitated before replying quietly,

  “That depends on you.”

  Which was an answer you could take in so many different ways.

  *

  Their luck held. By hugging the shore they avoided the Duke’s boat for a long time. When it finally came into view, there was plenty of distance between them.

  “Is that really him?” asked Selina, looking through the telescope the Marquis had handed her.

  “Do you think he can see us?”

  “If we can see him, he can see us. He’ll turn back to follow us, but we are about to sail around Brest, so he’ll lose sight of us very soon. By the time he does reach Brest, we’ll be hidden by land again. With good luck, we’ll have landed at Le Havre while he is still wondering where we are.”

  “Will we make Le Havre by the fifteenth?”

  “If this good weather continues, yes. But then we have to find Pierre. And we will, I swear that we will!”

  The grim way he said this made her look at him.

  “You really mean it, don’t you?”

  “Mean it? Of course I do. Because if we don’t find him, the prospect facing me is just too ghastly. Do you realise, Selina, I might end up married to that – that –? I mean, she’s a nice girl, but have you listened to – have you?”

  “Yes,” she agreed, feeling light of heart again.

  “Can you imagine wanting to be married to her? I mean – good grief! It doesn’t bear thinking of!”

  “It doesn’t, does it?”

  They stood side by side watching the coast slide by.

  *

  They reached Le Havre the following morning, the fifteenth. Selina took an immediate liking to the busy port where so many activities flourished. Here there was trade and shipbuilding as well as the French Navy.

  “We have to hurry,” urged Felicity earnestly. “It’s the fifteenth today.”

  “But if you know his parents’ address we should be there in time,” the Marquis pointed out.

  The family lived close to the shore and, as Felicity, for all her fluffy-headed ways, had managed to memorise the address, they found it without trouble.

  They found the house in uproar. Monsieur Ducros was tearing his hair, Madame Ducros was in tears.

  It soon became apparent why.

  Pierre had already left for the Recruiting Office.

  “All because of that heartless girl who abandoned him,” Pierre’s mother sobbed.

  “But I am that heartless girl,” cried Felicity. “And I haven’t abandoned him.”

  “Where is this Office? Quickly,” asked the Marquis in an urgent voice.

  They obtained the address and then all piled into a carriage and headed off for the Recruiting Office.

  “Oh, we mustn’t be too late,” wailed Felicity. “We simply mustn’t.”

  “I could never agree more,” added the Marquis with feeling.

  He was sitting beside Selina and somehow his hand found hers gripping it tightly in his. She clasped him back, wondering if he even knew what he was doing.

  At last the Office came into view. Hurrying inside, they saw a line of young men moving slowly towards an Officer at a desk, who was writing details down.

  As they watched in horror, Pierre reached the head of the line.

  He was giving in his name and the Officer was now writing it down.

  “Pierre!” screamed Felicity.

  He looked up, saw her and began to move.

  But the Officer at the desk was pointing out that he had already given his name.

  The process had started.

  “It’s too late,” shrieked Felicity.

  “Oh, no, it isn’t,” shouted out the Marquis grimly. “Rescue party – charge!”

  As one person, they launched themselves forwards, seizing Pierre and bearing him bodily out of the Office to the waiting vehicle.

  “Move!” called the Marquis to the driver. “As fast as you can.”

  Next they were well on their way, rattling along the street. As they rounded the corner, Selina looked back and s
aw the Recruiting Officer on the pavement, shouting and waving his arms.

  Pierre had the athletic body of a dancer and seemed to be a good-looking young man, although it was hard to be sure as he was hidden in Felicity’s embrace.

  Selina watched them, smiling with much pleasure at seeing lovers reunited. There was no doubt that these two belonged together.

  She looked at the Marquis and saw that he too was grinning.

  Then he turned his gaze onto her and something in his eyes threw her into confusion.

  *

  At the Ducros house all was delight and rejoicing.

  Father Barnard from the small Church in the next street had called in to ask the family if there was any news.

  “I warned the Father that there would be a wedding about now,” trumpeted Pierre, “although I couldn’t tell him the exact date, but I did say it would be the fifteenth at the latest. So now we can go ahead and be married today!”

  “Of course, of course,” agreed the genial Priest. “If I may see the lady’s papers?”

  Felicity produced her passport, which he examined and pronounced satisfactory.

  “And now yours?” he turned to Pierre.

  Pierre felt in his pocket and his expression changed to one of horror.

  “I took it with me to the Recruiting Office. It must have fallen out when you rescued me.”

  “I’m afraid that I cannot marry you without it,” said Father Barnard apologetically.

  “But Father, you know me,” roared Pierre. “You baptised me.”

  “Indeed. But everything must be done in the proper way. I’m afraid that, without papers, I cannot marry you.”

  “What do I do?” asked Pierre, aghast. “I cannot go back there.”

  Felicity burst into sobs at this last-minute disaster. Selina too felt very much like crying.

  After all they had just been through! How could this happen on top of everything?

  “Don’t you worry, my dear,” suggested the Marquis gently. “We’ll think of something.”

  “What?” she asked desperately.

  “For the moment, I don’t know,” he had to admit. There came a loud knock on the door and peeping through the window, Madame Ducros gave a little cry.

  “It’s an Officer in naval uniform.”

  “Let him enter,” called out Pierre heroically. “I am ready. But my sweet Felicity, kiss me once more and say you will wait for me.”