He took her hand as he spoke, as if she was a child being taken for a walk, and they moved ahead of the troops.
Ilona felt herself tremble as he touched her.
She had taken off one of her riding-gloves to push back her hood from her face and she had not replaced it.
Her fingers were cold while the Prince’s were warm and she thought that if only he loved her this would be an exciting adventure to tell their children.
Then she thought despairingly that they would have no children, and when the drama of the night was over, provided they were both alive, the Prince had his mistress waiting for him while she had nothing and no-one.
Owing to the trees, the back of the Palace was in deep shadow, and for one frantic moment, as they drew near to it, Ilona thought she had forgotten where the entrance was.
She had only been nine when she was last here and it was nine years since Julius had told her the secret of it.
Then it had been an exciting game, but naturally she had not thought about it again since she left Dabrozka.
As if with a perception she had not suspected the Prince knew what she was feeling, his fingers tightened on hers.
“There is no hurry,” he whispered almost beneath his breath. “Take your time. It may have become overgrown.”
His voice dispersed the feeling of fear and swept away Ilona’s uncertainty.
Now she was sure that the entrance was a little to the left, obscured by rocks and hidden beneath the flowering creeper which crawled over the base of the Palace like a green veil.
The Prince let her lead him and then when she pointed he pulled the creeper aside, revealing what appeared to be an iron grill.
It was easily moved and behind it was the entrance to the passage, just as Ilona remembered it.
There was no door, merely a narrow opening through which only one man could squeeze at a time, but which immediately opened into an enormous cave. The passage began at the back of it.
Ilona remembered that it went straight, rising slightly for some distance, then there were stone steps rising to another level and yet another, until a door opened into the part of the Palace building which was never used.
It was where the dungeons were and huge cellars, that had once housed wine, but which had been abandoned for more accessible storage-places near the Dining-Hall.
The Prince and Ilona had entered the cave and they were joined, one by one, by the soldiers.
Then the guns were passed through the opening and candle-lanterns gave a fitful glow carefully shaded so that they could not be seen from the outside.
At last everyone was in the cave and the Prince turned to Ilona.
“Ride home as quickly as you can,” he said quietly.
She did not reply and she thought that he looked down at her in the semi-darkness as if he waited for her to speak.
Then drawing his pistol from his belt he moved through the waiting men to lead them up the passage that loomed dark ahead of them.
Ilona watched them go, the last to leave being the men with the guns which the mules had carried on their backs.
The officers following the Prince had taken the lanterns with them, and now there was only the light from the narrow opening which seemed, after the darkness of the cave, to be very bright.
“We should leave, Ma’am,” Captain Gayozy said in a low voice.
“I think I have dropped something,” Ilona answered. “Is it possible for you to find a light?”
“There is another lantern here,” Captain Gayozy replied. “We brought a dozen with us, but the Prince thought we would only have need of half that number.”
“Please light one.”
Ilona waited while Captain Gayozy carried out her request. Then as he brought the flickering candle-lantern back to her side she said,
“Perhaps you would carry it as we go along the passage.”
“We cannot do that, Ma’am,” Captain Gayozy said. “You heard His Highness’s instructions.”
“I have no intention of returning to the Castle,” Ilona replied.
“But you cannot stay here, Ma’am. There will be fighting and you might be injured.”
“I am not a fool, Captain Gayozy: I will not leave the passage at the other end until it is safe to do so. At the same time I have no intention of leaving the Palace without the Prince.”
She looked at the Captain and realised he was extremely disconcerted by her declaration.
He was a young officer, one of the Aides-de-camp who had looked at her with admiration when he travelled opposite her in the carriage.
Now despite his consternation he could not stop his eyes lingering for a moment on the red of her hair as it glittered in the candle-light.
“Do not be faint-hearted, Captain Gayozy,” Ilona said with a touch of amusement in her voice. “You can hardly force me to return at the point of a pistol, and having brought the Prince safely here and found the secret passage, I have no intention of being sent home like an unwanted parcel!”
“I shall be court-martial led for dereliction of duty, Ma’am!” the Captain protested.
“Nonsense!” Ilona retorted. “You will be decorated for courage in the face of an extremely formidable enemy!”
The Captain could not help laughing.
“You are incorrigible, Ma’am. But I cannot allow you to take any risks.”
“I will allow you to be very careful of my safety,” Ilona promised him. “Now let us go up above and see what is happening!”
She remembered what a steep climb it was up the stone steps, and she had been right in assuring the Count that the passage which had lasted for centuries would not have changed in the last nine years.
It smelt dry and dusty and occasionally there were cobwebs which broke against Ilona’s hair, but otherwise they had no difficulty in reaching the door which led into the Palace.
Here the Captain paused.
“We dare not go any further, Ma’am.”
“What I suggest,” Ilona replied, “is that you go and explore. Find out what is happening. Then if it is safe, come back and collect me.”
“I will leave the lantern with you, Ma’am.”
“If we had had any sense we would have brought two with us,” Ilona answered. “As it is, you must take it with you, otherwise you will never find the way. I will sit here in the darkness. I am not afraid.”
“You are quite sure? I ought not to leave you.”
“You must leave me,” Ilona answered, “or else I shall have to stay here indefinitely, and if the Prince leaves the Palace by the front entrance, he might even forget about us.”
“I am sure he would not do that!” the Captain answered.
Ilona knew that he must be aching to find out what was happening, and she realised that it had in fact been very frustrating for him not to be able to join his comrades in their enterprise.
“Go along, Captain,” she said, “and try not to forget that I am waiting here for your return.”
“I will certainly not do that, Ma’am.”
He moved through the door carrying the lantern in his hand, and Ilona sat down on the ground.
She saw the light flickering in the distance until it was little more than a will o’ the wisp, then there was only darkness.
Of one thing she was certain - there had been no pitched battle!
Thick though the Palace walls were and despite the fact that they had entered through a very different part of the building, she was sure that if there had been pistol or rifle shots, they would have heard them.
The guns which were to bombard Vitózi had certainly not been fired.
It seemed to Ilona, sitting in the darkness, that a century of time passed before she heard footsteps approaching on the stone floor and then saw the light of a lantern.
She was standing waiting when the Captain rejoined her.
“Everything is all right, Ma’am,” he said.
She realised he was no longer speaking in a whisper, but
in quite a loud tone because he was excited.
“The Prince and our men took the Russians entirely by surprise! They were all asleep, Ma’am, if you can believe it, and only the sentries were on duty, looking out of the Palace in the other direction. They surrendered without a shot being fired!”
Ilona felt the fear which had made every breath she drew an inescapable pain subsiding.
“And the Prince?” she asked.
“He has gone with the rest of the troops to join our men at the Pass. He has taken with him the Russians who were captured in the Palace as prisoners, but he intends not to keep them in Dabrozka, but to put them over the border into their own land.”
“And – the King?” Ilona asked in a low voice.
“His Majesty has gone with them!”
Ilona gave a sigh of relief.
She had been afraid, although she had not admitted it to herself, of facing her father.
“Who is left in the Palace?” she asked.
“Only the servants, Ma’am. I have told them you are here, and they are preparing your room so that you can rest until the Prince returns.”
“Thank you, Captain Gayozy.”
He led Ilona through the cold, uninviting corridors until they reached the part of the Palace that was lived in.
Even then there was a long walk to the State Apartments which she had used before her marriage.
When she reached them there were servants, hurriedly dressed, smiling a welcome.
Ilona paused in the Hall.
“I have a feeling, Captain Gayozy, that now you have fulfilled your duty to me you would wish to join His Majesty and your comrades.”
She saw the delight in the young man’s eyes.
“Do you think I could do that, Ma’am?”
“I am sure they will not be very far ahead, and you can catch them up,” she answered. “I shall be quite safe in the Palace.”
“You are adequately guarded, Ma’am. There are sentries on duty on the roof, on the battlements and outside the front door!”
Ilona smiled.
“They certainly did not expect us to enter the way we did!”
“From all I heard from the officers to whom I spoke, the Russians thought we must have dropped from the sky!”
Ilona laughed.
“Does the Prince know I am here?” she enquired.
Captain Gayozy looked a little embarrassed.
“He was very busy, Ma’am. I thought it best not to trouble him at the moment. They were just leaving when I learnt what had happened.”
“You were quite right not to tell His Highness,” Ilona said. “It would only worry him. When everything is quiet and peaceful, you can tell him I am here at the Palace. I shall sleep in my own bed. Good-night, Captain.”
The Captain drew himself up to attention and saluted. “Good-night, Ma’am, and may I tell you how wonderful you have been?”
“Thank you, Captain,” Ilona replied.
She went to her room where the housekeeper and two of the housemaids were waiting to attend to her.
As she undressed they chattered away excitedly, telling her how frightened they had been when the Russians arrived at the Palace and how unpleasant and rude the soldiers were!
“And greedy, Your Royal Highness! You wouldn’t believe what they ate! If they’d stayed any longer we’d have been eaten out of house and home!”
“They will not trouble us again,” Ilona smiled.
“But – His Majesty –?” one of the maids murmured. Ilona did not answer. The girl was asking the same question she had been asking herself.
What would the King do when he reached Russia? Would he incite them to make another effort to capture Dabrozka?
Would he invite them to invade the country, even without the excuse of restoring order in a Civil War?
It was frightening to contemplate and suddenly Ilona felt very tired.
The Housekeeper had found her a nightgown, and as she got into bed the woman said,
“You will have a gown to wear to-morrow, Your Royal Highness. Quite a number of boxes have arrived from Paris containing garments that you must have ordered.”
“Of course!” Ilona exclaimed. “I had arranged for them to be sent after me.”
“His Majesty forbade us to have then conveyed to the Castle, Your Royal Highness,” the Housekeeper explained. “But as I was sure you would not wish them to be creased, I hung them up in the wardrobe. They are there waiting for you.”
“Thank you,” Ilona said sleepily.
She was so tired that her eye-lids were dropping even as she spoke.
It had been a long ride, and so much else had happened during the day, which had all been exhausting.
First she had been kidnapped by the Zyghes, then there was her rescue by the Prince when he had lifted her bodily from the saddle, and the fear she had felt when she learnt that the Russians were actually in the Palace, intending to bombard Vitózi!
It had all taken its toll of her strength!
When she was alone she remembered too the passionate emotions she had felt the previous evening, and the jealousy which had kept her tossing and turning all night, and prevented her from sleeping.
“I will not think about the gypsy,” she told herself.
Deliberately she sent her thought back to the moment when the Prince had held her in his arms and she had heard his heart beating as her cheek lay against his shoulder.
She tried to imagine that she was still with him and could feel again that sense of safety and protection because he was close.
“I love –him! I love him with my – heart and – soul,” Ilona whispered.
She fell asleep as she was pretending that once again she was in his arms.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Ilona awoke because someone was pulling back the curtains.
She felt drowsy with sleep, then suddenly she remembered where she was and what had brought her there.
She sat up in bed and saw that the Housekeeper was bringing in a tray to set down beside her.
“What time is it?” she asked.
“It is well after noon, Your Royal Highness, but I let you sleep on, seeing how tired you were.”
“As late as that?” Ilona exclaimed. “Then what has happened?”
“Most of the troops have returned. They are celebrating a victory!”
“There was fighting?”
“Very little, I think, Your Royal Highness. His Highness is safe. He came back some hours ago. He had a short rest, and now I believe he is outside the Palace with the troops.”
Ilona was silent for a moment. Then she asked in a very low voice,
“Did – His Highness enquire – after me?”
“No, Your Royal Highness.”
There seemed to be nothing more to say and Ilona ate some of the food that had been brought to her without tasting it. Then having had a bath, she started to dress.
She thought as she did so that it was typical of her relationship with her husband that now she was of no further use to him he had no interest in her.
Last night he had spoken to her as if she was a human being instead of someone he hated, and she had thought when he had taken her hand to lead her as they walked towards the Palace that he was no longer as cold as he had been ever since they were married.
But it seemed now she had been mistaken.
Now that all the excitement was over, their relationship was back on its previous unhappy footing.
Ilona felt so depressed that she let the Housekeeper dress her in one of her new gowns which had come from Paris, without even noticing what she wore.
It was pale blue, trimmed with white lace and she vaguely remembered buying it but felt no particular interest in it. When she was ready she left her bedroom and walked along the corridor which led to the top of the stairs.
Down in the Great Hall there were officers in small groups talking to each other, and she could see through the open door and the tall windows that there we
re troops outside in the court-yard.
Then as she looked at them, expecting to see the Prince, she suddenly stiffened.
Coming up the drive towards the Palace was a bunch of colourful gypsies.
There was no mistaking the full skirts of the women, the red coat of the Voivode, and the other gypsies with their bright sashes and silk handkerchiefs tied over their dark heads.
With an exclamation beneath her breath Ilona turned away, feeling the same stabbing pain in her heart which she had endured the night the Prince had danced with Mautya.
The gypsy dancer had certainly wasted no time in crossing the river and following the Prince.
‘Perhaps he sent a message for her to join him,’ Ilona thought to herself.
He needed his mistress in his hour of triumph but not the company of his wife.
She walked down the corridor not thinking where she was going, only wanting to be rid of the sight of the gypsies.
She could see all too vividly the beautiful face of the dancer with her enticing dark slanting eyes and her red, inviting mouth.
Then Ilona decided to visit the rooms which Julius had occupied, thinking, as she had thought last night that it was actually her brother who had been instrumental in saving Dabrozka from the Russians.
If Julius had not determined to creep out at night against the King’s wishes, if she had not been his accomplice, then at this very moment the Russian shells would be bursting over Vitózi.
She thought how much Julius would have enjoyed the excitement of taking the Russians unawares, but it was the Prince who had carried out the whole operation so brilliantly that there had been no bloodshed.
She stopped in the corridor realising that she had reached not Julius’s room but the Nursery which she had occupied until the day she had left the Castle with her mother eight years ago.
She opened the door and found it was exactly as she had left it.
There was the big arm-chair by the tiled stove where she had sat with her mother and listened to the fairy-stories which had entranced her.
There was her rocking-horse which she had loved passionately until when she was four years old she had been allowed to ride a pony, and found it an enchantment which had made all her other toys fade into insignificance.
Princes and Princesses: Favourite Royal Romances Page 30