Beyond the Stars
Page 11
He caught hold of Lupita and dragged her from the saddle as fast as he could.
Even as he did so, Minerva shot away, rushing down towards the lake.
Just before the mare reached the lake she started to roll over and over on the grass, just as Knight Star had done.
The Earl held Lupita very close to him.
She was almost fainting with fright and terror.
At the same time she was aware that his arms were around her and that she was safe.
Carrying her the Earl hurried back towards the house.
As he reached the steps, Lupita stirred and he said,
“It is all right, my darling, you are quite safe now and so is Jerry.”
She wanted to ask him what had happened, but the words would not come to her lips.
She was badly shocked and very frightened.
The Earl could feel her whole body trembling against him.
He took her into the hall just as Briggs and four footmen came rushing out to see what was happening.
The Earl glanced back to see that a groom was holding Morning Star while Jerry stared in amazement at the two other horses.
Carrying Lupita, the Earl walked across the hall and into the drawing room.
He sat on the sofa holding her in his arms as if she was a small child.
Her head was nestling against his shoulder.
After a few moments she managed to look up at him and then ask in a voice that he could hardly hear,
“What – h-happened?”
“How could I have been such a fool,” the Earl exclaimed, “as not to realise your cousin would try to kill you too!”
“B-but – you – s-saved me,” she whispered.
He looked down into her eyes.
And then he was kissing her.
Kissing her as if he was afraid that he might have lost her and could not express his relief in any other way.
To Lupita it was as if the Gates of Heaven had opened and he had taken her inside.
She could feel the same thrill that she had felt before seeping through her body.
She thought then that she would awake to find that this was all an unbelievable dream.
Only as the Earl raised his head did she realise that it was all very real.
“Y-you – kissed me,” she stammered in a rapt little whisper.
“I love you, my darling,” the Earl said, “but through my own stupidity I nearly lost you!”
He kissed her again and it was a long passionate kiss.
It made her feel that he took her heart and her soul from her body and made them both his own.
As if she could not help herself, she asked the Earl once again,
“Wh-what – happened? Why did – Knight Star and Minerva go – so mad?”
“Your cousin had intended it to happen not to Knight Star but to Morning Star,” the Earl related.
“Oh – no – no! How could – he do anything so wicked and – so cruel?”
“Very fortunately I discovered last night what he was doing,” the Earl went on, “but I did not think to look at your saddle as well as Morning Star’s.”
“What – had he – d-done to the – saddle? I just don’t – understand.”
“I will explain later,” the Earl said. “All that matters for the moment is that you are safe. And, unless I am very much mistaken, your cousin, Rufus Lang, is dead.”
“D-dead!” Lupita exclaimed.
“If not, he will be crippled for life and I think in the circumstances that any man would rather die.”
“H-he – meant – that to h-happen to – Jerry!”
Lupita could hardly say the words and the Earl’s arms tightened.
“It is something you must try to forget,” he urged, “but now that Jerry is safe and so, my precious one, are you.”
Lupita looked up at him.
“You – saved Jerry too. How can – you be so – so wonderful?”
“Since that is how I want you to think of me,” the Earl said, “how soon will you marry me, my darling Lupita?”
Lupita was still.
Then she questioned,
“Did – you really ask me – to m-marry – you?”
“I intend to marry you immediately,” the Earl asserted, “and, as your Guardian, I can recommend the Earl of Ardwick as a very suitable husband!”
There was a hint of laughter in his voice.
But the deep expression in his eyes told Lupita that he really loved her as she loved him.
“I-I knew – yesterday,” she murmured, “that – I have loved you for a – long time – but I never – never thought that – you would love me.”
“I have been fighting against my feelings for you,” the Earl said, “but when I thought of that devil planning to destroy you, I just knew that I could not go on living without you.”
“How can – you say – anything quite so – marvellous to me?” Lupita asked him.
“I have a great deal more to say,” the Earl answered, “but I think, my darling, if you feel strong enough, we should go and look after Jerry and I must arrange either for your cousin to be taken to a hospital or for a coffin to be made for him.”
Lupita gave a little shudder.
If it had not been for his foresight, the Earl would have been saying that about herself and dear Jerry.
As if he did not wish her to think of such things, the Earl kissed her again.
Then he rose from the sofa and drew her to her feet.
“On second thoughts,” he said, “I want you to stay here. There is no need for you to see what has happened outside. I will send Jerry in here to be with you.”
Lupita put out her hands towards him.
“You will – not be – long?” she questioned.
“I will come back to you as quickly as I can,” the Earl promised. “I have a great deal to tell you about how much I love you and how sublimely beautiful you are.”
As he finished speaking, he kissed her forehead in an almost reverent way.
Then with what seemed to be an effort, he walked towards the door.
Because she hardly knew what she was doing, Lupita sat down again on the sofa.
Everything that had happened today seemed so incredible that it was hard for her to think clearly.
But all that really mattered was the knowledge that the Earl loved her as she adored him.
They were to be married.
She thought that her father and mother would be very pleased that she had found such a perfect husband.
She felt as if they were near her at this very moment and were smiling at her happiness.
It must have been her father, she thought, who had sent the Earl into her life and enabled him to save Jerry and herself.
‘Thank you – thank you – Papa,’ she whispered ‘and – please tell – God how – grateful I am.’
When the Dowager Countess was told the whole story in considerable detail, she found it all hard to believe.
Then the Earl announced that he and Lupita were to be married and she cried from sheer happiness.
“Lupita is exactly the right sort of wife I have always wanted for you, Ingram,” she said. “I was so afraid you would marry one of those hard women, who only wanted to marry you for your title and the family jewellery.”
“I don’t think that is a very flattering remark, Grandmama,” the Earl teased. “But I know what you mean.”
“I told him he should – marry a – Princess,” Lupita said, “but perhaps because I love him so much he will not realise how unimportant I really am.”
The Earl put out his hand to take hers.
“To me you are the most important person in the world,” he said, “and, as for marrying a Princess, I am marrying the Queen of my heart and what man could ever ask for more?”
“That was a very pretty speech,” his grandmother approved and smiled benignly.
“There is – only one thing that – worries me,” Lupita said hesitatingl
y.
“What is that?” the Earl asked.
“What is – going to happen – to – Jerry?”
“I have been thinking about that myself,” the Earl answered her.
“Well, I do have a solution,” the Dowager Countess said. “As you know, I have always disliked the Dower House, which was built only fifty years ago and it is in my opinion very ugly.”
She paused a moment and then continued,
“If Lupita will allow me, I would love to come to live here at Wood Hall. It is exactly the sort of home I have always envisaged for myself.”
She touched Lupita’s cheek and went on softly,
“And I cannot help thinking that Lupita’s mother would be glad that I was looking after Jerry as well as the house.”
Lupita’s eyes were shining.
“Do you – really mean that – ma’am?” she asked. “It would be – just perfect for me to know that – you were here.”
“We will come and stay with you very often,” the Earl added, “and Jerry can spend his time between here and with us at Ardwick Park.”
He smiled as he added,
“I think he will enjoy the horses in both places and so will my sons when you give them to me.”
He put his arm round Lupita as he spoke.
She blushed as she pressed her cheek against his shoulder.
“We will have – dozens and – dozens of children,” she murmured.
The Earl laughed.
“I will be very content with one dozen but, if they all want horses to ride, we shall have to enlarge the stables!”
“You are going too fast,” the Dowager Countess said. “At the same time I am so glad that you approve of my idea and I will look forward to having Jerry with me and, of course, as many great-grandchildren as you can give me.”
The Earl bent and kissed her.
“I might have known, Grandmama, that you would solve the problem, just as you used to when I was a little boy.”
“The only real problem, as far as I was concerned,” his grandmother replied, “was that you would marry the wrong person. As it is, I could not be any more delighted with my new granddaughter.”
Lupita kissed her and felt that in many ways she resembled her own mother.
Certainly the house seemed exactly right for her.
Just as it had been exactly right for the beautiful Countess of Langwood.
That evening, after the Dowager Countess and Jerry had gone to bed, the Earl and Lupita were alone in the drawing room.
He led her to the window that was open and they stood gazing up at the stars.
The Earl drew Lupita closer to him.
“It is a beautiful night, my darling, and you are the star who will guide me and help me all through the years that lie ahead of us.”
“I think I will be following you – not leading you,” Lupita corrected him.
“I want you to do that. At the same time I know that ever since I met you I have felt inspired in a different way than I have ever been before. There are a great many things we can do together not only to help ourselves but also to help our country and countrymen.”
He spoke very solemnly and Lupita gave a little cry of joy.
“That is just what I – really wanted you – to say,” she answered, “and because you are so wonderful I must not be greedy and keep – you all to myself.”
“I might need my brain for other people,” the Earl said, “but you know, my darling, my heart is completely and absolutely yours and nothing will ever alter that.”
Tears came into Lupita’s eyes as she asked him,
“H-how can I – be so lucky?”
“I believe that what lies beyond the stars,” he said quietly, “has brought us together.”
He looked lovingly at her before he continued,
“We were made for each other, you and I, and between us we must help to rid the world of evil and bring beauty and love to all those in the world who desperately need it.”
There was nothing Lupita could say, so she raised her lips to his.
Then he was kissing her at first gently and then passionately.
She realised that they had found the real Love that all men seek and a few are fortunate enough to find.
It is the Love unchanging, everlasting and Divine that comes from beyond the stars.
OTHER BOOKS IN THIS SERIES
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Elizabethan Lover
The Little Pretender
A Ghost in Monte Carlo
A Duel of Hearts
The Saint and the Sinner
The Penniless Peer
The Proud Princess
The Dare-Devil Duke
Diona and a Dalmatian
A Shaft of Sunlight
Lies for Love
Love and Lucia
Love and the Loathsome Leopard
Beauty or Brains
The Temptation of Torilla
The Goddess and the Gaiety Girl
Fragrant Flower
Look Listen and Love
The Duke and the Preacher’s Daughter
A Kiss for the King
The Mysterious Maid-servant
Lucky Logan Finds Love
The Wings of Ecstacy
Mission to Monte Carlo
Revenge of the Heart
The Unbreakable Spell
Never Laugh at Love
Bride to a Brigand
Lucifer and the Angel
Journey to a Star
Solita and the Spies
The Chieftain Without a Heart
No Escape from Love
Dollars for the duke
Pure and Untouched
Secrets
Fire in the Blood
Love, Lies and Marriage
The Ghost who Fell in Love
Hungry for Love
The Wild Cry of Love
The Blue-eyed Witch
The Punishment of a Vixen
The Secret of the Glen
Bride to the King
For All Eternity
King in Love
A Marriage made in Heaven
Who can deny Love?
Riding to the Moon
Wish for Love
Dancing on a Rainbow
Gypsy Magic
Love in the Clouds
Count the Stars
White Lilac
Too Precious to Lose
The Devil Defeated
An Angel Runs Away
The Duchess Disappeared
The Pretty Horse-breakers
The Prisoner of Love
Ola and the Sea Wolf
The Castle made for Love
A Heart is Stolen
The Love Pirate
As Eagles Fly
The Magic of Love
Love Leaves at Midnight
A Witch’s Spell
Love Comes West
The Impetuous Duchess
A Tangled Web
Love lifts the Curse
Saved By A Saint
Love is Dangerous
The Poor Governess
The Peril and the Prince
A Very Unusual Wife
Say Yes Samantha
Punished with love
A Royal Rebuke
The Husband Hunters
Signpost To Love
Love Forbidden
Gift Of the Gods
The Outrageous Lady
The Slaves Of Love
The Disgraceful Duke
>
The Unwanted Wedding
Lord Ravenscar’s Revenge
From Hate to Love
A Very Naughty Angel
The Innocent Imposter
A Rebel Princess
A Wish Comes True
Haunted
Passions In The Sand
Little White Doves of Love
A Portrait of Love
The Enchanted Waltz
Alone and Afraid
The Call of the Highlands
The Glittering Lights
An Angel in Hell
Only a Dream
A Nightingale Sang
Pride and the Poor Princess
Stars in my Heart
The Fire of Love
A Dream from the Night
Sweet Enchantress
The Kiss of the Devil
Fascination in France
Love Runs In
Lost Enchantment
Love is Innocent
The Love Trap
No Darkness for Love
Kiss from a Stranger
The Flame Is Love
A Touch of Love
The Dangerous Dandy
In Love In Lucca
The Karma Of Love
Magic For The Heart
Paradise Found
Only Love
A Duel with Destiny
The Heart of the Clan
The Ruthless Rake
Revenge is Sweet
Fire on the Snow
A Revolution of Love
Love at the Helm
Listen to Love
Love Casts out Fear
The Devilish Deception
Riding in the Sky
The Wonderful Dream
This Time it’s Love
The River of Love
A Gentleman in Love
The Island of Love
Miracle for a Madonna
The Storms of Love
The Prince and the Pekingese
The Golden Cage
Theresa and a Tiger
The Goddess of Love
Alone in Paris
The Earl Rings a Belle
The Runaway Heart
From Hell to Heaven
Love in the Ruins
Crowned with Love
Love is a Maze
Hidden by Love
Love is the Key
A Miracle in Music
The Race for Love
Call of the Heart
The Curse of the Clan
Saved by Love
The Tears of Love
Winged Magic
Born of Love
Love Holds the Cards
A Chieftain Finds Love
The Horizons of Love
The Marquis Wins