Lovers in London (16 page)

He managed to untie the ropes behind her, and then as she at last began to move her arms, he asked her,

“That swine has not hurt you?”

“I have been so – frightened. He told me I would be disposed of – and I thought they would – drown me!”

She was almost incoherent, but he understood.

“No one will drown you,” he told her tenderly, “I will not allow anything this to ever happen to you ever again!”

He was undoing the rope round her ankles when the Duty Officer and two others appeared at the door.

“You've found her!”

“I have found her, thank God,” replied the Marquis. “She has been tied up by those scoundrels and told she was to be jettisoned, presumably when they were out at sea.”

“How dreadful,” said the Duty Officer.

“Please now have a good look around this cabin,” suggested the Marquis without turning his head.

He was rubbing Lanthia's ankles to bring back her circulation.

The Duty Officer walked to the dressing table at the other side of the cabin and pulled open one of the drawers.

There had been nothing of note in any of the other cabins they had examined, but now he gave an exclamation.

“There's something here,” he called.

The Marquis did not appear to be listening.

“Is that any better?” he asked Lanthia.

“Much – better,” she replied. “I am all right – now
you
have come.”

She was rubbing her wrists as she was speaking and the Marquis could see that she was very pale.

“I will take you back as soon as possible,” he promised.

As he rose to his feet the Duty Officer said,

“Look what I've just found, my Lord.”

The Marquis looked into the Duty Officer's hand at his very own diamond brooch that he had been carrying in his pocket.

He stared at it in mock amazement.

“Good Heavens! What is on the cover?”

The Duty Officer closed the box.

“That is my family crest!” exclaimed the Marquis. “I thought I recognised that brooch.”

“Is it yours?” the Duty Officer enquired.

“It is indeed. It is one of the most important pieces of the Rakecliffe jewellery collection. I expect you know it is famous and of such historic importance that it is second only to the Queen's Crown Jewels.”

“I've heard that, my Lord, but I'm afraid that I must keep this brooch for the moment as evidence against the owner of this yacht.”

The Marquis looked across the room.

There was only one other Officer present who was looking at Lanthia with curiosity.

“Close the door for a moment,” asked the Marquis.

The Officer obeyed him.

Then in a low voice he said to the Duty Officer,

“Lord Salisbury himself would wish you to handle this criminal affair very discreetly and diplomatically. You can easily understand that Her Majesty has, at the moment, no wish to quarrel with Spain and in my opinion the Conté de Vallecas, who owns this yacht, is a lunatic.”

He paused to ensure that the Duty Officer was listening before he went on,

“What I believe would be for the best is for you to instruct your staff to say nothing to anyone, especially the press, until you have received further directions from Lord Salisbury.”

“Of course I fully understand, my Lord,” agreed the Duty Officer, “and that is just what I will do.”

“I will inform Lord Salisbury immediately what has occurred and I know he will be as grateful as I am that you have taken such swift action and have been so successful.”

“That is what matters,” he replied proudly.

He looked at Lanthia.

“Are you now all right, miss?” he asked.

“I am very, very thankful – that you have rescued me,” sighed Lanthia.

She sounded rather weak and the Marquis said,

“Now I can leave everything in your capable hands and thank you again more than I can possibly say for your quickness and skill and finally your success.”

“It's been a pleasure, my Lord.”

The Marquis turned to Lanthia.

“Can you walk? Or shall I carry you?”

“I shall be all right – if I can hold on to you.”

The Marquis gave her his arm and when they came to the companionway he carried her up it.

At the top he put her down on the deck and then he realised that only the Duty Officer was behind them.

“I think,” he suggested, “that this warrants a case of champagne to celebrate and I promise that you shall have it tomorrow morning.”

The Duty Officer smiled.

“That will be a great treat, my Lord, and thank you for your generosity.”

“The gratitude is all for you,” replied the Marquis.

Then he was helping Lanthia off the yacht and onto the pilot boat.

It was a very short distance back to the Offices of the Port of London Authority.

Only when they left the boat did Lanthia hold out her hand to the Duty Officer.

“Thank you again very much indeed. I am so very grateful to you for saving me.”

“You must thank his Lordship for that.”

Lanthia did not answer.

She clung to the Marquis as he guided her to where his carriage was waiting.

He helped her into it and then he gave his orders to the coachman.

“Take me first to Lord Salisbury's house.”

“I remember it well, my Lord.”

“If his Lordship is not at home we shall have to go to the Foreign Office, but I imagine most people will have gone home at this hour.”

The Marquis was speaking more to himself than the coachman and he stepped into the carriage.

As the horses moved off, he put out his arms and pulled Lanthia close to him.

“You are all right now, Lanthia, you are safe and I swear to you that this can never happen to you again.”

Even as he spoke, she burst into tears and hid her face against his chest.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Lanthia cried torrentially like a child.

The Marquis pulled her legs onto the seat and held her across him as if she was a baby.

“It's all right,” he kept saying gently, “it is all over, it is finished and you are not to upset yourself any more.”

It was impossible for her to stop crying.

He continued whispering to her as the carriage gathered speed.

“You were safe, Lanthia, from the moment I knew where you were and I did hear you calling for me.”

She was so surprised that she raised her head from his shoulder.

“You heard me – calling to you?” she asked a little incoherently.

They passed by a streetlight and the Marquis could see her face.

Her eyes were wide and tears were running down her cheeks.

He pulled her back against him and his lips came down on hers.

He kissed her very gently because he had no wish to upset her more than she had been already.

Then when he felt the softness and innocence of her lips, his kisses became more possessive and demanding.

He felt her quiver against him and he knew that she was no longer crying.

Without speaking he continued to kiss her until the horses came to a standstill.

He realised that they were now drawn up outside Lord Salisbury's house.

Very gently he lifted Lanthia into the corner of the carriage.

“I will not be longer than I can help,” he told her in a voice that was deep and a little unsteady.

He opened the carriage door whilst the coachman was ringing the bell.

As the front door opened, the Marquis walked in, saying to the butler,

“Is his Lordship in? I must speak to him urgently.”

The butler, who had seen the Marquis many times and was used to emergencies, replied quietly,

“Will your Lordship please go into the study?”

The Marquis did not have to be shown the way and without waiting for the butler, he strode towards the study, where Lord Salisbury always sat when he was at home.

He did not have to wait more than a few minutes before Lord Salisbury, who must have been in the middle of his dinner, came hurrying in.

“What is it, Rake? What has happened?”

“I am sorry to disturb your Lordship,” the Marquis answered, “but this is very important.”

Lord Salisbury, a distinguished Minister and one of the most respected Statesmen in the country, indicated a seat to the Marquis and sat down himself.

The Marquis did not waste any time.

He related to the Foreign Secretary the whole story of exactly what had happened from the time he had danced with the Contessa.

He listened intently until the Marquis finished by explaining,

“I told the Duty Officer at the Port of London Authority that everything must be kept completely secret until such time as he receives instructions from you.”

“I can always trust you, Rake, to do the right thing and I know the Prime Minister will be most insistent that there is no scandal.”

He paused for a moment before continuing,

“The Conté and the Contessa will be told first thing tomorrow morning to leave the country. If he comes back, he will be arrested on a charge of abduction and theft.”

The Marquis smiled.

“I would like my brooch back safely. As you may be aware, it belongs with my family jewels.”

“That I can promise you,” replied Lord Salisbury.

The Marquis rose to his feet.

“I am sorry to have interrupted your dinner, but I felt you should know the complete story as soon as I could convey it to you.”

“You were quite right, Rake, and I will now set the wheels in motion. Can I offer you a drink?”

“I have Lanthia Grenville outside in the carriage.”

“Then of course you must look after her. I expect the poor girl is most upset, but I am sure you will be able to comfort her.”

There was a twinkle in Lord Salisbury's eyes.

They left the study and shook hands in the hall and the Marquis hurried outside to his carriage.

Lanthia was waiting for him and she was no longer crying.

And as the horses drove off again, the Marquis put his back arm round her.

“Everything is settled,” he told her quietly. “The Conté will be told to leave tomorrow morning and never to set foot in England again!”

“Oh, I am so glad!” cried Lanthia. “That means he can no longer hurt you.”

The Marquis considered it very touching that she thought of him rather than herself.

Yet he understood without her saying so, that she was wondering if it was possible for the Conté to learn tonight that she had escaped from his clutches.

While the Marquis was talking with Lord Salisbury, she had been thinking that his kisses were undoubtedly the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to her.

She had never known such a sensation of ecstasy as she had felt at his first kiss.

Then as he had gone on kissing her, she felt as if she was no longer in a world of darkness, fear and terror.

She was enveloped by a blazing light, which could only have come from God.

While she was alone in the carriage, she had been thanking God for saving her and sending the Marquis to her so quickly.

She never believed that her prayers would be answered, or that she would be able to escape from the terrible death the Conté had intended for her.

‘Thank you,
thank you
, God,' she prayed. ‘I want to live and I want the Marquis to be safe too.'

She remembered how she had called out to him to save her, feeling that he must hear her cry.

He had told her that he had heard her.

She could hardly believe it was true, yet he had said so.

Now because she felt shy that he had kissed her so passionately, she did not want to ask him any questions.

The Marquis was thinking the same.

He kissed her lips again, but very gently as if he appreciated that she was very precious and delicate.

It did not take them long to reach
The Langham
as by now there was little traffic in the streets.

As they drew up outside the front door, the Marquis took his arms from around Lanthia and helped her out of the carriage.

“Wait until I send you some instructions,” he said to the coachman.

He and Lanthia now walked up the steps and into the hotel and the Marquis guessed that because she was moving quickly with her head down that she did not wish to be seen.

However, the porter saw them and enquired,

“Are you all right, my Lord?”

“It was just a stupid joke that misfired. Please will you send a bottle of Dom Pérignon champagne up to Miss Grenville's sitting room and tell the Head Waiter I want to order dinner.”

“Very good, my Lord.”

They took the lift to the second floor in silence.

He put his arm round Lanthia as they walked down the corridor and held her to him closely.

He was conscious as they passed Room 200 that a sudden shiver shot through her.

Once again she was afraid.

The Marquis did not say anything, but when they entered her sitting room, he closed the door behind them.

“Go and wash away all your tears,” he suggested, “while I order dinner and you shall have a large glass of champagne as soon as it arrives.”

“What about your party tonight?” asked Lanthia.

“They will have to do without me, because I am not going to leave you.”

He saw the relief in her eyes.

Then as if she was ashamed of her appearance, Lanthia disappeared into her bedroom.

The champagne arrived and the Marquis ordered it to be opened. While the waiter was doing so, a clerk from the hotel reception desk knocked on the door.

“What is it?” enquired the Marquis.

“The manager asked me to inform Miss Grenville that the gentleman in the room next door left unexpectedly this evening. It is therefore possible for Mrs. Blossom to move into it as soon as she wishes.”

“Thank you,” answered the Marquis. “When you go downstairs please ask my coachman to come to this room immediately.”