Rivals for Love (13 page)

“I would like you to inform me about this exquisite ballroom,” interposed Elva. “Whoever designed it must have been a genius.”

“I am not interested in ballrooms, but in
you
,” the Prince insisted. “Shall we go into the garden? I think you will want to see the fireworks, which will be starting soon as well as the beautiful lanterns.”

Elva recognised that this would be a mistake.

“I must now return to my husband,” she responded quickly. “You know that we are on our honeymoon and he will be annoyed if I dance with anyone for too long.”

“I would love to show you the fountains,” Prince Ivor persisted.

He was pulling her towards the door which led into the garden and then to her relief she saw the Duke standing at the end of the ballroom.

Before the Prince could stop her she twisted her hand from his and ran through the dancers to the Duke's side.

“I wondered where you had been,” he said as she joined him.

She was a little breathless. Not only from running away from the Prince, but because of the manner in which he had spoken to her.

“I am told there are fireworks outside,” said Elva, “and I would like to go with you – and see them.”

“We will certainly do so, my dearest.”

They walked through the ballroom into the exotic garden, where endless fountains were playing between subtropical trees and flowers.

The Duke pointed out an agate obelisk to Elva. On it the first letter of the Empress's name was picked out in precious stones.

Another statue of white Parian marble depicted the Goddess of Friendship holding aloft a bust of the Empress Catherine.

It was inscribed rather strangely with the words,
‘To the one who is mother and more than mother to me.'

The Duke turned to Elva and lowered his voice as he commented,

“The Prince's showmanship should be applauded, but do I have the feeling that the rival with whom he is competing will not be removed all that easily?”

As he spoke Elva looked across the garden.

She saw the Prince and the Empress walking back towards the ballroom.

And behind them was Platon Zubov.

It was two o'clock before the Empress left the ball and as soon as her little procession had disappeared the Duke suggested,

“Let us leave now. The best thing about this party was the dinner.”

“I do agree with you it was delicious, but sadly we cannot keep it as a souvenir,” laughed Elva.

“That is indeed true. Tomorrow perhaps we shall have time to see a little more of St. Petersburg itself.”

As they returned to the ballroom again there was a noisy and somewhat rampageous dance taking place and dozens of couples were now dancing at full gallop around the room, occasionally changing partners as they did so.

Before Elva was aware of what was happening, she found herself snatched by a man dancing past.

If she had tried to resist him, she would have fallen over.

They galloped to the end of the room and then her unknown partner relinquished her and another man put his arm round her waist.

It was Prince Ivor Kervenski.

As he held Elva close, he whispered passionately,

“The Gods often take away whatever we cherish, but they sometimes give it back.”

“My husband and I were – just about – to leave,” Elva managed to stammer.

The Prince did not listen.

He was too busy dancing her wildly into the centre of the ballroom.

They were surrounded by other dancers and it was impossible for Elva to see where the Duke was.

It was no use making a scene, so she danced with Prince Ivor even though she really wanted to leave with the Duke.

She was not aware that when she had been swept away from him Princess Natasha had taken her place.

“I have something very important to impart to you, Your Grace,” the Princess murmured seductively into the Duke's ear.

“I am just waiting for my wife,” he replied. “She was snatched away from me by a passing dancer and now I must snatch her back!”

“I do think that will be impossible at the moment,” she answered.

Being tall the Duke could see over most people's heads and he was looking first one way and then another.

“It would be a mistake,” insisted the Princess, “for you not to hear what I have to tell you. It is important to your country of which my brother and I are very fond.”

The Duke moved slowly through the pillars until they rested against a wall, well away from the dancers and were able to hear what each other was saying.

“What do you have to tell me?” he enquired.

The Princess, who was very pretty, drew closer to him.

Closer, he thought, than was really necessary.

He considered that this conversation was intended merely to arouse his interest and doubted if he would hear anything of any significance.

He was still gazing at the dancers, hoping that at any moment he would spy Elva.

The Princess began,

“I was alone with the Empress this afternoon when she left me to attend to someone who was visiting her. On her private writing desk was her diary which she usually keeps locked up.”

Now the Duke was listening intently to her, but at the same time he was wondering what on earth could have happened to Elva.

“She had written,” continued the Princess, “what my brother thought would be of interest to you.”

“What was it?” the Duke asked somewhat sharply.

“What I read was this short passage,” whispered the Princess.

“We must now link the Caspian Sea with the Black Sea and link both of these with the North Sea.”

The Duke stiffened.

He knew this would imply Russian domination of the Baltic and Scandinavia.

“The Empress had written this on another page of her diary,” the Princess resumed still in a whisper,

“To
allow full commerce from China and Oriental India to pass through Tartary would mean elevating the Empire to greatness far above other Asiatic and European Empires. Who could ever resist the unlimited power of an autocratic Empress ruling a bellicose people?”

The Duke drew in his breath.

If this was what the Russians were aiming for, the Prime Minister must be told as soon as possible.

“Thank you very much indeed,” he bowed to the Princess. “And thank you to your brother for knowing it would interest me. Now I must find my wife.”

The musicians had stopped the wild Russian music and were now playing a dreamy waltz.

So the Duke walked to the edge of the ballroom looking for Elva and the Princess came to his side.

“I expect she has gone to the supper room,” she suggested. “Nothing makes one thirstier than one of those galloping dances when one behaves more like an animal than a person!”

“That is certainly true,” agreed the Duke wryly.

They walked into the supper room, but again there was no sign of Elva.

The Princess insisted on a glass of champagne and so without appearing rude the Duke was obliged to fetch it for her.

From his experience of women he was well aware that the Princess was now doing everything in her power to attract him.

Although he thought that she was pretty, he was not interested. He was only worried in case Elva was looking for him.

Finally as the Princess tried to talk to him in a soft seductive voice, he insisted,

“I really must now find my wife, so I do hope Your Highness will excuse me.”

He bowed and walked deliberately away from her.

With a little difficulty he found his way to the front door, where he found Mr. Barnier waiting for his carriage.

“Have you seen my wife?” the Duke asked him, becoming agitated. “I have been looking around for her everywhere, but there is such a crowd and I cannot find her.”

Mr. Barnier looked surprised.

“I saw her leaving a short while ago, Your Grace, with Prince Ivor Kervenski.”

The Duke stared at him.

“I heard Prince Ivor say to her,” Mr. Barnier went on, “‘your husband has left a message with the doorman to say that as he was so tired he has already returned to the Winter Palace'.”

“You say that she was with Prince Ivor?”

Mr. Barnier nodded.

“Then please come with me now,” urged the Duke. “And take me to the Winter Palace as quickly as possible.”

Mr. Barnier looked at him in astonishment and at just that moment the Embassy carriage drew up outside the front door.

The Duke without saying any more climbed in and Mr. Barnier followed him.

As they drove off, the Duke enquired,

“Tell me about Prince Ivor, Mr. Barnier, as I know nothing at all about him.”

“He has considerable influence at the Court of the Empress in St. Petersburg and is very well aware of it. He is always very pleasant to us at the Embassy, but I have a feeling that he plays both ends of the fiddle.”

He paused for a moment before he added,

“I need not tell Your Grace that he is a womaniser. No woman, whatever her age, is safe with him.”

The Duke's lips tightened.

“That is what I thought,” he growled.

The carriage was moving slowly because there was such a crowd of carriages in the streets.

“Order your coachman to hurry!” called the Duke sharply.

Mr. Barnier lent out of the window and gave the man his instructions and he replied that he would do his best but the place was too crowded.

Finally they managed to move out of the Square in front of the Palace and the coachman could now whip up his horses.

Even so it seemed to the Duke an age before they reached the Winter Palace.

As they stepped out Mr. Barnier asked the servant at the front door if the Duchess had returned.

“Her Grace has gone upstairs,” he replied.

“She was alone?” enquired the Duke.

The servant shook his head.

The Duke now moved into the hall and started to run and Mr. Barnier followed him.

As he reached the top step of the staircase and then hesitated, Mr. Barnier rushed ahead of him.

Both men were running as fast as they could to the Duchess's room.

As the Duke came to a halt outside, he heard Elva scream.

The Duke flung open the door of the room in time to hear Elva scream again.

She was fighting fiercely against Prince Ivor, who was pulling at her gown in an attempt to lift her off her feet and onto the bed.

The Duke rushed forward.

As the Prince saw him coming, he released Elva.

Even as he did so, the Duke struck him a violent blow on the chin and he fell backwards with a crash onto the floor.

Elva flung herself at the Duke and he put his arms protectively around her. He was conscious of her whole body trembling against his.

She hid her face against his shoulder as he soothed her,

“It's all right, Elva, he will not hurt you again.”

Prince Ivor now raised himself off the floor into a sitting position.

“You have insulted me,” he grated, “and I demand satisfaction.”

The Duke did not speak for a moment and realising that the Prince meant a duel, Elva raised her head.

“No!
No
!” she cried in a frightened little voice.

The Duke pulled her a little closer to him before he called,

“I accept. Where do we meet?”

The Prince rose to his feet.

“On the Bowling Alley – at seven o'clock.”

He walked towards the door and Elva shuddered as he passed her. When he reached it, Mr. Barnier moved hastily to one side.

Prince Ivor looked back.

“I will, of course,” he sneered, “be sure to look after your wife while you are indisposed!”

With that remark he then stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Elva gave a gasp.

Clinging to the Duke she murmured,

“You – came!
You
–
came
! He frightened – me.”

“I know he did, but he will not do so again.”

He turned towards Mr. Barnier at the door.

“I must ask you, Barnier, to be kind enough to be one of my seconds and I hope that Mr. Sharp will be the other.”

“I am quite sure he will, Your Grace. But I must warn you that Prince Ivor is a very dangerous man and has been successful in a great number of duels.”

“I have also won several,” responded the Duke, “and under the circumstances I can hardly run away.”

“No, of course not,” agreed Mr. Barnier, “but – ”

He was just about to say more when the Duke interrupted,

“Danton!” he called.

The door of the dressing room was open.

Danton had overheard all that had happened and as he entered the bedroom, the Duke gave him his orders.

“Pack everything we have brought with us as we will leave immediately after the duel is over. I am sure that Mr. Barnier will be kind enough to arrange for the Embassy carriages to collect us from the Palace and take us to the quay.”

“Your Grace intends to leave as soon as the duel is finished?” enquired Mr. Barnier, clearly uncertain of the Duke's intentions.

“Whether I am on my feet or have to be carried,” the Duke informed him, “we will leave. You can make our apologies to Her Majesty.”

Mr. Barnier bowed.

“I will order the carriages right away,” he said, “and I will be collecting Your Grace at a quarter to seven. The Bowling Alley is just at the back of the Palace.”

“Thank you very much, you are most helpful.”

Mr. Barnier departed and Danton walked into the dressing room.

Elva was still holding onto the Duke with her face nestling in his shoulder.

“You must retire to bed,” suggested the Duke, “as we will be leaving so early in the morning.”

“He – frightened – me so much,” said Elva almost in a whisper.

“Of course he did, my dear, but it will
not
happen again.”