Sword to the Heart (Bantam Series No. 13) (7 page)

“I should not be in the least surprised,” Sir James answered. “They say he definitely started the riot. He was apparently on horseback and his followers addressed him bare-headed.”

“I cannot imagine why he was not arrested,” Lord Colwall remarked sharply. “I hear that the Prime Minister has sent the Seventh Dragoon Guards to Canterbury and the Fifth Dragoons to Tunbridge Wells to quell disturbances.”

“I read,” Sir James answered, “that Sir Robert Peel has deprecated strongly the action of certain magistrates in yielding to the mobs.”

“I can assure you of one thing,” Lord Colwall said sternly. “If there was rioting here, which I cannot believe possible, then I would shoot every rioter myself, rather than give in to their demands.”

There was something in his tone which made Natalia look at him questioningly.

Then as if he was no longer interested in the conversation, Lord Colwall again began to speak of his arrangements for the morrow.

He went on to tell Natalia about some of the people she was to meet after dinner. She found it bewildering to take in so many names, or indeed to understand what part they each played on the Estate.

‘Later I must make a list of them,’ she told herself.

But she would not allow herself to be dismayed at the thought of what lay ahead.

She was sensible enough to realise that while they employed two local untrained Maids at the Vicarage, it would be very different at the Castle.

Here she would find herself confronted with over one thousand employees, comprising the hierarchy, not only of indoor servants, but of those who worked outside for Lord Colwall.

She was to meet only the heads of each department this evening, but even they made up a large number of people.

There were the head men in charge of the farms, the dairies, brewhouses, granaries, stables, laundries, and workshops.

There were also the Chief of the carpenters, of the iron-smiths, painters, masons, and glaziers, besides the woodmen, foresters, gamekeepers and those who held superior positions in the garden.

“The man in charge of my greenhouses,” Lord Colwall was saying, “is an artist. I think, Natalia, that you and your father will be astonished when you see how skilfully he has decorated the Chapel and how he will transform this room into what will literally be a ‘bower of beauty!’ ”

“You have everything here on your Estate?” Natalia said in awestruck tones.

“I try to make it a State within a State,” Lord Colwall replied. “I am attempting to achieve perfection. I have, fortunately, the advantage of having had very wise and knowledgeable forbears.”

He glanced at the pictures on the walls and continued:

“The Tudor herb garden, for instance, is the most famous in the whole length and breadth of the land, and the man who supervises my Carnation House is unchallenged.”

“I shall want to see everything when you have the time to show it to me,” Natalia said.

“Of course,” Lord Colwall agreed.

Dinner came to an end while they were still talking about Lord Colwall’s possessions, and when he said it was time for them to repair to the Baronial Hall where their guests were waiting for them, Sir James took his leave.

“You do not require me tonight, dear boy,” he said, “and I will therefore, with your permission, return home. I shall of course be here in plenty of time tomorrow to support you.”

“Sir James is to be my Best Man,” Lord Colwall explained to the Reverend Adolphus.

“I can imagine nothing that could give me greater pleasure,” Sir James said, looking at Natalia.

He took her hand in his and held it for a moment.

“I want to wish both Ranulf and you great happiness,” he said, “and, somehow, I feel completely sure that you will find it.”

The sincerity in his tone was undeniable, and as Natalia curtsied she said sweetly:

“Thank you, Sir James, I know we are going to be very happy.” She smiled up at Lord Colwall as she spoke but he was not looking at her, having drawn from his pocket a list which apparently required his attention.

“Good-night, Ranulf,” Sir James said, and then, having bade the Reverend Adolphus farewell, he departed.

Lord Colwall led Natalia through several passages until finally they came to the Baronial Hall.

This had been built later than the original Castle. It was, however, in the Gothic tradition, if more ornate, and was used for all formal occasions including that of making, Natalia remembered her mother telling her, a very attractive Ball-Room.

The Hall was crowded with men who were sitting at long trestle tables laden with food and pewter tankards filled with beer.

There were several great barrels set at one end of the Hall, and it was obvious from the applause when Natalia and Lord Colwall arrived that his guests were enjoying themselves.

Their benign humour stemmed however not only from the importance of the occasion, but also because they had been generously entertained.

Lord Colwall made a speech in which he introduced his future wife, and then, as the cheers of welcome rang out, Natalia went round the Hall at his side.

Man after man was presented to her until the whole throng became nothing but a sea of faces, and it was difficult to hear either their names or the descriptions that Lord Colwall gave her of each person he introduced.

They did not stop to talk to anyone, although occasionally an old man having mumbled congratulations and good wishes would start on a rambling tale of His Lordship’s father or grandfather.

It was nearly an hour before the round was completed and Lord Colwall led Natalia from the Baronial Hall back along the passages towards the Salon.

The Reverend Adolphus had not accompanied them and Natalia could not help hoping that, if he had gone to bed, she would have a chance to speak alone with Lord Colwall.

With a little throb of excitement she wondered if he would kiss her.

He had not kissed her finger before the engagement ring had been placed upon it and she wanted more than anything else in the world that he should kiss her lips.

All the way down from the North, she imagined herself being held in his arms; of being close to him; of hearing him say that he loved her and of telling him how much she loved him.

‘If only we can be
...
alone,’ she thought, and felt herself thrill at the idea.

She knew that he must love her deeply to have done so much for her already, and she thought now that the reason the marriage was taking place so speedily after her arrival, was that he wanted her to himself.

She felt her heart leap at the thought. Of course, that was the explanation.

Even though it might seem slightly inconsiderate where her father was concerned, she knew it would be a wonder beyond words to be alone with the man she married.

She wanted to talk intimately with him; to know that she was his! She wanted to tell him all the things that she had imagined about him through the three long years when she had thought of him, and of no-one else.

‘I love him! I love him!’ she cried in her heart as they reached the Salon.

Then, with an undeniable feeling of disappointment, she saw her father was waiting for them.

He rose to his feet as they entered, and before Natalia could speak, Lord Colwall said:

“I am persuaded that you should retire to bed and have a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow will be for both of us somewhat of a trial. I am sure you would wish to rest.”

Natalia wished nothing of the sort, but she had not the courage to say so. Instead, obediently, she kissed her father good-night, and then turned towards Lord Colwall.

There was a question in her eyes as she looked at him.

‘At least,’ she thought, ‘he might wish to kiss my cheek
.
’

But he only bowed in response to her curtsey, and she moved away a little forlornly to climb the big stone staircase alone.

She heard a sound behind her and she turned round expectantly. Herald wagging his tail ecstatically was escorting her to her bedchamber.

Natalia was in fact more tired than she had thought.

She fell asleep almost as soon as her head touched the pillow, and when she awoke it was to see a pale sun struggling through the sides of the curtains.

‘I am sure it is going to be a fine day,’ she thought.

Jumping gaily out of bed she ran across the room to pull open the heavy curtains. It was in fact the loveliest day she could have imagined!

There had been a sharp frost during the night and the grass was white, the air crisp and the sky very clear.

Below in the valley she could see a river winding its way through the fields that were green, and in the forests there was still the red of the beech trees and the golden yellow of the oak.

‘Soon it will be winter,’ Natalia thought, ‘but now it is beautiful—a perfect day for my perfect wedding
.
’

It was appropriate that the world should wear a semblance of white on her wedding day. Natalia remembered with excitement the wonderful white wedding gown the Housekeeper had shown her before she went to bed.

“Will he think I look beautiful in it?” she asked aloud.

She was sure Lord Colwall would tell her so, and she felt herself thrill with the anticipation of what lay ahead.

A few minutes later the maids came to call her.

“It is a quarter before nine o’clock, Miss,” Ellen announced. “The Reverend Gentleman is having breakfast in your Sitting-Room next door. He asks when you are awake if you would join him.”

“Is it as late as that?” Natalia exclaimed. “I am usually called at eight o’clock.”

“I thought you would wish to sleep later this morning, Miss,” Ellen replied. “I did look in a little earlier, but you were asleep.”

“Well, now I must hurry,” Natalia said, “especially if my father wishes to see me.”

She paused and then asked:

“Where is Lord Colwall having his breakfast?”

“Downstairs, Miss,” Ellen replied, “but of course today you cannot leave your own rooms. It is very unlucky for a Bride to see her Bridegroom before she meets him in the Church.”

Natalia laughed.

“Are you superstitious?”

“Yes, Miss, and so is His Lordship. He has given instructions that on no account must you appear until it is time to proceed to the Chapel.”

Natalia gave a little sigh.

“Oh, dear! It is such a lovely day and I would have wished to visit the garden, or perhaps to climb to the very top of the Castle to look at the view.”

“I don’t think His Lordship would like it,” Ellen said.

“Of course I must do as His Lordship wishes,” Natalia smiled.

She dressed herself quickly.

It was impossible to find a plain morning-gown amongst the elaborate creations which hung in the wardrobe, but she chose the simplest there was and then hurried into the Sitting-Room to find her father had already finished his breakfast.

“I am sorry to be late, Papa,” she said, kissing his cheek.

“It is of no consequence, child,” he answered. “You might be expected to be fatigued after such a long journey.”

“I think in reality I was just day-dreaming,” Natalia answered.

There were two footmen and a Butler to bring her innumerable dishes from which she found it difficult to make a choice.

Then the servants having left the room, the Reverend Adolphus said:

“I want to talk to you, Natalia.”

There was a note of concern in his voice which made her glance up at him in surprise.

“What about, Papa?”

“I have been thinking since last night,” her father began slowly, “that you are being married at quite an unnecessary speed.”

Natalia did not answer. She merely put down the cup she had been holding in her hand, and sat looking at her father wide-eyed.

“Your mother and I had thought,” the Reverend Adolphus went on, “that when you arrived at the Castle, you and I would be here for perhaps a week or ten days before the marriage took place.”

He paused to continue:

“During that time, your mother asked me to tell you that, if you wished to change your mind, if you decided after all that Lord Colwall was not the man you thought could make you happy, then you were to accompany me on my return home.”

“But why should Mama think,” Natalia asked after a moment’s pause, “there was any chance of my changing my mind?”

“You met Lord Colwall only once when you were but fifteen,” her father answered. “If you marry him, Natalia, you will be his wife in the sight of God for the rest of your life. Whatever you may feel about him later, it will then be too late.”

“Yes, I realise that, Papa.”

“Therefore I should have wished you to have a chance of getting to know him better,” the Reverend Adolphus went on. “As your mother suggested, if you had a week together, or even longer, you would be able to exchange your viewpoints on different subjects.