The Gates of Paradise (6 page)

Never for a moment had she imagined anything so fantastic when she was living quietly with her father in St. Albans.

She had suddenly found herself in the middle of a Balkan intrigue against the might of the Russian Empire.

And how was it going to be possible for her to keep up her disguise as the wife of the reigning Prince?

‘This cannot be true', Narina almost cried out.  ‘It must be a dream.'

Then she told herself it was all a story to amuse and delight her Papa.

Perhaps when she was older, she would write the whole saga down in a book and it would become a tale of high adventure for her children and her grandchildren.

As she and Louise had always done things together, she was sure this was something Louise would do too.

They could compete with each other as to who was the better authoress and which of them could produce the most dramatic and exciting account of this exploit.

It all sounded so funny that Narina laughed aloud.  

She was still laughing silently to herself as finally she fell asleep.

*

When she woke up in the morning, it was because Maria was pulling back the curtains.

“I hopes Your Royal Highness slept well – ”

For a moment Narina thought she was addressing her by mistake and then she remembered what she had said the previous evening.

“Very well, thank you so much, Maria, I think I was tired after so much excitement last night.”

“Everyone downstairs in the Palace has been sayin' to Paks they hopes that His Royal Highness had a good night.”

Narina recalled that Paks was Prince Rudolf's valet and thought that she would be wise to meet him as soon as possible.

She now realised that Maria was waiting for her to get out of bed and she found her bath was ready for her in front of the fireplace.

Narina had been so fast asleep she had not heard it being brought in.  Incredibly she had slept through not only Maria carrying in the heavy bath but Paks too, who had helped her.

There was hot and cold water in polished brass cans just like the ones in use in England.

Her bath was scented with flowers she could not recognise, but she thought that she should be able to identify them before she left Alexanderburg.

Then Maria helped her dress in a very pretty day gown that she was told Her Royal Highness had purchased on her last visit to Paris.

Afterwards Narina sat down at the dressing table on which there was a mirror framed with carved golden cupids.

Maria arranged her hair in a very different style.

It was the way Louise wore hers.  As Narina caught glimpses at the work in progress she admired herself, liking that it made her look a little older.

By the time Maria fixed the final curl in place, the style was so much like Louise's that when she looked in the mirror, she found it hard to recognise herself.

Maria insisted that she apply a little powder on her nose and a touch of lip salve to her lips.

“I have never used make-up before,” said Narina.

“Your Royal Highness should move with the times.  Everyone is so smart in Alexanderburg.  They copy Viennese women and the Viennese copy the French.”

Narina laughed.

“So that's what it amounts to.”

“Lady look very pretty – and
very
Royal.”

Narina giggled and looked again in the mirror.

She had to admit she did look quite different from a Bishop's daughter.

Breakfast was served in her sitting room and for the first time she met Paks.

He was a man of nearly forty and Narina felt that no one seeing the twinkle in his eyes and his rather strange and unusual face would connect him with such an adventure and perhaps drama.

He bowed to her politely as she entered the room and he addressed her as Maria had done.

When she had finished breakfast, he suggested,

“If Your Royal Highness should wish to go into the garden, please inform me and I'll make sure that there's no one watching who we don't trust.”

“You don't think there is likely to be anyone hostile or foreign in the garden?” asked Narina.

Paks made an expressive movement with his hands.

“One just never knows.  In these days, Your Royal Highness, even the walls have ears.  We has to be careful, very very careful, for His Royal Highness be our lifeline to happiness.”

The way he spoke to her with a strong accent made the words seem as unreal as everything else did to Narina.

She could hardly believe it was possible for her to be treated like a Princess and to be moving about in these beautiful rooms.

Now she was aware that they held a great number of treasures, which she decided she must inspect when she had the time.

As her breakfast was carried away, Paks came back to announce,

“His Royal Highness's Lord Chamberlain requests an audience with Your Royal Highness.”

“Please ask him to come in.”

The Lord Chamberlain bowed deeply to her in the Royal manner and as Paks left the room, he came towards where Narina was sitting on the sofa.

“Are you all right?” he enquired.

“I am feeling that I am sitting in the clouds,” Narina answered, “and that this cannot be happening to me.  At the same time it's all very exciting.”

The Lord Chamberlain laughed and as he remained standing, Narina suggested,

“Please sit down, Lord Chamberlain.”

“I was waiting for you to invite me to do so.”

Narina gave a little gasp.

“Am I to play my part even when we are alone?”

“To be a good actor or actress, you have to act not only with your body but also with your mind.  So you must think you are what you pretend to be, otherwise it might be easy for someone to discover that you are acting a part.”

Narina smiled.

“I understand, so please tell me more of what I have to do and I promise to try to be perfect in my part so that you never have to rebuke me.”

The Lord Chamberlain sat down.

“I am rather afraid, Your Royal Highness, that this afternoon you have to receive a group of women who come here every year as guests of the Mayor.”

Narina gasped.

“But I thought I just had to stay here reading a book until Louise and His Royal Highness return?”

“That is what we hoped you would be able to do, but unfortunately this appointment was made by one of my
aides-de-camp
who forgot to tell me about it.  It is too late to cancel it now, as they will have already left their homes in the country and will be travelling for the City.”

Narina drew in her breath.

“Suppose I make a mistake?”

“I am quite sure you have often attended exactly the same type of occasion with your father.”

“Well, if you put it like that, I have,” she admitted.

“Then you know what to do and it really consists of listening, being sympathetic to their grievances, if any, and as far as you are concerned, doing nothing.  I am told that you are fluent in German, so language will be no problem.”

“You are quite certain, Lord Chamberlain, that they will not realise that I am not who I pretend to be.”

“Why should they?  Most of the ladies come from outside the City and have never seen you before.  All you have to do is to behave as you would at home to people in your father's flock who are on an outing.”

It was impossible for Narina not to laugh at what he was saying, because it was so true.

He bowed once again and left her.

Narina went to her room and stood at the window looking out towards the sea.

She was thinking how bizarre it all was.

In a twinkling of an eye she had been transmitted from her quiet home in Hertfordshire to this strange land, where the local people were striving against being overrun by their greedy and aggressive neighbour.

‘They are a small Principality,' she mused, ‘and very vulnerable.

Is it really possible that the Union Jack in the shape of the wife of the ruling Prince can possibly save them?'

Then it was as if the answer to her question came to her straight from Heaven.

She realised that whatever the cost, Louise, and all those who were so proud of being British would stand and fight – they would defy the enemy and never give in.

Looking up at the sky as the sunshine was turning the garden into a fairyland of intense beauty, Narina prayed that she would play her part, however small, perfectly and without fault –

That God would give her the strength and resilience that Alexanderburg so desperately needed.

Dressed in one of Louise's gowns and wearing one of her prettiest hats over her newly arranged hair, Narina walked slowly downstairs.

There she found an equerry waiting to escort her to the City Hall where the women were congregating.

The equerry was a young and rather good-looking man and he was obviously impressed by Princess Louise as he took Narina to be.

He sat in the seat of the carriage opposite to her and Narina thought he looked at her nervously.

“You must tell me all about the people who I will be meeting,” she asked, “and where they have come from.  I forgot to ask the Lord Chamberlain to give me a list.”

“I have brought it with me just in case Your Royal Highness wanted it.”

“How clever of you!  And you must remind me of the different places I have visited, just in case they mention somewhere where I have been, as they will be annoyed if I don't remember it.”

The equerry laughed.

“It is rather difficult when there are so many small towns and villages in Alexanderburg.  Also as I come from Vienna, I find it hard to remember the different names myself.”

“Then I just hope they will not notice how ignorant we both are!”

She realised she had put the equerry at his ease and then she found herself immensely interested in the City.

She saw it was very pleasantly laid out and the trees bordering the streets gave it a most attractive appearance.

They passed by the Cathedral and Narina was just about to say she wished to visit it when she remembered that Louise would have been married there – and doubtless she had been there for other occasions such as Easter Day.

‘I must be so careful not to forget I am not myself,' she reminded herself.

The City Hall was a very impressive building.

The Lord Mayor in full regalia met her and several Councillors and the women curtsied low while the men bowed over her hand.

Then she was taken to a huge hall that was literally packed with women.

The Lord Mayor made a long speech saying how grateful they all were to Princess Louise for attending their annual meeting.

From what he said Narina gathered that this was the Alexanderburg equivalent of the Mothers' Union.

When the Lord Mayor finished speaking, he turned to Narina and enquired,

“I wonder, Your Royal Highness, if you would like to say a few words to the assembled ladies.”

“Of course I would,” replied Narina.

She was thankful as she rose to her feet that she had practised so much of the Alexanderburg language with the Baron on the Battleship.

She knew that she was almost word perfect.

Remembering that she was supposed to be Louise, she spoke of her happy childhood in England and how she had attended an English School.

“I know,” she insisted, “that His Royal Highness, my husband, is very anxious to improve our facilities for education here in Alexanderburg.

“But what you must do, and this bit is very important, is to make your children interested in learning even before they go to school.”

She told them about some of the lessons her father had taught her and how it was essential for young children to learn to read as early as possible.

“I have always been so grateful that I can read book after book and find every single one entrancing.  That is an education in itself and every child should begin by reading a simple fairy tale.”

She realised that the women were listening intently as she continued,

“I am sure that you will have lots of questions you would like to ask.  Perhaps no one has the time in this busy country to answer you.  Therefore do please ask me now and I will try to answer as best as I can.”

She saw that the Lord Mayor and the Councillors with him were astonished.

One woman asked Narina which fairy story she felt was best for children and another asked if it was a mistake for children to love their toys more than their parents.

Narina smiled at these questions.

“I think the truth is that a child wants a companion and if they do not have another child to play with they will begin to believe that their dolls and teddy bears are living persons – someone they can talk to and who will answer them in their own language.

“My advice to you is simple.  If you want a child to be happy and if you can give it a new playmate by having another child as near its age as possible, then do so.”

There was laughter at this advice and she could see that the women were interested.

And so the questions came thick and fast.

Then, as the majority of the women in the hall had their children with them, Narina announced,

“Now I am coming down from the platform and I would like to see your children.  I do think they have been very good whilst I have been speaking and that you have brought them all up exceedingly well.”

The women were delighted.

As she started to walk round, one of the babies who was very young and in its mother's arms, started to cry.

The woman rocked the baby, rose from her seat and walked about with it, but still the baby cried.

It was then that Narina remembered something her mother had done once.

A child had cried at a meeting when her father was speaking and he was always irritated if he was interrupted so her mother took great pains to keep the children happy.

Narina turned to a Councillor standing beside her.