An Arrow of Love (eBook)

Barbara Cartland (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025
351 Seiten
Barbara Cartland eBooks Ltd (Verlag)
978-1-78867-874-2 (ISBN)

Infos

Melissa Wade faced a choice.  Marry the odious Dan Thorpe or be whipped until she did by her crude and cruel stepmother. Desperate to escape this unthinkable future, she pretends to be a lady's maid to her best friend, Cheryl. Together they travel to meet Cheryl's uncle, the Duke of Aldwick, whose reputation as a pompous, commanding cynic and hater of women proceeds him. Had Melissa escaped one situation, only to enter a more dangerous one?

As her deception is unmasked, Melissa must challenge the Duke to help her best friend. But no sooner has she started to break down the barriers of the elusive Duke, does she realise his life is mortal danger. Worse still the threat of marriage to loathsome Dan Thorpe has not evaded her. How Melissa uncovers the secrets of the castle to save the Duke and how at last she finds everlasting happiness, are all told in this exciting story of friendship, understanding and love.

 

Textauszug

Chapter Two

Cheryl hurried Melissa up the steps, through the hall and into the drawing room, which overlooked the garden. As soon as a footman had shut the door behind them Melissa asked,

“What has happened?”

“I thought you would never get here,” Cheryl said frantically. “I have been watching the drive for hours, knowing that only you can help me.”

She sounded so desperate that Melissa put her arms round her.

“It is all right, dearest,” she said. “Whatever has upset you we will face together. It cannot be as bad as all that.”

“It is worse! It is much worse!” Cheryl replied.

Melissa sat down on the sofa and drew Cheryl down beside her.

“Tell me what has happened,” she said quietly.

She knew Cheryl could work herself up into a hysterical state over quite small things if they went wrong, but she had never known her to be so agitated as she appeared to be at this moment. She had in fact been surprisingly composed when her father and mother had been killed.

It was true that she had wept bitterly in Melissa’s arms when they were alone, but in public she had managed to control her emotions and at both her mother’s and then at her father’s funeral had behaved in a manner which had evoked the admiration of everyone present. But now Cheryl was trembling, and Melissa knew that tears were not far away.

“What can have occurred?” she asked.

In answer Cheryl drew from the belt of her dress, a letter, which she handed to Melissa. It was creased and had obviously been folded and refolded as Cheryl must have read it a hundred times. On heavy, expensive parchment headed with the address ‘Aldwick Palace’ the letter read,

‘Madam,

I am empowered by His Grace the Duke of Aldwick to command you to proceed to the Palace, the day after you receive this letter. Two carriages have been despatched today with outriders and Mr. Hutchinson, His Grace’s personal Courier, who will attend to your needs and see to your safety. His Grace will accept that your lady’s maid will travel with you, but no-one else.

It is His Grace’s desire that his horses should not be kept waiting, but that you should begin your journey within an hour of their arrival at your residence.

I remain, Madam,

Your most respectful and humble servant,

Ebenezer Darwin,

Secretary to His Grace the Duke of Aldwick.’

Melissa read the letter and raised her eyes to Cheryl’s.

“You see what it means?” Cheryl cried.

“It means that you must visit your uncle,” Melissa replied.

“To stay with him – to live with him!” Cheryl answered. “He will constitute himself my guardian. Oh, Melissa, I cannot bear it.”

“As your father’s brother and the head of the family he is your guardian,” Melissa said, “and quite frankly, Cheryl, I expected something like this.”

“You expected Uncle Sergius to send for me?” Cheryl cried. “I never thought of such a thing! He never came to the funeral.”

“I understand he was represented.”

“That is not the point,” Cheryl replied, “Uncle Sergius has never paid any attention to me. He hated Papa and Papa hated him.”

“Surely not,” Melissa said. “After all, he was your father’s only brother.”

“What has that got to do with it?” Cheryl asked. “He has always been horrible to Papa because he ran away with Mama. She told me time after time how unkind Uncle Sergius was to them both when they came back to England. Papa did not care, he said he could manage very well in life without having his relatives round him like vultures.”

Melissa laughed, she could not help it.

“I think, Cheryl dearest,” she said, “you are making much more fuss about this than you need. It is natural that your uncle should wish to see you after the death of your father and your mother. I expect he wants to talk to you about the future – who you will live with, or who would come here to look after you, if this is where you wish to stay.”

“You know I want to stay here,” Cheryl said. “This is my home. I could not bear to go and live with one of those horrible Byrams who were so unkind to Papa and Mama.”

“There is no reason why they should be unkind to you,” Melissa said in a practical, sensible voice. “And after all, Cheryl, you will be expected, when you are out of mourning, to go to Balls and Parties. You are the right age for a débutante.”

Cheryl jumped up from Melissa’s side as if a snake had bitten her.

“How can you say such things?” she cried. “How can you, of all people, suggest that I should make my debut when you know that all I want is to marry Charles?”

Melissa drew a deep breath. She could anticipate that this desire of Cheryl’s was going to be very difficult as far as the Byram family was concerned.

She had not been brought up with Cheryl without knowing the full story of the anger that Lord Rudolph had caused among his relatives when he had run away from Eton to get married. Carefree and irresponsible all his life, he had laughed at the scandal that had caused his relations to look askance, not only at him but also at his wife and Cheryl.

“They will never forgive me,” Melissa had heard him say more than once, “and I am sure the last thing I want is to be forgiven! They have left me in splendid isolation outside the family circle, but the stupid idiots have no idea that this is exactly what I want them to do.”

At the same time as she grew older, Melissa could not help wondering if Lady Rudolph sometimes missed the happy social life in which she could have taken part, had not her husband preferred to be ostracised.

Like her father, Lord Rudolph hunted. He raced his own horses locally, riding them himself in steeplechases and point-to-points. And since his estate was large, his time was fully occupied.

It was Lady Rudolph who had few interests outside her house and there were not many people she wished to entertain. Like her friend, Mrs. Weldon, she had nothing in common with the hard-riding, hard-drinking hunting set who congregated at Rundel Towers. At the same time, Melissa was quite certain that Lady Rudolph had never regretted running away with the man she loved. She had been reconciled with her own family, but her father and mother were now dead, and if there were any other relations they would not presume to accept responsibility for Cheryl.

In a way, Melissa was glad for Cheryl’s sake that the hatchet looked like being buried and she could now be a part of the family which her father had scorned. At the same time, it was going to be difficult to persuade Cheryl that this was in her best interest as she had only one idea, and that was to marry Charles. It was obvious that they were well suited to each other, but would the Duke of Aldwick be prepared to accept that?

“I think, dearest,” she said to Cheryl, “you must do as your uncle wishes, and then once you are at the palace, you can tell him about Charles and hope that he will agree to your being married perhaps later in the year.”

“Later in the year?” Cheryl cried, her voice rising almost to a scream. “I am going to marry Charles at once, the moment he becomes a Captain, and nothing will stop me! Nothing and nobody!”

Melissa sighed.

She could see trouble ahead but it was obviously not politic to say so at the moment.

“Does Charles know about this letter?” she asked.

“I sent him a note at the same time that I sent one to you,” Cheryl said, “but his mother wrote back to say she was not certain when he would be home. It might be today, it might be tomorrow. What shall I do Melissa, if he arrives after I have left?”

“We must just hope that does not happen,” Melissa said quietly. “And now, Cheryl, I think we should go upstairs and choose what clothes you will take with you.”

“I am not going,” Cheryl said.

She clasped her hands together as she spoke and looked at Melissa with a defiance that was quite alien to her usually sweet nature.

“You will have to go, dearest,” Melissa answered. “For after all, as you well know, your uncle can compel you to do as he wishes.”

“I hate Uncle Sergius!” Cheryl exclaimed. “I have always hated him!”

“When did you see him last?” Melissa asked curiously.

“When we went to Grandpa’s funeral. Papa did not wish to go but Mama persuaded him. As she pointed out, there would only be two chief mourners, Uncle Sergius and Papa.”

“So you went to the palace?”

“It was overwhelming, huge and horrible!” Cheryl said petulantly, “and crowded with relations all looking like black crows. Papa laughed at it afterwards, but Mama said she thought it was very impressive.”

“And you talked to your Uncle Sergius?”

“He talked to me,” Cheryl said. “I thought he was frightening and unpleasant. He was also very disdainful and condescending to Mama. She did not complain because she knew it would upset Papa, but I knew she felt embarrassed.”

‘That was a long time ago,” Melissa said. “You were only thirteen when your grandfather died. Your feelings about your uncle may change now you are older.”

“I think it very unlikely,” Cheryl said, “and anyway, I am not going to the palace to find out! I am going to stay here.”

“You will have to go now he is sending for you,” Melissa answered.

“How can he make me?” Cheryl asked. “Do you imagine the courier, or perhaps his servants, will drag me bodily into the carriage?”

“No, I think you will do what is right,”...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 8.7.2025
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• Schlagworte: non spicy romance • period romance
• ISBN-10: 1-78867-874-5 / 1788678745
• ISBN-13: 978-1-78867-874-2 / 9781788678742