A Virgin Bride (12 page)

Undoubtedly the Duke would be next door.

However, she had little time to make an appraisal of her room as she changed quickly from her ‘going away' dress into an evening gown – not so elaborate, but still very fashionable.

At her wedding she had worn her Mama's diamond necklace and diamond bracelets that were seldom taken out of the bank.

“As His Grace has given us orders to pack a large selection of the Rockinston jewels for you to take with you to Paris,” the housekeeper informed her, “I think it would be easier for Your Grace to keep the jewels you're already wearing.”

“That's a very sensible idea,” agreed Venetia, “but I would prefer the pearl necklace in my jewel case.”

The pearl necklace was fastened around her neck and it made her feel as if her beloved mother was near her and directing her.

“I will come up to bed,” she said, “as soon as I can, but I do not wish to have anyone waiting for me.”

“Your Grace wouldn't like one of the maids to help you out of that pretty gown?” the housekeeper asked.

“I can manage quite easily, thank you. I always feel worried if people are waiting up for me.”

She smiled at the housekeeper, who knew that these were her wishes and they must be obeyed.

She hurried down the stairs to find her husband had already changed into his evening clothes and was waiting for her in the drawing room.

As Venetia entered the room, he handed her a glass of champagne.

“I think if anyone needs this – you do,” he smiled. “It has been a very tiring but exciting day.”

“It must have been so tiring for you too,” Venetia replied. “After all, you drove yourself from London and I gather you only arrived in London late last night.”

“That is true. But I will find, as you will, when we go aboard
The Thistle
tomorrow we can at last relax.”

“Are we really travelling on your yacht?”

“We most certainly are, unless it has sunk during the night! My Captain and crew are anxious to meet you.”

“If my right hand still works, which at one time I rather doubted, then I will be delighted to meet them!”

Dinner was then announced and they walked into the dining room.

Rock had wondered what he should talk about to his wife the first time they were alone.

But he found he need not have worried, as Venetia told him the history of some of the people who had been at the wedding and to his considerable surprise she made the account interesting and amusing.

The dinner was delicious, but longer than necessary and Venetia realised how disappointed the kitchen would be if she did not sample everything on offer.

When finally the meal came to an end, it was after half-past ten.

“What time are you thinking of leaving tomorrow?” Venetia enquired.

“I have no wish to hurry you, but, if we are to catch tomorrow afternoon's train to Paris, we shall have to leave at the latest at nine o'clock to be on the safe side.”

“I will be ready – and now I am going to bed.”

“I will not be long,” replied Rock, “but I just want to have a look at what my secretary has left for me as I will not have time in the morning.”

Venetia smiled and hurried up the stairs.

She found, as she had expected, that her bedroom was ready for her and the lights had been left on by the bed and dressing table.

She went to the dressing table and blew out all the candles, picked up her nightgown and slipped across the room to her boudoir. The boudoir would have been in darkness, but that the curtains were only lightly drawn and the moonlight was shining in on either side of them.

She found her way over the room and then quickly and quietly she opened the door into the corridor.

There was no sign of Rock and she rather suspected his valet was waiting for him in the bedroom beside hers.

Taking off her shoes she slipped down the corridor and entered a room she guessed must be one of the State bedrooms.

She had said earlier to the housekeeper,

“You have so many rooms on this corridor, but then the house is very big.”

“These are what we calls the State bedrooms. All of them are named after a special flower. Needless to say, Your Grace, this is the Rose room.”

“I thought it must be by the colour of the curtains.”

“We've a Lilac room and many other flowers. It be His Grace's mother who decorated these rooms when she first came here as a bride. We've always prided ourselves they're the prettiest State rooms in the whole of London.”

“I am sure they are,” Venetia responded, “and I am looking forward to having time to inspect them all.”

She said no more.

She realised now that she was in the Lilac room and it was just as pretty as she had expected.

She locked the door, undressed and got into bed.

She thought it was most unlikely her bridegroom would seek her out.

If he did try, he would find it embarrassing, if not somewhat humiliating to be knocking on the door of every State bedroom.

Actually what happened was that Rock was coming up the stairs twenty minutes later and hurriedly undressed with the help of his valet.

Then he went, as he was certain that his wife was expecting him, into the Rose room that had always been his mother's.

He was not surprised to find Venetia not yet in bed.

There were candles burning beside the bed and he thought she was either washing or perhaps writing a letter to her father in the boudoir.

He climbed into bed and for the first time realised just how exhausted he was.

He had slept very little coming back from Scotland as the sea had been rough and he was worried about what might happen at the wedding.

He had driven from London to the country and back into London again.

The bed felt so comfortable.

He closed his eyes just for a moment and then fell fast asleep.

*

Rock woke with a start.

It was morning and the curtains had been drawn back from the windows looking out over Hyde Park.

Seated at the dressing table was his wife.

She was brushing her hair and the sunshine coming through the window was turning it to gold.

He sat up in bed.

“Have I been asleep all – ?” he began to say.

But before he could finish the sentence, Venetia put a finger to her lips as the lady's maid came bustling into the room.

“I'm sorry if I've kept you waitin', Your Grace,” she said. “But I was told not to wake you until you rang. Then I saw the curtains were drawn.”

“It is quite alright, Lucy. We are a little late, but now we will have to hurry as His Grace wants to leave as soon as we have finished breakfast.”

Whilst the maid was speaking to Venetia with her back to him, Rock had climbed out of bed and put on his long robe.

Without saying a word, he walked to his room.

‘How is it possible,' he asked himself, ‘that I could have fallen fast asleep on my wedding night? What must my bride think of me?'

He was feeling most embarrassed when she came downstairs a little later.

They ate a somewhat hurried breakfast in the dining room waited on by the butler.

“You are not to worry,” Rock said when she asked him if they would miss the train at Calais. “I can assure you that
The Thistle
can be very fast. In fact I pride myself that I have one of the fastest, if not
the
fastest yacht afloat.”

A carriage took them to the Embankment near the Houses of Parliament where
The Thistle
was anchored.

They were piped aboard and then Captain Fortescue congratulated them on their wedding.

The Thistle
moved out into midstream.

As soon as they were in the Saloon, Rock ventured uncomfortably,

“I must apologise to you for last night – ”

“Before we discuss anything,” Venetia interrupted, “I wish to inspect
The Thistle
. I have always been terribly interested in yachts and longed for my Papa to have one. Unfortunately Mama always hated the sea and therefore I have never been on one before.”

She paused and then added in a pleading manner,

“Please, please do show me your yacht. I am sure, being yours, it is most up-to-date.”

Rock laughed.

“There is nothing that will give me greater pleasure and, as you will realise, the crew are longing to meet you.”

“And I would like to meet them.”

As the yacht gathered speed, they walked round it and Rock realised what a success she was with the crew.

Venetia shook hands and spoke with every man.

To his surprise, as he listened to all she was saying to the men, he was aware that she knew a good deal about English yachts.

He learned she had read about
The Pearl,
which had been built in 1820 in Essex and
The Arrow
that appeared two years later, which Rock reckoned was one of the most successful cutters in the world.

He was about to tell her about
The Alarm
that had been built in Hampshire and was one of the largest afloat, but Venetia had however already read about it.

To his astonishment this young girl, who admitted never having been on a yacht, seemed to know almost as much as he did about yachting.

When they eventually went in for luncheon in the Saloon, Rock reckoned that Venetia had looked over every inch of
The Thistle.

She had praised it in a manner that had delighted Captain Fortescue as well as himself.

“I can now see,” he said, “that we will be spending a great deal of time afloat, if you are really as enthusiastic as you appear to be.”

“If you only knew what it means to me to hear you say that. I have always longed to be at sea and naturally I want to explore the world.”

“Do you really mean it, Venetia, or is it just your way of being polite?”

“I mean it. Papa told me that you have explored all sorts of exotic and unusual places.”

She felt he was still sceptical, so she went on,

“I have dreamt about visiting India. Also what I would enjoy more than anything else would be to go into the African desert and meet the Bedouin who I have read so much about. I look forward to talking to them.”

Rock stared at her.

“What do you mean talking to them, Venetia? Are you telling me you can speak Arabic?”

“I am getting quite good at it actually. I grew bored with the European languages at school, although it will be very useful to me to be able to speak Italian, German and Spanish as well as French.”

She sighed before she continued,

“I also concentrated on Greek, because I so enjoyed reading Homer and the other famous Greek writers. But in my last two terms at school I have had Arabic lessons.”

“You astonish me, Venetia – ”

They talked about his travels during the afternoon, but Venetia spent a great deal of time on the bridge with the Captain, fascinated by the way he navigated the yacht.

It was difficult, Rock found, if not impossible for him to have a private conversation with her.

He felt he must apologise for the previous night and only when he was able to do so would he feel at ease with himself.

Finally, it was after dinner when the Stewards had moved out of the Saloon that Rock was able to say,

“Now please do listen, Venetia. I want to apologise to you for last night and for falling asleep. I really cannot imagine why I was so tired, except that I had such a rough passage sailing from Scotland and had slept very little.”

“Please don't apologise. I was most comfortable in the Lilac room and, having locked the door securely, I slept peacefully.”

Rock stared at her.

“Locked the door! Am I then to understand you were keeping me out?”

“Of course I was, and it is too late for us to have a conversation about it now. But we will have time on the train tomorrow to discuss ourselves. I think you will agree that we have not known – each other long enough to be – familiar.”

She hesitated over the last words.

Almost despite himself Rock laughed,

“I don't believe it. Let me get this quite clear. Did you intend not to sleep with me last night?”

“Of course I did! You are a stranger whom I have only just met. I am not saying I don't want to get to know you, but I would certainly never allow anyone who was a stranger to touch me.”

Rock put his hand to his head.

“I am sure I am dreaming all this,” he muttered. “After all, we
are
married – ”

“In very unusual and peculiar circumstances. I am not criticising or blaming you, but merely saying that they were unusual, so, as we are unusual people, we will have to work out our own of way of how to tackle this situation we find ourselves in.”

“I never expected to have this sort of conversation with you,” Rock admitted. “But I see your point and will be interested to know what you suggest.”

“It has been an exciting day for me,” said Venetia, “and I am still tired, as I am sure you are too. So I suggest we each go to bed in our own cabins.

“Those looking after us on board with the exception of your valet are used to the sea and used to people finding it difficult to adjust to it. Thus they will not be surprised if I sleep in my cabin and you sleep in yours.”

Rock laughed again.

“You are right! At the same time I am now your husband – and you are exceedingly beautiful!”

“I do want you to think so,” Venetia smiled, “and I think you are very handsome. But I still want to know the real you before we go any further.”

She saw the expression in Rock's eyes and added quickly,

“I think too you should want to know the
real
me, and not just a pretty girl who is, at present, exceptionally well dressed by Frederick Worth.”

“I thought it was he who designed your wedding gown. It astonished everyone and you looked absolutely glorious in it.”