Part 22 (2/2)
This little corner on the terrace was tranquil and private, and no one could see them. It was entirely theirs for a moment.
I am home, I'm where I belong, Hugo thought. With the woman I belong to, and who I know belongs to me, even if she does not realize it yet. A sudden rush of happiness flowed through him. Vaguely, in the background, he could hear the music, the laughter, the chatter of people enjoying themselves. And here he was, in a coc.o.o.n of love. With Daphne. Nothing else mattered in this world. She was all he would ever need for as long as he lived.
”We'd better go inside, Hugo,” Daphne said gently, stirring in his arms.
”Yes.” He released her, took her hand in his, and led her down the terrace. ”Tell me soon, my lady. Waiting for an answer is unbearable.”
”I will, I promise,” she said.
When they went back into the ballroom, Hugo was immediately conscious of everyone's eyes on them. And so he swept her into his arms and danced down the room with her, holding her apart from him, most properly and with total decorum. Once the music stopped, they went to join Charles, who was standing with Diedre and DeLacy near the entrance to the ballroom.
”There you are,” Charles said, smiling at them. ”I was beginning to wonder where you were.”
”Taking a breath of air,” Hugo answered.
”I'd like to have a chat with you later, Hugo,” the earl continued. ”If you'd care to have a nightcap after the guests leave?”
”I'd enjoy that, Charles. Thank you.”
”We haven't had a chance to catch up since you arrived, and I must admit I'm anxious to hear what transpired in Zurich. Not your private business, of course, but things in general. What the mood is like over there, that sort of thing...” The earl let his sentence drift off.
”I understand exactly, and I'll be happy to fill you in,” Hugo answered. Turning to Diedre, he said, ”Would you care to dance?”
”Thank you,” she replied, smiling at him, and immediately stepped toward him. He led her onto the dance floor, thinking how lovely she looked tonight. In fact all of the Ingham women did, and their guests were equally as elegantly gowned and bejewelled. And certainly the men were just as handsome, and well dressed in white tie and tails.
It was one-thirty in the morning when Charles and Hugo settled down with a brandy in front of the dying fire in the library. All the guests had departed. The family had gone to bed. And Charles had just told Hanson to lock up for the night.
”I've got guards on duty,” Charles confided quietly, once they were alone. ”After that d.a.m.nable fire, Percy Swann deemed it vital that we have plenty of woodsmen out and about on the estate. Most especially when we're having guests, people from the outside. So he went ahead and hired extra men from our villages. They're all over the estate, and especially around the stable block. We've got to protect all our horses, you know.”
”I do indeed, and Percy's right, once bitten twice shy, that's my motto.”
”Percy has been a fine head gamekeeper; the best, in my opinion.”
”As all the Swanns who've gone before have been,” Hugo murmured, meaning what he said. But he couldn't help a small smile surfacing. There were Swanns here, there, and everywhere, but then there had always been a bevy of Swanns at Cavendon. They were part of the scenery, virtually part of the family.
Settling back, Charles said, ”Our talk, when you were last here, alerted me. Now when I read the newspapers, I notice things I might have never paid attention to before, Hugo. So thank you for that.”
”You're reading between the lines, as I do a lot,” Hugo muttered. ”Everything I told you in June is bound to happen, of that I am sure. I just don't know when. There is constant talk of the kaiser's l.u.s.t for power, of ruling the whole of Europe, and basically that's where all of the trouble is ... between Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. I'm just afraid we might get drawn into the conflict. If they go to war, that is.”
”But how?” Charles stared at Hugo, frowning. ”We're not part of their quarrels, surely, and anyway the kaiser would avoid involving England. After all, he and the king are first cousins, through Queen Victoria, their grandmother.”
Hugo let out a loud chuckle, and shook his head vehemently. ”You don't think a man like the kaiser, a power-hungry tyrant, would consider family, do you, Charles? He couldn't care less about the king, or the English. Actually, I have a feeling he's jealous of our great Empire, the success we enjoy in the world. We are, after all, the center of the world ... the greatest and most powerful nation there's ever been.”
”Only too true, and that's why we shouldn't let ourselves get drawn into anything that could prove dangerous to the Empire and especially our country.”
”I agree.” Hugo swallowed some of the cognac, and put the gla.s.s down on a side table. He leaned forward. ”If you have any foreign investments, and by that, I mean in Europe, I suggest you sell. On Monday. Certainly as soon as you can. I have divested myself of all my foreign holdings, except for those in Switzerland. The Swiss banks are rock solid. I know my money is safe there.”
”I'll certainly take your advice,” Charles answered.
Thirty-eight.
Hugo sat back, nursing his brandy balloon in both hands, listening attentively. Charles had started to speak about Cavendon a short while ago, and Hugo was fascinated.
”So after I had gone through the old estate record books, guided by Charlotte, I decided to financially back more tenanted farming, and I've put a great emphasis on this, and also on livestock. In my great-grandfather's day, Cavendon truly was a farming estate. What I want is to get back to that level of agriculture,” Charles explained.
”I think it's a very wise move,” Hugo replied. ”I don't wish to frighten you, but I still believe there will be a war in Europe. That we'll get dragged into it ... rightly or wrongly. Local produce is going to play a big part in the feeding of this country, because if there's a war, then we won't be importing any goods.”
”I must admit, I hadn't thought of that when I decided to increase the farming here, but after you left for Zurich, it did strike me that I'd made a good decision.”
”What've you got? It's about three thousand acres here, isn't it?” Hugo frowned. ”If I'm remembering correctly.”
”Yes. Without the grouse moor, of course, but-” Charles broke off, and looked at the door.
There had been a light knocking, and now it flew open to reveal Daphne hovering there.
Charles stood up, and so did Hugo, as she glided into the room. It was obvious from the expressions on their faces that they were genuinely surprised to see her.
Before her father could say a word, she exclaimed, ”Sorry, Papa, to disturb you in this way, but I have something important to say. May I come in?”
The earl laughed. ”You're already in, so you might as well stay and tell us what's on your mind. And why you're up at this late hour and still dressed in your evening gown?”
Walking forward, Daphne did not answer. Instead she focused her eyes on Hugo. When she was a foot away from him, she said, ”I will marry you, Hugo, I want to marry you, actually. I just came to this decision, and I wanted to tell you immediately. I went to your room. But you weren't there. I realized you were probably down here with Papa. Anyway, here I am. With my decision.”
Completely taken aback, Hugo was speechless. He just stood there gaping at her, and then slowly a huge smile spread across his face.
Daphne exclaimed, ”Oh, I forgot! Does Hugo have to ask your permission, Papa?”
”Don't be a silly girl. He already has it!” Charles said.
Hugo rushed forward, took hold of Daphne, and stared into her face. ”Are you sure?”
”I am.”
”Are you sure you're sure?”
She nodded. ”I am, I really am. So you can kiss me, if you like.”
Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her on the mouth, and then they stood back, smiling at each other.
It was this ease and affection he saw between them that convinced the earl his daughter had made the right decision for herself, that in her own way, she loved Hugo. And he was filled with relief, plus the kind of happiness a father feels when he knows his daughter is in the right hands, the safest hands in the world.
<script>