Part 12 (2/2)
She did not need to be told that it was her uncle who had come into the room and she sensed, although she did not look at him, that he had come to beat her as he intended.
When he came up to the bed, she felt that he was surprised at finding her, as he thought, still unconscious.
She knew he was looking down at her, because she could hear him breathing heavily as if it had been an effort to walk up the stairs.
She did not move, and after a moment he said, ”Ula, Wake up! Do you hear me? Wake up!”
There was a note of authority in his voice that made it difficult for her not to obey him.
Then, as if he was anxious because she appeared to be unaware of what was being said, he bent forward to take her by the shoulders and shake her.
He shook her backwards and forwards, but with an effort of willpower which came from her fear of being beaten, Ula forced herself to be limp under his hands.
She let her head fall backwards and forwards as if she had no control over it.
Then with an oath beneath his breath her uncle threw her back against the pillows.
As he did so, Sarah came into the room.
”Ula cannot still be fainting, Papa!”
”I think she must have a touch of concussion,” the Earl said slowly, as if it was difficult for him to admit it.
”Well, she had better come round before tomorrow, if that is when she is to be married.”
Her father did not reply and Sarah went on, ”Mama says I am to lend her one of my gowns or give her back the one she arrived in, but I have something white which I don't want and it will be quite good enough for her.”
”The Prince can certainly afford to buy her anything she wants,” the Earl remarked.
”Then she is lucky!” Sarah sneered. ”I could do with quite a lot of things!”
”If the Prince buys my horses at the high price I intend to ask for them,” the Earl said, ”you shall have a new gown as soon as we return to London.”
”Then let that be the day after tomorrow or better still, tomorrow afternoon. I want to see the Marquis and now that Ula is out of the way he will soon be back in my pocket a you see if I am not right, Papa.”
”I hope you know what you are talking about,” the Earl said, ”but come on, we can do no good here.”
Ula heard him stride out of the room and Sarah followed him, then once again the key was turned in the lock.
She climbed slowly out of bed and walked once again to the window.
Was it possible, she wondered, to make a rope with the sheets from the bed?
She had nothing to cut them with and she knew that tied together even with the blankets they would not be nearly long enough to reach the ground.
'Help me! Please, G.o.d a please a Papa a help me!'
There was nothing she could do but pray and now she thought of how cleverly her mother had escaped the night before her marriage.
No one had been aware of it until the next morning, when it was far too late to find her. She and the man she loved had already been married in a small country village by a Parson they had got out of bed to see the Special Licence they showed him.
She felt herself s.h.i.+ver at the thought that a Special Licence was what the Prince was obtaining now.
She knew that they would be married in the village Church where the Vicar, who was an old man, had been appointed by her uncle.
Even, therefore, if she protested at the altar that she had no wish to be married, it was doubtful if he would listen to her.
She went on praying until the sun was sinking behind the trees in the Park and the shadows had grown very long.
Then, unexpectedly, she heard the key turn once again in the lock and before she had time to get back into the bed the door opened.
To her relief it was not her uncle, as she feared, but Amy, the young housemaid who had come to the hall at about the same time as she arrived.
She came into the room.
”Are you better, Miss Ula?” she asked. ”We've been ever so worried about you.”
”I am worried about myself,” Ula replied.
”I 'ears you're to be married tomorrow. Do you feel well enough?”
”It's not a question of feeling well, Amy. Prince Hasin is an evil, wicked man and I simply cannot marry him.”
Amy looked at her in surprise.
Then she said, ”I can understand you not wantin' to marry a foreigner! But you'll be a Princess!”
Ula sat down on the bed.
”Yes, Amy, but I shall not be properly married as you understand it. Prince Hasin is a Muslim and is allowed by his religion to take four wives.”
”Four wives, miss? I've never 'eard of such a thing!”
”I know that my father, who was a Parson, would be horrified at the idea and my uncle, the Earl, is allowing the Prince to marry me only because he wants me out of the way.”
”You're too pretty, miss, that's the whole trouble. It's that Lady Sarah. They say she's been jealous of you ever since you first comes 'ere.”
”Yes, I know, Amy, but what matters now is that I have to get away somehow, as I did before.”
”There's no way you can do that, miss. If I 'elped you, as I'd like to do, I'd only be dismissed without a reference and these days jobs be 'ard to come by.”
”I understand,” Ula said, ”but Amy, I am hungry.”
”I was thinkin' about that, miss, and 'is Lords.h.i.+p said you was only to 'ave dry bread and water, but cook's ever so sorry for you, we all are, and after they've gone into dinner I'll bring you somethin' nice to eat and a cup of cocoa.”
”I would like that, Amy. Thank you very much.”
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