Page 47 of The Fortunes of Ashmore Castle

Sir Gordon turned back, his face reddening ominously. ‘If your daughter had any conduct, she would not display herself on the dance-floor in that shameless way.’

Rachel was white with shock at the words.

Maud seemed to her to swell to twice her size. ‘How dare you speak like that about my daughter?’

‘She has ruined one of my sons, and now seems determined to make a show of my son-in-law. Well, I won’t allow it!’

‘You won’t allow it?’ Maud’s tone was low, but vibrated with outrage. This was not to be borne! ‘It was I who forbade the match with your son. You would have been fortunate indeed to win a bride for him so far above his station, and well you know it.’

‘His station? My son is a gentleman!’ Tullamore snapped back.

‘It’s a pity the same can’t be said of his father.’ Even Maud thought she had gone too far with those words, but she was riding a flood of long-suppressed anger.

There was a sharp intake of breath from Sir Gordon. ‘You forget who you are talking to, madam!’

‘I know very well whom I am addressing – an industrialist,’ Maud said, with furious scorn. ‘Lady Rachel is the daughter of an earl and the granddaughter of earls on both sides. She may marry wherever she chooses.’

Eyes were turning on them now. Sir Gordon was about to retaliate. But Maud suddenly felt dizzy. Black spots swirled behind her eyes, she felt pressure in her ears and a wave of nausea as the floor seemed to rise towards her. A small, cold hand caught her outflung one, and someone guided her a step backwards to a chair. Seated, she leaned forward and took some deep breaths until the dizziness subsided.

She straightened up to find in front of her not Sir Gordon but their hostess – which did nothing to improve her feelings – and the concerned figure of the prince, stooping over her anxiously. And the cold hand that had stopped her sinking humiliatingly to the floor turned out to belong to Rachel, who was waiting beside her to be of help. Maud gave her a grateful look, probably the first she had ever given Rachel in her life, and allowed her and Paul to help her to her feet.

Giulia was asking what was wrong and what she could do to help, and Rachel it was who answered. ‘My mother is tired,’ she said, in a voice in which probably only Maud could detect the quiver. ‘I will see her to her room. Please don’t fuss.’

At the door Maud put Rachel’s hand away from her and slipped her arm through her husband’s, and Rachel accepted the hint and stepped back.

Fergus intercepted them. ‘Are you all right, Maudie?’

‘Just tired, dear,’ Maud said. ‘I’m going to bed. Don’t stop the fun on my account.’

That was the advice Fergus really wanted to hear. He beamed. ‘Have a good rest, old dear. You’ll feel better in the morning,’ he said, and turned back to the dancing.

What a boy he was, Maud thought fondly.

In the bedroom, Miss Taylor was waiting. The prince bowed and kissed his wife’s hand with a concerned look and asked, in German, ‘May I return later? To see how you are?’

He must have hovered somewhere outside, because as soon as Miss Taylor left, he came back in. Maud was in her dressing-gown, sitting at the dressing-table, and he crossed the room and laid a hand on her forehead. ‘You have no fever,’ he observed. ‘How do you feel? No pains anywhere?’

‘Just tired,’ she said. She gestured him to the nearest chair. She didn’t like to be fussed, though in her vulnerable state, she found his tender concern rather touching.

‘I think you are doing too much,’ he said. ‘Remember your condition.’

‘I do remember it,’ she said. He might have warned her not to risk his child’s health, but he didn’t, and she was grateful. And suddenly she realised how very tired she really was. ‘I want to go home,’ she said, and the words burst out of her almost without her volition.

Paul looked cautious. ‘To Ashmore Castle?’

‘No, to Usingerhof,’ she said. ‘To our home.’

Her reward was the surprised delight that rushed over his face. ‘Yes, yes,’ he said softly, in German, ‘that is our home indeed. Oh, my heart’s dearest, I wish more than anything to see you there, installed where you are queen of all, beloved and safe. Shall we go at once?’

‘In the morning,’ she said, smiling at his eagerness. Oh, she must be in a weakened state indeed to be smiling at him! ‘Leave me now, my dear.’

In the morning she did not rise when Miss Taylor came in with her tea tray, but told her she would take breakfast in bed, and was glad that her maid was too well trained to show any surprise. As she went out, Rachel came in, dressed except for her hair, and with a shining morning face.

‘Oh, Mama,’ she cried, ‘did you mean it? Really?’

Maud couldn’t think what she was referring to. ‘Please don’t gush,’ she extemporised. ‘And speak quietly.’

‘Have you a headache?’ Rachel asked, in immediate concern, and a very quiet voice.