The Gates of Paradise (16 page)

“No, of course not, they will think they have merely been inspecting the Battleship and it will be of no interest to them that two people who have been staying here in the Palace should leave Alexanderburg by sea.”

Narina laughed.

“I see you have it all beautifully worked out, Lord Chamberlain, and I must certainly congratulate you on the way you have managed to keep our secret so well, although I thought several times it would prove impossible.”

“Cross your fingers tightly till you actually leave,” replied the Lord Chamberlain.  “I can only thank you both for everything you have done and insist that it was not only a magnificent effort but a triumphant victory!”

“That is just what we feel ourselves, and I warn you I intend to come back next year and see if you have carried out my ideas.  I shall be disappointed if you have not!”

“As they are just what was required for our country and as the Prime Minister believes that it is Prince Rudolf himself who has suggested them, it is going to be seriously difficult for anyone not to do as they are told.”

Narina clasped her hands together and cried,

“I am glad, so very
very
glad.”

“I am going to send you up a bottle of the very best champagne,” said the Lord Chamberlain, rising to his feet, “and I will come back to talk to you before you leave.  But now I must go downstairs and assure them that His Royal Highness is fine, but a little shocked by his experience and I can say the same of Her Royal Highness as well.”

Before he closed the door he looked back,

“Thank you, thank you both again, you have been magnificent. There is no other word for it.”

And then he was gone.

Narina gave a little laugh.

“Well, at least we made one person happy.  I can see how frustrating it has been for the Lord Chamberlain until now when everything that he has suggested has either been turned down or ignored.”

“I think it is people-power that will do it,” Michael added. “They were all entranced by the idea of the Pleasure Garden and I'm sure that the young men of Alexanderburg have all been wanting for a long time to join the Army.”

“The Rifle Range was a very good idea and that in itself will make them keen.”

“I hope they will all be good shots like you, Narina!”

“I don't want to think about it, but if Maria had not shown me the revolver and told me that Louise had always carried it in her pocket when outside the City, we might not be talking to each other at this moment.”

“Would that have worried you?”

Michael spoke very quietly.

And it seemed to Narina that the answer she should give him was being repeated loudly in her mind and in her heart.

The horses were ready.

They had been brought round to a side door where Paks took them over, which meant that no one saw Narina and Michael off.

She had spoken to Maria and told her not to forget any of her belongings or to pack by mistake those that were Louise's.

Maria did point out that she had not yet unpacked any of her clothes!

As Narina walked slowly downstairs, she knew that she was miserable at having to leave and at having to leave so abruptly.

She had been so happy at the Palace and it was sad to think that she must leave now and perhaps never see it again.

Then she told herself that she was being unnecessarily sensitive and, of course, she would return one day.

But she realised that what really saddened her was the thought that if she did come back, Michael would not be here.

When he appeared in a very smart riding jacket that belonged to Prince Rudolf, he was looking very handsome.

There was a sudden agony in her heart because she had to leave him behind.

He would return to India where he was needed and perhaps be killed because she was not there to protect him.

She wanted to beg him to come to England where he would be safe, but he would only laugh at her and tell her how much he enjoyed the adventure and excitement of
The Great Game.

Michael lifted her up gently onto the side saddle of her mount and once again she felt that strange feeling she had felt before at his touch.

She really could not explain it to herself, but it was something that was half agony and half ecstasy.

“I will see you later, Paks,” Michael called out as they rode off.

It was already dusk and the first stars were coming out in the sky.

As the Lord Chamberlain suggested, they had already eaten and had drunk the delicious champagne he had so kindly provided for them.

Narina could not help thinking that she must talk to Louise and stay for an hour at least at the Summer Palace.

It was only as they were both riding away that she suddenly remembered that they had not said goodbye to the Lord Chamberlain.

She had been so bemused talking with Michael and drinking champagne that she had not been able to think of anything else.

Now she turned to him, half reining in her mount,

“We didn't say goodbye to the Lord Chamberlain!”

“I know, Narina, because he has changed his mind at the last moment.  As we are riding there, he is driving with Paks and Maria to the Summer Palace.”

Narina gave a sigh of relief.

She had no wish to seem in any way rude to a man that had been so considerate to her ever since her arrival.

Secretly she thought if he were going to the Summer Palace, he would be able to tell Prince Rudolf better than Michael could about what had been arranged for him and Louise in their absence.

They rode for a little while in silence.

Now the full moon was rising high in the sky and the stars were growing brighter by the second.

“It's so lovely here,” sighed Narina to Michael.  “I really don't want to go away.”

“England can be lovely too, you know, Narina.”

She agreed.  Nothing was more glorious than the garden at her home, and she was always riding in the woods alone except when her father found the time to join her.

But there would be no one for her to talk to, not as she had been able to talk to Michael.

*

They rode on.

Now they were near the sea and the moonlight was glittering on the waves as they rolled in below them.

Then to her surprise Michael suggested,

“We will now turn to the left here at this wood and I would like you to follow me, please.”

“But surely the Summer Palace is right on the sea,” murmured Narina.

“I am taking you somewhere else first – ”

She was surprised, but obviously there was no hurry.

Paks was driving a slow old-fashioned carriage and he would have to stay on the road that ran along the top of the cliff.

And anyway riding as they were on soft ground, it seemed better to delay their arrival for a little while so that the Lord Chamberlain arrived before them.

It was very dark in the wood and, as woods always did, it felt an enchanted place to Narina.

Impulsively she exclaimed,

“When I ride out in the woods at home, which I do every day, I have always wished there was someone with me who felt the same as I do.”

“I feel the same as you do,” replied Michael.  “And that is why I have brought you this way – ”

“You love gardens and flowers.  I thought therefore you must love the little red squirrels that climb up the trees, and the goblins and hobgoblins who live beneath them.”

“I used to listen to them when I was a small boy.”

“I guessed that you did, Michael, and I have always been absolutely certain there are water nymphs in the little pool in the wood and I used to sit by the water often and watch and watch hoping that one would pop out.”

“I think one did come out for me,” sighed Michael.  “But when I saw her in the sunlight, she turned out to be an angel!”

Narina blushed in the darkness, but she knew that he meant that she had saved his life and she said quickly,

“You must be careful when I am not around.  After all it was chance or perhaps the hand of God that I was looking for you in the garden and – ”

“Please forget it!” Michael cried, interrupting her.

“I really don't want you to dwell on what happened then.  You saved my life twice – and there must not be a third.”

“That is what I am trying to make you understand,” replied Narina.  “If I am not there, those dreadful men who have been pursuing you may
still
catch up with you.”

There was a note of horror in her voice.

She thought that Michael was going to reply to her, but instead he quickened his pace a little.

Now he was riding ahead of her.

As the track through the wood was dark and narrow it seemed sensible to ride in single file.

At the same time it was strange that he wanted to ride through the trees when they would be able to see more clearly outside on the cliff.

Then she suddenly felt afraid that there might be an enemy lurking ahead and he was unaware of any danger.

She wanted to call out to him to be very careful and to let her go first – just in case there was someone hiding behind the trees.

Then unexpectedly just in front of them she saw a clearing.

And at the far side of it there was a small building that appeared to be a Chapel.

Michael had drawn in his horse so that she could come up beside him.

As she did so, Narina remarked,

“It is an ancient Chapel built in the very middle of the wood.  How fascinating!”

“I thought you would think so, Narina, and that is why I have brought you here.”

“Do you mean we can go inside?”

 “It is a Chapel belonging to an old Priest, who has retired here because he loved the woods as we love them.  He feeds the rabbits and the squirrels.  The wild stags come here too in the evening because he has tamed them with his love of nature.”

Narina was listening to him entranced.

Then to her surprise Michael dismounted.

“Are we going inside?” she asked him.

“I am going to introduce you to the Priest.  He was very kind recently to me on my way to the City.”

“Oh, I would love to meet him.”

Michael lifted Narina to the ground.

Then he fastened both horses' bridles to a wooden fence that was obviously for people who visited the Priest on horseback.

Narina stood looking round her, then up at the stars peeping down overhead.

“I have brought you here, my very precious angel,” Michael declared, “
so that we can be married
.”

For a moment Narina felt she could not have heard him right.

“To be married?” she asked incoherently.

“You have saved my life twice, my darling Narina.  Therefore, as the old legend goes, I am your responsibility for life.  So you now have to look after me and protect me, and that is what I desire more than I have ever wished for anything before in my whole life.”

Narina gazed at him and she could not speak.

She only thought that what she was hearing could not be true.

It must all be part of a dream.

Then Michael added more softly,

“I love you, Narina, and I believe you love me.  We will talk about it later, but let us now be married so that I can be absolutely sure of
never
losing you.”

He took Narina's hands as he was speaking.

He drew her up the entrance steps and through the door of the Chapel that was ajar.

There were six candles alight on the altar.

The old Priest, wearing his vestments, was kneeling in prayer on the steps.

As Narina and Michael entered, there was a flutter of wings from many birds, perching above the altar and on the windowsills at the side of the Chapel.

As they walked towards the Priest, Narina saw that there were rabbits and squirrels peeping out from behind the altar itself.

They were completely unafraid, only curious as to why they were there.

The old Priest must have heard their footsteps and he rose from his knees and, as he turned round, he smiled when he saw Michael.

“You promised me you would return, my son, and I have been praying that all has gone well with you.”

“All your prayers have saved me, Father, and I was sent by the mercy of God someone else who has saved my life – not once but twice.”

The Priest turned to Narina,

“I welcome you, my child, to this Chapel and I feel sure that you will feel the hand of God is here to help you at any time you should need it – ”

“What I need at this moment,” Michael said before Narina could say another word, “is that you should please marry us
now
.”

The old Priest was obviously delighted.

“Nothing will give me greater pleasure and I know without you telling me that you will receive and give each other the true love that comes only from God.”

Michael took Narina's hand in his.

The Priest turned first to the altar where he prayed and crossed himself, then turned back to them.

Without further ado, he then started the Marriage Service.

He said it simply but with a sincerity that seemed in itself to be more Holy than anything Narina had ever heard in her life before.

When they arrived at the point when Narina was to receive the ring, she wondered what Michael would do.

Much to her surprise he took a ring from the pocket of his riding jacket.

After the Priest had blessed the ring he put it on her finger gently and carefully and she saw that it was a plain gold ring with just one large ruby embedded in the gold.

She guessed it must be Michael's signet ring and it fitted her finger perfectly.

The Priest named them man and wife and they knelt for his final Blessing.

Narina was totally convinced that all the angels and archangels of Heaven were singing overhead.

Her beloved mother was looking down on her and was feeling happy that she had found someone to love and who really loved her.