When she was once mounted on her horse it was easy for Astara to think without drawing attention to herself.
She thought she had never known a day to pa.s.s so slowly, and by tea-time she was longing almost uncontrollably to slip away through the wood to Little Milden and see if Vulcan had returned from London.
It was six o"clock when one of the footmen came to her side when she was seated in the Salon to say that Mr Barnes would like a word with her.
She rose quickly to her feet and went out into the Hall to find him waiting.
"I thought you would like to know, Miss Beverley, " Mr Barnes said, "that Mr Vulcan has agreed to dine with Sir Roderick to-night and will be here just before seven-thirty"
"Thank you, Mr Barnes, it was very kind of you to speak to him and also to let me know.
"He seemed surprised to hear that Sir Roderick was in residence. I often think Little Milden, although it is in fact so near, is cut off from us by the wood, as if we were in another county. "
"I thought that must be the explanation why Mr Vulcan had not called on his uncle, " Astara said, " and I know Sir Roderick will be very pleased to see him."
"I am sure he will, Miss Beverley," Mr Barnes agreed. Astara thanked him again, and ran up the staircase to her bed-room.
She knew that her heart was beating excitedly and she; felt an irrepressible excitement not only at the thought of seeing Vulcan again but of meeting him as herself.
At the same time she knew as she bathed and chose her most attractive gown that she was nervous and a little afraid.
Supposing he was angry when he found she had deceived him? Supposing the deception killed the feeling that existed between them, the magic that was more compelling than anything she had ever imagined was possible?
"I love him!" she said again in her heart as she looked at her mother"s portrait.
She knew now why her mother had refused the brilliant and wealthy Roderick Worfield for the obscure and poor Charles Beverley.
Astara found it strange to remember that if her mother had accepted her more important suitor, this house and Estate would have been hers by right of inheritance.
There would be no need for his three nephews to be considered as he was considering them now.
Then, Astara told herself, her choice could have been a very much wider one, but she was sure that Sir Roderick would keep his promise and not force her to marry any man whom she did not love.
At the same time he would undoubtedly be disappointed that it should not be William.
He had made his preference for the Viscount very obvious and he never missed an opportunity of pointing out to her how outstanding he was and how well he would fill the position as owner of Worfield House.
But Astara knew that neither William nor Lionel, much as she liked them, would ever evoke in her the rapture that she had-known when Vulcan kissed her.
Even before he had done so, she had been vividly aware of his personality and of the strange aura which seemed to emanate from him.
It drew her in a way in which she had never been drawn to a man before.
"Have you ever been in love, Emma?" she asked the maid who was fastening her gown.
Emma was an apple-cheeked country-girl who had lived on the Worfield Estate all her life and had been taught her duties by the Head Housemaid who had been at Worfield House for nearly thirty years.
"Yes, Miss," Emma answered, and blushed as she spoke. "Are you in love at the moment ?" Astara enquired. "Yes, Miss."
"And it makes you happy?"
"Oh, yes, Miss. Its ever so nice!" Emma answered. Astara smiled.
Emma might find love "ever so nice", but she felt it was not only an ecstasy but a pain.
As she went downstairs she knew that there was a conflict within her that made her feel as if her whole body was a battlefield.
She entered the Salon to find Sir Roderick and William already there.
They were standing talking intently at the far end of the room and she had a feeling that what they were saying concerned her.
As she moved towards them there was that expression on their faces which people always a.s.sume when they are trying to look at their ease, while feeling a little uncomfortable because the subject of their conversation has interrupted them.
Sir Roderick was looking as usual extremely smart in his evening clothes. He always looked particularly distinguished when dressed for dinner as Astara had told him many times when they were in Europe.
However elegant, however important the other man in the party might be, Sir Roderick always appeared to out-shine them.
There was no doubt too that William was looking his best.
He wore one large black pearl stud in the front of his evening shirt, the points of his collar above his cravat reached to his chin and his black pantaloons strapped under the sole of his foot in the manner invented by the Prince Regent were. a triumph of the tailor s art.
Astara knew by the expression in William"s eyes that she too was looking attractive.
Her gown of white with small diamante embroidered on it made her look more ethereal than usual.
She had taken a great deal of trouble with her hair and its burnished sheen seemed almost as brilliant as the exquisite little diamond brooches that her maid had set amongst the curls.
There were diamonds round her neck and round her wrists.
She had known as she chose them that she was deliberately showing Vulcan that she was not the village maiden he had first supposed her to be but definitely a G.o.ddess in her own sphere.
The door opened and Astara looked round quickly, but it was Lionel who came into the room.
"You are looking very smart this evening, Astara !" he said as he joined the gentlemen standing by the mantelpiece. "Are we expecting guests?"
Astara was just wondering what she would reply when the door opened again and the Butler announced: "Mr Vulcan Worfield, Sir!"
Sir Roderick looked round in surprise.
As Vulcan came into the room Astara found it hard to look at him.
She felt as if her eyes had become unfocused and her whole being was so tense that he walked towards them in a mist.
Then she saw that he looked different from the way he had before and realised it was because it was the first time she was seeing him without his painter"s smock.
At the back of her mind she had been half-afraid that he would come wearing the unconventional clothes that he doubtless a.s.sumed on his travels.
She knew if he did it would be easy for William to make fun of him after he had gone, or perhaps to sneer at him in a lofty fashion.
But Vulcan was quite conventionally garbed, in fact his cravat was as well tied as either of his cousins" and his clothes fitted him just as elegantly.
The difference, Astara thought, was that he gave the impression of being supremely unconscious that they were of any importance.
"Vulcan, my dear, boy!" Sir Roderick exclaimed. "This is a delightful surprise !"
"You must forgive me, Uncle Roderick, for not calling on you sooner," Vulcan replied, "but to tell the truth I have been so busy that it was only to-day I opened your letter. "
"Better late than never! " Sir Roderick exclaimed. "I cannot tell you how glad I am to see you ! "
"And I to see you!" Vulcan answered. "I think it must be four years since we last met."
"Nearer five," Sir Roderick replied, "and I almost despaired of ever catching up with you again I"
"Well, I am here now," Vulcan smiled, "and it s nice to think that you are in England, and Worfield House is open."
"As it will always be to you, " Sir Roderick answered. "But now, let me introduce you to my Ward!"
Astaras eyes had been on Vulcan"s face all the time he was talking to Sir Roderick, and now as it seemed that he noticed her for the first time, she felt the colour rise in her cheeks.
He was completely composed and she knew she had been right in thinking that when he read the letter she had written on Sir Roderick"s instructions he had realised who she was.
He bowed and she curtsied. Then Sir Roderick was saying: "Your two cousins are here, as you see. Both William and Lionel were certain as you did not reply to my letter that you must be in some far-off part of the Globe."
"No, I was only at Little Milden, " Vulcan replied. "How are you, William? "
He nodded to William, then held out his hand to Lionel.
"We have not met for a very long time, " he said, "but I heard that you were decorated at Waterloo. Many congratulations!"
"I was lucky," Lionel answered.
"I envied you," Vulcan said. "It must have been a great experience."
"It was!" Lionel replied.
His eyes lit up as if he was pleased that Vulcan understood what it had meant to him.
"I thought you were beach-combing somewhere on the Equator!" William said in a supercilious manner. "The last time I heard of your exploits you were on a cargo ship bound for the East Coast of Africa."
"That was some years ago, " Vulcan answered. "It proved to be quite an interesting journey. "
"I shall want to hear all about it, my dear boy, " Sir Roderick said, "but before we start reminiscing, let me suggest a gla.s.s of champagne."
The footmen were already in the room pouring the wine into crystal gla.s.ses-which only Astara refused.
With his gla.s.s in his hand Vulcan looked up at the picture over the mantelpiece. Astara watched him, wondering what his reaction would be.
He stared at it for some seconds, then she saw a twinkle in his eyes and knew without saying so, that he understood the inner meaning behind the letter he had received from his uncle.
""The Judgement of Paris", " he said aloud. "I have always liked Van Aachen"s paintings. "
"It is Astara "s favourite," Sir Roderick said. "There is no doubt that he was a great technician, but it is not really to my taste."
Astara waited for Vulcan"s reply. Then he said: "I think he portrays more successfully than most what lies beneath the surface.
Astara felt her heart give a little leap.
He did understand! He did know why she liked that picture better than the others of more repute which hung round the walls.
As if he knew what she was feeling Vulcan fumed and looked at her.
Just for a moment everyone else in the room vanished, they were alone and she was close to him.
Then as Astara was unable to do, he looked away and said: "I see you have acquired some new pictures, Uncle Roderick. I shall look forward to your telling me about them."
"There will be plenty of time for that, " Sir Roderick replied, "but now dinner is ready."
It was a strange meal, Astara thought, as they sat in the big Dining-Room making, because they were such a small party, a little island of light.
She found it almost impossible to eat, and was acutely aware of the undercurrents of feeling around the table.
Because of Sir Roderick"s obvious delight at seeing Vulcan and the interest he was showing in him William was clearly annoyed while Lionel was, Astara knew, watching her almost apprehensively.
She thought that because he loved her, he sensed that she had an interest in Vulcan which was far from normal to-wards a man to whom she had only just been introduced.
She tried to hide her feelings, and yet it was impossible not to fmd her eyes continually drawn to Vulcan"s face, not to listen intently to everything he was saying.
She felt as if they vibrated magnetically to each other across the table.
Astara was sitting on Sir Roderick"s right while Vulcan was on the left. William was on the other side and Lionel next to Vulcan As if he was determined that she should attend to him William said in a commanding manner: "I want to talk to you after dinner."
"What about?" Astara enquired.
"I will tell you when we are alone."
She did not reply and because she thought William was being rather tiresome, she deliberately turned to join in the conversation which Sir Roderick was having with Vulcan. To her astonishment she heard Sir Roderick say: "You must tell me, dear boy, in detail about Harrar." Astara looked at him in surprise as Sir Roderick continued : "I am told no white man has ever entered it and lived." "Do you mean .. Harrar in ... Abyssinian Somaliland ?"
Astara exclaimed. "But you cannot have been there!" Her father had told her about Harrar many years ago.
It was the centre, he had said, of the East African slave trade as well as a seat of Moslem. culture.
Strange and mysterious legends abounded about the impregnable city, but although it was a place her father had longed to visit her mother had dissuaded him because even to attempt to enter Harrar was incredibly dangerous.
"Who told you I have been to Harrar?" Vulcan asked Sir Roderick.
"I have my ways of knowing these things," his uncle replied.