Виктория Холт - Snare of Serpents

“If I couldn’t stand up to that I don’t deserve much of a career.”

“I should prevent your rising. I could not do it, Ninian. But I shall never forget that you asked me.”

He took me by the shoulders and shook me gently.

“Stop talking nonsense. We’re going to do it. We’re going to defy them all. I know that you love me … and I love you. That is at the root of the matter. The rest … well, we’ll deal with that when the time comes.”

“I couldn’t let you. It’s wonderful … it’s quixotic … it’s noble …”

He laughed. “It indulges my own wishes. I want to marry you. I shall never be happy again if you refuse me. Listen, Davina, there will be difficulties. I know that. There may be unpleasantness now and then. But we shall be together. We’ll face it together … whatever it is. I want that, Davina, more than anything in the world. I cannot explain to you what these last months have been like for me. All the time I have been thinking of you in this place … here … under siege. It was more than I could endure. And then I learned about Roger Lestrange … I thought of his efforts to get you here. I could not imagine what his motives were. I had to come out here … I had to see you … I had to explain my feelings … and now I am not letting you go again. I am going to be with you for the rest of my life.”

“It is wonderful to contemplate,” I said sadly. “But it cannot be … I know …”

“You do not know. Whatever there is to face, it is better for us to face it together.”

“But there is no need for you to face it at all. You should go back to Edinburgh … carry on your successful career … become Lord Justice …”

“Without you? Certainly not. I am going to sweep away all your excuses.”

“But you know they are … sensible.”

“Maybe, in some respects. But we are talking about love. Now, Davina, will you marry me?”

“I want to say yes … more than anything I want to.”

“Then that is enough.”

So I gave myself up to dreaming.

Lilias returned with John Dale. There had to be introductions and explanations. There was a great deal of talk about the war and the feeling about it home in Britain.

Ninian said there were some enthusiastic and some dissenting voices. But there was always great rejoicing at the victories; and Kitchener and Roberts were the heroes of the day. He explained the difficulties of travel in wartime and how he had been trying some time to get a passage.

The men left together—John Dale to his home and Ninian to his hotel. He said he would see me tomorrow morning. There was a great deal to discuss.

When they had gone Lilias looked at me questioningly.

“That was a surprise,” she said. “He’s come out here to see a client. What does that mean? He’s come out here to see you, hasn’t he?”

“Yes,” I said. “He has confirmed a great deal of what we thought about Roger Lestrange. He had another wife in Australia who died by drowning.”

Lilias stared at me.

“And,” I went on, “I think our theory about what my role was to be in his scheme was the correct one.”

She closed her eyes and clenched her hands together.

“What an escape!” she murmured. “So Ninian found this out.”

“Yes, there was some court case over his first wife’s money and Ninian had some records.”

“So he thought you might be in danger. It was a long way to come. I suppose he thought he’d defend you … if necessary.”

“He has asked me to marry him.”

“I see. And … ?”

“How could I accept? How could I go back to Edinburgh … his wife? It would ruin his career.”

“Well?”

“Lilias, how could I accept?”

“He’s asked you. My goodness, he’s come right here to tell you this. That gives you some idea of the depth of his feelings, doesn’t it?”

“Yes,” I said happily. “It does. But all the same, I can’t accept.”

“Yes, you can,” she said. “And you will.”

How COULD I HELP this feeling of intense happiness which had gripped me? I could not suppress my true feelings. I was happy. Ninian loved me. He had come all this way at this most difficult time because he feared I was in danger.

What could I do? I could never escape from my past … nor would Ninian, if he shared it. He knew this. None could know it better. And yet he chose it … it was what he wanted.

So I was going home.

Ninian was making plans. We were to be married in Kimberley. Then we would travel home together as husband and wife.

There was no point in delay. The journey home might be long and difficult. We should have to get to Cape Town and wait for a ship. But we knew where we were going and it did not matter as long as we were together.

I had wondered about leaving Lilias, but everything seemed to be working out neatly. With one wedding in view it seemed only natural that there should be another. I had known for a long time that there had been a special relationship between Lilias and John Dale. He asked her to marry him—and how delighted I was when I heard the news.

There would be two marriages on the same day which would be appropriate as we had come out together.

Myra was sad at the prospect of my going. She did not know everything about her husband. We did not speak of him. The murder of the deaf-mute was revealing, for there was the indisputable evidence of the button from one of Roger Lestrange’s coats to prove the case against him. Umgala had obviously witnessed the crime and was attempting to reveal what he knew— so he had had to die. And now Roger himself was dead and Myra was no longer a wife. She had been fascinated completely by her husband—but at the same time she had been fearful of him. She could not be aware that she had come close to death herself.

But we did not speak of it. She had been bemused and bewildered, but gradually she seemed to realise that she must start a new life. Strangely enough she turned to Paul. Together they made Njuba their concern. They looked after him and Luban and it brought them close together.

I had thought she might want to come back with me and for a time I think she considered doing so. But as her new relationship with Paul began to ripen they both decided that he would be better if he stayed in his native land; and she decided to stay with him.

So Ninian and I were married, and in due course we were able to set sail for England.

I HAD NEVER BEEN SO HAPPY in my life as I was during those first months after I became Davina Grainger. There was a tacit agreement between us that we should not think beyond the immediate future.

Ninian knew as well as I did that when we reached Edinburgh there would be certain difficulties to be faced; but for the time being we must forget about them.

This we did very successfully. We were close companions by day and passionate lovers by night. It was an idyllic existence, if one did not look ahead.

But, of course, it was impossible not to and there were moments when I thought with apprehension of what it would be like when we returned home. People would remember and, even if they had the good manners not to speak of it, it would be in their minds. We must be prepared for the little moments of unpleasantness … the moments of distress.

All the difficulties of travel at such a time became amusing to us because we were together. We laughed at them.

We managed to get down to Cape Town where we spent a week waiting for a ship; and when it did come, we had a wonderful voyage home. The storms at sea were fun to us; and we revelled in the long hot days when we sat on deck and talked of our good fortune in being together. But as we came nearer to home, I felt I wanted to hold back the days to make them last longer. I knew that Ninian felt the same. But there was no holding back time, but I kept reminding myself that I was going back with Ninian and that made all the difference.

We arrived in due course at Southampton, said goodbye to the friends we had made on board and spent a night in London before making the long journey to Edinburgh.

The city looked cold and unwelcoming. Ninian had lived with his parents, but now that we were married he would buy our own house. It would be near the courts for convenience. But at first we must go to his home where we should stay until we found our house.

I felt uneasy about meeting his parents, and as soon as I did I realised they did not approve of the marriage.

Mrs. Grainger was a gentle lady with greying hair and bright dark eyes. His father was not unlike Ninian himself, tall, of rather commanding appearance, with an aquiline nose and bright shrewd blue eyes.

“Ninian, how wonderful that you are back,” said Mrs. Grainger. “And this is Davina …”

She had taken my hands and was kissing me on the cheek, then looking at me, trying to hide the fact that she was assessing me. But of course she would, I told myself. I was her new daughter-in-law. Naturally she would sum me up. I must stop thinking that when people met me they immediately asked themselves: did she or did she not kill her father?

Mr. Grainger was less inclined, or less able, to hide his feelings. His attitude towards me was cool. It was clear to me that he thought his son was foolish in marrying me.

I tried to be reasonable. Their reaction was natural. Of course, they were disappointed. Mr. Grainger, Senior, had risen high in his profession and he would wish his son to do the same; and none could realise more than I that I should be a hindrance rather than a help in his career.