In the ducal palace was all the wealth and luxury" she had dreamed of, "but now she was afraid and angry
"Where is my brother?" She asked. "Why did he send for me?"
The Golden Gondola
by Barbara Cartland
Illustrated by Edwin Phillips
FIRST CHAPTERS
THERE are only two survivors from a disastrous shipwreck on the shores of Italy in 1750. They are Sir Harvey Drake, baronet, of England, and Paolina Mansfield. Paoline is utterly destitute, with no money, friends or relations.
Sir Harvey, impressed by her beauty, suggests that he should take her to Venice as his sister, and there marry her to one of the rich nobles in that city.
Paolina has no choice but to agree, but she cannot understand how he will have enough money to give an impression of wealth, as he intends. Sir Harvey does not tell her that he salvaged valuable jewels from the ship. "
They break their journey to Venice at Ferrara, and there order magnificent new clothes, and Sir Harvey confers with a jeweller. They receive a visit from the Duke of Ferrara, who, to Sir Harvey's delight, is obviously infatuated with Paolina.
Paolina herself, however, does not like the Duke, and this feeling is confirmed-when they dine with him that evening. She is upset and disgusted by his advances to her. Sir Harvey is angered by her reception of the Duke, but he is gratified when flowers and a note arrive from him the next morning, and he hopes that the Duke will ask for the hand of his "sister,"
Then Sir Harvey learns that the Duke’s engagement to the Princess d'Este is shortly to be announced-it is a marriage that will amalgamate two great Italian estates,
Sir Harvey contents himself with" taking Paolina for a walk in the centre of the town, where she causes a sensation.
BACK at the inn they talked and rested until late in the afternoon.
"To-night we dine with the Conte and Contessa Mauro," Sir Harvey said. "But that is not for some hours. I think I will go for a ride. I am so used to taking a lot of exercise that I find this leisurely life gives me a headache."
"But, of course, I understand," Paolina said. "A ride will do you good."
"The landlord tells me he has some decent horseflesh. I have said I will tryout his best and if it is not good enough he must find me something better. I shall not be long." ,
" Do not worry about me," Paolina said. "What time shall I be ready for you?"
He told her and when he had gone she went to her bedchamber.
Because she was restless, because she was afraid of her own thoughts, she started to undress. It took her a long time to bathe, to sit in a wrapper until the coiffeur came to do her hair in a new style.
He arranged tong curls hanging over her shoulders, and at the side of her head he set two red ribbons to mingle with the gold of her hair.
The gown she had chosen for that evening was of red satin, and her little cap matched the exquisite white lace at the sleeve of her dress.
Sir Harvey had chosen a magnificent white velvet cape lined with red satin to match the dress.
She was ready long before the appointed hour and wondered whether Sir Harvey had yet returned, She was too shy to cross the sitting-room and knock on the door of his bed-chamber, and yet she felt suddenly bored with sitting alone in her own room.
She opened the door. The sitting-room was empty. There were only the great bowls of flowers from the bouquets the Duke had sent her, the fragrance of them filling the whole room until it seemed almost like a bower.
There was no sign of Sir Harvey. His hat was not on the chair where he habitually threw it when he came in, and although Paolina listened hard there was no sound or movement from the other bedchamber.
It was then that she heard someone coming up the stairs. She turned expectantly, feeling sure it was Sir Harvey returned from his ride. But when the door opened a flunkey stood there. He wore a dark cloak and a tricorn hat on his powdered wig.
He swept the hat from his head and bowed low.
"I have brought a message for you Signorina, from his Excellency your brother," he said.
"A message?" Paolina inquired, " Why has he not come himself?"
"His Excellency is detained," the flunkey replied, "and he asks that you will be gracious enough to join him. He has sent a carriage for you."
"Yes, of course, I will come," Paolina answered.
She went back into her room to collect the cape to put round her shoulders. Then as she joined the flunkey she asked, "Where is my brother?"
" His Excellency is in the house of a friend," the flunkey replied. "He is anxious that you should go to him as quickly as possible."
Paolina suddenly stood still. An idea had come to her, something which made her voice tremulous as she asked, "There has not been an accident, has' there? He has not fallen from his horse?"
"His Excellency is quite well, Signorina. If you will come this way."
SHE followed the flunkey down the stairs, through a door to the courtyard where a carriage was waiting. Paolina just had time to see that it was a closed carriage without the usual coat of arms embellishing the door; then she was inside and the horses started off. Four horses! It struck her as strange that there should be so many if this were a hired carriage that Sir Harvey had sent for her. And yet, if it belonged to one of his friends; why was there no coat of arms?
She wrinkled her brow, puzzling as to the meaning of this. If, in fact, there had been no accident, why had Sir Harvey not returned? It was time for him to change for dinner. He could not dine in his riding clothes.
On they went, and now she was utterly and completely convinced that Sir Harvey had suffered an accident.
" Dear God, do not let him be hurt," she murmured, praying, because she was anxious for him, with an intensity which seemed to come from her very heart.
AT last, after what seemed an aeon of time-although it was only about half an hour-the carriage swung off the road, through high, ornamental gates.
Paolina sat forward to try to get a glimpse of the house that lay ahead. It was an important mansion, as she could tell by its roofs and turrets. Then, almost before she could get a proper look at it, the carriage swung round and pulled up at a porticoed entrance.
She stepped quickly out of the coach as soon as the steps were put down. Flunkeys in gold braided, uniform and powdered wigs ran to assist her and take her cape. She was led into a hall with marble-pillars supporting an exquisitely painted ceiling.
The majordomo threw open the door of a room. It was a small salon, as Paolina saw in one quick glance. She had a quick impression of a gleaming chandelier, of brocade hangings, of great bowls of flowers and exquisite pictures; and then she knew that the person she looked for was not there. The sofas and chairs were empty.
"Where is Sir Harvey ? "
She heard her own voice ring out loudly because of the fear that was in her heart. She turned as she spoke only to see, to her astonishment, the doors through which she had come close.
She stood for a moment in bewilderment, and then stepped forward to open the door herself, to find someone, to demand an explanation.
"Can I help you?" a voice asked from the other end of the room.
Paolina whirled round, Coming from between two softly hanging curtains there was a man. She stared at him for a moment as if she could hardly believe her eyes. Then the sudden tenseness of her body told her only too well who it was. It was the Duke!
She walked towards him swiftly with her head held high.
"What are you doing here?" she inquired. "And where is my brother?"
"I am here," the Duke replied suavely, "because this happens to be my house-my hunting lodge to be exact. May I welcome you to it with all my heart?"
"Where is my brother?" Paolina questioned.
"Your brother !" The Duke made a gesture with his hands. "As far as I know he is in Ferrara"
"You mean he is not here? There has been no accident? Then why did he send for me? "
"Shall we sit down?" the Duke asked.
" I would rather stand," Paolina said. "I want an explanation from Your Grace . . . and then I must go."
"I regret that my coach has been sent away," the Duke answered,
Paolina looked found her.
"If this is your house, what am I doing here? " she asked. "You sent your servants to tell me that my brother needed me." She looked up at the Duke's face and then stamped her foot. "It was a trick," she said accusingly. "A trick to get me here! Your Grace should be ashamed of himself! "
"You are very lovely when you are angry," the Duke smiled. "You are more beautiful even than I remember you to be. Why would you not see me yesterday?"
"Your Grace," Paolina said with a sudden resolution in her voice. "This may be your idea of a joke, but I assure you it is nothing of the sort to me. You have brought me here under false pretences; by a lie which made me worried and perturbed lest my brother should have been badly injured.
"It is not how I should have expected a gentleman of your birth and breeding to behave. Nevertheless, the joke is now over. I wish to return immediately to Ferrara."
"Come and sit down," the Duke begged, " and let us talk."
"There is nothing to talk about," Paolina replied. "I wish to leave."
"I WILL give you anything in the world that you will ask of me," the Duke answered, "even my name."
"This is nonsensical," Paolina exclaimed. " You cannot kidnap me. This is a civilized country. Can you imagine what would be said?"
"That is just the point; will anything be said ?" the Duke replied.
"If you imagine my brother is going to find me missing and just sit down and take it as a matter of course, you are very much mistaken," Paolina said hotly.
"I have sent an emissary to deal with your brother, I think perhaps you will find he is not so incensed as you imagine," There was a. sudden pause.
"What do you mean by that?" Paolina asked after a moment.
"I mean, my very sweet and very lovely lady," the Duke answered, "that I have been making inquiries about your brother. He has at the moment apparently quite a lot of money-money obtained from the jewellery that he sold when he arrived here after your adventures in the storm. But from all accounts he is not always possessed of such funds."
He paused, watching her face, then he continued, "What I am asking myself is, will that money-a great sum though it may be-last for ever? A man who is sometimes on the edge of penury will often talk sound business:"
"I do not know what you are saying," Paolina said.
"I think you do," the Duke contradicted. "At any rate, your brother has a head for business. What I am offering him would, to any ordinary business man, be a very sound and very generous proposition.
"Are you inferring that you are offering my brother money for me ? "Paolina asked. "That you are trying to buy me?"
"Must we put things so crudely? " the Duke asked. "What I am offering you, my dear, is the devotion of a man who loves you very deeply."
He stepped forward as he spoke and took her hand in his.
"I love you," he repeated, and kissed her fingers.
At the touch of his lips Paolina shivered and would have taken her hand away, but the Duke prevented it.
"Are you really so cold?" he asked. "Have your English chills and grey skies got into your blood that there is no fire in you? If that is so then I must warm you. I cannot believe that your lips are as cold as your words. Shall I try them and see?"
He pulled her towards him, but with a sudden spurt of fear Paolina fought herself free.
"DO not dare touch me," Paolina cried. "I am here against my will. You may be trying to buy me, but I still have a will of my own. I will not belong to you, do you hear? I will never be yours, however much you may pay for me."
"Can you be sure of that the Duke asked, "I love you, I adore you; and I promise you we shall be very happy together. I am going to take you to a house that I own in Verona, It is high on a hill overlooking the town. The river runs like a silver stream through its gardens. There we will be alone, my love-just you and I-to get to know each other. And you will learn to love me."
"Never! Never'" Paolina managed to gasp.
She ran desperately down the room towards the door, her red gown winging out behind her as if she were a fluttering bird who would escape from its tormentor.
The Duke watched her go. Only as she reached the door did his voice stop her.
"I would hate to humiliate you by commanding my servants to drag you back," he said quickly. "Yet should you attempt to leave this house, that is exactly what they will do."
Paolina stood looking at him. She was still on tiptoe, ready for her effort to escape, and yet she could not but realize the truth of his words. She had seen the army of retainers who were waiting at the door when she arrived-stalwart young men against whose strength she would not have the slightest chance of escape.
I am beaten, she thought to herself; and then some instinct, or perhaps it was some power which protects us all in the very worst moments of stress, whispered to her. Play for time.
Her hand went up to her hair. Slowly she walked back towards the Duke, going nearer but not too near, watching him warily yet trying to gain control over herself.
"It is past the dinner hour," she said, "Does Your Grace's hospitality extend to offering me something to eat? "
"We will dine immediately."
"I wish first to tidy myself."
"My housekeeper will show you to your room," he replied. "She will, of course, be in attendance so that you can ask her for anything that you require."
There was a threat lying beneath the courtesy, as Paolina well knew.
In silence she allowed herself to be escorted up the broad staircase to a magnificent bedchamber on the first floor.
The housekeeper brought her warm and scented water, and stood, while she washed, holding a linen towel edged with a deep lace border. Automatically Paolina washed her face and tidied her hair.
All the time her brain was seeking desperately for some method of escape; all the time she was trying to avoid the fear in her heart-not only of the Duke, but of another, deeper fear that had come from his words.
She could not help the question asking itself-whether Sir Harvey might not be tempted to accept the money which the Duke was offering him in exchange for her.
After all, she told herself, what was she to him but a girl he had befriended some days ago. It was hard to believe that he could feel any affection or any loyalty towards her.
"Help me! Help me!" She breathed the words beneath her breath, but even so the housekeeper asked, "M'lady spoke?"
"No, it is nothing," Paolina answered.
She looked at the woman almost for the first time as she spoke, wondering if there were any chance of help here.
The housekeeper was a dark-faced, ageing Italian and Paolina was certain, owed all her loyalty to the Duke, whose family she had doubtless served all the years of her life.
THERE- was nothing else to delay her. She was ready and she knew that the Duke would be waiting. What was Sir Harvey doing? She wondered if he were packing his bags, leaving the inn, going his own way to Venice, delighted with the knowledge that he had enough money to keep himself in comfort for many years.
"Help me! Help me!"
Her heart cried out the words silently and. then, with a dignity that was somehow pathetic because of her utter helplessness, she went slowly down the great staircase into the marble hall.
When Paolina reached the hall, her feeling of bravado had vanished. She knew she was facing the most desperate and dangerous moment of her life. Yet there was nothing she could do to avoid it.
If she were to try to stay upstairs, she felt that the Duke saw quite capable of having her dragged into his presence. Besides, the mere fact of having dinner would delay matters and might also give her a chance of, finding some way of escape.
There was also at the back of her mind the hope that Sir Harvey would come and save her. She thrust from her the urgings of common sense which said that she could mean nothing to him. She shied a way from the idea that he might accept this windfall and ride away.
A footman hurried forward as her foot touched the last stair.
"His Grace's compliments, and he is waiting for you, "Milady."
P AOLINA inclined her head and followed him down a corridor lit with a hundred tapers, then up another staircase not so elaborate as the one she had just descended, but smaller and obviously leading to a special wing of the house.
The room into which she was shown was beautiful but small. The Duke came forward as a Paolina approached and taking her hand raised it to his lips. The mere touch of his mouth made her shudder, but she managed to say, in a voice which even to herself sounded calm, "I had hoped we would dine in your banqueting hall, Your Grace. I am sure it is very fine."
"I prefer that we should be here," he answered.
At the Duke's request, she seated herself at one side of the table.
The dishes on which dinner was served were all of gold, and the food was exotic and exciting, although Paolina could eat little.
The golden wines, to fill the engraved glasses, seemed still to hold the sun- shine which had ripened the grapes.
"Tell me about yourself;" the Duke commanded.
Paolina shook her head.
"Tell me, instead, what you do," she answered. "I know that there have been Dukes of Ferrara since medieval days."
"And before that," he answered, but she could see that his thoughts were not on her questions but on herself.
The Duke's eyes narrowed as he watched her.
"You are exquisite," he said. "I thought so that very first afternoon when I called on your brother. When you dined at the castle I was convinced that you were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my whole life. To-day has merely confirmed what I already knew-that I love you."
Paolina turned her head aside.
"It is not love you feel for me, Your Grace," she said:
"Then what is it?" he asked. "Have you ever felt that your whole being was tingling and afire because someone in particular was near you? Have you not longed to touch him; to feel his lips on yours; to know his heart was beating quicker because you were near?"
As he spoke he put out his hand to touch her. Before he could do so Paolina had sprung to her feet.
"No! No, Your Grace!" she protested. "That is not love."
"I beg of Your Grace to let me go. Say you are only doing this to frighten me : that you do not mean to keep me here."
"IF I let you go, what will happen to you?" the Duke asked. "Your brother, by now, is on his way to the coast. Part of the bargain that he made was that my burchiello should take him to Venice. Within the space of an hour he should be aboard. Without me, without friends, I think it impossible that you could ever reach him."
"It is not true," Paolina cried. "He cannot have gone; he cannot have left me."
"I assure you that he has," the Duke answered. "I did not doubt for one moment that my offer would fail to tempt him, but while you were upstairs preparing yourself for dinner my Officer-of-Horse, who had been in communication with your brother, returned. He informed me that my offer had been accepted."
"It is not true! It cannot be true!" Paolina said through lips which were suddenly white and stiff.
"My dear, brothers are not always so fortunate as to be rid so easily or so comfortably of their sisters."
Paolina looked at him and then suddenly she stepped forward and kneeled beside him.
"Spare me, Your Grace," she pleaded. "There are thousands of women in the world who would be only too thrilled and honoured to be where I am at this moment. But let me go."
The Duke looked at her and then bent forward to cup her little chin. with his hand.
"You entrance me," he said. "Everything about you is new and exciting."
"Doe's my enmity and my hatred mean nothing to you?" Paolina cried. She wanted to run away from him again. Yet she felt as if he mesmerized her so that she could only stand with her shoulders pressed against the door, praying that she could escape him, knowing that there was not the slightest chance of her doing so.
Nearer and nearer he came, his dark eyes alight.
She screamed, but the sound was lost almost immediately as his mouth descended on hers and silenced her voice. She tried to struggle against him, but it was hopeless. His arms completely enfolded her. With a sense of desolation she stared up at his face.
There was a sudden crash, the sound of breaking glass. The Duke swung round and as he did so the curtains over one of the windows parted. Almost unconsciously the Duke's grasp of Paolina loosened, and with a sudden movement she sprang from his arms.
"Harvey!"
Paolina was hardly able to say the word and then she had run across the room to fling herself against him as he stood there, sword in hand, confronting the Duke.
"Harvey, you have come! You are in time. Oh, thank heavens! "
The tears were streaming down Paolina’s face. She had not cried before in her terror, but now the tears came and with them a relief so overwhelming that she felt as if her whole body dissolved in the ecstasy of it.
"What are you doing here?"
The Duke had managed to speak at last, and in answer Sir Harvey pushed Paolina a little aside and walked towards him.
"I think you know the answer to that."
"I understood that you had accepted my terms," the Duke replied.
"Did you really think I would abandon my sister? You must have queer tastes Your Grace. I have never forced my attentions on anyone unwillingly. It is something which no decent man does."
"That is my business and not yours," the Duke snarled "Get out of here or my servants will put you out." .
"Your servants have, I think, retired for the night," Sir Harvey answered.
"This is a matter we can settle by ourselves. Get your sword."
The Duke looked at the naked sword in Sir Harvey's hand and said, " And if I refuse to fight you? "
"Then I shall run you through as you stand there," Sir Harvey said. "I am treating you as if you were a gentleman, which, under the circumstances, is, I consider, very decent of me."
Without a word the Duke took up his sword from where it lay, hanging in an embroidered belt, over the back of a chair. Its fine. tempered steel shone in the light of the candles as, suddenly, he lunged at Sir Harvey. Only by a quick movement of his whole body did Sir Harvey manage to avoid being killed. .
"So, that is the way you fight, is it, you swine?" he said through his teeth.
WATCHING them, Paolina thought she had never before seen such skill and knew that it was because both men were fighting with all the determination and strength that was in them.
Each meant to kill the other. It was obvious in the tenseness of Sir Harvey's face and the steel grey of his eyes, the grim determination of his chin. It was obvious in the expression on the Duke's face, which was one of violent and irrepressible anger.
But although he may have lost some advantage by his temper, he was the better swordsman of the two. He fought with a violence which Paolina knew only too well would show no mercy to a defeated enemy.
As they fought, small tables, priceless objets d’art, chairs with their carved cupids, and even the flower vases with their exotic contents were spilled over the floor. The sofa they thrust aside; the dining-table was pushed so violently against the wall that the gold-threaded tablecloth was caught by one of the duellists and everything on it was pulled to the floor. Orchids lay trampled amidst the broken crystal glasses and gold ornaments.
Paolina realized that there could only be one end to this fight. If the Duke were only wounded, he would somehow try to have Sir Harvey and herself apprehended and perhaps imprisoned. Only if the Duke were dead could they be free.
And yet even though she loathed him, she could not bring it on herself to wish the death of another fellow being. She almost cried out to the men to stop fighting. Was she worth such a fight? And yet she knew now that they were so intent on their battle that she, the reason for it, was half forgotten.
As their fighting grew fiercer and still more fierce, they ceased to speak. She could hear their breath coming gaspingly between their lips. It was then that the Duke began to fail. He was the older man of the two, he was heavier of build, and while Paolina had merely pecked at her dinner he had eaten heavily.
The sweat was running off his forehead and Sir Harvey saw his advantage. With a tremendous effort, because he himself was beginning to get fatigued, he circled round the Duke and while he was still striving to face the quick-moving Englishman. Sir Harvey made a sudden lunge at him.
The point of his sword passed through the Duke's coat and pierced his left breast. He staggered, dropped his sword, clapped his sword hand to the wound, and then collapsed slowly on to the floor.
Paolina ran forward.
"Is he dead?" she asked.
Blood was beginning to spread over the Duke's white coat. Sir Harvey bent down and pulled it off.
"Get me the table napkins," he said brusquely.
Paolina hurried to do his bidding. Sir Harvey tore off a portion of the Duke's shirt. She saw that the wound, while pouring blood, was not as low as she had at first thought. '
"Have you killed him?" she asked again.
Sir Harvey shook his head.
"Heavens, no," he answered. "He's unconscious from shock more than anything."
As he spoke he was making a pad of the napkins, staunching the wound with them and then bandaging the shoulder in a rough-and-ready manner which, at the same time, was singularly effective.
The Duke was still unconscious and Sir Harvey piled cushions behind him so that, though his legs were straight out before him, his body was almost upright. The cushions also supported his injured arm and shoulder so that by the time they had finished he looked comparatively comfortable.
"He is still unconscious," Paolina said, and added doubtfully, "You are quite sure that he is not dead? "
"Not he," Sir Harvey said. "It is really only a flesh wound. Had it been several inches lower, that would have been a different matter."
"We cannot leave him like this," Paolina said. "And anyway, the door is locked."
"We are going out the way I came in," Sir Harvey said briefly. "He will be quite all right until the morning. Cover him up with a rug or something. He will feel cold when he comes to."
They covered the Duke's legs. Then Sir Harvey sheathed his own sword and glanced round the room as if in search of something.
"What do you want? " Paolina asked. .. Something to keep you warm," he answered. .. Look, this will do."
As he spoke, he pulled from a side-table which had not been knocked over, a beautifully embroidered table cloth. It was edged with lace but otherwise was made of satin, richly embroidered with coloured silks inset with tiny precious stones. The flowers and orchids which were on the table crashed to the floor. Sir Harvey paid not the slightest heed to them.
" Put this round you," he said. draping it over Paolina's shoulders. "You have got a long drive ahead of you."
"A drive?" she queried.
"We cannot waste time in explanations," Sir Harvey answered. "Come along."
With hardly a backward look at the Duke who was beginning to moan and regain consciousness, he pulled aside the curtain through which he had entered. Then he drew Paolina out on to the small balcony. They were on the first floor and she saw that on this side of the house it was not very high. Yet, nevertheless, as she looked over the balcony, it was quite a drop into the darkness below.
"How are we going to get down?" he asked.
"The same way as, I got up," be answered. "You will fin a foothold amongst the wistaria."
With hands that were trembling and which were suddenly very cold, she grasped hold of the twisted stems of the wistaria and very gingerly tried to raise herself on to the edge of the balcony.
Sir Harvey settled the matter by picking her up in his arms and putting her over the edge.
"I have hold of you," he said. "Do not be frightened. Just find a place for your feet."
"Please, do not leave go of me," Paolina begged.
"It is all right," he said soothingly. "Now put your right hand lower than your left and your foot down at the same time."
Trembling so that she could scarcely do as he told her, Paotina somehow managed to obey. He was still holding her tightly round the waist and then he transferred his grip to her arms, and then, as she went lower, he gradually let go of her.
A moment later she found her foot was touching the ground and that she was none the worse for her climb save that her hands were roughened and her gown soiled.
She picked up the tablecloth. Which had fallen from her shoulders, and wrapped it round herself again. Sir Harvey was coming quickly down the wall. He reached her side and without a word hurried her into the shadow of some trees.
"Come along," he said. . "We do not want to be seen and caught at this juncture."
They started running through some shrubberies, moving so swiftly that more than once Paolina caught her foot in the root of a tree and would have fallen headlong if Sir Harvey's arm had not sustained her.
She felt her skirt catch on the brambles. She pulled it loose and hurried on. She was breathless and quite incapable of speech when, after nearly a quarter of an hour, they came through a small wood on to the road. In the moonlight Paolina could see a travelling carriage was waiting.
(Another instalment next week.)
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