Love and Apollo by Barbara Cartland Page A

so overland.”
    â€œWhat are you going to tell them about me?” Lady Rose enquired.
    â€œI am leaving that to Arthur,” the Marquis replied with a glance at the Duke.
    â€œI thought I would be left with all the dirty work to do, but I shall think of some good explanation!”
    â€œYou always had a most fertile mind and I cannot believe that it will fail you now.  The only really important thing is that no one must know that my wife is dead or that Rose and I are married.”
    â€œLeave it to me,” the Duke conceded flamboyantly, “and I would like to say that all this trouble you are putting me to is now adding up, in my opinion, to a very generous wedding present from me to the happy couple!”
    The Marquis chortled.
    â€œYou are quite right, Arthur.  Equally I shall expect something rather more concrete when we do return home to England, and, of course, we will come and stay with you as soon as we arrive.”
    â€œI shall be very offended if you go anywhere else,” smiled the Duke.
    It did not take them long to reach the little Church, which was in the Northern district of Athens and almost outside the City.
    When she stepped out of their carriage, Lady Rose looked a very lovely bride.
    Although, according to the Marquis, they were over twenty minutes late, the Priest was waiting for them,
    He was kneeling in prayer at the front of the altar.
    The Church was very small.
    The carved pews and the ancient windows made a picturesque background for the bride, as did the altar with six candles burning on it and seven silver lamps hanging over it.
    The moment he heard them enter the Church the Priest rose and stood waiting for them on the altar steps.
    When the bride and bridegroom were both standing in front of him, he started the service.
    Most of it was in Latin, but Valona understood the parts that were in Greek.
    There was no wedding ring for the Marquis to take from his Best Man, but Rose had tried out the Duke’s and the Marquis’s signet rings in the carriage.
    Actually the Duke’s fitted her much better than the one worn by the Marquis.
    â€œYou shall have it back soon, Arthur,” promised the Marquis, “as once we reach Alexandria, I shall find a good jeweller where I can buy Rose her own wedding ring.”
    Watching the wedding, Valona felt that the service was very beautiful.
    The happiness of the bride and bridegroom seemed to vibrate through the whole Church and she could feel it filling the air around her and moving upwards as if towards Heaven.
    It was a happiness, she thought, that she had always wished for herself when she married.
    But it was something she would now never know.
    Then she told herself she was being selfish.
    She prayed fervently that Rose would be as happy for the rest of her life as she was at this very moment.
    When the bridal couple knelt down for the Priest’s blessing, Valona felt as if a light from Heaven was shining on them.
    It seemed impossible for their marriage ever to fail them.
    When the service finished, the bride and bridegroom thanked the Priest and the Duke and Valona shook him by the hand.
    The Duke passed him the envelope that the Marquis had given him in the carriage – a very substantial donation to his Church for which the old Priest was most grateful.
    Then, as they walked out, there was another carriage waiting beside the one in which they had arrived.
    â€œRose and I are now going straight to our ship,” the Marquis told them. “I am anxious to be aboard before the passengers who are exploring the town return.”
    He smiled before he added,
    â€œI can only thank both of you, Arthur and Valona, for making this the most perfect day of my whole life which I shall always remember.”
    â€œI am not going to wish you every happiness,” the Duke replied, “because I think you have it already.  Let me know, if you can, where you are and what you are doing.  I shall