A Princess in Distress by Barbara Cartland

Author:Barbara Cartland
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781788670777
Publisher: Barbara Cartland Ebooks Ltd
Published: 2018-06-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

Josef came into the sitting room where Mariska was waiting.

“His Royal Highness is asleep, Princess.”

“You are quite certain he will not want me, Josef?”

“No, Your Royal Highness. The doctor’s treatment today was very strenuous.”

He paused and sighed before he carried on,

“But I’m afraid, Your Royal Highness, it’ll do little good.”

“I think we are both aware of that, Josef,” Mariska replied. “At the same time as long as His Royal Highness believes it is helping him, it is essential that he should continue with it.”

The servant looked at her with understanding in his eyes. He knew better than anyone else that if Prince Friederich was not kept occupied by treatments, by consultations with doctors and by drinking the Spa waters his rages would increase.

The two people who would suffer most would be the Princess and himself.

Josef never spoke to anyone of the injuries he received when he was dressing the Prince or getting him to bed when he was too drunk to know what he was doing.

But despite the fact that he was not very tall Josef was an exceedingly strong man. He had grown adept at avoiding blows aimed at his head and in keeping out of the way when the Prince tried to strike him in the chest.

The fact was that Prince Friederich, drunk or sober, was astute enough to realise that he could not do without Josef’s services.

Despite the fact that he was a bully he respected courage and his servant’s refusal to kowtow to him.

Where Mariska was concerned it was a different thing.

She was a woman and as such should be humble and subservient and, Prince Friederich thought savagely, penitent. It was because he had married her that he was crippled.

“If you are quite sure that His Royal Highness will not miss me,” Mariska said in a low voice, “I will visit the Duchesse.”

Josef glanced at the clock.

“If you're back by five o'clock, Your Royal Highness, when I prepare tea, that’ll be in plenty of time.”

Mariska smiled at him and went from the room.

Today she felt happy despite the fact that Friederich had been very rude and disagreeable at luncheon.

For the first time his insults and barbed words did not seem to hurt her and she thought that in some way she was still in the magical world on the other side of the mist.

While Prince Friederich was having his treatment after they had visited the Colonnade, she did not read but had sat in the ugly, austere waiting room seeing only the shimmering water of the lake beneath her and Lord Arkley’s eyes looking into hers.

It seemed impossible that she had been able to talk to him in a way that she had never been able to talk to anyone let alone a man.

Tomorrow she was to ride with him again and she knew that, whatever he might say about living for today she was living until she could ride beside him and know that they were alone and enchanted.

She reached the Duchesse’s suite and when the maid opened the door she knew with delight that the Duchesse was alone.

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