Free Love and Apollo by Barbara Cartland Page B

on the last words as if the agony was still with her.
    Again there was silence until Valona replied,
    â€œ I will do it .  But I am very frightened that I may do something wrong and you will all be angry with me.”
    â€œWe would never be angry with you, as you have been so kind,” said the Marquis.  “And I promise you that Rose and I will do anything in the future that you ask of us, because we can only be together if you say ‘yes’.”
    â€œThen I will try my best,” Valona answered him in a small scared voice.
    He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it.
    â€œI can only say thank you, Valona, from the bottom of my heart.  Now we have to move quickly because Rose and I are leaving on a passenger ship to Alexandria.”
    Rose looked at him with starry eyes, but she did not speak.
    â€œI have booked the very best cabins available in the name of Mr. and Mrs. Sharm – my passport is being altered at this moment.”
    â€œHow on earth did you manage to do that, Gerald?” the Duke enquired.
    â€œQuite easily as it happens.  I have always been told that there are men standing outside Embassies who will sell you a passport if you pay enough for it.”
    â€œDid you find one?” the Duke asked in a voice that was almost incredulous.
    â€œI found a man who is ingenious enough to alter the name on my passport and it is not actually so very difficult.  Now Mr. Sharm will be travelling with his wife, whilst the Marquis of Dorsham was alone!”
    The Duke laughed.
    â€œI do congratulate you, Gerald, you have thought of everything.”
    â€œWhat I am concerned most with at the moment is boarding that ship and disappearing.  As I have said, we are going to have a very long honeymoon.”
    He saw the radiant excitement in Rose’s eyes and went on,
    â€œWhen we do finally return home it will seem quite natural to all my relations and friends that I have remarried and what could be more appropriate than that my new wife should be your sister, Arthur?”
    â€œI am perfectly prepared to give you my blessing,” the Duke admitted.  “I can only hope that things go off as smoothly as you expect, but you are leaving us in rather a mess and I suppose we should be angry with you.”
    â€œWe have left you with a most suitable Queen for King Phidias who, as I understand it, is in no position to complain,” retorted the Marquis.
    The Duke laughed.
    â€œYou have an answer for everything.  Valona and I will come and witness your wedding and just hope that we shall not get into trouble over it in the future.”
    â€œOf course I want you for my Best Man, Arthur.”
    â€œAnd I want dearest Valona to support me,” Lady Rose exclaimed.
    â€œThen put on your hats and coats at once as I have a carriage waiting for us on the quay,” urged the Marquis.
    The two girls rose to their feet.
    As they did so, the Duke enquired,
    â€œBy the way is it legal for you to be married in a Greek Orthodox Church even though you are not a member of that Church?”
    The Marquis smiled.
    â€œYou have just said that I always have an answer for everything, Arthur, so I even have an answer for that too!”
    The Duke did not say anything, but waited for the Marquis’s response.
    â€œAs I have explained to you, the old Priest will ask no questions.  We shall be married by him, we feel sure, in the eyes of God and to make it absolutely legal, we shall be married again at our first port of call in a Protestant Church or perhaps even by the Captain of the battleship.”
    The Duke laughed.
    â€œYou win, Gerald, as you always do!”
    â€œThus Rose will be tied to me first by the Orthodox Priest, for better or for worse, and for ever!”
    â€œWhich is the most wonderful thing that could ever happen to me,” Rose murmured in a rapturous voice.
    She looked up at the Marquis as she spoke and she knew by the