The Rising Storm

him yourself if you wish.'

'If you are yourself convinced upon the matter, that is enough. I will take you away immediately I have completed my arrangements. What, though, of the interim? I had been counting, if pushed to it by dire necessity, on hiding you in Madrid till we could start; but Aranjuez is too small a place to offer any concealment, and the moment you leave your husband a hue and cry will break out. Can you yet guard yourself for a few days?'

'I trust so. I have put myself on a most careful diet, and I doubt if Diego's sombre thoughts will actually key him up to an attempt until he is driven desperate by Lady Etheredge announcing her intention to return home.'

'Even so, I shall be anxious for you every moment until we can get away. But once we are in England I swear I will do my utmost to make you happy.'

'Life will be far from easy for us,' she murmured. 'Diego is a good Catholic and has much influence with the Church; so I am in hopes that he will succeed in putting me from him after a time. But now that I have borne him a child the easiest means of securing an annulment are barred to him.'

'Let us not think of that. The essential thing is to place you beyond reach of danger as swiftly as possible. Tell me; do you regard it as essential to take Quetzal and Maria with us ?'

'Naturally I would wish to do so. But in that I am in your hands, my love. 'Tis for you to decide if I may.'

'I should be most loath to deprive you of them. 'Tis bad enough that you should be forced to abandon your infant.'

She shook her head. 'I have not had it long enough to acquire a mother's fondness for the poor little thing; and the fact that it is Diego's instead of yours has put a check upon the warmth of the feeling which I would normally have for it. My mother and father were at the castle for its birth. She, I know, will give it the tenderest care, unless Diego decides that one of his sisters shall bring it up, and both of them are kindly women.'

'That, at least, is a comfort,' Roger agreed. 'The difficulty about our taking Maria and the boy lies in the long journey we must make over bad roads before we can reach a port; and I am much perturbed by it. Your disappearance and mine cannot possibly be concealed for more than a few hours, and in such a small place as Aranjuez everyone will swiftly learn of our going. Whether Don Diego has any genuine desire to reclaim you or nay, 'tis certain that, regarding his honour as touched, he will feel compelled to set off in pursuit; so unless we leave on fast horses and without encumbrances of any kind I greatly fear we shall be overtaken.'

'My clever love, you are right in that; and, knowing in my heart that you would not fail to come for me, 'tis a matter that I have been pondering over ever since I wrote my letter to you.'

'Have you then devised some plan?' Roger asked with quick interest.

'Yes. 'Tis to get my husband sent away on a mission, so that once he has left Aranjuez we will have a clear field.'

'The idea is an excellent one, but are you in any position to carry it out ? I gather you have been here only four days, so can know hardly anyone at Court'

'I was here for a fortnight before going to the castle to have my child, and during that time made at least one powerful friend. I took special pains to cultivate the Queen's favourite, Manuel Godoy.'

'I was informed that he played no part in State affairs, and that all such matters still lay in the hands of Count Florida Blanca.'

'That is true in the main, but may not continue to be so for long.' Isabella leaned towards him intently. 'This is the present situation. Florida Blanca ousted my father from office sixteen years ago and remained supreme in the Councils of Carlos III until die late King's death; but since the opening of the new reign his position has been by no means so secure. My father, both during his long Ambassadorship in Paris and since his retirement, has always remained the leader of a powerful Opposition. He and Godoy have now formed a secret alliance to oust Florida Blanca.'

Her mouth twitched in a subtle smile, as she went on: 'The mission I have in mind is one to France. Their Majesties have for some time been contemplating sending a special envoy there to consult with Louis XVI. As members of his family they are naturally much con­cerned by the weakening of his power, and are anxious to do anything they can to infuse new strength into the French monarchy. Florida Blanca maintains that all that can be done is already being done by our Ambassador, Count Fernanunez. The Queen, on the other hand, favours sending one of our great nobles to reinforce him. My father was suggested, but he is set upon remaining here, so that should

Florida Blanca make a false step he will be at hand to take advantage of it. But my father and Godoy are anxious that whoever is sent to Paris should be pledged to their interests; and Diego possesses all the neces­sary qualifications. I suggested him to my father, and having obtained his consent put the idea to Manuel Godoy three evenings ago. He thought it admirable, and is at present working on the Queen with that in view.'

Roger looked at her a shade apprehensively. 'But if they settle upon Don Diego for this task, would not you, as his wife, have to go with him?'

'Normally I should be expected to do so; but not in my present circumstances. My recent delivery, and the care so young a child still requires, will serve as an admirable excuse for me to remain behind, for a few weeks at least. And I should give out that I intended to follow him later.'

'What view does Don Diego take of this proposal?'

'As yet he is unaware of it. I asked Godoy to make no mention of it to him. I said that should the matter be settled favourably I would like to tell him of it myself, as it is a considerable honour and would prove a pleasant surprise. The truth is I feared that, did he become aware of what was afoot before the Queen's choice was fixed, he would seek to oppose the plan on account of its separating him from Lady Etheredge.'

'Think you, should he be nominated, that he will go without protest?'

'If 'tis the King's order he will not dream of questioning it. No Hidalgo of Spain would even contemplate refusing a mission from his Sovereign.' Isabella was smiling a little grimly as she spoke, but after a moment she added with less confidence: 'We can count on nothing yet, though. Everything still hangs upon Godoy persuading the Queen of Diego's suitability for the mission.'

'I would that I could forward this excellent project in some way,' Roger said, with a thoughtful smile. 'Tonight, you, I and Don Diego are to have audience of Their Majesties while I recount to them some­thing of my experiences in France. It is just possible that the question of sending a special envoy to Paris may crop up then.'

Isabella's dark eyes sparkled. 'You are right. A word in season is just what is required to decide the Queen, and this may prove the very opportunity to speak it Could you insert into your discourse some mention of the high regard in which King Louis and Madame Marie Antoinette still hold the d'Aranda, and how they still speak with affection of both him and myself, I pray you, as you love me, do not neglect the chance.'

'On the contrary, I shall seize upon it,' Roger assured her quickly.

'And I am filled with admiration for the way in which you, my own, have thought this out and paved the way so skilfully. Should your clever plan succeed, we'll be spared all the nerve-racking anxiety of a pursued elopement. About mid-May you could announce that you felt your child strong enough to permit of your following your husband, and set out with Maria, Quetzal and a whole coach-load of luggage. I would leave a few days in advance of you, and in a different direction, so that none of Don Diego's relatives could form the least suspicion that there was any connection between our departures. Then we would meet at a pre­arranged rendezvous, make our way to Lisbon and be safe aboard a ship before our elopement was even guessed at. Oh, what a blessed relief it will be if only things are made so easy for us!'

Simultaneously, they sighed in happy anticipation of such a fortu­nate solution to their difficulties and slid once more into one another's arms.

Nearly three hours later they were still embraced, when there came a discreet knock on the door. They had no idea that the time had passed so swiftly, but it was Georgina who had come to warn them that they ought not to linger for much longer.

When she joined them a few minutes later, Isabella thanked her with special warmth for having arranged the rendezvous, and it was only then that Roger learned how fraught with difficulties their intrigue would have been without her. For it transpired that although Isabella was married, as she was under thirty Spanish etiquette still required that she should have a duenna, and she was never allowed to go outside the grounds of her house without being accompanied by this dragon.

Before Isabella left them she told Roger that she had suggested to her husband that he should dine with them that evening, as the three of them could then go on afterwards to the Palace together; so he would find a