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Authors: Barbara Cartland
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who would be attracted to her and of realising after a while that they were prepared to give each other their hearts.
She had thought it over so often at school and as she had grown older it had become part of her dreams.
It was what she had looked forward to and she was definitely entitled to it.
Yet one man by one stupid selfish action had taken all this from her.
âHow can I do anything but hate him for what he has done to me?â she asked herself late that night when she went upstairs to bed.
She was standing at the window looking out at the moonlight shining on the garden outside and the stars coming out over the trees.
She thought if there were a young and handsome man below looking up at her, she would smile at him.
He would beg her to come down and walk with him in the moonlight and she would know that she ought not to.
But it would be so exciting and romantic.
Now the garden was empty and the moonlight just threw shadows onto the lawn.
âThis will never happen to me,â she whispered.
Pulling the curtains she walked across the room to the bed and, as she climbed in, she blew out the candles.
Then she closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep.
She was thinking once again of the man who might have been outside looking up at her window.
He would be standing there because he loved her.
Because he would want her eventually as his wife.
But now she did not even have the happiness of imagining or dreaming such a scenario might happen.
In ten days time she would be married to a man who loved another woman or rather perhaps, other women.
But one thing was for certain, he did not love her .
CHAPTER FOUR
The Duke of Rockinston travelled to Scotland in his yacht.
He had found that trains became slower and more unreliable the further North they went.
As he was in a great hurry he knew it was much more sensible for him to go by sea.
His yacht was a new toy he was delighted with. It boasted the latest modern improvements and gadgets.
He was already well aware that at Cowes his yacht would be superlative amongst all the others.
On the way North he had spent most of the time on the bridge with his Captain, as he always liked to direct the yacht himself.
It was appropriately named The Thistle because he was very proud of his Scottish blood.
His mother was a Scot and when she was widowed and handed over Rockinston Hall to her son, she moved up to Rockinston Castle in Scotland.
She always declared that when he was married, she would leave The Castle, which was now his.
There was a superb Dower House on the Scottish estate, or she could go to where her own clan was based.
At the moment she was in Rockinston Castle situated on the borders of Sutherland and Caithness.
It had been in the Rockinston family for over three hundred years and Rock loved it almost as much as he loved his house in England.
Certainly the grouse shooting was very good and the number of salmon he caught in the Brora rivalled every other river nearby.
The Thistle entered the bay by Rockinston Castle early in the morning and Rock thought nothing could look more beautiful than all the towers and turrets silhouetted against the moors behind them.
It had taken three days sailing to reach The Castle.
Rock calculated he could not spend long with his mother before he would have to return for his wedding.
He had been ruminating about his marriage all the time he was sailing North.
He had found it difficult to sleep at night, especially as they did not stop each night and anchor in a quiet bay as was usual.
He had told the Captain it was â full steam aheadâ all the way, but with the engine pounding beneath him it was impossible to escape his thoughts.
He could easily visualise how the announcement in The Gazette that he was to marry the daughter of the Duke of Lynbrook would astonish his friends.
Especially those in Mayfair.
They would know by now how furious the Earl of Darran was with him and his angry threats
She had thought it over so often at school and as she had grown older it had become part of her dreams.
It was what she had looked forward to and she was definitely entitled to it.
Yet one man by one stupid selfish action had taken all this from her.
âHow can I do anything but hate him for what he has done to me?â she asked herself late that night when she went upstairs to bed.
She was standing at the window looking out at the moonlight shining on the garden outside and the stars coming out over the trees.
She thought if there were a young and handsome man below looking up at her, she would smile at him.
He would beg her to come down and walk with him in the moonlight and she would know that she ought not to.
But it would be so exciting and romantic.
Now the garden was empty and the moonlight just threw shadows onto the lawn.
âThis will never happen to me,â she whispered.
Pulling the curtains she walked across the room to the bed and, as she climbed in, she blew out the candles.
Then she closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep.
She was thinking once again of the man who might have been outside looking up at her window.
He would be standing there because he loved her.
Because he would want her eventually as his wife.
But now she did not even have the happiness of imagining or dreaming such a scenario might happen.
In ten days time she would be married to a man who loved another woman or rather perhaps, other women.
But one thing was for certain, he did not love her .
CHAPTER FOUR
The Duke of Rockinston travelled to Scotland in his yacht.
He had found that trains became slower and more unreliable the further North they went.
As he was in a great hurry he knew it was much more sensible for him to go by sea.
His yacht was a new toy he was delighted with. It boasted the latest modern improvements and gadgets.
He was already well aware that at Cowes his yacht would be superlative amongst all the others.
On the way North he had spent most of the time on the bridge with his Captain, as he always liked to direct the yacht himself.
It was appropriately named The Thistle because he was very proud of his Scottish blood.
His mother was a Scot and when she was widowed and handed over Rockinston Hall to her son, she moved up to Rockinston Castle in Scotland.
She always declared that when he was married, she would leave The Castle, which was now his.
There was a superb Dower House on the Scottish estate, or she could go to where her own clan was based.
At the moment she was in Rockinston Castle situated on the borders of Sutherland and Caithness.
It had been in the Rockinston family for over three hundred years and Rock loved it almost as much as he loved his house in England.
Certainly the grouse shooting was very good and the number of salmon he caught in the Brora rivalled every other river nearby.
The Thistle entered the bay by Rockinston Castle early in the morning and Rock thought nothing could look more beautiful than all the towers and turrets silhouetted against the moors behind them.
It had taken three days sailing to reach The Castle.
Rock calculated he could not spend long with his mother before he would have to return for his wedding.
He had been ruminating about his marriage all the time he was sailing North.
He had found it difficult to sleep at night, especially as they did not stop each night and anchor in a quiet bay as was usual.
He had told the Captain it was â full steam aheadâ all the way, but with the engine pounding beneath him it was impossible to escape his thoughts.
He could easily visualise how the announcement in The Gazette that he was to marry the daughter of the Duke of Lynbrook would astonish his friends.
Especially those in Mayfair.
They would know by now how furious the Earl of Darran was with him and his angry threats
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