Read Online Love and Apollo by Barbara Cartland - Free Book Online

she had apparently learnt most about life from her books.
    Yet she undoubtedly had the human touch.
    â€˜It must surely come from her father and mother,’ the Duke mused.  ‘Equally it is most unusual in someone so young.’
    He thought that even the Queen might be impressed with Valona.  It would be amusing when she returned home to take Valona to Windsor Castle and hear afterwards what she thought of the Queen and her Court.
    It was after they had sailed away from Naples that Valona became particularly excited.
    â€œI think,” she insisted, “from what I have read that Venice must be the most romantic City in the whole wide world.”
    To be argumentative the Duke challenged her,
    â€œYou will have to wait until you have visited some parts of India, China and Japan before you can make such a sweeping statement – incidentally the Pyramids of Egypt are not far away.”
    â€œNow you are being unkind to me, as you know I shall never have a chance of going to those places.”
    She paused for a moment before saying,
    â€œOf course, I may be disappointed in Venice, but I cannot believe that will happen.”
    â€œThe only answer is to see it, Valona, for yourself!”
    *
    They reached Venice the next morning and they all disembarked after breakfast.
    They were carried by the battleship’s skiff into the Grand Canal itself and stopped whilst the Duke engaged a gondola.
    Venice was even lovelier and much more beautiful than Valona could ever have anticipated.
    She was thrilled by the Piazza San Marco with its fluttering pigeons and sincerely impressed by the Doge’s Palace with its carved heads of allegorical figures.
    The Sansovino Library completed in 1591 made her want to spend a month in it.
    Their gondola rowed them down the Grand Canal and Valona was strangely silent until the Duke asked,
    â€œWhat has happened to you?  After all that talk, are you disappointed at what you see before you?”
    â€œI am just making sure that everything I am seeing is all true and will not disappear after a few seconds!”
    They both laughed and she realised that they were managing to keep Lady Rose’s spirits considerably higher than they usually were.
    There were no messages waiting for the Marquis at the Consulate, however, they had already learnt when they were at Naples that his horse had been second in the race.
    â€œWhat are you expecting to hear about at this port of call?” asked the Duke.
    â€œOh, nothing of importance.  There is another race in which I have entered two of my horses on Saturday, but I don’t expect either of them to win.  It’s just good practice for them.”
    â€œI would like you to have a look at my horses when I return to England,” suggested the Duke, “and I hope you will come down to Newmarket with me.”
    He realised as he spoke that his sister gave a little quiver – she was very obviously thinking that while Gerald could do so, she would be far away.
    He had not intended to be tactless and he quickly began to talk of something else.
    At the same time he was very conscious that they were sailing nearer and nearer to Larissa and the dreadful moment would come when Rose and Gerald would have to say goodbye to each other for ever.
    The Duke’s family had urged him to find himself a bride time after time.
    He did know that at some point in the future he would have to provide an heir to his illustrious title.
    But what he had seen of Gerald and Rose’s agony made him feel that marriage was almost too much of a risk to take.
    Supposing he did fall in love with some girl in the future and his marriage to her turned out to be as appalling for him as it was for Gerald?
    The woman he chose might not be mad, but she might be unfaithful.
    Or after they had been married she might become in some way repulsive so that he could not bear to touch her.
    There were so many things that might destroy a