Paradise In Penang. Barbara Cartland
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other two guests were elderly and they left soon after dinner.
Maisie and Lord Selwyn had sat talking in the glamorous and comfortable sitting room until midnight.
If it had happened with any other woman, Lord Selwyn would have known just where he stood and what was expected of him.
But with Maisie he felt somewhat unsure of himself.
He felt that if he suggested that he should become her lover, she would be extremely shocked. She might refuse to see him again and that was definitely something that he did not want.
Equally he was perceptively aware of what she did want and was afraid of being trapped.
‘I have no intention of marrying anybody,’ he told himself firmly as he drove home.
He kissed Maisie’s hand when he had said ‘goodbye’.
She raised her baby face to his.
Something cautious in his mind told him that if he then kissed her lips she would take it as being a proposal of marriage.
*
He was almost relieved on the next day to be asked by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to go to Paris on a special mission.
Because he was extremely clever and perceptive, Lord Selwyn was often required to step in where the regular Diplomats had failed.
He was invariably successful and was therefore asked again and again to undertake what others had failed to achieve.
Usually the whole thing amused him and he much enjoyed pitting his wits against men who were renowned for their astute brains.
One of his greatest assets was that he spoke most European languages fluently.
He had recently spent some time in Austria, in Rome and now he was in Paris.
On each occasion he had returned triumphant and Lord Clarendon had declared,
“I cannot think what I would do without you, Selwyn! I suppose you realise that instead of wasting your time with a lot of brainless women you could be sitting in my chair?”
Lord Selwyn held up his hand in horror.
“God forbid! I have no wish to involve myself in Politics and I carry out your missions simply because I enjoy the challenge and succeeding is always an adequate reward.”
Owing to Maisie he had not enjoyed this last one as much as he might have expected.
He was unable to respond to the eroticism that was an integral part of Paris.
He found himself continually thinking that Maisie was pure and untouched and one day a man would awaken her to the joys of love, but it was obvious to him that she would not wait for ever.
Lord Selwyn was well aware that he had only to say the words and she would be in his arms.
He would be kissing her lips, which he was almost sure had never been kissed.
The question was could he bring himself to say the magic words that she longed to hear?
“Abracadabra! Will you be my wife?”
It was almost like appearing in a play where he was cast as the hero.
But the price he would have to pay for the hand of the Princess was a very high one, his freedom.
Finally he made up his mind.
He had never before met anyone he wanted to marry. Was it possible that he would find anyone more suitable?
Of course, like many other men, he wanted a woman who had never known another man before him.
He could not for a second contemplate marrying a promiscuous woman and have her be the mother of his children.
Lord Selwyn had sometimes felt ashamed when he had made love to another man’s wife who had sons and daughters by him.
He did not put it into words, but something idealistic within him felt that she degraded her womanhood.
At the same time how could he contemplate being married to a debutante of eighteen?
She would have been educated by Governesses, who would know little more than she did herself.
Maisie had not been able to travel while she was tending to her sick husband, but at least she could have read books and Lord Selwyn knew well that the library at Brambury Hall was very extensive.
‘I will take her to the places that she has only read about,’ he told himself. ‘I will take her to Notre Dame in Paris, the Colosseum in Rome, the Parthenon in Athens and the Pyramids in Egypt.’
He was sure, although he had never discussed it with her, that she would appreciate them as much as he did.
Perhaps she would find in all the places she visited, as he had, a deeper meaning of life that was really spiritual.
It was something that the average tourist would miss entirely.
Lord Selwyn prided himself that, like the Chinese, he was able to look at the World Behind the World.
‘I will see her tomorrow,’ he thought and a smile came to his lips.
It was no use denying the reason for his hurrying, it was why he had found Paris cold, dull and a repetition of the obvious.
Why was he so restless?
Maisie! Maisie!
He thought that he could now see her everywhere he looked and hear her voice whenever he stopped and listened.
The carriage came to a standstill outside his front door.
“Thank you for bringing me home,” he said to the French Diplomat in his own language. “I am extremely grateful.”
“It is always a great pleasure to see you, monsieur,” the Diplomat replied, “and I am one of your greatest admirers.”
Lord Selwyn laughed.
He walked into the house and the butler looked at him in surprise.
“We weren’t expecting your Lordship back so soon!” he exclaimed.
“I know, Barker,” Lord Selwyn answered, “and I did not have time to let Mr. Stevens know. I suppose the chef can provide me with something to eat at this late hour?”
“Of course, my Lord, and it’s a real pleasure to have your Lordship back with us.”
Lord Selwyn then walked into the library.
Because he liked to have his books around him, he kept his writing desk at one end of the room.
As he expected, the desk was piled with correspondence all neatly arranged for him.
He saw at once that there was a huge amount of work waiting to be done.
He was debating with himself if he should visit Maisie tonight or wait until tomorrow.
He then decided that it would be a mistake for him to rush anything of this importance.
In any case she would undoubtedly have a party or some other engagement this evening.
He would only upset her arrangements for the evening if he appeared unexpectedly at her house.
‘I will send her a note first thing in the morning,’ he then decided, ‘asking if we can dine alone. She will know exactly what to expect.’
He was thinking about what flowers to order to decorate the table when his secretary, Mr. Stevens, came into the room.
“This is a pleasant surprise, my Lord,” he exclaimed.
“I finished what I had to do sooner than I expected,” Lord Selwyn explained briefly.
As he spoke, a footman appeared with an open bottle of champagne in a wine