Rivals for Love by Barbara Cartland Read Free Book Online

declared Elva enthusiastically.
    She smiled before she added,
    â€œJust as I know I shall love visiting St. Petersburg and helping you discover everything you want to know about Russian intentions in the Black Sea.”
    Lady Violet stretched out her hands.
    â€œStop! Stop!” she called. “You are going too fast. I just cannot believe that either of you think this ridiculous idea is feasible. How can you, Varin, possibly arrive in St. Petersburg with your wife when no one knows you are married?”
    â€œBut no one in England knows I am going to St. Petersburg,” retorted the Duke. “And I do not suppose they will know in Russia if I am married or not.”
    He paused for a moment.
    â€œWhat I have actually organised with the Prime Minister is that I will travel by sea in my yacht to the Gulf of Finland, and when I arrive I will ask for the privilege of conveying to the Empress a message of goodwill from the King of England.”
    â€œWhat will that be?” asked Lady Violet.
    â€œI think from what I have just gathered that His Majesty should be pleased that the war with Sweden has come to an end. It was in many ways interfering with our shipping in the North Sea.”
    Lady Violet nodded as if she thought this at least was a good idea.
    Then she said,
    â€œAre you really prepared to look after and, I must say, control Elva? She knows that I love her very much, but she is very impulsive and she has an obsession that she must travel the world. I am only frightened that when you reach Russia, you will find her persuading you to go down to the Black Sea or to join in the Turkish war!”
    â€œI promise you she will do none of those things as long as she is with me,” asserted the Duke. “She has also assured me that if I do take her she will do exactly what I tell her.”
    Lady Violet glanced at Elva as if she thought this was most unlikely.
    But Elva came in quickly,
    â€œI promise, I swear I will keep my promise. Oh, please, Aunt Violet, do let me go! I will never again have the chance of going to Russia, for I am sure Papa will only be interested in travelling to European countries.”
    â€œThe whole idea is just completely and absolutely mad,” insisted Lady Violet. “But if, Varin, you really do believe this will help you and Elva promises to behave herself, it would at least save you from what I feel might become an exceedingly uncomfortable situation when you reach St. Petersburg.”
    She spoke a little hesitatingly.
    She considered it regrettable that Elva should have overheard everything she was telling the Duke privately about the Empress and her lovers.
    But now that Elva had indeed listened in, there was nothing she could do about it.
    She could only be thankful that the Duke would not be finding himself in a completely impossible position, such as she happened to know other men had experienced when they visited Russia.
    She had fortunately not said as much as she might have done about the Empress’s obsession for young men.
    Everyone in St. Petersburg was gossiping about her behaviour. There were jokes about her and just before she and Edward left the City, one of her friends had told her that Prince Potemkin was returning to St. Petersburg.
    He was most distressed and upset by Catherine’s obsession for Platon Zubov.
    In the Russian language zubov is the word for tooth and according to Lady Violet’s friend, Potemkin had written to the Empress telling her he was returning as soon as possible to see her and ‘extract a painful tooth’!
    The Empress apparently ignored the pun, but had not believed it was possible for him to leave the Army at such a crucial time.
    Yet Lady Violet did consider, however successful Potemkin was in Kiev and the Crimea, that he would have no wish to lose the Empress and there was no doubt in the Palace that Zubov had a far greater hold over the Empress than any of his predecessors.
    She had been silent