104. A Heart Finds Love by Barbara Cartland

the number of mirrors in my cabin, while the others have to be content with one or two at the most.”
    She did not notice the twinkle in the Duke’s eye as he commented,
    “It is a perfect beginning for anyone as beautiful as you. I feel the owner of this yacht must have been thinking of you when he decorated it!”
    “As I have never met him, that is an easy thing to say,” Alnina replied. “I am very happy to be in such a lovely cabin on such an exciting journey.”
    “I will drink to that,” William came in, “but I don’t want it to be too exciting. I have been thinking of what you told us at luncheon and I am only hoping that we will not have to use John’s revolver to protect ourselves.”
    “I think we are safe for a while,” the Duke replied. “At the same time I cannot be sure, if the Russians go on infiltrating into Asia as they are doing at the moment.”
    *
    The next day, when breakfast was over, the Duke said that they should start their lessons, but Alnina must forgive him, he added, if he became so bored that he went away in the middle of them.
    “I will try not to bore you,” Alnina answered him. “But you will be far more bored when we reach Tiflis and William and I chatter away with everyone we meet while you have to remain silent.”
    “Now you are bullying me,” the Duke complained. “All right, I will try to speak the abominable language, but I will be extremely hostile if I fail!”
    William laughed and teased him.
    But they sat down in the Saloon and Alnina began their lesson.
    She realised that it would definitely be a mistake for the Duke to be bored, so she concentrated on teaching them as quickly as possible the way a sentence was formed in Russian.
    Then she told them very simple children’s stories, which they had to translate from English into Russian.
    They looked up the words they would require in a dictionary. It was the way Alnina had learnt herself which she had found amusing.
    She was sure that was what the men would want, rather than just listening to what she said.
    At the end of two hours they had certainly made no complaint. They merely thanked her and the Duke then went on deck for some fresh air.
    It was what Alnina enjoyed herself for the rest of the afternoon, watching the waves breaking against the bow of the yacht.
    When they reached the Bay of Biscay, she was so delighted to find that she was a good sailor, although at one time the sea was very rough.
    At dinner the two men drank champagne and vied with each other in telling Alnina elaborate stories of ships at sea.
    They tried to make her flesh creep and told her how in a storm a ship could be shattered on the rocks however strong it appeared to be.
    “I refuse to let you scare me,” she insisted. “It has been a long and interesting day and I am going to bed.
    She smiled at both of them and added,
    “Thank you, thank you so much for bringing me on this thrilling adventure. Whatever happens in the future, I will always remember it.”
    She walked towards the door as she spoke and, when she reached it, she turned and blew a kiss, first to William and then to the Duke.
    “Good night and do sleep well,” she said, “and be ready for lesson number two in the morning!”
    When she had gone, the Duke poured himself out another drink.
    “She is certainly a find,” he said. “We might have searched England from top to toe without finding anyone so intelligent or indeed so beautiful.”
    “You will certainly be complimented on your wife if nothing else,” William remarked. “Equally be careful, because that Prince is undoubtedly a nosy-parker. If he suspects for one moment you are deceiving him, I hate to think what your punishment would be.”
    “So do I,” the Duke agreed. “After what Alnina told us about the Tiflians, I am really quite nervous about going there.”
    “I expect that they have settled down and are now enjoying peace and plenty instead of killing each other.”
    “That is true, but