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.”“So am I, but he has always been the same ever since we were at school together.”He paused as if he was looking back into the past.“He used to make up his mind on something,” he went on, “and invariably, because he was so determined, it came true.”“Then I hope he will not be disappointed now.”“I feel the same,” William replied, “but between ourselves I think this time it’s a hundred to one chance of realising his dreams.”“Oh, you must not say that! He will be terribly disappointed and we want him to be happy.”William grinned.“I have never seen him as happy as he is at this moment.So we must just pray that the whole plot will not be a complete delusion.”“I already pray for that every night,” Alnina said.“And I am hoping that everything will work out right and the Prince will let him have the mountain at a good price.”“Well, as far as I am concerned,” William said, “I have enjoyed this voyage more than anything I have ever enjoyed before – and it is entirely due to you.”Alnina smiled at him.“You are coming along really beautifully with your Russian,” she said, “but John is so impatient with himself, which is a mistake when it comes to learning languages.”“Well, at least we can now thank people politely and if we are stranded on a remote island where everyone speaks Russian, we can at least ask for something to eat.”“That is true and actually you have both been very quick in picking up what is a most difficult language.”“I only hope I don’t have to converse with people at dinner or make a speech.Otherwise I think I will be able to cope with day to day affairs.”“I deliberately taught you that part first,” Alnina said, “because it is essential to be able to get yourself from place to place or buy food.The more conversational words can wait, but the ones I have just mentioned cannot.”“You have been wonderful, Alnina.I have never met a better teacher.If, as I said, we are stranded on a remote island, at least we will not starve.”When they came within sight of the Greek Islands, Alnina was permanently on deck running from one side of the yacht to the other so that she should not miss anything.They anchored at night in quiet bays and every day seemed to Alnina to be more and more electrifying.When finally they were about to leave the Sea of Marmara, she held her breath in case something should go wrong and they would not reach their destination, which the Duke had told her was the far end of the Black Sea.She could not help feeling a little wistful as they were passing Constantinople, as she had always wanted to see that City which she had read so much about.She had always been interested in the Sultans who succeeded each other and their harems grew bigger and bigger as each new Sultan tried to outdo the last one.But she knew that it was useless to ask the Duke if he would stop even for a short visit to the City.She therefore contented herself with viewing what she could with a pair of the Captain’s binoculars.Then at last they passed through the Bosporus and into the Black Sea.Now the Duke was talking excitedly of what would happen when they arrived.He had of course written to Prince Vladimir to say that he was coming and he also said that he was bringing with him his wife and a great friend, William Armstrong.He wrote,“I am greatly looking forward to seeing Your Royal Highness again and I remember so well how beautiful the mountains looked when I last saw them from the Palace.”When he read the letter to William, he commented,“You had better end up telling him he is wonderful or you will find that he will somehow manage to prevent you having what you are determined to acquire.”“Don’t even think about it,” the Duke stipulated.“I must have my own way.Heaven knows how much we have exerted ourselves to get to Georgia and they should in fact greet us with fireworks!”“Heaven forbid,” William had countered, “and just don’t forget that, as Alnina is your wife, then she must be treated like a Duchess.”“You can be quite certain I will not forget that,” the Duke had replied.*Having crossed the Black Sea, they spent the night on board at Batum and then they set off early the next morning for Tiflis.Now, Alnina thought, they were really in Georgia and it would be just as attractive as she had dreamed.She had spent a lot of time during the last two days talking about the beauties they were going to behold.“The two things” she said, “which really matter in Tiflis are, I am told, the excellent wines and the ancient Churches.”“I am certainly interested in the first,” William said.In the morning at the Port they found a carriage drawn by four strong horses waiting for them.There was also another vehicle, not so impressive, to carry their luggage and Albert.When Alnina saw the countryside for the first time, it was exactly as beautiful, at the same time as mysterious, as she had anticipated.She was utterly enthralled by the distant hills and the first glimpse of the mountains and the fortified villages still seemed prepared for war at any time.It was impossible, she thought, to see it now so peaceful and so quiet without thinking how it had been the scene of more bloodshed and more cruelty and hatred than any other country in that part of the world.Everywhere in Georgia, she had learnt, there were extremes [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]