Sword to the Heart (Bantam Series No. 13) by Barbara Cartland Page B

him questioningly.
    Then as if he was no longer interested in the conversation, Lord Colwall again began to speak of his arrangements for the morrow.
    He went on to tell Natalia about some of the people she was to meet after dinner. She found it bewildering to take in so many names, or indeed to understand what part they each played on the Estate.
    ‘Later I must make a list of them,’ she told herself.
    But she would not allow herself to be dismayed at the thought of what lay ahead.
    She was sensible enough to realise that while they employed two local untrained Maids at the Vicarage, it would be very different at the Castle.
    Here she would find herself confronted with over one thousand employees, comprising the hierarchy, not only of indoor servants, but of those who worked outside for Lord Colwall.
    She was to meet only the heads of each department this evening, but even they made up a large number of people.
    There were the head men in charge of the farms, the dairies, brewhouses, granaries, stables, laundries, and workshops.
    There were also the Chief of the carpenters, of the iron-smiths, painters, masons, and glaziers, besides the woodmen, foresters, gamekeepers and those who held superior positions in the garden.
    “The man in charge of my greenhouses,” Lord Colwall was saying, “is an artist. I think, Natalia, that you and your father will be astonished when you see how skilfully he has decorated the Chapel and how he will transform this room into what will literally be a ‘bower of beauty!’ ”
    “You have everything here on your Estate?” Natalia said in awestruck tones.
    “I try to make it a State within a State,” Lord Colwall replied. “I am attempting to achieve perfection. I have, fortunately, the advantage of having had very wise and knowledgeable forbears.”
    He glanced at the pictures on the walls and continued:
    “The Tudor herb garden, for instance, is the most famous in the whole length and breadth of the land, and the man who supervises my Carnation House is unchallenged.”
    “I shall want to see everything when you have the time to show it to me,” Natalia said.
    “Of course,” Lord Colwall agreed.
    Dinner came to an end while they were still talking about Lord Colwall’s possessions, and when he said it was time for them to repair to the Baronial Hall where their guests were waiting for them, Sir James took his leave.
    “You do not require me tonight, dear boy,” he said, “and I will therefore, with your permission, return home. I shall of course be here in plenty of time tomorrow to support you.”
    “Sir James is to be my Best Man,” Lord Colwall explained to the Reverend Adolphus.
    “I can imagine nothing that could give me greater pleasure,” Sir James said, looking at Natalia.
    He took her hand in his and held it for a moment.
    “I want to wish both Ranulf and you great happiness,” he said, “and, somehow, I feel completely sure that you will find it.”
    The sincerity in his tone was undeniable, and as Natalia curtsied she said sweetly:
    “Thank you, Sir James, I know we are going to be very happy.” She smiled up at Lord Colwall as she spoke but he was not looking at her, having drawn from his pocket a list which apparently required his attention.
    “Good-night, Ranulf,” Sir James said, and then, having bade the Reverend Adolphus farewell, he departed.
    Lord Colwall led Natalia through several passages until finally they came to the Baronial Hall.
    This had been built later than the original Castle. It was, however, in the Gothic tradition, if more ornate, and was used for all formal occasions including that of making, Natalia remembered her mother telling her, a very attractive Ball-Room.
    The Hall was crowded with men who were sitting at long trestle tables laden with food and pewter tankards filled with beer.
    There were several great barrels set at one end of the Hall, and it was obvious from the applause when Natalia and Lord Colwall arrived that his